I need direction...(s)

[tiggerwannabe]

The plan is to drive from San Jose along route 1 to Disneyland...

where and how do we get by or around Los Angeles?

I know the traffic gets its ugliest there and need some real directions on how to avoid this...do I go from Route 1 to 5 along the route somewhere or is there an easier way???

~My main stop on that route will be Monterey, after that I am totally open to suggestion~

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Hydroguy??? Anybody???

 

[honeymom]

Since no one else is answering, I will do my best since I used to live in California and still go there a lot.

From SJ to Monterey, you will need to take highway 17 to Monterey. Then down the one. I hope you are not planning to do the drive to Anaheim in one day. It is a winding drive in parts and is meant to be savored. If you are looking for speed, go over to the 5 (I don't remember the roads and then head down).

If you do travel Hwy 1, at times you will be shoved over to the 101. After Ventura, I would just stay on the 101 and head into the 405S. I do not remember the way that you will have to go after that to get over to DL, but hopefully someone else will pipe in now that I have gotten the ball rolling.

 

[mamacatnv]

Since no one else is answering, I will do my best since I used to live in California and still go there a lot.

From SJ to Monterey, you will need to take highway 17 to Monterey. Then down the one. I hope you are not planning to do the drive to Anaheim in one day. It is a winding drive in parts and is meant to be savored. If you are looking for speed, go over to the 5 (I don't remember the roads and then head down).

If you do travel Hwy 1, at times you will be shoved over to the 101. After Ventura, I would just stay on the 101 and head into the 405S. I do not remember the way that you will have to go after that to get over to DL, but hopefully someone else will pipe in now that I have gotten the ball rolling.

Aha, HWY 17 - dead give away for an "oldie" bay area person. The name was changed to HWY 880 a number of years ago, however you can always tell who was around & when by the reference to HWY 17, that is what we call it and my Brother who still lives in San Jose still does also. Confuses the heck out of the newbies.

To the OP - there are several routes from N. to S. California - it really depends on what to goal is. Speedy or Slow - I would get a California guide book or map to decide on the best combination of routes for your time frame and driving style.

 

[dis-happy]

No more Hwy. 17???? Sad. RIP I suppose.

I guess I'm a CA oldie as well. I still refer to Price Club.

 

[mamacatnv]

No more Hwy. 17???? Sad. RIP I suppose.

I guess I'm a CA oldie as well. I still refer to Price Club.

 

[tracys2cents]

Coming down the 101 South, there are a couple of options, you might want to listen to 1070am radio for traffic reports every 10 minutes. Once you're heading into the Los Angeles Area you can take the 405 south for a few miles down to the 10 East, after a few miles you'll hit the 5 South.

If you hear that the 405 or the 10 are jammed up, stay on the 101 all the way past Hollywood into Los Angeles, then connect with the 5 South.

Try to stay out of the Los Angeles basin between 8am and 9:45am, and also between 3:30pm and 7:15pm, it can be very slow going.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Thank you!!!

I REALLY appreciate the help~

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Aha, HWY 17 - dead give away for an "oldie" bay area person. The name was changed to HWY 880 a number of years ago, however you can always tell who was around & when by the reference to HWY 17, that is what we call it and my Brother who still lives in San Jose still does also. Confuses the heck out of the newbies.
.

Boy. I remember they renumbered the leg from San Jose to Oakland years ago and made it an interstate. They couldn't do that on the portion over the hill to Santa Cruz because it wasn't controlled access all the way. Did they renumber the leg from San Jose to Santa Cruz or is that still the 17?

 

[jlmarr]

Coming down the 101 South, there are a couple of options, you might want to listen to 1070am radio for traffic reports every 10 minutes. Once you're heading into the Los Angeles Area you can take the 405 south for a few miles down to the 10 East, after a few miles you'll hit the 5 South.

If you hear that the 405 or the 10 are jammed up, stay on the 101 all the way past Hollywood into Los Angeles, then connect with the 5 South.

I'd strongly suggest avoiding the 405/10 option - that's always a busy stretch. Mapquest suggests the 101 thru Hollywood and Downtown LA option mentioned by tracys2cents, and that's the shortest route and the fastest when there is no traffic, which is the big issue. A tactic that avoids downtown LA is to continue east where the 101 turns south towards Hollywood. This bit of freeway is the 134 and is actually the most straightforward direction. Take that for just 3 or 4 miles to where it intersects with the 5, which you then take all the rest of the way to Anaheim. As I said, this gets you around downtown LA instead of thru it and might save you some time by avoiding traffic.

Listening to the traffic reports on 1070 or 980 is a good idea as long as you have a map to make sense of what they're telling you, and to figure out evasive action if needed.