Milpitas Alviso Rd, Airport / North San Jose

The San Jose section of the Southbay Freeway is actually a pretty cool, iconic spot in the Bay Area that is often overlooked. Given the distance from San Francisco, this is not a place many tourists will visit, but the drive passes many iconic Silicon Valley company headquarters, giving a little bit of a "wow" factor to anyone who has only ever heard of the massive quantity of technology companies in the area.

The bay views are decent as well, but the single biggest benefit to driving on here is not having to pay a toll. Given that this is the southern terminus of the San Francisco Bay, it can get busy here during rush hour, but if you are traveling home (or to work) over the Dumbarton Bridge and are willing to stick out a few extra minutes, you will save yourself $5 a day. It may add to the drive depending on where you are heading, but it does help. Like the rest of the heavily traveled bay area highways, the drivers here are friendly, even unusually friendly. Just be sure to say "thank you" if you cut in front of somebody!