Traffic jam to get in and out of the city: need advice (Los Angeles: rent, hotels)

[virginie24jb]

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to the US for October and because it was way cheaper to land in LA instead of Las Vegas, I'll be doing the trip between the two cities twice.

I'll get out of LA on Saturday, September 30th. Sometime in the morning.
And I'll be coming back to LA on Tuesday, October 17th.

- Is there traffic jam to get out of the city (to LV) on a Saturday morning (people taking advantage of the weekend to get out of the city)? If so, what time should I avoid?
- What time should I avoid coming back to the city during weekdays, knowing that my flight is at 3:20 pm so I need to be at LAX around 12pm? I'm thinking about sleeping somewhere around Hesperia, CA for that last night.

Thanks for your help.

[Mr_Geek]

The worst traffic from LA to LV is on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning you should be ok. The worst traffic back is Sunday.

[adr3naline]

You should be fine on Saturday. Unless there's a major event in LA...you may want to research that.

Try to arrive in the greater LA area after 10a on Tuesday. The morning rush will have mostly died out...after which it picks up again about 3pm. So you could leave LV ~6a and avoid having to stay in a hotel Monday night.

[virginie24jb]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

The worst traffic from LA to LV is on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning you should be ok.

Thanks! We were considering doing some of the road to get out of the city when we arrive on Friday night but we'll definitely forget this idea.

[virginie24jb]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

Try to arrive in the greater LA area after 10a on Tuesday. The morning rush will have mostly died out...after which it picks up again about 3pm.

So if we leave Hesperia or Cajon Pass around 9am, we should be fine traveling through the city?

[Mr_Geek]

Originally Posted by virginie24jb

So if we leave Hesperia or Cajon Pass around 9am, we should be fine traveling through the city?

You will hit traffic around LA still most likely. The traffic is heavy in areas east towards LA in the morning. It starts letting up around 11am most days depending on accidents of course. You most likely wouldn't be stuck for hours or anything at the time you mentioned but you might hit heavy traffic around LA.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by virginie24jb

Thanks! We were considering doing some of the road to get out of the city when we arrive on Friday night but we'll definitely forget this idea.

Friday night after 8pm is not bad traffic.

Have you looked up prices at southwest.com? Las Vegas to LAX is $42 right now midweek, but LAX to Vegas is about $115 on a Friday night.

[virginie24jb]

Originally Posted by thelopez2

Friday night after 8pm is not bad traffic.

Have you looked up prices at southwest.com? Las Vegas to LAX is $42 right now midweek, but LAX to Vegas is about $115 on a Friday night.

The drive to LV doesn't bother us at all, it's really more the traffic.
If we land at 4:40pm I'm thinking we should be out of the airport and got possession of the car about 2 hours later. Seems to me it will be among the worst hours to try to cross the city...

[nmnita]

Depending on what you call traffic you might find anytime of the day or night a total zoo just getting out of Los Angeles, but certainly Sat morning will be better than Friday night. I would stay near the airport Friday night and head out as early as you can while still getting a decent night's sleep before you start your journey. On your return trip, it would be best if you planned on staying much closer to Los Angeles than Hesperia. I would try to spend the night in say, the San Gabriel Valley. Then start out about 8 or 9am, maybe closer to 9am. It doesn't make any difference when you drive the freeways you are going to hit heavy traffic but if you spend the night just east of Los Angeles and hit the road around 9am you will be fine. That will give you time to return your rent car, relax and get to the airport in plenty of time for your flight. Good luck, drive safely and enjoy your time in Vegas and along the way. BTW, you will find the traffic in Vegas pretty hectic as well, especially on the strip. Everyone is rubber necking and the streets are filled with tourists. Even though it is frustrating, just seeing everyone and seeing the hotels is an experience you will not forget if you haven't been there before.

[virginie24jb]

Thanks for the info and advice! Well appreciated.

Originally Posted by nmnita

Depending on what you call traffic you might find anytime of the day or night a total zoo just getting out of Los Angeles, but certainly Sat morning will be better than Friday night. I would stay near the airport Friday night and head out as early as you can while still getting a decent night's sleep before you start your journey. On your return trip, it would be best if you planned on staying much closer to Los Angeles than Hesperia. I would try to spend the night in say, the San Gabriel Valley. Then start out about 8 or 9am, maybe closer to 9am. It doesn't make any difference when you drive the freeways you are going to hit heavy traffic but if you spend the night just east of Los Angeles and hit the road around 9am you will be fine. That will give you time to return your rent car, relax and get to the airport in plenty of time for your flight.

What we really want to avoid is getting stuck for hours or just drive long miles at 5 mph... As long as we're driving and don't have to stop every 500 yards, even if there are lots of cars around us, that's fine.

The reason I'm thinking about sleeping around Hesperia or Cajon Junction on our return trip is to shorten the length of the ride if we want to make some detours along the way from LV. Is that a bad way of thinking?
I guess coming into the city in the evening isn't as bad as trying to get out? Just not sure about the morning... Whether I miscalculate and underestimate the time needed to cross the city.
By the way, are there more jammed roads than others (for example I-605 and I-105 vs I-10)?

Originally Posted by nmnita

Good luck, drive safely and enjoy your time in Vegas and along the way. BTW, you will find the traffic in Vegas pretty hectic as well, especially on the strip. Everyone is rubber necking and the streets are filled with tourists. Even though it is frustrating, just seeing everyone and seeing the hotels is an experience you will not forget if you haven't been there before.

Thanks! Actually both cities (LV and LA) don't interest us that much (though LV must be something to see at least once in a lifetime), we're really looking forward to the two weeks in the National Parks. Just desperately hoping for no government shutdown at this time of year... Fingers crossed.