The San Francisco 49ers don’t have the toughest 2026 schedule when it comes to who they play. However, when considering where they play, things become much more difficult.
San Francisco will travel the furthest distance of any team in the NFL this year, flying over 33,000 miles for their road matchups this year. That includes two international games in Melbourne, Australia, and Mexico City.
With their game against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia coming in Week 1, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed the team’s plans for their travel and preparation on Thursday.
“Usually when you travel with a 19-hour flight, you don’t want to get there the day before because you lose like a whole day there or two and you’re just messed up,” Shanahan said. “The people we’ve talked to, you don’t feel normal until like the third or fourth day. So, we’d like to go out seven days early. But, since it takes a day and a half to travel there, we’re going to go nine. I think we leave on Wednesday and land on a Friday. And so, then we get there about seven days before our game. I think it’s Friday, we play Thursday or Friday morning Australian time, Thursday here. So that’s it.”
San Francisco will return back to the United States for a Week 2 battle with the Miami Dolphins at home, but later in the year, they’ll take on Minnesota Vikings in Mexico for their second international contest.
To prepare for that game, Shanahan has some ideas.
“We haven’t finalized it yet, but we’d love to stay here and go there,” Shanahan said. “It’s a shorter flight, but that’s not really the issue. The main thing with Mexico City is it’s 2,000 feet higher than Denver. And so, we like to get adjusted to that altitude. So, we’ll probably go to Colorado Springs again like we did last time to get ready for that altitude and then probably go to Mexico City the night before.”
With a game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10, the 49ers might go straight to Colorado Springs directly after that game, which could give them extra time to get acclimated to the altitude.
Either way, the 49ers will have their work cut out for them this year.
More 49ers: 49ers starter doesn’t regret taking extension over testing free agency
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Shanahan reveals 49ers travel plans for both international games
Reporting by Mike Masala, Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
