# Which way should I drive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442 "2001-09-18T19:31:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BigRedCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@BigRedCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRedCat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/1 "2001-09-18T19:31:54Z")
I am driving from Florida to Southern California(San Diego)…which route is the best to take? I have heard that 10 is really boring and there are not allot of hotels etc…what if I was to hit Missippi and then shoot north to 40 and take that west, then shoot down to San Diego? What is the best route? ---
**Author:** ![CWN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@CWN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CWN)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/2 "2001-09-18T19:39:31Z")
Try [http://mapquest.com/](http://mapquest.com/) it will give you motels,points of interest,places to eat etc Have a nice trip ---
**Author:** ![BigRedCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@BigRedCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRedCat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/3 "2001-09-18T19:46:53Z")
yeah I know about mapquest but it only plans one route without editing the whole trip. I was hoping maybe some of you have driven that route and could recommend the best way…route 10 is all along the mexican border and I would rather travel further north if it dosent take longer. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/4 "2001-09-18T19:49:21Z")
If I were you I would go through Looziana, then Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It seems like the quickest and most effifcient route. ---
**Author:** ![BigRedCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@BigRedCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRedCat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/5 "2001-09-18T19:56:25Z")
It is the most direct route, but also runs all through Texas…ugh and along the mexican border. I would think that is a pretty crap drive. I was thinking that driving more North would be better and perhaps offer more rest stops etc…any of you actually driven this route? ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/6 "2001-09-18T20:02:04Z")
I’d say 40 is a safe bet. It takes you through most of the major cities (think of the song _Route 66_), but to reduce cost, you can stay in smaller cities along the way. You don’t spend too much time in any one state (well, Arkansas seemed to take 3 days in and of itself, but that’s another story…) and you just go through the panhandle of Texas, which to me was a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/7 "2001-09-18T20:10:46Z")
I can say for certain that 10 in Louisiana is definately boring. It should also be the quickest route. May I suggest that you alternate between 10 and US90? Especially in Mississippi, where 90 parallels the Gulf shore. US98 does the same in the Florida panhandle. 90 parallels 10 for most of Louisiana. If you like ferrys, head down Texas 87 from Port Arthur to Port Bolivar and take the ferry across to Galveston. I-45 will take you back up to 10 and/or 90. Someone else will have to take over for points west of Houston, I haven’t been that way yet. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-way-should-i-drive/82442/8 "2001-09-18T20:29:43Z")
You could also split the difference: 10/90 along the gulf coast, then avoid the sparse Louisiana swamps and bayous and dusty southwest Texas by swinging up to 40. I-55/US51 would be a good connector route.