Oakland to Des Moines

Compare trains, buses, flights and ferries from Oakland to Des Moines. From €229.65, fastest 6h 47m, with the total price and every fee shown up front.

Traveling from Oakland to Des Moines costs €229.65 at the cheapest and takes 6h 47m door to door at the fastest, across 1 mode and 1 operator. The route covers 2,551 km. Cheapest is by flight, fastest is by flight.

Checked September 12, 2026Priced for September 28, 2026One passenger, all fees included

At a glance

Distance
2,551 km
Fastest
6h 47m
Average
7h 5m
Services per day
5
Cheapest
€229.65
CO2 per passenger
627.5 kg
Door to door

Every way to make this journey

Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 28, 2026.

Door to door means the whole journey, including reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. Fares are the cheapest sold on each mode.
ModeDoor to doorMovingAt the endsFromCO2Per day
Flight6h 56m3h 46m3h 10m€260.92627.5 kg5
  • 6h 56mFastest, by Flight
  • €260.92Cheapest, by Flight
  • 627.5 kgLowest CO2, by Flight
  • 2,551 kmDistance traveled
Real services

The cheapest and the fastest on September 28, 2026

Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.

Cheapest€229.65
  1. Frontier Airlines FA548107:301h 22m08:52Oakland OAKLas Vegas LAS
  2. Allegiant Air AA369609:572h 57m12:54Las Vegas LASDes Moines DSM

Changes at Las Vegas, with 65 minutes between services and a walk of about 5 minutes.

Door to door 8h 34mCO2 661.7 kgChanges 1Fixed, no changes

Fastest€256.79
  1. Bahamasair B857906:303h 46m10:16Oakland OAKDes Moines DSM

Door to door 6h 56mCO2 627.5 kgChanges 0Fixed, no changes

Lowest CO2€299.27
  1. Southwest Airlines SA655607:303h 42m11:12Oakland OAKKansas City MCI
  2. Amtrak A828812:112h 21m14:32Union StationDes Moines Union Station

Changes at Kansas City, with 59 minutes between services and a walk of about 14 minutes.

Door to door 8h 59mCO2 620.8 kgChanges 1Fixed, no changes

Today's real departures

Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.

Checking the live timetables.

Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.

Prices over the next three weeks

Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.

Cheapest fare by mode and day for Oakland to Des Moines
Cheapest fare by mode and day for Oakland to Des MoinesSunSep 13MonSep 14TueSep 15WedSep 16ThuSep 17FriSep 18SatSep 19SunSep 20MonSep 21TueSep 22WedSep 23ThuSep 24FriSep 25SatSep 26
Flight€616.69€412.55€438.51€371.84€399.57€470.37€459.75€353.55€260.92€296.32€280.98€351.19€324.64€377.15

Cheapest day: 2026-09-28 · €229.65

That is the traveling done. What happens after you walk out into Des Moines is not something we sell.

A hotel room

Looking for somewhere to stay in Des Moines?

The search opens on Des Moines with your nights already filled in, so it is one step to a real price.

Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.

Booking window

When to book Oakland to Des Moines

The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.

  1. €240.2790 days
  2. €207.2360 days
  3. €174.1945 days
  4. €165.9330 days
  5. €259.1521 days
  6. €377.1514 days
  7. €459.757 days
  8. €438.513 days
  9. €616.691 days
Cheapest lead time
Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at €165.93.
How much it moves
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 272 percent. The most expensive point is €616.69, 1 days out.
What that means
Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
€616.69€165.931371421304560

Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.

Day of the week

Which departure day costs least

Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.

  1. €353.55Sun
  2. €260.92Mon
  3. €296.32Tue
  4. €280.98Wed
  5. €351.19Thu
  6. €324.64Fri
  7. €377.15Sat
Across the year

How the fare moves month by month

The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.

  1. €438.51Sep
  2. €221.98Oct
  3. €195.43Nov
  4. €197.20Dec
  5. €218.44Jan
  6. €168.88Feb

The route

OaklandOaklandDes MoinesDes Moines
The journey

What the journey actually looks like

Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.

Direct or connecting
20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
How far it really runs
The route covers 2,551 km against 2,476 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Where the change is
Connections are made at Kansas City, Las Vegas, Denver, Santa Ana. The gap between arriving and leaving is 59 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
If the connection is missed
The tightest connection we sell here has a 16 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
First and last departure
The first service of the day leaves Oakland at 06:30 and the last at 07:30, across 5 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Terminals

Where you leave from and where you arrive

The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.

Oakland

Rail
  • Oakland Long Wharf
  • Oakland Coliseum station
  • Oakland-Jack London Square station
Bus
  • Emeryville
  • 31st Avenue
Air
  • OAK
Ferry
  • Oakland Jack London Square Terminal
  • Harbor Bay Terminal

Des Moines

Rail
  • Des Moines Union Station
  • East Des Moines Union Depot
  • Des Moines Western Railway Freight House
Bus
  • DART Central Station
  • Dart Ride Share
Air
  • DSM
Carriers

Who runs this route

Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.

Every operator we sell on this corridor. Speed is the carrier's own typical cruising speed, not the average over this route.
OperatorFromFastestTypical speedFlexibilityOn board
Bahamasair€229.656h 47m740 km/hFixed fareNot published
  • Bahamasair
The price

What the fare is made of

Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.

The cheapest flight fare we sell on 2026-09-28, broken into its parts. Nothing is added after this.
PartAmountShare
Operator fare€187.0081%
Taxes€33.6615%
Supplier fees€7.003%
Our service fee€1.991%
Total you pay€229.65100%

The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.

Left luggage lockers

Baggage storage near Des Moines Union Station

Most of the points near Des Moines Union Station open before the first train and close after the last one.

Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.

Questions about Oakland to Des Moines

The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.

How long does it take to get from Oakland to Des Moines?

The fastest journey from Oakland to Des Moines takes 6h 47m door to door, of which 3h 46m is spent moving, on the flight. Most services take around 7h 5m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.

How much does it cost to travel from Oakland to Des Moines?

The cheapest fare from Oakland to Des Moines is €229.65, checked on September 12, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €359.45. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.

What is the cheapest way to get from Oakland to Des Moines?

The cheapest way from Oakland to Des Moines is by flight, at €260.92 for one passenger on September 28, 2026. That journey takes 6h 56m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.

When should I book Oakland to Des Moines?

Fares from Oakland to Des Moines bottom out around 30 days before departure, at €165.93. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 272 percent, measured on September 12, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.

Which day of the week is cheapest for Oakland to Des Moines?

Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Oakland to Des Moines, at €260.92. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 12, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.

Which month is cheapest for Oakland to Des Moines?

February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Oakland to Des Moines, at €168.88 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.

Who runs service from Oakland to Des Moines?

1 operators sell services from Oakland to Des Moines across 1 mode: Bahamasair. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.

Is there a direct service from Oakland to Des Moines?

20 percent of the services we sell from Oakland to Des Moines are direct. The rest connect at Kansas City, Las Vegas, Denver, Santa Ana, with about 59 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.

Which station or terminal do services from Oakland to Des Moines use?

Services from Oakland to Des Moines by flight leave from Oakland OAK and arrive at Des Moines DSM. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.

Can I change or refund a ticket from Oakland to Des Moines?

0 of the 1 operators we sell from Oakland to Des Moines allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.

Where these numbers come from

Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.

Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.

Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances

On this page
Every figure above was computed for Oakland to Des Moines on September 12, 2026: 2551 km of route against 2476 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €229.65, and 6h 47m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.

Our job ends at the platform. What fills the days in Des Moines afterward does not belong to us.

A guided tour group

Anything to book in Des Moines before you go?

The tickets worth having in advance, because the line at the door is usually the whole morning.

Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.

Other ways to make this journey

Leaving Oakland

Arriving in Des Moines

Leaving Des Moines

  • 56Places you can leave for
  • 1Countries
  • 17Operators

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