I10 or I40 for driving from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco? (bridge, best)

[snny385]

I'm planning this drive from South Florida to San Fran and am not sure which route would be better overall. I'm more concerned with efficiency than sight seeing. I10 seems to be a couple hours faster, but I am not familiar with the roads so don't know how other aspects will compare such as traffic, road quality, frequency of rest stops, etc. Any further info would help greatly. Thanks guys!

[Saintess]

I say take the I-10. The I-40 is a horrible freeway to take for long road trips. I know from experience and would only recommend the I-40 if it's the most convenient path, which in this case, is not.

I just came back from a road trip from Los Angeles to Florida, and I took the I-10 all the way. There are plenty of rest areas, also when you enter into another state all the Welcome Centers have clean restrooms. It's usually on the first exit, but there are some that are not, so read those signs!

Good luck on your journey.

[WestbankNOLA]

Take the I-10, just try to avoid major Texas and Louisiana cities at rush hour.

[texdav]

I10 as they say.

[arrgy]

Yeah I-10 is the best bet. As the above poster said, avoid Baton Rouge and Houston and Phoenix during Rush Hour. And don't forget to take I-12 to avoid N.O. Pay attention on I-10 through AZ, especially between Tucson and Phoenix. There have plenty of major accidents on that stretch because of sandstorms. Try not to pull off if you get caught in one, try to make it to an exit.

[stillkit]

I agree with everyone else. I-10 is your best bet. It's a good road most of the way, though it gets a little desolate out in West Texas.

Use I-12 from Slidell, LA to Baton Rouge and save some miles. Also, don't bother using the loops around Houston or San Antonio. They're generally worse than going right through the middle of town.

When you get into the Los Angeles/San Bernardino area, I'd recommend taking I-210, the Foothills Freeway, all the way to I-5 at San Fernando. It completely bypasses LA. After that, you can just go up I-5 to Tracy, CA and take I-580 right to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge.

But, I-5 is a long, boring drive with not much to look at. However, it's generally pretty fast as traffic tends to exceed the posted limit by a good 10 mph and the CHP doesn't much care as long as everyone is going about the same speed. "Rolling with the flow" is the key to getting around California without any problems from the cops. Forget the posted limits on freeways...just stay up with everyone else, no matter how fast or slow they are going.

If you'd like some scenery, though, you can take I-210 to CA-118 west and follow it over to US-101 at Ventura. Going north on the 101 will take you right to downtown San Francisco via Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Salinas, San Jose. It's not all freeway, but it is all 4 lane and the ocean view between Ventura and Santa Barbara makes it worth the trip to me.

[mamh]

You know having driven most this too, at some point you have to turn across to 40 and to I-5 to go north to San Francisco and then when you get close to stockton you have to go across to Oakland and SF..Its all good road but the high desert can get windy..You don't want to drive up from San Diego threw the LA basin its just crazy down there..
By doing this you are pretty much avoiding city traffic till you get in close to the SF Bay Area.
Have a safe trip

[Saintess]

Originally Posted by mamh

at some point you have to turn across to 40 and to I-5 to go north to San Francisco

That's not true. The I-10 connects to the I-15, and if he went the way you stated, he'd end up taking Hwy 58, not the I-40. Also not a route I'd suggest, since it takes you out of the way and backtracks you.

I agree with stillkit and say take the I-210 to avoid Los Angeles and then hop on the I-5.