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Old 10-29-2009, 01:11 PM
 
2 posts, read 12,776 times
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I'm planning a road trip from Los Angeles to Northern Cal at Thanksgiving and we're fortunate enough to have a bit of flexibility in our schedules. So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions of when the traffic is least nightmarish in each direction. I assume the further I get from Thanksgiving day the better, but we only want to be up there for 5 nights. So if we left Tuesday that would mean we would come back Sunday, which I imagine is awful. Thanks for your advice.
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Old 10-29-2009, 02:19 PM
 
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At the latest, leave early Wed AM. If you wait until later, you'll be sorry when you get to the 405-5-210-14 mess if not before. Also, be aware of inbound traffic to SF. Depending on exactly where in the area you are going, you'll come in from the 5 on either the 152/101 or 580. Both of those are a complete nightmare during the morning commute, especially the 580 (and outbound weekday afternoons).
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Old 10-29-2009, 02:28 PM
 
Location: Full Time: N.NJ Part Time: S.CA, ID
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Are you taking the 5, or more scenic (and longer....) 101?
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Old 10-29-2009, 04:52 PM
 
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If you have flexibility about when you leave, you might look at driving at night or really early in the morning. I was always a big fan of leaving LA after 9 pm or before 4 am. If you have to work on Monday, you could drive back late Saturday night or very early Sunday morning.
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Old 10-30-2009, 12:12 AM
 
Location: Cali
3,955 posts, read 7,197,391 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1200RT View Post
Are you taking the 5, or more scenic (and longer....) 101?
LA to SF on 101 will be at least 8 to 9 hours.
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Old 10-30-2009, 05:28 AM
 
9,725 posts, read 15,168,233 times
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I drove to Las Vegas one year on Thanksgiving Day. There was almost no one on the road in the morning.

If you really just want to get up there fast and miss all the traffic, I'd say leave on Thanksgiving morning. All the trucks are off the road then, and most of the cars too.
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Old 10-30-2009, 03:26 PM
 
Location: CITY OF ANGELS AND CONSTANT DANGER
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i am also a fan of leaving at 9pm and arriving around 3. it does depend on the day tho, but usually leaving at 9 is fine.
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Old 10-30-2009, 04:22 PM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,654 posts, read 67,499,960 times
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We drove to LA for thanksgiving in 1999 or 2000(can't remember which year it was) and it took us over 8 hrs to get there and 11 hrs to get back to the bay area-coming home was especially bad. Felt like we were in stop and go traffic for the entire drive.
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Old 11-20-2009, 09:31 AM
 
1 posts, read 9,193 times
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Has anyone ever travel on Thanksgving to San Diego from SF? We were thinking of leaving at 2 or 3am and want to know if that might make things easier. Oh, and we plan to leave to come home on Saturday.
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Old 11-20-2009, 10:58 AM
 
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It took 4 hours for me driving at the speed of 100 m/h, it was about 9 pm , and i was driving on 5 (San Diego freeway). Then it became 580 and then oakland and finally throught the bridge SF
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