I'll be visiting California in mid January and will be driving between San Francisco (Fisherman's Wharf area) to San Jose (Winchester House of Mystery) on a Wednesday. I keep hearing about the horrendous traffic jams during peak hour particularly around the Silicon Valley/San Jose area and so I was wondering what time I would need to leave San Franciso if I wanted to be in San Jose by say 10am.

Thanks.

Bummer, you're driving all the way down to see the Winchester Mystery House? I can't speak to the traffic getting out of SF in particular, but stay on 280 and in the later morning you should be fine traffic-wise (some days it seems like 101 traffic never lightens up). If you could be in San Jose at 10:30 you could leave SF at 9:00 and most of the traffic would be gone already.

Unfortunately traffic is pretty unpredictable and can be horrible at the most random times of day. I agree with the above poster who suggested 280 over 101. It can take a bit longer sometimes but is a much prettier drive and the traffic is usually not as bad. I would suggest leaving by 8:30 just to be safe but you could probably get there if you leave at 9. Depending on what time you will be returning back to SF (if you will) I suggest using 280 as well, traffic from 4-7 is pretty horrible on 101.

thanks for the replies ... i won't be returning to SF as I will be continuind down the coast to San Simeon and then to LA the following day.

Dif'rent strokes as they say, but I think you'll find the biggest mystery about the Winchester House is how $19.95 disappears from your pocket for no explicable reason.

OK - is the Winchester House a MUST for you for some reason? Because starting a tour there after 10 a.m. (after fighting traffic all the way from the northern edge of SF) taking a couple of hours there and then driving all the way to San Simeon does not sound like fun to me.

It's not a *must do*, but i thought it's 'on the way' and so was easy enough to do (once we get past any traffic on the way there)

I agree with fdecarlo.

If you are just looking for a place to stop and have some fun I think the Tech Museum is a better bet. Do you have kids? If no, then check out a few wineries on the way down and break up your drive that way. The Winchester Mystery House is a tourist trap of the worst order--the house is interesting from an architectural standpoint but the tours are awful canned things and expensive besides. I would only go there near President's weekend when admission is $5.00.

The info you've been given re driving from SF to SJ is right on, but I'll join the chorus to encourage you to skip the Winchester Mystery House. You may want to consider bypassing SJ and head over the Santa Cruz mountains via route 17 to the coast for your drive down route one to St. Simeon. Or if you don't have the time to devote to this itinerary, or if the weather is bad, you could go from 280 to 101 then drive over to the coast farther south. IMHO, your time would be better spent on the coast than at the WMH.

If you do a search here, you'll find opinions on WMH. I've lived in the area and have never been there.

Totally agree that a better idea is the Tech Museum of Innovation - hands on experiences for the mind.

Traffic on 280 South will slow in the general area of Saratoga Avenue exit. There are several areas where the traffic will slow, but this is everyone's most common complaint.

There's so many things in the general area that a person could enjoy if more time were available. IF you're simply passing through on the way to San Simeon, then the WMH is a natural tie-in for a themed tour of the state.

Winchester, maker of guns during the Wild West earned a fortune and his nutty widow spent it on room additions to their home in an attempt to exorcise demons. The result is a home with doors and staircases leading nowhere, intricate stained glass windows, many curiously useless architectual features.

As a kid, our favorite one-liner was "The real mystery is why anybody spends $15 to tour the place.

Nearby Milpitas, CA had a landfill that made the air quite stinky. We re-wrote their city motto as "Jiggle the handle".

Ditto the advise on taking 280, which is a much prettier drive as well as being less congested. Also agree with the advice to avoid Winchester House - total waste of time tourist trap. But the Tech Museum is another story, really interesting, even without kids. It's in downtown San Jose, big mango colored building. If you are just looking to break up the drive a bit and The Tech museum doesn't appeal, think about stopping in Los Gatos (10 min south of downtown San Jose, take 280 to 17 south, towards Santa Cruz) and stop for lunch a bit of shopping - there are also a couple of wineries in the area.

Okay, just to clarify "Nearby Milpitas, CA had a landfill" is a city adjacent to San Jose, but you would never smell the landfill beyond about 2 miles into SJ, which is in excess of 25 miles square.

Winchester Mystery House is on Winchester Blvd, with an overpass crossing Hwy 280. If you're there, you might consider driving a block the other direction and visiting Santana Row, restaurants & shopping. Much nicer way to get acquainted with the area.

As Brits, may we say that we thoroughly enjoyed the Mystery House. It was different from anything else we saw in two and a half weeks in California. Yes it was expensive but just about worth it.
I deal with a lot of Americans in my job and I'm convinced that no one from San Jose has ever been there!!
You could of course go down the coast through Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz.

TripleSecDelay wrote above "Traffic on 280 South will slow in the general area of Saratoga Avenue exit. There are several areas where the traffic will slow, but this is everyone's most common complaint." IMHO, this area should be no problem at all outside commute areas.

If you do decide to do the WMH, follow TSD's recommendation and have lunch at Santana Row.

I'm from San Jose and I've been to the Mystery House It's ok. The house itself is interesting and the tour can be if you get a good guide.

I like other's suggestions to go to the Tech or skip SJ altogether and go down Hwy 1 stopping in Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz.

As for traffic, after about 9am, you wont hit horrendous traffic in San Jose. You might hit some slow spots where the lanes merge, but unless there was an accident to back things up, it wont be the stop and go stuff like you are probably thinking.

Thanks everyone for your comments! Part of the reason I wanted to go to the WMH was that I saw it as a kid (25 years ago when I lived in the US for a couple of years, age 5). However, the Tech Museum sounds better (especially since I'm a geek ... so I'll do a little bit more research and make a decision. Thanks again!

My office is one mile from the MYSTERY HOUSE. True. I have never toured the Mystery House and I do not know anyone that has. I guess there are some people in San Jose that have....it just never comes up in conversation.

The TECH MUSEUM? Do that instead. Better and more intersting...I guess. One day I have to do the Mystery House...??????