Los Angeles - Traffic - from LAX, Friday, 5pm

First time to Los Angeles. Flying into LAX at 4:54pm and renting a car. Hows the traffic situation? How long to get to West Hollywood or to a beach area? Trying to figure out where to stay depending on how bad traffic will be at the time. I'll be sightseeing in LA for a few hours on Sat AM before leaving for San Diego.

Also, best highways to take/avoid?

Thanks.

Plan on at least an hour to get to West Hollywood, could be two. LAX is right on the beach, so by taking Lincoln Blvd you can get to Venice Beach in ~15 minutes and Santa Monica in ~30. If you can hold off on going to West Hollywood until later in the evening you'll save yourself a lot of time in traffic.

Saturday morning should be fine anywhere. There's plenty to do/see along the 405.

It will probably be at least 6:00 before you are in your rental car and traffic will still be stop and go on the freeway. I'd stay at Manhattan Beach. It's a nice upscale beach town about 15 minutes from the airport.

Last Friday night I had an event scheduled for 7-10 in Hollywood (Hollywood being little farther than West Hollywood, but same general trajectory). Planned to leave at 7:30 hoping that traffic would be a little better. But when I checked sigalert before leaving, the 10 was red as could be between Santa Monica and downtown (everything was pretty much red -- the 405 as well). So I went surface streets -- 1 hour and 20 minutes from Santa Monica to Hollywood.

As others have suggested, your best bet is to stay near the beach. Or grab dinner on the westside and check-in to a West Hollywood hotel later (say 10:00) and then grab a drink somewhere around there (will be plenty of people out late).

First time to Los Angeles. Flying into LAX at 4:54pm and renting a car. Hows the traffic situation? How long to get to West Hollywood or to a beach area? Trying to figure out where to stay depending on how bad traffic will be at the time. I'll be sightseeing in LA for a few hours on Sat AM before leaving for San Diego.

Also, best highways to take/avoid?

Thanks.

LA is TRAFFIC TRAFFIC TRAFFIC!!!

Especially on a Friday night.

My rule of thumb - avoid driving in LA between the hours of 7am-10:30am and 5pm-7:30pm

Especially the areas your are speaking of.