You’re standing on the sand near Belmont Shore, looking at the Queen Mary, and you think, "Hey, I should head up to the Santa Monica Pier for sunset." It’s only about 30 miles. In most of the world, 30 miles is a breeze. In Southern California? It’s a gauntlet. Getting from long beach california to santa monica is one of those local treks that can take forty minutes or two hours, depending entirely on how well you play the traffic lottery.
Most people just punch it into Google Maps and pray. But if you've lived here long enough, you know that the "fastest route" isn't always the best one for your sanity.
The Reality of the 405 vs. The PCH
Let’s be real. The 405 is a nightmare. It’s a parking lot that occasionally moves at five miles per hour. If you take the 405 North from Long Beach, you’re basically committing to a stressful game of brake-light tag. You’ll pass the Carson refineries, the IKEA in Burbank (wait, no, that’s the other way, you'll pass the one in Carson), and the constant construction near LAX. It’s gray. It’s loud. It’s miserable.
Then there’s Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).
Taking PCH the whole way is technically "slower" on paper. But honestly? It’s a lot prettier. You’ll wind through Seal Beach, Peninsula, and then up through the South Bay. You see the ocean. You see palm trees. You don't feel like a cog in a giant industrial machine. The catch is the stoplights. There are hundreds of them. If you hit a red light every block in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, you might actually start crying.
Which one wins?
It depends on the time of day. If it’s 10:00 AM on a Tuesday, take the 405. You’ll zip through in 45 minutes. If it’s 4:30 PM on a Friday? Don't even bother. Go get dinner in Long Beach and wait until 8:00 PM. Seriously.
Public Transit: The "No-Car" Gamble
Can you do long beach california to santa monica without a car? Yes. Should you? That’s a different question.
LA Metro has improved, but it's still a mission. You’d start on the A Line (the Blue Line) in downtown Long Beach. You take that all the way up to the 7th Street/Metro Center in DTLA. Then, you transfer to the E Line (the Expo Line). That train takes you straight into the heart of Santa Monica, just blocks from the pier.
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- Pros: It’s cheap. You can read a book. You don't have to deal with road rage.
- Cons: It takes forever. You’re looking at about 90 minutes to two hours of transit time.
There’s also the Big Blue Bus or the Commuter Express 142, but those are mostly for people heading to San Pedro or specific hubs. For a straight shot, the rail is your best bet, even if it feels like you're taking the scenic route through the entire county.
The Secret "In-Between" Routes
Locals know that the best way to get from long beach california to santa monica often involves cutting through the "back" streets. If the 405 is backed up at the 710 interchange, you might want to take the 110 North and then cut across on Slauson or Jefferson.
It sounds crazy. It looks crazy on a map. But sometimes moving through residential neighborhoods at 25 mph is better than sitting dead still on a twelve-lane highway.
Just watch out for the speed cameras and the school zones. Culver City is notorious for ticketing anyone who even thinks about going 36 in a 35.
What about the 105?
The 105 Freeway is a weird one. It’s the "Glen Anderson Freeway." It can be a lifesaver if you're trying to bypass the lower section of the 405. You take the 710 or the 110 to the 105 West, then hop on the 405 right past LAX. It skips a lot of the initial Long Beach congestion, but it dumps you right into the Sepulveda pass mess. It’s a gamble. Sometimes you win, sometimes you’re just stuck in a different place.
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Why Everyone Is Making This Trip Anyway
Why do we do this to ourselves? Because Santa Monica and Long Beach are two completely different worlds. Long Beach has that gritty, industrial-meets-artsy vibe. It’s got the Pike, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the East Village Arts District. It feels like a real city.
Santa Monica? It’s the postcard. It’s the high-end shopping on 3rd Street Promenade. It’s the fancy hotels on Ocean Avenue. It’s the tech bros from Silicon Beach grabbing $18 avocado toast.
If you're visiting, you need both. You need the relaxed, slightly-less-expensive vibe of Long Beach, and you need the iconic, "I’m in a movie" feeling of Santa Monica.
Pro Tips for the Drive
If you are going to drive from long beach california to santa monica, here is how you do it like a pro:
- Check the Waze App, but don't trust it blindly. Waze loves to send people down narrow alleys to save 30 seconds. Sometimes it's better to just stay on the main road.
- The "After 10, Before 2" Rule. If you leave Long Beach after 10:00 AM and head back before 2:00 PM, you’ll usually miss the worst of it.
- Podcast up. You need at least two hours of audio content queued up. Don't rely on the radio. The reception cuts out near the airport anyway.
- The Vista Del Mar Shortcut. If you're coming from the south and the 405 is a mess near LAX, get off and head toward the beach. Vista Del Mar runs right along the ocean behind the airport. It’s beautiful, fast, and smells like salt water instead of jet fuel.
Parking: The Final Boss
You’ve survived the drive. You’ve made it to Santa Monica. Now what?
Parking in Santa Monica is a nightmare. Do not—I repeat, do not—try to find street parking near the pier. You will spend 45 minutes circling blocks and eventually give up and go home.
The city-run parking structures (like the ones on 2nd and 4th Street) are actually pretty reasonable. The first 90 minutes are usually free or very cheap. It’s way better than paying $40 for a private lot that’s barely any closer to the water.
In Long Beach, parking is a bit easier, especially if you’re near the Pike or the Queen Mary. But Santa Monica is a different beast. It’s dense, it’s crowded, and the parking enforcement officers are extremely efficient. They will ticket you the second your meter expires. Honestly, they’re probably watching you right now.
Is it worth it?
Totally. Even with the traffic, the drive from long beach california to santa monica takes you through the heart of what makes Southern California so weird and wonderful. You see the massive shipping containers of the Port of Long Beach. You see the planes taking off from LAX. You see the joggers in Marina Del Rey.
It’s a cross-section of humanity. You’ll see Ferraris and beat-up 1998 Camrys sharing the same lane. You’ll see the fog rolling in off the Pacific.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Trip
Stop overthinking it and just prep for the reality of LA driving.
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- Download your maps for offline use. Sometimes the signal drops near the 105/405 interchange, and you don't want to miss your exit.
- Fuel up in Long Beach. Gas is almost always cheaper in Long Beach than it is in Santa Monica. By a lot.
- Keep a "beach kit" in the trunk. Nothing sucks more than getting to Santa Monica and realizing you forgot a towel or a change of shoes for the sand.
- Plan a mid-way stop. If the traffic is truly horrendous, pull off in Manhattan Beach or El Segundo. Grab a coffee at Two Guns or a burger at a local spot. Wait out the rush.
The trip is about 30 miles, but in LA, we don't measure distance in miles. We measure it in minutes. And as long as you have a good playlist and some patience, those minutes don't have to be miserable.