Stupid Travel (Driving) question - LA to Monterey
 

I figured somebody here would know the best answer. A coworker is driving tomorrow morning from LA to Monterey. What is the fastest route? Should he go straight up the 101, or go up the I-5 and cut across somewhere?

Suggestions appreciated!

They're almost the same.

I-5 north to 152 West is 343 miles.
101 north is 344 miles.

Google lists the first route as 5 hours 28 minutes and the latter as 5 hours 50 minutes.

So unless time is absolutely crucial it is a wash. That said, I've done both drives many times and the time of day would play a huge role since the traffic between LA and Santa Barbara seems to really slow down that time while once you get to Valencia I've never hit traffic north of there (except once but that was because the Grapevine was actually closed).

But if time is not extremely pressing then I'd go with 101. More places to stop, more things to see while driving.

I looked up on mapquest :

4: Merge onto I-805 N. 25.3 miles

5: I-805 N becomes I-5 N. 247.1 miles

6: Take the CA-46 exit toward LOST HILLS / PASO ROBLES. 0.3 miles

7: Turn LEFT onto CA-46 / PASO ROBLES HWY. Continue to follow CA-46 W. 63.7 miles

8: Merge onto US-101 N. 95.1 miles

9: Take the exit toward MONTEREY PENINSULA. 0.2 miles

10: Turn RIGHT onto S SANBORN RD

Ya know, it takes a helluva long time to get there!!! From here, my house, over 7 hours to go 452 miles!!

I needed to know, also, as this is something we are doing.

Agh!!! Long drive...Oh, probably don't need the 805 info, that is from San Diego...but, I'm leaving it just for reference...I guess...

Taking the CA-46 route is an option. It is actually 20 miles shorter than the other two options but time wise is in between them because the speed limit on CA-46 is 55 so that 65 mile zig can take 75-90 minutes depending on who you get stuck behind and if traffic allows passing.

Thanks for that, Alex.

I've been wanting to head up there for the weekend and wondering how long it would take both ways and how much time we would actually have there.

Okay, anyone stay at the Asilomar Conference Grounds? It looks pretty and relaxing. Hubster wants to stay at the Portola Plaza {again} but the pictures from the ACG look like 'escape'.

I love this place! Thank you so much for the quick responses.

He had already looked on one of the Mapping sites, but I knew that someone here would have actual experience.

I stayed there once about 20 years ago for a conference, it was a nice place, not sure how much has changed. The ocean water is cold there. I went in to about my ankles and got an ice cream headache!

I've always taken 101 up north. It's a nice drive scenery wise compared to going thru Bakersfield. ;) A stop at Andersons Pea Soup is always a must. :)

LOL It looks like it hasn't changed. Reminds me of {and is run by the same company} Yosemites' lodging. And, I won't be going in the water. Ooo, that is something I should see, if they have a pool. If they don't then I guess it is the Portola Plaza. We have our son and the pool is a major source of entertainment.

We've been a lot but I also appreciate these comments. We always come down from San Francisco and the 1 {and 101} are beautiful but they take soooo long. We don't have the leisure of a lot of time these days. :(
I wondered what the difference was between the two choices.

So, taking the 101 {1} may be faster in some instances due to traffic?

Gotta say, while the 101 was pretty, it seemed horribly slow. Of course, BTD & I were driving it through the middle of the night - not great for visibility on the barely lit highway (past the Santa Barbara area).