That is a cool distinction; it was my first time visiting Arizona that day and it definitely took me a good while to notice the subtle differences from the Colorado Desert in California!
We make this trip about 6 times a year. The most important thing you need to know is that both Los Angeles and Phoenix have horrible rush hours. Both of them, bumper to bumper traffic. We wanted to miss both Pheonix and Los Angeles morning and late afternoon traffic. So, this is what we do, and we (knock on wood) have never hit any traffic. Or, if we do, it is usually because of an accident. We leave Phoenix at between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. Yep, you read that right. But we miss Phoenix morning rush hour and taking the 210, come into Redlands after the morning rush hour all the way to Pasadena. Since we are going up north, from Pasadena we take the 210 freeway to the Golden State (5)N. We also miss the Bakersfield and Fresno rush hours. On the way home leave around 7:30 and get to Pasadena around 1:30. I would say we miss the traffic about 85% of the time. We stop and eat in Cochella Valley, then start the most boring part of the trip up the very steep grade over the pass to Blyth. There are tons of trunks. The California side is building new lanes through here. We usually stop at Costco in Irwindale and it will usually last us until we cross the boarder into Arizona. The gas is much cheaper. We usually get into Phoenix after the rush hour. It's dark, but no traffic. Hope this helps.
@@firstchoice7761 That is a cool system you have for this inter-state journey, especially with passing through so many big cities and almost always missing the congestion on the local freeways!
Hi there great video. Im coming in from Australia and doing this drive next week. Picking a rental car up from LAX and driving to Phoenix. Just wondering how hard is it going out of LAX and getting onto the interstate.
From my experience, once you get a rental car near the airport (usually you get there by shuttle from the terminal to the rental places), using the 405 and 10 Freeways to get out of West L.A. to points farther east is the way to go, and those freeways can get pretty congested at any time of day. It should be on the more convenient side as you’re never more than a few miles away from the 405 when you’re by LAX.
I’ve taken that route many times, it was fun seeing it again. Thanks
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Did this drive mid July 2024 Anaheim to Scottsdale on vacation in a rented car. There was a huge wind farm near Palm Springs.
@@Bk6346 Yep, that’s the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, which is my favorite part of the drive on I-10 between California and Arizona.
I've driven this a number of times between Palm Desert and PHX. Not long after you enter AZ you start seeing the Saguaro 🌵. Pretty cool
That is a cool distinction; it was my first time visiting Arizona that day and it definitely took me a good while to notice the subtle differences from the Colorado Desert in California!
We make this trip about 6 times a year. The most important thing you need to know is that both Los Angeles and Phoenix have horrible rush hours. Both of them, bumper to bumper traffic. We wanted to miss both Pheonix and Los Angeles morning and late afternoon traffic. So, this is what we do, and we (knock on wood) have never hit any traffic. Or, if we do, it is usually because of an accident. We leave Phoenix at between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. Yep, you read that right. But we miss Phoenix morning rush hour and taking the 210, come into Redlands after the morning rush hour all the way to Pasadena. Since we are going up north, from Pasadena we take the 210 freeway to the Golden State (5)N. We also miss the Bakersfield and Fresno rush hours. On the way home leave around 7:30 and get to Pasadena around 1:30. I would say we miss the traffic about 85% of the time. We stop and eat in Cochella Valley, then start the most boring part of the trip up the very steep grade over the pass to Blyth. There are tons of trunks. The California side is building new lanes through here. We usually stop at Costco in Irwindale and it will usually last us until we cross the boarder into Arizona. The gas is much cheaper. We usually get into Phoenix after the rush hour. It's dark, but no traffic. Hope this helps.
@@firstchoice7761 That is a cool system you have for this inter-state journey, especially with passing through so many big cities and almost always missing the congestion on the local freeways!
Hi there great video. Im coming in from Australia and doing this drive next week. Picking a rental car up from LAX and driving to Phoenix. Just wondering how hard is it going out of LAX and getting onto the interstate.
From my experience, once you get a rental car near the airport (usually you get there by shuttle from the terminal to the rental places), using the 405 and 10 Freeways to get out of West L.A. to points farther east is the way to go, and those freeways can get pretty congested at any time of day. It should be on the more convenient side as you’re never more than a few miles away from the 405 when you’re by LAX.
Also, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed seeing the trip!
I moved to Phoenix in 2001. Average about 2 times driving per year back to California. So I’ve done this drive about 46 times round trip .. 👀
Holy moly, that is a lot of trips back and forth over the years!
Not much early morning traffic in LA. Must be a Sunday morning. Smart.