renting car & driving from LAX-any advice?

[lodgelady]

Hi all-
My sisters and I are going to DL for the first time in Nov. We were going to rent a car from National and drive ourselves instead of taking the shuttle. Is this foolish? Is it a hectic drive? Is the car rental process easy or hard there ( I have Emerald Isle) Any and all tips appreciated. Thanks!

[jlima]

If you have AAA, visit your local office & get maps of Southern CA and Anaheim, before you travel. Map out where you're going & have them with you when you rent your car.

Take the 405 to the 22, and exit Harbor Blvd. This is the easiest way, IMHO, to get to DL from LAX. In good traffic this should take approx 1 1/2 hrs.; in bad traffic, good luck.

Follow the directions your car rental co gives you, to get to the 405; I'm not sure just where National is at LAX. Be patient and flexible, particularly if you are travelling during rush hour. The 405 can be a nightmare between 4 and 6 pm, or at any time if there's an accident or CalTrans work going on. (I would take the 105 to the 605 to the 405 to avoid the worst bottlenecks in the South Bay area. Try that if you're adventuresome; just take Sepulveda out of the airport to pick up the 105.)

And watch the fwy lanes where the 405 transitions to the 22; the fwy is (I'm not kidding) about 9 lanes wide there and some go to the 22 and some go to the 405.

I lived in LA for 11 years. Traffic can be hectic . . . but I'm sure you've driven in Boston - now that's an abberation of a city to drive in!!! Good luck & hope this helps.

[lodgelady]

Great advice! I'm printing out your post. Thanks jlima!:earsgirl:

[Mary Jo]

<font color=navy>I've driven both the 405 and 91 freeways, and really think this is the more direct and shorter route (but this is my own opinion):

From the airport, take the 105 south all the way to the end of the freeway. This will take you to the 605 freeway, and you'll quickly get on the 91 freeway. Go East. If there are two of you, go ahead and get into the carpool lane, and stay there until you get to the 5 freeway south. Stay in the carpool lane and get off on Disneyland Drive. You're talking about a 45 minute drive, more if the freeways are crowded, of course.

Yes, you do end up on more freeways, but you'll get to Disneyland more quickly (you'll also pass Knott's Berry Farm on the way).

Good luck with whichever route you choose to take. :)

[Michelle]

As a local, I have to agree with Mary Jo's suggested route...it is DEFINITELY faster with the carpool lane that way. :)

[Tink33]

Here is a print out from the Disneyland Site

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneylandresort/ResortInfo/DrivingDirections/index?AIRPORT_ORIGIN=LosAngelesAirportDrivingAddre ss&ADDR_ORIGIN=&CITY_ORIGIN=&STATE_ORIGIN=&POSTAL_CODE_ORIGIN=&OCC=US&Destination=DisneylandResortDrivingAddress&Lang=1&dir.x=50&dir.y=14

[lodgelady]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm gonna sit down with a map this weekend and look at all of the options. :)

[nickglover]

We were there in September. Rented a car from Hertz and it only took about ten to fifteen minutes. We took Mary Jo's route and I thought it took us only about 35 minutes, maybe 40 minutes. Once you get the hang of it, the freeways in L.A. are not too bad - just watch for sudden slow-downs up ahead and don't be fooled when you are exiting to the right by any signs for the same exit 5 lanes over to the left - sometimes the car pool lane has a flyover for the same road you are seeking to enter. I actually enjoyed driving in L.A. but was able to avoid the busiest hours.

[Mattsmom]

Just wanted to say in May we took the directions Mary Jo posted and they worked great! Took us about 35 min. at 10:00am on a weekday morning.