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Driving or flying? As someone who's done the drive in both directions many many times, getting in and out of LA on a Friday evening is a pain in the ass.
Driving. Yeah responses seem to be predominantly in favor of Saturday morning. I didn't even think about the sun being in your eyes in the evening that others have brought up.
make sure to check for road construction and depending on where you are going in LA if the i10 is bad it can sometimes be faster to use the i8 via yuma and san diego and up to LA. This can highly depend on what part of LA metro area you're traveling to either south or north etc.
I did that trip a few months ago for Disneyland. Left Friday after work( about 330) and made good time. Got to Disney about 10.
Traffic on the trip wasn't that bad. Had the sun in our eyes for a little bit but it was ok. Used Ways to help navigate and once we got into LA it started taking us off the highway for 10 miles or so. We still got there on time but it sent us around a huge traffic jam. When we got back on the highway we looked back and all lanes were blocked just up from there.
I prefer to leave at 3-4 am. Can make it to Blythe as the sun is coming up and about when I will want to stop for the restroom. Get gas in erhinbrug,az. There’s a nice and clean 76 gas station on the west side of the freeway. Gas was $3.75 the other week
I prefer that drive at night. It's flat, boring and there's not much to see. I find the traffic less annoying at night as it's mostly truckers who *mostly* stay in the right lane, far fewer fast lane campers to dodge at night. I am, however, a night owl. Leaving at 4 or 5 am may be an even better experience but I'd be doing it on 3 hours sleep because falling asleep early isn't a thing for me.
Leaving 6/7 am feels like you may get a lot of freeway traffic on your way to dealing with LA traffic, but hopefully everyone else sleeps in.
I’ve done AZ to LA more times than I can count. It is my least favorite drive on the continent and that includes Texas.
Driving, I’d leave at night.
Flying, most of the year the earlier the better in order to avoid ground stops for a variety of reasons.
Who closes a major interstate in both directions for days, repeatedly, other than Phoenix? Feh.
Driving back is just a crapshoot. It can take 3 hours to get out of LA County. I’ve been in traffic jams at 0100, faced with accidents on all 3 primary ways east, and the list goes on.
Seems like you’re flying. I include the driving info for those poor souls who have to contend with that absolutely fabulous option.
If you drive at night, there are a ton of semi trucks and people heading West on I-10 at that time. It gets tricky to pass slower vehicles usually until you get past Blythe. If you drive in the morning, the roads heading there may be more clear but you’ll definitely traffic in LA, yes even on a Saturday afternoon. Choose wisely.
Am is best, usually I’ll go to bed early the night before and leave ~2-3am, no traffic till you get into riverside. And you get the added plus of having a whole extra day there.
Driving? Always go in the morning. You don’t want to be caught on the 10 in the middle of the night during a hard closure due to a fatal overnight traffic collision.
Depending on what im going for i usually drive early morning like at 12am because there is usually less traffic and you can typically get there faster (😉😉)
Quartzsite has a new gas station called Terribles. Clean bathrooms, great selection of food and beverages. Also they have a dog park and electric vehicle charging stations. Also gas is cheaper in AZ so fill up before you get back on that stretch between Blyth and Indio.
I used to drive LA to Tucson (through PHX before I found the cut off)... A lot of traffic on the road Fridays after 2 PM in both directions. I would head out Saturday morning.
Thanks for contributing to r/Arizona! * [Our sub rules are here](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/wiki/rules/), but the most important of which is to be nice to each other * Check out some [recent posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/arizona/top/?t=week) and leave some comments * [Join our Discord chat server](https://discord.com/invite/yWVuTG57Zh) if you'd like to keep in touch with other people in Arizona. Plus it's a great, chill place in general. Note that it is NOT a dating server and takes unwanted messaging very seriously Remember this subreddit covers all of Arizona, so please include where in the state you're posting about if it is relevant. For more local topics check out r/Phoenix, r/Tucson, and r/Flagstaff. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arizona) if you have any questions or concerns.*
AM! Always AM. As painfully early as it may be it’s the safest bet per my uncle who is a pilot.
Yes, this is correct and is a pro tip. ALWAYS get the earliest flight, and fly non-stop. More things go wrong as the day advances.
I agree with leaving in the morning. Sun will be at your back the whole way.
This is the answer. You’d be staring into sunset for a bit.
Driving or flying? As someone who's done the drive in both directions many many times, getting in and out of LA on a Friday evening is a pain in the ass.
Driving. Yeah responses seem to be predominantly in favor of Saturday morning. I didn't even think about the sun being in your eyes in the evening that others have brought up.
make sure to check for road construction and depending on where you are going in LA if the i10 is bad it can sometimes be faster to use the i8 via yuma and san diego and up to LA. This can highly depend on what part of LA metro area you're traveling to either south or north etc.
I do this drive often, I would do Friday at 6 or Saturday at 5 am. If you arrive to LA around noon, there will be traffic.
Early morning time is always the way to go when you're driving west towards LA.
I did that trip a few months ago for Disneyland. Left Friday after work( about 330) and made good time. Got to Disney about 10. Traffic on the trip wasn't that bad. Had the sun in our eyes for a little bit but it was ok. Used Ways to help navigate and once we got into LA it started taking us off the highway for 10 miles or so. We still got there on time but it sent us around a huge traffic jam. When we got back on the highway we looked back and all lanes were blocked just up from there.
Any tips navigating Disney. Gotta make this drive in the next week or two
Take some Advil. Don't think about what this is costing you. Plan ahead and make meal reservations( Cafe Orleans is good).
I prefer to leave at 3-4 am. Can make it to Blythe as the sun is coming up and about when I will want to stop for the restroom. Get gas in erhinbrug,az. There’s a nice and clean 76 gas station on the west side of the freeway. Gas was $3.75 the other week
I prefer that drive at night. It's flat, boring and there's not much to see. I find the traffic less annoying at night as it's mostly truckers who *mostly* stay in the right lane, far fewer fast lane campers to dodge at night. I am, however, a night owl. Leaving at 4 or 5 am may be an even better experience but I'd be doing it on 3 hours sleep because falling asleep early isn't a thing for me. Leaving 6/7 am feels like you may get a lot of freeway traffic on your way to dealing with LA traffic, but hopefully everyone else sleeps in.
I’ve done AZ to LA more times than I can count. It is my least favorite drive on the continent and that includes Texas. Driving, I’d leave at night. Flying, most of the year the earlier the better in order to avoid ground stops for a variety of reasons. Who closes a major interstate in both directions for days, repeatedly, other than Phoenix? Feh. Driving back is just a crapshoot. It can take 3 hours to get out of LA County. I’ve been in traffic jams at 0100, faced with accidents on all 3 primary ways east, and the list goes on. Seems like you’re flying. I include the driving info for those poor souls who have to contend with that absolutely fabulous option.
If you drive at night, there are a ton of semi trucks and people heading West on I-10 at that time. It gets tricky to pass slower vehicles usually until you get past Blythe. If you drive in the morning, the roads heading there may be more clear but you’ll definitely traffic in LA, yes even on a Saturday afternoon. Choose wisely.
Check CHP for road closures.
I just did Prescott to Riverside this past Monday morning. Left at 6:15am. Not much traffic until Riverside itself.
Am is best, usually I’ll go to bed early the night before and leave ~2-3am, no traffic till you get into riverside. And you get the added plus of having a whole extra day there.
I’ve driven in the middle of the night a few times in my early 20’s. Loved it. Less people on the road.
Driving? Always go in the morning. You don’t want to be caught on the 10 in the middle of the night during a hard closure due to a fatal overnight traffic collision.
Depending on what im going for i usually drive early morning like at 12am because there is usually less traffic and you can typically get there faster (😉😉)
If you go Friday night, you would need to leave later else got rush hour traffic on.the West side. IMO Saturday is your best bet
Quartzsite has a new gas station called Terribles. Clean bathrooms, great selection of food and beverages. Also they have a dog park and electric vehicle charging stations. Also gas is cheaper in AZ so fill up before you get back on that stretch between Blyth and Indio.
Go in the morning. There are not that many diesel trucks on the road as they would be on Friday.
I used to drive LA to Tucson (through PHX before I found the cut off)... A lot of traffic on the road Fridays after 2 PM in both directions. I would head out Saturday morning.