Traffic is real in Los Angeles. And unlike many major metropolitan destinations around the world, most tourists need to rent a car for efficiency’s sake. Rush hour, construction, an accident, a sporting event, the President in town, and various unknown reasons can all cause severe delays.  It is always better to be safe than sorry.

If you like to be early and allow time to park and situate yourself, a good rule of thumb is to look online for the time it takes to get to your destination, and multiple that by three (i.e. 20 miles= 60 minutes). It more often than not be double (i.e. 20 miles=40 minutes) and not triple, but triple prepares you for the worst. Traffic is a lot more tolerable when you expect it, plan for it, and do not have to panic while crawling along at 5mph. Enjoy the time to think, take note of interesting things around you that you’d like to visit, use the time to catch up with a loved one on the phone (hands free please), or listen to our trend-setting/variety of radio stations or a book on tape.

My personal favorite radio station is 93.5 KDAY, which plays the best and most original hip hop music from LA in the 90s.