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Driving from San Pedro port to Las Vegas


DandDM
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Hi all,

 

We are arriving in San Pedro in early Oct and heading to Las Vegas immediately after. My plan is to rent a car near the port; I've done some investigation and I can get a one way car rental for much less than it would cost for transport to LAX and two plane tickets to LAS. Google says it will take just over four hours to do the drive, which would be similar to the time it would take to get to airport, wait for plane, travel, and get bags on other end. And I also like the idea of driving through the desert to get there.

 

But I'm worried about getting out of LA... I'm a small town guy and while I can handle traffic, don't like it very much. We would be picking up the car around 9AM on a Friday; am I going to be stuck in traffic wishing I was sitting at an airport bar? I know that no one can say specifically what the traffic will be like that day, but curious what to expect, in general.

 

Thanks in advance.

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I think it would take closer to 6 hrs. on a Friday, with a quick stop to eat, and could take considerably longer if that weekend is connected to a holiday. For instance I routinely drive a 90 mile distance and this can take from an hour and a half up to 3 and a half hours, depending on time of day, day of the week and holidays. Friday is a get away day and you will find a good deal of company headed to Las Vegas.

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Google maps is your friend here. Next Friday at 9:00, enter your trip (San Pedro to Las Vegas) and see what the travel time is. Do this for a few Fridays to get an idea of what traffic might be like.

 

 

 

Great suggestion thank you I was also wondering about Cali traffic and I will do this it will help thx again!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Thanks for all the responses! Sounds like my initial estimates were a bit rosy. .

 

I will set an alert on my phone to check the route on Fridays. . great idea!

 

Also checked flights from Long Beach and see Jet Blue has a few for $78, so that is another option.

 

Cheers,

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Do the drive and see some country. October is a pretty good time for that route, also. That time of the morning on a Friday you should be fine and not get stuck in normal commute traffic. However, "normal" in LA can change from minute to minute. I was working in LA one day when a guy decided to jump off the 101 overpass. Traffic was stopped for hours and for miles. But normally you should be fine and the drive vs fly is pretty close to a wash.

 

Usually, my suggestion for driving any where in LA is to have a plan B & C for routes. That way if something crazy happens switch over to route B and even C if you have to. I would say within 90 minutes you should be out of the crazy LA freeways and on the "easy" road to LV.

 

Believe it or not a good paper map is handy if things really get bad and you have to get off and do surface streets. I use surface streets frequently when in the Woodland Hills area visiting DS, rather than the freeway if it's even halfway slow.

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Weekday traffic generally is bad heading towards the Los Angeles area in the morning, and also bad heading away from the Los Angeles area in the afternoon. On Fridays, lots of people work a half day and then head to Vegas, so traffic can pick up as early as 1PM on a Friday.

 

Assuming you don't dilly dally getting off the ship and getting to the rental car, you should be well ahead of any traffic heading to Las Vegas. I've done this drive countless times, and as long as I leave by 1PM on a Friday it is usually smooth sailing. Whatever you do, don't drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on a Sunday (or Monday if a 3 day holiday). It's not uncommon for a 4 hour drive to turn into 8+ hours leaving Las Vegas on a Sunday.

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It took us about 5 hrs on a Friday in the opposite direction, which included a stop to eat.

 

Lucky it wasn't Sunday. We have driven it several times part of the way on a Sunday from LV to Barstow and then took the 58 west. That drive from LV to Barstow on a Sunday (anytime of the day) is horrible. I can only imagine what it's like the rest of the way into LA.

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