Please help!! Leaving Saturday and need to know the best travel route from SF to Salinas!!
 

Hi everyone - I am leaving on Saturday to go to SF and then drive down the coast with stops in Carmel, San Simeon and then Santa Barbara for a few days. I am mtg some family who live in Salinas and they have told us that we should take Highway 101 down btwn SF & Salinas. We were originally planning to take the "scenic" route on highway 1, but they said that Highway 1 from SF to Salinas is not all that scenic??? Is that the case, or are they just used to the beauty b/c they live there :-)...We are driving from Carmel to Santa Barbara down Highway 1 which they said is the most scenic, but what do you think?? We will not have time for stops in Santa Cruz or any of the towns on the way down from SF. We are hoping to get to Carmel/Salinas early since we'll only have 1 day there, but if the Highway 1 route is scenic and only takes us a little while longer than 101, we wouldn't mind doing that. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!! - Laura

Hello again, Imavolio. Is Highway 1 scenic between SF and Salinas? Yes, very. Is at as scenic as it is between Carmel and Santa Barbara? No. Will it take longer than 101? Yes, substantially--I would say it would probably add an hour, or 50%, to your driving time between SF and Salinas.

So for someone who is going to have a leisurely day on the day they take this trip, I would by all means take 1, but for someone on as tight a schedule as you, I would tend to advise taking the faster route to Salinas (I understand you will be stopping there to see your friends--Salinas is not on the fastest route between Carmel and S.F.) so you can spend more time in the most scenic area, which starts just south of Carmel.

Actually, though, I would suggest a third route. Take I-280 south from SF. Depending on where in SF you are leaving from, you can get to it by driving on 101 towards the airport and then cutting over to it on I-380, or you can start south on 19th Ave. in S.F., which is Hwy.1, and join 280 about at the south city limit of S.F.

Some have called 280 "America's Most Beautiful Freeway." Instead of going along the flatland next to the Bay, it follows a ridgetop with sweeping views of the Bay and the cities on either side of it on the one hand, and forests, hills and reservoirs on the other. It is much more scenic than 101, but still a fast multilane interstate. At the edge of San Jose, you will come to Hwy. 85. This is a shortcut around the west side of San Jose, through pleasant suburbs rather than the congestion of the center of town, which then joins 101 south of San Jose for the trip south to Salinas.

101 is the most straightline route between SF and Salinas, and if traffic is moving well on it, you will get to Salinas maybe 15-20 min. faster than the route using 280 and 85 I've suggested. But since it goes right through the crowded SF Peninsula suburbs abd the heart of San Jose, in my opinion it is much more likely to experience delays. I think you will more probably not lose more than 5-10 min. time, and very well may save both time and aggravation if 101 is as clogged as it can often be, by using 280 and 85 which skirt the most congested areas, while offering more to see.

I think what your relatives are referring to is the fact that 1 from SF to Monterey is not as spectacular as 1 from Monterey to Santa Barbara. Which does not mean that it is not a scenic drive--once you get out of Pacifica. The coast by Half Moon Bay and the views from Devil's Slide are quite beautiful IMHO. 101 to Salinas from should take SF should take a maximum of 3 hours--if you are in a hurry do that, but if you the entire day to get there, why not drive down 1 and then cut over to Salinas.

SAB, a poster I respect, makes a good point. If you are going to be staying in Carmel, and you do save an hour by using 101 or 280/85/101 to Salinas, I'd sure spend that hour at Point Lobos, which is close enough to Carmel there's no need to "save" it for on the way to Big Sur, even though it's on that side of Carmel. Point Lobos is as spectacular as anything you will see and explore on your trip, and if you spend all or part of the time you are going to spend there before you sleep in Carmel, then you will have more time to explore Big Sur the next day, and Big Sur does beat the coast between SF and Santa Cruz. But if you skip Highway One and Devil's Slide and Montara and Half Moon Bay and Ano Nuevo State Reserve just to spend another hour shopping in Carmel, I wouldn't say it was worth it.

I live here. Go 101 from SFO to Salinas. Meet your family. Then take 1 down the coast. Best solution for your situation.

I live here too. I-280 is far more scenic than US-101 and very rarely jammed, unlike 101. 280 is "the most beautiful freeway in the world". Not as scenic as the coast, but faster, and often enough faster than 101, too. Take 101 NORTH from the airport a short distance to I-380, then 320 to 280 south. You'll pass by the San Andreas Reservoir, which lies above the fault, and have views of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west, which lately have been capped by an intense fog bank, while 280 remains clear and sunny. You'll pass right over the Stanford Linear Accelator and by the big radio dish on the campus. Then take Calif-85 around San Jose to get back to US-101. This route could very well be quite faster than taking 101 the whole way.

You are all AMAZING!! Thank you....So to net this out, I'd like to be in Carmel by around 12-1PM. Then I can spend most of the day there. Will it only take 1 extra hour to drive down via Highway 1 vs the other ways?? If so, is it worth it to just leave an hour early?? I agree with your point lobos recommendation. I definitely plan to spend plenty of time there the following day. If we can fit it in on the day we get to Carmel, we will, but I think we're going to wing that part of it. We will have a full day the following day to spend at Point Lobos and driving down Big Sur before we get to San Simeon/Cambria. Hopefully that will be enough :-)....THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE!! I swear I don't know how I would finalize all of these plans without my fellow Fodorites!!!