Best Time to Drive from Vista to Santa Monica

Right now (8:20 pm PST): about 95 minutes via I-405 North and I-5 North, usually 95 at this time.

Only 37% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

About this drive

On weekdays the 105-mile drive from Vista to Santa Monica (via I-405 North and I-5 North) usually takes as little as 93 minutes and up to 185 minutes, when leaving around 6:30 am on Wednesdays. The fastest times to leave are after 6:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 112 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 1 pm on Sundays (151 minutes).

About 103 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 1.7 miles surface streets (about 2 minutes), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Vista to downtown Santa Monica along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from Vista to Santa Monica?

On weekdays, leave after 6:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 93 minutes then, versus up to 185 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Vista to Santa Monica?

The 105-mile drive usually takes 93 to 185 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 112 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Vista to Santa Monica?

Leaving around 6:30 am on Wednesdays is usually slowest, about 185 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-405 North in Los Angeles (27 miles) · I-5 North in San Diego (20 miles) · SR-73 North in Orange County (18 miles) · I-405 North in Orange County (16 miles) · I-5 North in Orange County (14 miles) · SR-78 West in San Diego (7 miles)

San Diego traffic right now · San Diego traffic tomorrow · Los Angeles traffic right now · Los Angeles traffic tomorrow

More drives

Vista to San Diego · Vista to Long Beach · Vista to Anaheim · Vista to Riverside · Vista to Santa Ana · Vista to Chula Vista · Vista to Irvine · Vista to San Bernardino · Vista to Fontana · Vista to Moreno Valley · Vista to Huntington Beach · Vista to Oceanside

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