How long will it take to drive to DL

[nette5]

We are planning to leave S.F. Bay Area and be on Highway 5 by 3:00pm this coming Friday. How long will it take to drive down south? And do you think we will hit LA traffic in the evening?

 

[Albort]

around 10PM... at 70-80mph...

 

[SilverCeladon]

yep, I live a little south of Sacramento and I'm thinking about 7 hours.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We are planning to leave S.F. Bay Area and be on Highway 5 by 3:00pm this coming Friday. How long will it take to drive down south? And do you think we will hit LA traffic in the evening?

within 2 hours of driving to LA your gonna hit bad traffic..by the time you get to LA your traffic issues arent gonna matter...stockton is gonna be backed up but not as bad as your gonna get in bakersfield...if you were going 80 or 90 all the way you would probably(after the traffic of course) end up in anaheim by 11 but adding all that traffic...your looking wee hours of the am...cant you leave any earlier? your best bet is getting out of SF after lunch hour traffic if possible ...then you would be alot better off

 

[nette5]

Thanks for the info everyone. Might have to rethink this and leave earlier!

 

[Albort]

Thanks for the info everyone. Might have to rethink this and leave earlier!

just remember though, if you hit LA around 5-6PM, you probably wont get to anahiem by 8-9PM...

Once your out of SF, the 5 freeway should be clear...

 

[got2travel]

I do this all the time. We leave Friday as soon as my son is out of school. We usually get to our hotel around 11pm. The only traffic we hit is in the bay area.

I'm in the East Bay, Pinole/Hercules area. Instead of heading out to I5 right away, we actually go down 880/101 to Gilroy and cut over on 152. Cuts out all that 580 traffic in Pleasanton/Livermore. Once we get through Oakland/Hayward, it's pretty smooth. Not always speed limit, but not stop and go. Bunches up around San Jose, but only slightly.

 

[DL4my2kids]

We are heading to Anaheim from the bay area this weekend too. Excellent replies.

Thanks.

 

[wendypooh22]

Depending on the time you come over the Grapevine, there are other options for freeway travel other than the 5 fwy... Personally, once I get through the Santa Clarita area, I take the 210 to the 57 south to the 91. There are carpool lanes for most of the ride and you avoid the SF valley/downtown LA friday night traffic jam... It is a tad bit out of the way, but I just hate driving the 5 Just a thought.... Drive safely!!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Depending on the time you come over the Grapevine, there are other options for freeway travel other than the 5 fwy... Personally, once I get through the Santa Clarita area, I take the 210 to the 57 south to the 91. There are carpool lanes for most of the ride and you avoid the SF valley/downtown LA friday night traffic jam... It is a tad bit out of the way, but I just hate driving the 5 Just a thought.... Drive safely!!

so wendypooh,

Im familiar with that route but what is the time difference going from the 210 down than the 5 all the way? doesnt it add a bit more to the trip? the 210 gets pretty packed too...

 

[MateasMom]

I find the 210 to be much faster too if your going during rush hour. The 210 has carpool lanes...and while you hit a few areas of traffic it's NOTHING like the traffic in SFV or again once you get out of L.A. (and sit parked on the freeway forever until Sante Fe Springs).

Without traffic, the 5 (or actually...we do the 5, 170/101, 5) is WAY faster (just under an hour from my front door in Valencia to DLR) but with traffic the 210 can often be faster even though it's about 25 miles further IIRC.

 

[fidoprincess]

We are driving from the bay area too and leaving tomorrow as soon as the kids get home from school. We hope to be on the road by 3! We are south of the bay on the coast so it takes us longer to hit I-5. I thought we would be there by 9:30-10:00 depending on how many stops but it sounds like it will take us longer? I always thought it was a 6.5 hour drive?

 

[wendypooh22]

so wendypooh,

Im familiar with that route but what is the time difference going from the 210 down than the 5 all the way? doesnt it add a bit more to the trip? the 210 gets pretty packed too...

I know that the 210 goes up and around the "back way", and it can get backed up especially near the 605 split, but it has a minumum of 4 lanes + the carpool lane... Same with the 57 more lanes.... I work in the SF valley and sometimes the 5 on a Friday can get backed up into Burbank and stay that way all the way down to the OC. For most of the trip on the 5 it's at 3 lanes with lots of big rigs.. I used to take the 5 to the 60 to the 57 then down to the 91, but I hate sitting in traffic crawling down thru LA On a Friday, I am a firm believer in the 210. The last trip I made to the OC from the valley was just under an hour... Maybe I lucked out, but I haven't had that many bad driving experiences going that way....

I must share though, that coming home late night, I do take the 5. Believe it or not, my sister and I made it from the Timon parking lot at DL to her front door in Burbank in 35 minutes I was shocked We weren't even speeding... I wish every trip could be as nice as that.....

 

[disneegrl4eva]

We are driving from the bay area too and leaving tomorrow as soon as the kids get home from school. We hope to be on the road by 3! We are south of the bay on the coast so it takes us longer to hit I-5. I thought we would be there by 9:30-10:00 depending on how many stops but it sounds like it will take us longer? I always thought it was a 6.5 hour drive?

I live in Merced and it takes me 5 hours to get to ball road exit give or take a few minutes and I drive like 80...going to SF it takes me 2 to 2 1/2 hours so if it only takes you an hour and half longer than me then you've got to be jammin...wendypooh, do you know how it is on a saturday afternoon driving that route? which would be better the 210 or 5...Im thinking maybe around 1pm I should get to the 210/5 split....

 

[fidoprincess]

Thank you Lynn! I had the time all wrong so I will be sure to add at least another hour, hmmm maybe I will try to get the kids out of school earlier too!

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

I think we've made it from Sacramento to DL in about 6 hours.

But that was before kids and potty-stops!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Thank you Lynn! I had the time all wrong so I will be sure to add at least another hour, hmmm maybe I will try to get the kids out of school earlier too!

If you can get them out of school early I would totally suggest that...have a safe trip and have fun

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I think we've made it from Sacramento to DL in about 6 hours.

But that was before kids and potty-stops!

and 90 all the way right?

 

[wendypooh22]

wendypooh, do you know how it is on a saturday afternoon driving that route? which would be better the 210 or 5...Im thinking maybe around 1pm I should get to the 210/5 split....

Lynn.. Saturday afternoons can go either way, but I would take the 210. Do you have an XM radio??? If so, tune in to channel 222 for LA/OC traffic.. I can't live without my xm

 

[mAlien13]

This is a little off subject, but there are so many people positng their knowledge about the traffic here...I am driving into Anaheim on December 9th, then after we check into our hotel we have to go to LAX to pick up my mother who is flying in. Does anyone have any suggestions for the best route to take or how long it will take? Her plane lands at 6:01pm.