how bad can the traffic be on weekends?

[paty]

we are driving from san diego to Anaheim on sunday, Anaheim to santa monica on saturday and then Anaheim to hollywood on friday.

Not sure what to expect of the traffic, how bad can it be?
is there a better time of the day? rush hour? DH is afraid it might take too long....

any ideas on time of the day or roads to avoid?
thanks!

 

[Jynxed]

I think it depends on time and what is going on in cities you are passing by more then anything on weekends. I went to a Angels game from Santa Monica a few years ago and we purposefully left an hour earlier then we had to to avoid traffic there. The trip took about 45 minutes. The way home took twice as long because Santa Monica is a big night time spot, so everyone was heading there on a Saturday night...

 

[GrandBob]

How bad can it be? I can recall driving from NorCal to San Diego on a weekend, and being dead stopped in LA traffic at midnight on a Saturday night.

Not trying to scare you, just answering the question. You can't make too many assumptions about LA traffic.

 

[tlovesdis]

In March, on a Saturday, we drove from Anaheim to Hollywood. We left at 9:30am. We sat on I5 for almost an hour and only went about 10 miles! It was horrible!!! Once we finally passed through Buena Park (not far at all from Anaheim) I pulled out the iphone and found an alternate route to get us to Hollywood. What should have been about an hours travel time took us 3 hours total.

Traffic down there is bad all the time! I don't think I have ever NOT sat in traffic on I5 going in either direction!

Sorry!

 

[Nanseev]

Traffic is horrible in Southern California. The worst part? The traffic knows no days or times. It's completely unpredictable, except for the expected.

M-F rush hour times will be bad. Our rush hour seem to start earlier and end later, FYI.

Sat-Sun - completely unpredictable. May be good. Very well may be bad. You never know.

Late evenings - same as Sat-Sun. I can't tell you how many times I've come home from Disneyland and stuck in bumper to bumper...and this is at 10pm, 11pm, midnight..etc.

The worst *should* be the Anaheim to Hollywood Friday.

Now...keep in mind that it is very possible that you might not hit traffic.

If you have access to the internet, cal trans has a website for local traffic. That may be worth checking out since there are so many options for different routes to certain destinations.

 

[bnbheartdisney]

we are driving from san diego to Anaheim on sunday, Anaheim to santa monica on saturday and then Anaheim to hollywood on friday.

Not sure what to expect of the traffic, how bad can it be?
is there a better time of the day? rush hour? DH is afraid it might take too long....

any ideas on time of the day or roads to avoid?
thanks!

Driving from San Diego to Anaheim on a Sunday, you really shouldn't experience any traffic. If anything, maybe some slowdowns, but on a weekend, you should be good.

 

[DebbieB]

I once drove from Disneyland to Universal Studios on a Sunday afternoon, took about 90 minutes.

 

[cyclenut]

we are driving from san diego to Anaheim on sunday, Anaheim to santa monica on saturday and then Anaheim to hollywood on friday.

Not sure what to expect of the traffic, how bad can it be?
is there a better time of the day? rush hour? DH is afraid it might take too long....

any ideas on time of the day or roads to avoid?
thanks!

If your drive from San Diego is in the morning, you'll be just fine. You will hit a small snag at the border checkpoint, if it is open. Otherwise, you should be able to move along at the speed limit all the way into Anaheim. If you are making the trip in the evening though, you will encounter traffic. There are people who are returning from their vacation plans in San Diego or south of the border that tend to clog that freeway. There really isn't any way around it.

Your Anaheim to Santa Monica on Saturday also depends on the time of day. It also depends on when. I'm not sure on your travel date. There are some planned road closures in that general area that could have an impact on your trip out there.

Friday is going to be difficult unless you are going mid-day. Just plan on traffic.

Please note that while several have said traffic is unpredictable, there are definate patterns. HOWEVER ... if there is construction or an accident then those patterns are out the window. Being a resident here we learn to check traffic and look for alternate routes before we leave and to ensure we leave enough time if we have a deadline for reaching our destination. Unless the road is actually closed, it is usually best to stay on the freeway. Exiting and taking surface streets as your alternate route generally just slows you down. Remember though, if the road is actually closed (or down to 1 lane) then you'll want to find another way.

From San Diego you may be tempted to take the I-15 North and cut across using the 91. Don't do it.

I don't know how long is too long, but I will say that this is a fair amount of driving.

 

[engo]

Oh boy. We will be going to Legoland early August and plan to drive from John Wayne to Carlsbad noon-ish, returning Friday evening to Disneyland. Any idea when will be a good time to leave Carlsbad Friday evening?

 

[mikeyas]

When are you going? Hopefully not the weekend of July 15-17. They are shutting down the 405 freeway that entire weekend. That's going to be quite painful for a lot of people!

 

[engo]

Yikes! We'll be in Carlsbad Aug 4-5.

 

[the donut]

Oh boy. We will be going to Legoland early August and plan to drive from John Wayne to Carlsbad noon-ish, returning Friday evening to Disneyland. Any idea when will be a good time to leave Carlsbad Friday evening?

Friday evenings can be really bad. I would monitor sigalert.com over the next few weeks, and it might give you an idea of what to expect. If you don't have a smart phone, dialing 511 in southern california will give you traffic updates, though driving while using a cell phone is a ticketable offense here, so use your bluetooth or have a passenger do it.

At least you're missing the dates of the 405 shutdown that a PP mentioned, aka Car-mageddon.

 

[Bungle]

It probably will take a while. Just know that in advance and leave a bit earlier to give yourself some wiggle room. It can be REALLY unpredictable on those roads so grab a coffee and make the best of it

and LOL @ carmageddon.

 

[disfaninca]

Like others have said, traffic can be unpredictable. I live not far from Hollywood (about 40 miles from DL) and there have been times we have made it to DL in 35-40 minutes, and other times more than an hour. Best thing to do is just check on traffic right before you leave and maybe have a plan B our give yourself extra time.

 

[CalvaryMike]

I would monitor sigalert.com over the next few weeks

Great advice by "the dount" (love that name). Also look at google map and turn on the the 'traffic' option. Sometimes, sigalert is wrong or their camera stills aren't correctly updated. Between the two of them, you can generally get a really good idea of what the traffic will be like.

For those asking for traffic advice, it's best if you give your intended route and hour of the day. Barring any major accidents or construction, there is a pattern here. I drive all throughout Sothern California and I can get to my location on time 99% of the time. If you know the freeways well enough out here, you even know what lane to be in at certain spots.

And a general rule is to just stay out of the left lane unless you're a fast driver. Let the speed demons and road rages go by. You'll thank me for this little advice.

 

[engo]

Great advice by "the dount" (love that name).

Great advice by "the donut" and everyone.

Sigalert.com is exactly what I need. We are spending 1.5 days at Legoland before Disneyland. Our travel time is pretty flexible, although we'd like to have a general idea of when is the best time to leave Carlsbad to minimize travel time for our extremely impatient boys. Legoland will close at 8pm the Friday so we could potentially leave after park close to avoid traffic, but if the boys are tired of Legoland by the second day we'd like the option to leave early for Disneyland. I'm so torn

 

[paty]

When are you going? Hopefully not the weekend of July 15-17. They are shutting down the 405 freeway that entire weekend. That's going to be quite painful for a lot of people!

we are going this weekend! june 16-25
saturday 18th - San diego to anaheim, no specific time, if there is a time of the day that it's better, that's our time!!!

sunday 19th, anaheim to santa monica and back, can be any time also.

friday 24, hollywood and kids want to go to the american girl store at the grove in LA. We could switch this day - go on Thursday instead and go to DL on friday. Not sure what would be better. Crowds in the parks on friday might be worst than thursday? or it doesn't change that much?

I'll look at all the routes but we haven't been in CA in a very long time and don't know the area very well. will definitely check all the traffic web sites.
thanks so much for all the suggestions!

 

[SueTGGR]

Keep in mind for the drive of Anaheim to Santa Monica if you go in the AM you will hit traffic headed to the beach especially if it is a nice day. I would go early early AM or wait until the afternoon.
Also Friday afternoon/evenings are always crazy as everyone is in a hurry to start their weekend.
I love my Garmin GPS as it has traffic and I know when the slowdown is coming and can get an alternate route.
Good Luck!