Irvine to LAX

Hello,

My wife and I have to catch a flight from LAX at 10:40am on a weekday. When would be the best time to leave from Irvine? It%26#39;s a flight to Canada (don%26#39;t know if we have to go thru customs in LAX or when we get to Canada) plus we have to return our rental car.

When should we leave Irvine? We are willing to get up early enough to avoid rush hour ( if that%26#39;s even possible) and just hang around in LA for our flight.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Irvine to LAX

I%26#39;m not an expert but if it were me I think I%26#39;d drive to LAX the night before and stay near the airport. You are probably going to have to leave Irvine around 5:30 to try and avoid traffic but again, I%26#39;m no expert. Your best bet would be to post this on the Los Angeles forum. You can probably get better advice there.

Irvine to LAX

I live in Irvine and I agree if you are not taking a shuttle then your best bet to avoid congestion on the 405 would be to stay in a hotel along Century Blvd and have a leisurely start because you will still have to go through security and check in at LAX which takes time. If you drive the evening before after 6pm you can be in your hotel in time for dinner. Traffic on the 405 going south in the afternoon/ early evening is heavy but going north , barring accidents, should not be so bad. There is the car pool lane which will help as there are two of you.

Hi juday,

If I use the carpool lane in the morning going to LAX, will it still be very bad?

Thanks!

Hmmm..... I do not do that commute, but I would guess that if you are on the road by shortly after 6am you should be fine in the carpool lanes, because you have to allow ample time for car drop off, shuttle to the terminal and then security and check in etc.

Do it all the time from farther south in Mission Viejo. It takes an hour and half in the morning to two hours. Leave four hours before the flight and youll be fine.

1travel5MV is pretty much right on. A wild card in all of this is the rental car company--how fast to check the car in, settle up and get a shuttle to the terminal?

Being in a carpool will certainly help you, however...a lot!

One more vote for driving to the LAX area the evening prior to your flight, dropping the car, having a leisurely dinner at the hotel, getting a full night%26#39;s rest and taking the free hotel shuttle to the airport at 9:15 or so in the morning.

You%26#39;re on vacation. Why stress!