?? Least painful way thru San Francisco
 

We will be going north from Monterey to Santa Rosa. Which is better Skyline to Sloat? SR 1 to 19th? (I have done that) or along Ocean to Geary?? We will be at off(?) traffic time.

Thanks :-B

I would pick up 280 north to 19th Ave. Take 19th through GG Park to GG Bridge, then you're on 101 north to SR. That is the quickest, if not most scenic. Also impossible to get lost.

I agree with Marilyn's route-often the easiest-it's also the one we use to/from SFO-Petaluma. Our airporter bus also uses it regardless of the time of day-and we have yet to be late.
R5

Going from Monterey to Santa Rosa there really is no need to even go through San Francisco. If you put in Monterey to Santa Rosa in Yahoo Maps you come up with the most convenient route: 1/156/101/880/980/580/101. Alternatively a more scenic route is 1/17/880/980/580/101. Either of the above routes will allow you to avoid the bad SF traffic.

Going through SF is more of the roundabout way. Also, traffic on 19th Avenue is a pain at any time of the day, even non-peak traffic times. It could take you 45 minutes just to get from the end of 280 to the 101 along 19th because of the stoplights. Off peak on 880 should not be a problem.

Lake, either of the routes you mention will take you via the East Bay. I think ed knows enough to look at a map and see that that is NOT a desirable route. However bad the traffic on 19th Avenue (and our Marin County airporter uses this exact route to the SF Airport and it NEVER takes 45 minutes between the points you mention), it's nothing compared to what you will encounter on your suggested routes. I don't know of an area more congested during more hours of the day than 880 and 580 on both sides of the approach to the Bay Bridge.

Sorry, Lake, but that's not my experience. I have family in the East Bay and am there often, so I drive a good part of the route you are suggesting on my return to Marin. And I am on the 280/19th Ave route every time I go to or from the SF Airport.

The area around Milpitas may be fine, but once you get up around The Maze it is often congested, and not just at afternoon rush hour. There also has been construction on the Richmond Bridge for eons and it can be extremely slow in the evenings when they are working (an off traffic time).

So despite what Yahoo maps or any other online service says, I can't imagine anyone who actually lived in this area choosing that route.

ed, I suggest you make up your own mind as this thread has been taken over by a multiple poster. You seem to have some experience of the area and are obviously not considering going up the east bay. In terms of your original question, 280/19th is quicker than Skyline to Sloat or the ocean to Geary. There is a back route along the Great Highway and through some residential areas that will avoid the traffic, but it's very complicated. (I followed someone a couple of times but doubt I could do it on my own.) Good luck!

Ed, unless you know your way through SF, I too would take the East Bay route unless you are driving up the coast and want to see the scenery. Then, if you are OK with driving through the city you can save a couple of bucks in tolls. However, I usually try to avoid 19th Ave like the plague.

Other than Vancouver BC, San Francisco is the worst city to drive in that I have experienced and I grew up in New York. Oh, Sydney, Australia is pretty bad too.

This is food for thought; but at 5:30 am-est on a Monday morning the USofA is a virtual ghost town. Think about it.