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FIFA World Cup 2026 Travel Guide

The San Francisco Bay Area is set to play a prominent role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosting six matches at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Here’s what you need to know about why the region was chosen, how to get to the games, and tips for making the most of your visit this July.

SF has a rich soccer history, a diverse population, and world-class infrastructure. In 1994, it was one of nine cities in the US that hosted the FIFA World Cup, and its roots in supporting international sports fandom go way back. The Bay Area’s diversity and internationalism, unbeatable connectivity, and accepting fan culture made it an obvious choice to be one of the 16 FIFA 2026 host cities. Soccer is also established in the region, as San Jose is home to the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, and San Francisco’s new Golden City FC is set to begin playing in the MLS Next Pro league in 2026 or 2027 in Golden Gate Park. Bay FC is the local women’s professional soccer team, currently building a training site on Treasure Island between San Francisco and Oakland.

If you’re attending a match in the area, come prepared for the city’s unpredictable summer weather. It’s often sweater weather all year long in SF thanks to the famous fog that can creep in off the ocean. In fact, the fog is so ubiquitous that it has its own name: Karl the Fog. A famous quote attributed to Mark Twain sums it up well: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” According to the Bay Area National Weather Service, the average temperature in San Francisco for June through July 2025 was a chilly 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

All that is to say: don’t assume summer temperatures in summer. Check the weather forecast in San Francisco before you leave for the matches, even if it’s bright and sunny outside.

Here’s your guide for everything to know about the World Cup matches in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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• About Levi’s Stadium
• Tickets and matches
• Getting to San Francisco
• Getting around during the World Cup
• Details on the FIFA Fan Zone
• Hotels, soccer bars, and what else to do
• More about San Francisco

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Venue: Levi’s Stadium

Levi’s Stadium (which will officially be “San Francisco Bay Area Stadium” during the World Cup, per FIFA’s no-corporate-names policy), opened in 2014 and has been the home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers for just over a decade. It was famously the fastest-built stadium in NFL history, taking just over two years to complete at a cost of $1.27 billion. It seats around 68,500 fans for normal events but can expand to more than 75,000 for major events. It has a 27,000-square-foot green roof, solar panels, and water-saving systems and sits in the center of Silicon Valley.

In 2026, it hosted Super Bowl LX, before which the 49ers spent another $200 million on upgrades. So far, it’s also hosted the Copa América Centenario and the College Football Playoff National Championship. Worth noting for visitors: the stadium is in Santa Clara, roughly 45 miles south of San Francisco, so plan accordingly.

Fun fact: the stadium has a working rooftop farm, named “Faithful Farm” after the 49ers’ fanbase. Throughout the year, 40 rotating crops are grown and harvested for use in club-level dining at the stadium, including tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and edible flowers. It’s the first rooftop farm ever installed on an NFL stadium.

The San Francisco World Cup schedule

The San Francisco Bay Area will host six FIFA World Cup 2026 matches.

• Saturday, June 13, 2026: Group D — Mexico vs Switzerland, 2 PM PT
• Tuesday, June 16, 2026: Group H — Uruguay vs South Korea, 7 PM PT
• Friday, June 19, 2026: Group B — Spain vs Morocco, 7 PM PT
• Monday, June 22, 2026: Group F — Colombia vs Austria, 4 PM PT
• Thursday, June 25, 2026: Group J — USA vs New Zealand, 6 PM PT
• Wednesday, July 1, 2026: Round of 32 — Winner Group D vs Runner-up Group E, 7 PM PT

As of mid-March 2026, the only people who can buy World Cup tickets are those who have won various FIFA lotteries. It’s expected that there will be a general purchase window in April in which anyone can buy the tickets that remain, but no details have been announced. In spring 2026, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said tickets for all matches are effectively sold out, save for a small number “on reserve” that will be part of the April ticket buying window. On ticket resale sites like StubHub, tickets for the earliest SF Bay Area matches are listed around $400-$500 each, plus fees and taxes.

How to get to the San Francisco Bay Area

First-timers should know that the Bay Area is served by three major airports, and which one you choose matters. San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK), and San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) all serve the greater Bay Area. SFO is the largest and closest to downtown San Francisco at 13 miles south of the city, and is the main hub for most international arrivals from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and beyond. From SFO, you can take the BART (public transportation) to downtown in about 30 minutes, payable with Apple Pay and other tap-to-pay apps.

Oakland tends to be less congested but it’s farther from the city, and you have to transfer trains at Coliseum Station to get downtown.

However, because the stadium is a distance from the city, some attendees may just want to base themselves in Santa Clara. SJC is the go-to for Silicon Valley and towns south of San Francisco, with faster check-ins and quieter terminals. It’s much closer to Santa Clara and the stadium, but tends to mostly accept shorter and domestic flights, so you’ll likely have to add a connection somewhere if that’s where you want to land. From the airport, a free shuttle bus connects to the nearby Santa Clara Caltrain station.

Geting around town during the World Cup

Levi’s Stadium is about 45 minutes south of San Francisco by car, but traffic can be extremely slow. It’s almost always a better idea to try to get there on public transportation, even if it takes longer.

The first option is to take Caltrain to Mountain View Station (about an hour). At Mountain View, transfer to the VTA Light Rail’s Orange Line toward Alum Rock. Exit at the Great America Station next to Levi’s Stadium’s north entrance. The light rail segment takes about 35 minutes, but give yourself about two hours for the full trip, especially on match days when trains and platforms will be more crowded.

Alternatively, you can take BART to Millbrae Station or Milpitas Station, depending on where you’re staying, and connect to Caltrain or VTA Light Rail from there. From Milpitas, you can skip Caltrain entirely and take the VTA Orange Line directly to Great America Station, which is often the more straightforward option. The Bay Area Host Committee has announced there will be special game day shuttles and shuttles from area hotels, though the details have not yet been announced as of mid-March 2026.

For getting around San Francisco, your best bet is often walking, as the city is quite lovely and rather compact. However, if that’s not your thing, you find four public transportation options: BART and the MUNI (light rail and the city’s famous cable cars) in the immediate San Francisco area, and CalTrain and the VTA light rail for moving further out from the city. Uber, Lyft, and everything from scooter to moped shares are also available throughout SF and nearby cities.

For payment, use a Clipper Card, which works across Caltrain, BART, and VTA. You can use a physical card or buy one on the Clipper app.

The Official San Francisco Bay Area Fan Zones

As of now, there are no officially confirmed details about the exact location or setup of San Francisco’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Fan Festival. According to recent reporting by the New York Times, the region is thinking of scrapping its large-scale plans for a fan fest after the December 2025 World Cup draw failed to assign any top-tier matchups to the city, lowering overall interest in attending.

However, as of March 2026, the host committee website still says it will have various events throughout the region broadcasting the matches with the usual interactive elements, such as live music, food and drink vendors, games and activities, and more. But a recent press release from the host committee also said it planned to shift away from a central fan zone and instead would support private businesses. “Instead of one central fan fest, fan zones and celebrations will be managed by the nine counties and the broader Bay Area, local DMOs and sports teams. Sites for fan experiences will be announced in the coming weeks,” the committee shared on March 3, 2026.

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