Allmoo

Hi we have a 11am flight(saturday)from SFO.
and cant decide between staying the Friday night in Monterey and driving up early morning or spending friday afternoon in Monterey and driving up to a cheap airport hotel for an easy start the next day?
If we leave Monterey 6am Sat morning that gives us 3 hours to get there and hand the hire car back, feesable?
Were in Monterey from the Tuesday night so plenty of time there

raindrop

Hi,
I have driven from Monterey to SFO for a 1pm flight, and 3 hours was about right for that time of day. I'm not sure it will be enough if you run into rush hour traffic.

Karried

I would definitely go to SF the night before and stay at a hotel near the airport - even on Saturday morning, Bay Area traffic is horrendous. So many things could happen to delay your arrival at the airport. You'll be more relaxed in the am, have some breakfast and get to the airport early to avoid the stress. Lived there my whole life until two years ago. Now I'm in the Midwest where traffic isn't a concern but I remember the bumper to bumper traffic well.

Allmoo

Thanks, will the traffic still be bad on a sat morn?

easytraveler

I'd second Karried's advice to stay at SFO for the last night.

There are plenty of hotels all around the airport: Sheraton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc. etc. You can get very decent prices for these hotels on Priceline ($35 on up). If you return your car and use the hotel shuttle, you will also save on the hotel car parking fee. Check out biddingfortravel.com if you decide to bid on Priceline.

It's hard to predict what the traffic will be like on a Saturday morning. You didn't state what time of year you plan to do your drive. These last few weeks, and this last week in particular, driving has been a dreadful experience what with the downpours we've been having.

curiousgeo

We had a similar situation and decided to drive up early in the morning to SFO from Carmel, giving ourselves three hours to make the drive and turn the car back in.

We made it back in plenty of time, but just north of Monterey we ran into thick fog for several miles. With our high beams on we could barely see a few feet in front of our car and having no previous experience with this kind of driving conditions it was a stressful situation. If you are used to it and familiar with the roads I guess it wouldn't be a problem, but it was hard for me. Of course this may not happen to you but its something to consider.

J_Correa

A tip for driving in dense fog - use your low beams. High beams reflect light off the fog and direct it back into the driver's eyes, decreasing visability. Low beams are better at lighting the road because they are closer to the road, and because the driver's line of sight is above the beam, the issue of the light reflecting back at the driver is eliminated, or at least minimized. When driving in fog, I generally raise my seat higher than normal to get a slightly better angle.

janis

Allmoo: Since you'd have to leave Monterey VERY early in the a.m. you don't gain anything by staying the last night down there. I would definitely stay in Monterey til early Friday evening and then drive up to SFO. You can priceline for good rates at many SFO hotels. You'd still have a full day for sightseeing and then have a room at the airport and not face a long drive before your long flight.

curiousgeo: As J_Correa says, never use high beams in the fog

curiousgeo

J Correa and janis; thanks for the advice. It goes to show you can learn something new everyday, and I will certainly keep this in mind if I ever find myself in this kind of driving condition again.

traveldawg

I drive Monterey to San Jose one time a week every Monday. Traffic on a Saturday will probably not be a problem.

Having said that I would enjoy the full day Friday in Monterey then take the leisurly drive Friday evening to SFO area. Sleep in Saturday and head to airport.

Turn in car on Friday night and take the hotel shuttle.

Or better yet: Fly out of Monterey airport with cheap flight to SFO or out of San Jose airport....about 1 hour closer to Montery than SFO.

ngoldman

I will likewise be taking off from SF after a stay in Monterey and I have opted to stay the night before going home right near the airport. Why rush and subject yourself to all the stress.
You can even choose a hotel with easy access to the Bart so that you may spend the day in SF.