What are my choices when driving from San Francisco to Carmel? I'm also going to make the drive back from Carmel to San Francisco.

should I take 101 or 280?

is the coastal route pretty but really slow?

is going through Salinas the fastest way?

I would take highway 1 from SF to Carmel and then on the way back take highway 1 to 17 to 280. 280 will give you a good view of the Bay Area, and it is also a beautiful freeway once out of San Jose. Highway 1 is spectacular but slower going. Going through Salinas would be somewhat faster but not as scenic.

280 is a highly-rated freeway once you pass Los Altos Hills and get into the Palo Alto area. North on 280, you pass San Jose, there's Santa Clara, Cupertino, then Mountain View. The valley here looks like one large city, but is over a dozen cities.

Drive 1 south to get acquainted with the territory at your own pace, from the lane nearest the water.
Maybe a person is rushed to get back to SF on the return trip? In this case, 280 is the call. 101 is a freight line. You'll be among sedans on 280 while trucks plod along on 101 and 880.

I wouldn't take 156 as a first choice. It can be faster to connect 101 and 1 with 156, however, I prefer the stunning California coast.

If you do decide you need the fastest way and go through Salinas, I would take Hwy 280 between SF and SJ and then switch over the Hwy 101 in SJ. I would not take Hwy 101 all the way down from SF. Both 280 and 101 run roughly parallel and take about the same time, but 280 is a much nicer drive - next to hills with trees, lots of greenery, more room on the road. Hwy 101 between SF and SJ goes through industrial areas and isn't very pretty.

You did not provide one vital piece of information - what day of the week will you make this trip, and what time of day. If you are leaving SF on a weekday morning 7-9am or from 4-5PM, the best route might be different than if you were leaving on a weekend. Same for return days & times.

Stu Dudley

We live in the area. HWY 280 does not allow trucks and is very scenic from SF to San Jose. HWY 101 allows trucks, has construction going on and is not very much to look at. Use 280 from SF.

If you take HWY 1 from SF this can also be scenic, but can be slower. If you have the time, do it. Stop at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay for some lunch and great ocean views. Beautiful property! Looks like it belongs in New England. Just stay on 1 and you will get to Monterey via Santa Cruz.

If you take 280 instead: In San Jose you can connect 280 to 101 south. I do this drive one time per week. Take 101 south past Morgan Hill and Gilroy to 156 west. This connects you to 1 again and then you follow 1 into Monterey area.

I would not recommend going on straight through Salinas on 101. It is a longer way and not really necessary. Plus, you need to watch the signs in Salinas to be sure you make all the correct turns to get you to Monterey. Hwy 156 is easier.

HWY 17 south from 280 is pretty, but can be a mess. There is always a wreck of some type on that road. It is only a few lanes so when a wreck occurs...you are stuck with no where to exit. Pretty road to look at....miserable for the poor people that have to fight it daily.

I'm going to be making the trip to carmel on a wednesday leaving s.f. about 10am.

On the way back, I'm leaving carmel mid-late afternoon and having dinner in Palo Alto before heading back to S.F.

What's the best way to Palo Alto on the way back as well?

If you leave SF at 10, you should not hit much traffic. Try to leave Carmel by 2:30 to avoid traffic. For Palo Alto, you can take 101 or 280 - the latter being a lot more scenic.

Stu Dudley

The coast route is slower, but I wouldn't say it's "really slow". It's straight in most places, and people do 60mph and more.

It does go through a few towns where the speed limit goes down to 35 or 40, and through Santa Cruz it can be jammed until you reach the freeway portion. But it's worth it if you want to see the coast.

For the inland route, take Hwy 85 from either 101 or 17 to reach 280. The junction of 101, 17 and 280 is right in downtown San Jose, 85 swings around through the suburbs and avoids the congestion in the center.

Assuming you're exiting University Ave for Palo Alto? What part of Palo Alto? C'mon spikey. Help yourself to Mapquest or Yahoo! Maps and figure this out, would you?

fehgeddaboudit... I have checked several mapping programs (mapquest, microsoft streets & trips etc..) and they give different directions, plus mapquest doesn't account for traffic and scenery which is why I posted here. I've gotten several useful answers and I would enjoy hearing the thoughts of others.

Hi, Spike!

The most enjoyable route SF-Carmel is Highway 1 along the coast. Going down you are on the ocean side and the drive is much more enjoyable on that side of the road. Take the suggestion to stop somewhere along the way for lunch.

On the way back, the fastest is Highway 1 to Highway 156 to 101. 156 is only about 6 miles long, so it's the fastest connector from the coast to inland.

Once on 101, you could switch over to 280 in San Jose or continue on 101. It really depends on which side of Palo Alto you need to be. For the west side of Palo Alto, take 280. For the east side, take 101.

Then, if you are going Palo Alto to SF after dinner and after dark, I'd suggest taking 101. It's easier. You will not be able to see the view on 280 anyhow. But, again, takiing 101 or 280 depends on where you want to arrive in SF.

Have a good trip!

Some people post just to see their own writing. Good job on plagiarizing, easytraveler.

You're quite welcome, MaxwellSmart!

I thought these were public roads and anyone could comment on the particular routes, but not according to Smarty Pants!

MaxwellSmart, plagiarism is an ugly thing to charge. I wouldn't do it without pointing to just who wrote it first, where and when. Can you do that? The last few year's posts are searchable and available to us all.

I too remember reading posts almost identical to the one easytraveler wrote above, in several other threads. But I also remember that she wrote those posts as well.

I've seen that the lady is just incredibly generous in reaching out to help people who ask for it, taking time to type out the same advice over and over in some cases of questions which seem to get asked all the time, like this one about the best route between SF and Carmel. She could just say "lots of past threads on this, go try a search" like many folks do.

She definitely does not deserve your cheapshot sniping.

Who are you?
My point is that she wrote nearly everything that was already written, knucklehead. She accepted the comments. Get over yourself, pal.

I am not your pal, Maxwell. And if you don't understand the difference between agreeing with people and plagiarizing them, you are not Smart.

And if you are truly so clueless that you didn't understand the second sentence of easytraveler's reply to you, and took the first sentence at face value--than as is typical with namecallers, you've used early the one which fits yourself best.

Fodor's editors, when you get to this ugliness and make the decision to delete it that I expect, would you please just delete starting from the part from when Maxwell appeared and started calling posters plagiarists and knuckleheads, rather than the whole thread? He shouldn't be allowed to deprive readers of the helpful info posted to it earlier.

Hello, JBC!

Thanks for coming to my rescue!

This certainly brings back memories, doesn't it? <)

I went back on a number of Maxwell's previous posts. This is his usual tone of voice. He speaks from a lofty height, where he treats the initial posting not as an information seeking question but as if the inquirer has a PROBLEM.

"Get over it" is his usual advice.

(Hummm, I wonder - you s'ppose I "plagiarized" the above? )

Who cares if it is plagiarisim or not. The point is its helpful information that someone took the time to impart. So thank you to all who do. Information to those not in the know is always useful no matter what its source.
Smile guys

You're most welcome, ET. I'd hate to see you discouraged from doing what you in this forum because somebody's solution to feeling tromped on by life is to blow off his hostility anonymously and totally risk free on innocent folks trying to be helpful to others.

It's probably not as harmful for him to take it out this way as against hitting his kid or kicking his dog, but it's just as cowardly.

I know dealing with crap like this (and the other type we both recall)is one of the prices we pay for participating in an open forum, and preserving that openness is worth it, but it doesn't mean we need keep quiet and avoid identifying it for what it is.