Need help with various driving directions

[TimNDansMom]

Could someone please give me the best routes to get to these places so that I stay out of questionable neighbourhoods and please indicate heavy traffic times:

LAX to Palisades Park area, Santa Monica

Palisades Park area to Beverly Hills Hotel

Beverly Hills Hotel to Carlsbad via Long Beach (Queen Mary)

Carlsbad to Howard Johnsons Disneyland

Thanks so much! I'm so worried about the LA traffic and getting lost!!

We leave on Friday night!!

 

[TimNDansMom]

Can anyone help?

 

[MousseauMob]

Could someone please give me the best routes to get to these places so that I stay out of questionable neighbourhoods and please indicate heavy traffic times:

LAX to Palisades Park area, Santa Monica

Palisades Park area to Beverly Hills Hotel

Beverly Hills Hotel to Carlsbad via Long Beach (Queen Mary)

Carlsbad to Howard Johnsons Disneyland

Thanks so much! I'm so worried about the LA traffic and getting lost!!

We leave on Friday night!!

It's a bit difficult to give good directions with out the addresses unless you're really familiar with the area. What I always do is go to www.MapQuest.com and get driving directions by entering my starting and ending destination addresses. If you're traveling from hotels - you can look up their addresses from their websites. The detailed directions I've gotten has never steered me wrong in the all years I've been doing this. They give detailed turn left, turn right, merge onto I-5 after 3.5 miles type of directions - they work great. Hope this helps!

 

[TimNDansMom]

Thanks for your reply, MousseauMob. I use Mapquest all the time but having never driven around the LA area, I was wondering if there were areas best not to travel through in getting from one destination to the other.

 

[MateasMom]

I'm not familiar with alot of the specific places you've mentioned....but the best bet would be to ask the concierge. I'm more of a 'figure it out' girl too....so I have a hard time with the actual roads and stuff. I'm more of a 'turn left at the cow statue' driver.

Okay...LAX to Santa Monica....I would get around LAX and go west.....find PCH and go north. If you don'nt want to go on my sight seeing tour though Follow the signs to 405N, take that to the 10 and 10 to Santa Monica. I don't know where you're going there...so that one you'll have to mapquest.


Santa Monica to Beverly Hills....You could drive up Santa Monica Blvd straight to BHs or back on the 10 (east) to 405 N. exit Santa Monica E. I think it's just N on Beverly (so turn L on beverly blvd).

Beverly to Long Beach / Carlsbad (this one I really don't know at all....I've lived in L.A. my whole life but only been to Long Beach once). Get back on the 405 S this time. There's another freeway you have to take to get to Queen Mary...but I dont' remember the name. I'm sure there are signs When you go to leave the 405 eventually turns ends at the 5, again...just go south and follow the signs You'll get there, I swear

Carlsbad to Disney....take the 5 N, when the signs say 'Disneyland', get off HoJo is on Harbor I think, right? That the street Disney is on (South side) so you'll probably drive right to your hotel if you see Disneyland. If you're on the backside of Disney, drive around Disney (it's a city block of just Disney....you can't get lost) and the other side of the park is Harbor.

 

[MousseauMob]

Thanks for your reply, MousseauMob. I use Mapquest all the time but having never driven around the LA area, I was wondering if there were areas best not to travel through in getting from one destination to the other.

The biggest problem with LA area travel is traffic. There are so many freeways that you never get off them, until you're right at your destination, so I wouldn't worry to much about areas best not to travel through, avoiding the traffic totally is impossible if you're traveling at peak times. The best thing to do is travel during non-commute times and away from the normal flow. For example: heading to the beach during the weekends is almost always a mess. Heading into downtown on weekday mornings and out of downtown on weekday evenings is a mess.

You know, you would think I could be more helpful than this since I was just in Long Beach and I go from Disneyland to Carlsbad often when vacationing, sorry!.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Could someone please give me the best routes to get to these places so that I stay out of questionable neighbourhoods and please indicate heavy traffic times:

Busy traffic times would be 7am - 9:30am (sort of) 4pm - 7pm (sort of) ...


Click on the map to get big view. Directions are below...

LAX to Palisades Park area, Santa Monica

Get on the 405 freeway going north, then get on the 10 freeway west. Get off on Hwy 1, and you will run into Palisades Park, north of Santa Monica.

Palisades Park area to Beverly Hills Hotel

Continue north on Hwy 1 until you get to Sunset Blvd - there will be a Gladstones Restaurant right there on the beach at the end of Sunset Blvd. Take it all the way to the Beverly Hills Hotel. You will drive through some really nice neighborhoods, including Bel Air, and you'll pass UCLA (Westwood), etc. -- it's a safe drive.

Beverly Hills Hotel to Carlsbad via Long Beach (Queen Mary)

There are a couple of ways to go:

* Take Sunset Blvd east to 101 freeway south - take that freeway until you get to the 110 south (Downtown LA), you'll pass Downtown & Exposition Park (where USC & LA Coliseum are) - go until you hit 405 fwy south - to get to Long Beach, take the 710 south - 710 ends at the Queen Mary.

* Take Sunset Blvd west to 405, and take the 405 south all the way to the 710 south to get to the Queen Mary.

After Long Beach, continue south. The 405 will turn into the 5 fwy, and you will go right to Carlsbad - about an hour & 15 minutes or an hour & a half from Long Beach to Carlsbad.

Carlsbad to Howard Johnsons Disneyland

Take the 5 fwy north from Carlsbad and stay on it all the way until you get to Harbor Blvd (you will pass the Angel baseball stadium - with the Big A - on the right & the Crystal Cathedral on the left). Get off on Harbor Blvd, and turn left.

Thanks so much! I'm so worried about the LA traffic and getting lost!!

Ahh - it's a piece of cake!

We leave on Friday night!!

Have a wonderful time!

 

[TimNDansMom]

Thank you! This is all very helpful!!

 

[MousseauMob]

Mary Jo you ROCK!!!