Car hire at San Jose Airport - Exploring Northern California

Gateway to the world-famous Silicon Valley region, San Jose Mineta International Airport serves both the San Jose metropolitan area and the city of San Francisco, one of America's top tourist destinations. Located less than 4 miles from San Jose city centre, it is named after Norman Yoshio Mineta who was born locally in 1931 and went on to serve both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton as Transportation and Commerce Secretary.

Handling around 17 million passenger movements each year, San Jose Airport (SJC) is situated near the intersections of Route 101, Interstate 880 and State Route 87, making it very accessible to visitors exploring the region by car. Besides its very close proximity to Downtown San Jose, the airport is located near a number of high-profile Silicon Valley tech giants, including Google, Adobe (makers of Photoshop), Cisco, Intel, eBay, Hewlett Packard and Apple.

There are many exciting attractions in San Jose, which means that it's far more than a satellite of San Francisco less than an hour's drive away. In fact it is California's third-largest city and chief amongst its must-see tourist sights is the Winchester Mystery House, a mansion renowned for its size and architectural curiosities that once belonged to the wife of the firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester.

With a car hire from San Jose Airport, visitors have the whole of the San Jose/San Francisco area at their disposal and all the key attractions that lie within this fascinating part of the USA. It also gives drivers good access to other parts of the state of California, such as Sacramento and Death Valley National Park. A major highlight for road-trippers is the chance to experience the amazing Pacific Coast Highway which runs along the entire stretch of California's scenic west coast to Los Angeles and San Diego close to the Mexican border.

Operating in more than 28,000 locations in over 190 popular destinations worldwide (including California), Auto Europe is one of the world's top car rental companies with pick-up points in many parts of Downtown San Jose and its surroundings, most notably San Jose Mineta International Airport. We work with all the top car rental companies, which means we can offer the cheapest rates and the widest choice of vehicles on the market.

One of the main advantages of choosing Auto Europe is that you can book your low-cost car rental at San Jose Airport in a few seconds with just a couple of clicks of the mouse through our state-of-the-art search engine at the top of this page. If you need any help with your reservation or require assistance with your travel plans, just call our award-winning rental specialists and they will be only too happy to find you the best deal for your trip.

Airport Information

With its beginnings in commercial aviation dating back to 1948, San Jose Airport hosted its first airline flights with Southwest Airways Douglas DC-3s on a multi-stop run between Los Angeles and San Francisco, folowed by more airlines operating out of the airport for the next two decades. In 1968, United Airlines began operating Boeing 727 non-stops from Los Angeles Airport, Chicago Airport and Denver Airport, as well as regular Douglas DC-8 non-stop flights from New York and Baltimore. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the centre of technological innovation, the airport today caters for approximately 17 million passengers annually arriving and departing on non-stop flights to and from dozens of domestic destinations, as well as several key international cities including London (Heathrow).

San Jose Airport (SJC)
Address: 1701 Airport Blvd, San Jose, CA 95110
Telephone: +1 408 392 3600
Airlines operating at San Jose Airport: The list of the most important airlines operating at San Jose Airport currently includes Air Canada, Alaska Air, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit, United Airlines, Volaris and Zipair..

Where to pick up my car hire at San Jose Airport

It's quick and easy picking up a car rental at San Jose Airport. Passengers just need to head for the Rental Car Center which is located directly opposite Terminal B, which can be directly accessed by walking across Airport Boulevard at the zebra crossing near the airport's baggage-claim area. To reach the Rental Car Center from Terminal A, it's better to take any of the airport's blue-coloured shuttle bus services.

Car hire operating hours

	Avis at San Jose Airport Rental Car Center, San Jose, USA 95110 +1 408 993 2224	Opening Hours: Daily 6am-midnight
	Budget at San Jose Airport Rental Car Center, San Jose, USA95110 +1 408 286 7850	Opening Hours: Daily 6am-midnight
	Enterprise at San Jose Airport Rental Car Center San Jose, USA 95110 +1 833 813 5264	Opening Hours: Daily 6am-11pm
	Hertz at San Jose Airport Rental Car Center San Jose, USA 95110 +1 408 938 6000	Opening Hours: Daily 6am-10.30pm
	Sixt at San Jose Airport Rental Car Center San Jose, USA 95110 +1 888 749 8227	Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-11pm, Sat 7am-8pm and Sun 7am-9pm

Terminals

San Jose Airport has two main passenger terminals - Terminal A which opened in 1990 and Terminal B, a more modern facility that was officially inaugurated 20 years later. The terminals are connected airside with a total of 17 gates (1–7, 7A and 8–16) in Terminal A with gates 17 and 18 having been converted to handle international arrivals in Terminal B in early 2015. All arrivals from international flights at the airport must clear customs and immigration except for flights from airports with US border preclearance. The San Jose airport International Arrivals Building has 5,600 square-feet of space and is fitted with a second baggage carousel and an enclosed meeting area in a climate-controlled environment with comfortable seating, restrooms and a large snack area.

Airport Facilities

San Jose Airport has a fine array of shops and restaurants, including many internationally-known brands such as Sip Savvy, Einstein Bagels, Starbucks and Red Mango. There's a modern, high-speed baggage-claim area with three carousels, an information booth near the entrance, numerous ATMs, bureaux de change, parking pay stations, on-site FedEx parcel services and several hotel information points. The airport's comprehensive US$8 million upgrade of its international arrivals terminal included luxurious waiting areas featuring comfortable seats with power outlets and USB ports in the arm-rests, free high-speed Internet and concierge robots. Other amenities include a children’s play area and a nursing room.

How to get to and from San Jose Airport

Visitors who rent a car at San Jose Airport can get to the city in no time via the CA-87 highway which takes just 10 minutes in either direction outside the morning and evening weekday rush hours. The journey is just five miles to San Jose, but travellers heading for San Francisco can expect a much longer journey of over an hour because the city is almost 50 miles away from SJC. It's possible to travel to and from the centre of San Jose using the Airport Flyer which connects the airport passenger terminals with the city's Santa Clara Caltrain Station. Cheap and popular, the Airport Flyer makes a continuous loop between the Metro Light Rail Station, Santa Clara Caltrain Station, SJC's airport terminals and car parks running every 15-30 minutes from 5am until 11.30pm.

Parking Tips

San Jose is easy to navigate with plenty of parking options for visitors. Some of the best places to park in close proximity to many of the main tourist attractions can be found in and around Downtown, such as the Third Street Garage (95 N. Third St.), Second & San Carlos (280 S. Second St.), Fourth Street Garage (44 S. Fourth St.) and the Market & San Pedro Square Garage (45 N. Market St.), all of which are open 24/7 with plenty of spaces available. On-street parking is metered and the ticket machines take both coins and credit cards. Please note that most metered parking spaces have a limited of 1 or 2 hours. The majority of San Jose's parking meters operate 9am–6pm Monday-Saturday (except Sundays and public holidays) and some of the newer parking meters in Downtown are set up for contactless payment. If you're looking to park your car hire at San Jose Airport you'll have plenty of different options available to you, including the popular Economy Lot 1 located at 2300 Airport Blvd. which has around 2,500 spaces with a mix of covered and uncovered parking. A long-term car park located at 1639 Airport Blvd. just south of the Rental Car Center garage and with a shuttle service to Terminal A and Terminal B.

Useful links

San Jose Airport