Is it better to take PCH from SNA or take the freeway and then, through the canyon on a saturday night at 8:00? Which will be better traffic wise?Thanks for your help.Haven't been home to Laguna in years...

At that hour it should be six-of-one-hand, half-dozen-of-the-other. I-405 to Laguna Canyon (CA-133) will be somewhat faster, but I like the PCH drive better....

Oooh! Pod of porpoises swimming just off-shore here in Santa Monica!! Gawd I love having an office with a view of the Pacific!!

It also depends on what time of year you are talking about. If it is during daylight hours, PCH is more scenic and should move well until you get into Laguna Beach. If it is dark, I'd recommend the I-405 to Laguna Canyon Road. An alternate route, easy to reach from SNA is the toll road (Cal Hwy 73) to Laguna Canyon Rd. It is shorter and faster than the I-405 route.

Of course, all of this presupposes no accidents on whichever route you choose. If you have the time before making a route selection, I'd listen to the traffic reports on KFI or KNX.

I would do the PCH route just because it is prettier and also I hate going through the canyon at night. Have seen some terrible head-on accidents there over the years and now make sure we go the PCH route at night.

I'm with Cali. If you are from Laguna, nothing has changed as far as the Canyon goes...Big Bend is still there and more dangerous than PCH at night.