The Sail & Rail ticket was a single $10 fare for one SMART train ride plus one Golden Gate Ferry crossing. It was sold only in the SMART e-Tickets app, and Oct. 31 is the final purchase date. Tickets in the app, listed under "Train + Ferry," can be used through Nov. 30, 2026. After that the program ends. SMART calls Sail & Rail a pilot, set up so SMART and Golden Gate Transportation could decide whether to make it permanent. Its notice gives no reason for ending it.
For a rider who boards in San Rafael or Novato and pays with Clipper, the ordinary fares plus the regional transfer discount already come to less than $10 for those trips. The cost goes up for riders who start farther north, and how much depends on how many SMART zones their trip crosses.
Adding up the fares without the combo
There are three pieces. One adult ferry ride from Larkspur costs $9.50 on Clipper or a contactless bank card. SMART charges adults $1.50 per zone, and the system has five zones, so the most a one-way ride costs is $7.50. When you transfer between agencies on Clipper, the second agency's fare drops by up to $2.85 if you board within two hours of your first ride. The discount works in either direction, train to ferry or ferry to train. When the connecting fare is less than $2.85, the transfer is free. Because of that, the order of your rides changes the price of a one-zone trip.
Here's how those pieces add up for each number of zones. The station groupings come from a 511 fare sheet published by MTC, the regional transportation agency. That sheet is dated April 2024, so check SMART's current zone map for your own station.
| SMART zones on your trip | SMART fare | Plus Larkspur ferry on Clipper | Minus transfer discount | One-way total | Compared with the old $10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.50 | $9.50 | up to $2.85 | $8.15 train first, $9.50 ferry first | $1.85 or 50 cents less |
| 2 | $3.00 | $9.50 | up to $2.85 | $9.65 | 35 cents less |
| 3 | $4.50 | $9.50 | up to $2.85 | $11.15 | $1.15 more |
| 4 | $6.00 | $9.50 | up to $2.85 | $12.65 | $2.65 more |
| 5 | $7.50 | $9.50 | up to $2.85 | $14.15 | $4.15 more |
The 511 sheet puts San Rafael and Marin Civic Center in Zone 1, and all three Novato stations (Downtown, Hamilton and San Marin) in Zone 2. Cotati, Petaluma Downtown and Rohnert Park are in Zone 3. Santa Rosa Downtown and Santa Rosa North are in Zone 4, and the airport station and Windsor are in Zone 5. Your fare depends on how many zones your ride crosses to reach Larkspur, so count them on SMART's map before you plug into the table.
In practice, a one-way trip on a short Marin ride costs between $8.15 and $9.65 with standard Clipper fares. Under Sail & Rail, the riders who saved the most with Sail & Rail were the ones coming from Sonoma County.
Who pays more after November
The difference grows with each zone, and from two zones up it doubles for a round trip.
- Riders boarding in San Rafael or at Marin Civic Center. A one-zone trip costs $8.15 heading into the city and $9.50 coming home, because the train fare is free after the ferry. That's $17.65 round trip, compared with $20 for two Sail & Rail tickets. Their fare doesn't go up.
- Riders boarding at the Novato stations. If the trip is two zones, it costs $9.65, just under $10. Their fare doesn't change in any way that matters.
- Riders boarding in Petaluma, Cotati or Rohnert Park. At three zones, $11.15 each way is about $2.30 more per round trip than Sail & Rail.
- Riders boarding in Santa Rosa, at the airport station or in Windsor. At four or five zones, they pay $2.65 to $4.15 more each way, which comes to as much as $8.30 more per round trip.
The SMART side of a heavy riding day has a ceiling, though. Clipper caps adult cash-value fares at $15 a day, and any SMART rides after you reach that are free for the rest of the day. For weekend trips, SMART still offers a $10 adult Weekend Day Pass. It's good for unlimited rides on either Saturday or Sunday and is sold only in the SMART e-Tickets app. In its Sail & Rail notice, SMART points weekend riders to that pass.
Three ways to lose the discount
The table only holds if you get the transfer discount, and there are three common ways to miss it:
- Buying a paper ferry ticket. An adult paper ticket from Larkspur costs $14.00, compared with $9.50 on Clipper or a contactless card. Do that once and you've paid more than Sail & Rail cost for any trip in the table.
- Taking more than two hours to transfer. The discount applies only to a second ride that starts within two hours of the first. A long lunch at the terminal between train and boat can push you past the window.
- Using an older Clipper card that hasn't moved to the new system. MTC started switching to next-generation Clipper on Dec. 10, 2025, and the new system carries the two-hour transfer rule. In a July 24, 2026 update, MTC used SMART to Golden Gate Ferry as an example of the new transfers. It also said migration problems had slowed the rollout of new-system features to people with existing Clipper cards. If you carry an older card, check that the discount actually shows up on your first transfer after November.
These numbers come from the agencies' published fare tables and are general information, not financial advice. Fares and rules can change, so confirm with SMART, Golden Gate and Clipper before you plan your commute budget around them.
Fewer boats is costing riders more time than the fare change
Fares aren't the only thing that changed at Larkspur this fall. Golden Gate has been running a temporary weekday schedule that it attributes to "mechanical issues." Its bulletin was in place by Monday, Oct. 19, and the route page says the schedule will continue "until further notice." On the timetable for the week of Oct. 26, five departures from Larkspur ran by bus: 5:45 a.m., 8:40 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 4:05 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. The 5:15 p.m. boat was canceled. Heading home from San Francisco, the 6:45 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 3:10 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. trips were buses, and the 5:35 p.m. was canceled. The substitute buses can take up to 55 minutes and hold up to three bikes. That week's schedule may have changed again by now, so check the live Larkspur schedule page before you leave.
This has happened before. In November 2025, the Marin Independent Journal reported that two boats were pulled for repairs after unexpected mechanical problems, and buses filled in then too. Golden Gate is replacing ferries. The Independent Journal reported in December 2025 that the first new 500-passenger Liwa-class vessel was expected in 2027, with a second about a year later. Until those boats arrive, whether your crossing goes by water or by bus matters more to your weekday than a $1.15 fare difference.
Larkspur as the destination
For riders from Petaluma and farther north, the cheaper option is to ride SMART to Larkspur and skip the ferry. On a weekend, the $10 Day Pass covers the train both ways.
Next to the terminal, Marin Country Mart lists two shops as now open: Margaux at 2207 Larkspur Landing Circle and Varley at 2409. Salt & Straw is listed as coming soon at 2247A Larkspur Landing Circle, with no opening date yet. Anya's Gifting Agency, a seasonal pop-up carrying Anya Hindmarch collections, is open through Dec. 31. The Mart's November calendar includes Kris McIntosh Ceramics at Well Made Home from Nov. 12 to 15, then a Restorative Yoga + Sound Healing workshop on Nov. 22. Hero Shop has a Yaser Shaw trunk show on Dec. 11 and 12.
The Lark Theater is a short trip away at 549 Magnolia Ave. Its Mind Reels documentary series continues with noon screenings of "The New Yorker at 100" on Nov. 10 and "Peter Asher: Everywhere Man" on Nov. 17, each followed by a panel, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
If you know Marin by its commute routes as well as its neighborhoods, you already know that small costs like these add up. Michelle Kennedy helps clients compare the daily logistics of different parts of Marin and Sonoma, ferry trips and train zones included. If you're weighing a move up or down the SMART line, let's talk about your home. Schedule a personal consultation.
