Santa Barbara to Las Vegas

We will be travelling from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas on a Monday in May. How long will it take and what is the quickest route.

Santa Barbara to Las Vegas

According to my road atlas it%26#39;s 367 miles from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas. It%26#39;ll probably take 5-7 hours driving time depending on traffic. Looking at my atlas it looks like you should go south on Hwy 101 to Ventura and take 126 east to US 5. GO south on 5 to Hwy 14 east (about 10 mi). Take 14 east to Palmdale. From Palmdale take 138/18 east to Apple Valley. Then take Hwy 15 north into Vegas. All in all it%26#39;s a pretty boring drive.

Santa Barbara to Las Vegas

A much easier drive is actually the one that everyone tries to avoid.

But, we live in SB and head to Vegas about every other month and find the 5 route much longer than this one:

101 South to LA, 134 to the 210 to the 15, then take the 15 all the way into Nevada.

On a Monday, you should have a great drive, if you leave at either 5 a.m. or ealier or 9:00 a.m. or later from SB.

We%26#39;ve never had a problem as long as we factor in avoiding the LA traffic.

The only time I wouldn%26#39;t take this route is on a Friday-Sunday, though we come back on Sunday often and its not that bad in the earlier afternoon.

Have fun!

Thanks for your help. We have an atlas but nothing beats local knowlege. I think we will go for the after 9:00am start. I am not sure I could make 5:00am and then tackle Las Vegas. I think we will need some energy to enjoy it.

I think you%26#39;re smart to do the 9 a.m. thing. If you leave at 5, you can really blast through the LA and San Bernardino morning traffic, but leaving at 9 will get you to the most conjested parts well after the morning rush is over.

It is a nice drive, really, especially once you get past the high desert (Victorville, etc.)

We usually drive through LA and end up getting off the freeway at Summit (just after the 210 meets the 15) There%26#39;s a Chevron station there that is pretty easy access from the freeway and they have very clean bathrooms.

Then, we stop in Barstow again for more gas and a little stretch. Note: The outlets advertised there are not really very good and you%26#39;d do better to go to the Primm Outlets that are literally on the border of California and Nevada -- you can%26#39;t miss them and they have some really good stores there.

Between Barstow and Primm, there is a little tiny town called Baker, which purports to be home of the world%26#39;s largest thermometer. There%26#39;s this horrid old restaurant there called Bun Boy, which is sort of a diner meet Happy Eater type place. You don%26#39;t have to even stop there to get the feel of the place, just keep driving. It is a very funny, only in rural US kind of place. And, being from Britian, you%26#39;ll love the signs you%26#39;ll be seeing for Bun Boy all along the way to Vegas....Let%26#39;s just say they used a typestyle that makes the ';n'; look like an ';m.';