San Diego to LA traffic?
I need to go visit a friend in LA. I am leaving today after work. I will try to get off as early as possible, but it will be around 4 that I am able to leave. What time should I leave to drive from San Diego to Santa Monica? I want to avoid traffic as much as possible (today is a Friday).
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Leave after 7:00 or before noon. At 4:00, even if you beat the San Diego traffic, you are fighting Orange County and LA traffic in rush hour, never a fun thing. If you had a friend, you could shave some time with carpool lanes, but it will still be a mess. If you leave just a little later to miss the LA traffic, then you are stuck in San Diego traffic. So you need to leave at the tail end of the local rush and get there around 9:30 or 10:00.
7:30 would be better because at 8:00 people are going out to get to there places. in both San Diego and LA 7:30 you get less of a hit.
If you want to avoid traffic, leave after 8 PM. Friday nights are really bad.
Don't forget about the Del Mar Races, it's horse race season. The gates open at 2pm and the first race is at 4pm. Traffic will be horrible because this is the opening weekend.