Monterey to Oakland Drive times
 

At the end of our whirlwind CA. trip next week we leave Montery on a Sun. morning to head back to the Oakland airport for a 2:00 p.m. flight. Which route would be best? We'd like to enjoy the scenery up until the last minute, but don't want to miss our flight!

For scenery, I'd take Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz, Hwy 17 over to San Jose which turns into Hwy 880 and goes straight to Oakland. You might hit traffic on Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz, but if you are leaving in the morning, it shouldn't be bad. Once you get onto Hwy 17/880, the majority of the traffic will be heading toward Santa Cruz, so you shouldn't hit too much going your direction. I would plan 2 1/2 hours for this drive.

J_correa...I find myself thanking you for the second time on planning this trip...the 2 1/2 hours is what I needed to know!

If you really want good scenery then I would suggest taking Hwy 1 north all the way to Half Moon Bay and taking Hwy 92 over the hill and across the bay to 880 and then North to Oakland.

There will be little to no traffic at all on any of the highways on Sunday morning and you will get actual scenerey. If you just take Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz you will get little scenery but instead will drive through Watsonville, Aptos, Capitola and then over Hwy 17.

Take the extra 30 minutes it will take and go all the way up Hwy 1 to Half Moon Bay!

It takes under 1 hour from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay and it should only take 2 1/2 hours max from Monterey to Oakland Airport.

If you mean Sunday the 18th, the A's have a home game at 1:00, so you might hit some traffic heading to the Coliseum on 880. Shouldn't be overwheliming, though.

KT Thanks for the heads up!

Going through Half Moon Bay is another good option - I hadn't thought of that one. It would take longer, but it would allow for more time along the coast, so if time allows, go for it.