San Diego International Airport (SAN / KSAN) is a large airport serving San Diego, California. It sits 17 feet above sea level and has 1 runway, the longest 9,401 feet. The largest population centre nearby is San Diego, CA — the airport lies about 2.1 miles north-west of it in a straight line.
The 10 largest population centres within 90 miles of SAN. Distances below are straight-line; the road route is always longer. Select a city to calculate its real driving time and distance to the airport.
| City | Straight line | Airport lies | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA | 2.1 mi | north-west | Get drive time → |
| Chula Vista, CA | 8.9 mi | north-west | Get drive time → |
| Oceanside, CA | 34 mi | south | Get drive time → |
| Irvine, CA | 74 mi | south-east | Get drive time → |
| Huntington Beach, CA | 79 mi | south-east | Get drive time → |
| Santa Ana, CA | 80 mi | south-east | Get drive time → |
| Moreno Valley, CA | 84 mi | south | Get drive time → |
| Garden Grove, CA | 84 mi | south-east | Get drive time → |
| Riverside, CA | 85 mi | south | Get drive time → |
| Anaheim, CA | 87 mi | south-east | Get drive time → |
Within 200 miles, straight-line. A slightly farther airport is sometimes the shorter drive — check both before you book.
Airport, runway and elevation figures come from the OurAirports open database. Routes are calculated to the airport's map reference point, which at a large airport may sit a few minutes from your specific terminal.
Leave home drive time + 2 hours before a domestic departure from SAN, or drive time + 3 hours before an international one.
Those buffers cover bag drop, security and the walk to the gate, but not getting from your car to the terminal — at a large airport like SAN, allow another 15–30 minutes to park and ride in, or 30–45 if you are returning a rental car. The drive estimate above is free-flow and does not model live traffic. Full guide to timing your departure →
It depends on your starting point. Enter your address in the calculator on this page and you'll get a road-distance driving estimate to San Diego International Airport, plus the option to start from any of the 10 nearby cities listed above.
San Diego International Airport uses the IATA code SAN and the ICAO code KSAN. It is classified as a large airport and sits at 17 feet above sea level.
San Diego, CA is about 2.1 miles from SAN in a straight line. Road distance is longer — use the calculator above with San Diego as your starting point for the actual driving time.
Within 200 miles: CLD (28 mi), SNA (76 mi), PSP (85 mi), LGB (93 mi). Distances are straight-line, so compare the actual drive times before choosing — a closer airport is not always a shorter drive.
Work backwards from your departure time: subtract two hours for a domestic flight (three for international), then subtract your drive time to SAN. The calculator on this page does that arithmetic for you once you enter your starting address, and adds the parking and shuttle time you should allow on top.