Coming to visit me at Berkeley? Welcome!

Where to stay

Staying within walking distance of campus avoids traffic and parking-pass hassles if walking is an option for you. Here’s a Google Map of suggested hotels within walking distance, including reservations links and phone numbers, also showing the campus itself and the locations of Soda Hall (Computer Science) and South Hall (School of Information or iSchool).

Also, Airbnb may be a good choice for short-term stays.

Hotels you can’t walk to, but are easy to get to without a car: In Downtown Oakland, the Marriott Downtown Oakland, Courtyard by Marriott, Clarion Hotel, and Picadilly Hotel are within a block or two of the 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station, from which it’s a 12-minute BART ride to the Downtown Berkeley station (shown on the map linked above).

Hotels you have to drive to: The Doubletree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina is a lovely setting but you need a car to get there conveniently. You can also check TripAdvisor for hotels in Emeryville; about a 15-20 minute drive with traffic.

If Armando is hosting you, you can also email aspire-admin@cs.berkeley.edu for additional hotel advice, and (important) for parking passes if you will be driving to campus (not recommended if you can avoid it).

Getting here by public transit is easy

The Google map linked above shows the location of the Downtown Berkeley BART (rapid transit) station in relation to the campus and hotels. Trains run every 15 minutes (every 20 minutes on Sundays). The BART web site has a trip planner, schedules, etc.

From Oakland International Airport (OAK), from the terminal follow the signs for BART, to board a monorail-type vehicle that runs every 5 minutes and will take you to the Coliseum station, where you will transfer to a Richmond train and get off at Downtown Berkeley station. 35-40 minutes.

From San Francisco International Airport (SFO), walk or take the in-airport AirTrain monorail to the BART station (located in the International terminal). If a Richmond train comes, take it to Downtown Berkeley. If a Pittsburg/Bay Point train comes, take it to 19th St. Oakland and transfer there for a Richmond train to Downtown Berkeley.

Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is far away, over an hour’s drive with no traffic (and there is always traffic) and not very well served by public transit.

Getting here by car, if you must

Driving/GPS: aim for “corner of Hearst and LeRoy, Berkeley, CA”, which is the entrance to Soda Hall. Pickup your parking pass from Room 565 Soda Hall from Roxana Infante or Tamille Johnson, who will direct you to the parking structures, most likely Upper or Lower Hearst structures (map). Use the North Gate campus entrance (marked on map) to enter campus if you’re walking to South Hall.

Street parking is virtually nonexistent, and if you do find it, it’s limited to 1-2 hours and strictly enforced. Without a parking pass, you’re toast.