Here's a sample itinerary for a drive from Santa Fe (New Mexico) to Los Angeles. If you're planning a road trip to Los Angeles, you can research locations to stop along the way. Make sure you check road conditions to double check the weather. Traveling with a dog or cat? Find pet-friendly stops. Camping along the way? Search for RV campgrounds. Find the best hotels, restaurants, and attractions based on the most talked about places recommended by Trippy members.
9:00 am start in Santa Fe (New Mexico)
drive for about 1 hour
10:00 am Albuquerque
stay for about 2.5 hours
and leave at 12:30 pm
drive for about 2 hours
2:32 pm Gallup
stay for about 1 hour
and leave at 3:32 pm
drive for about 2 hours
5:25 pm Winslow (Arizona)
stay for about 1 hour
and leave at 6:25 pm
drive for about 1.5 hours
7:54 pm Williams
stay overnight and leave the next day around 9:00 am
day 1 driving ≈ 6.5 hours
find more stops
9:00 am leave from Williams
drive for about 1.5 hours
10:41 am Kingman
stay for about 1 hour
and leave at 11:41 am
drive for about 2 hours
1:26 pm Mojave National Preserve
stay for about 1 hour
and leave at 2:26 pm
drive for about 1.5 hours
4:06 pm Joshua Tree National Park
stay for about 1 hour
and leave at 5:06 pm
drive for about 2.5 hours
7:49 pm arrive in Los Angeles
eat at Gjelina
stay at Shutters On the Beach
day 2 driving ≈ 8 hours
find more stops
True asked:
Driving Direction (1 answer)
Wendy asked:
Best place to stop for the night (0 answers)
Albuquerque (116 answers)
Old Town Albuquerque (3 mentions)
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (2 mentions)
Explora! (2 mentions)
Nob Hill (2 mentions)
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (2 mentions)
restaurants around Albuquerque:
Frontier Restaurant
Standard Diner
Frontier Restaurant
questions about Albuquerque:
What is your favorite restaurant in Albuquerque?
Affordable hotel in Albuquerque for the International Balloon Fiesta?
Temporary home!
Where to stay
Gallup (6 answers)
Winslow (Arizona) (7 answers)
Williams (10 answers)
questions about Williams:
Are there side streets going to Williams, AZ from Phoenix?
Kingman (13 answers)
Mojave National Preserve (3 mentions)
Joshua Tree National Park (24 mentions)
questions about Joshua Tree National Park:
First-timer weekend in Joshua tree with girlfriends
Best campsites at Joshua Tree?
Joshua Tree adventure
Are you going straight to a hotel, or looking for a vacation rental or Airbnb?
The best resource on neighborhoods, areas, and hotels is the Trippy page on where to stay in Los Angeles.
You can also see most people recommend as the best amount of time to visit. Find out how many days in Los Angeles to stay.
If you're looking for a quick answer, you can check out Shutters On the Beach, which was mentioned 36 times on Trippy.
Here are some more hotels people talk about:
Want to research more popular hotels in Los Angeles? Click the blue button below.
Need some recommendations on somewhere to get food?
Trippy members suggest Gjelina, which was mentioned 44 times.
Here are some more restaurants people talk about:
Want to research more popular restaurants in Los Angeles? Click the blue button below.
This section could be endless, so rather than trying to suggest every local activity or attraction, we'll leave it open-ended.
These are some of the places people talk about on Trippy:
Of course, Trippy is the perfect place to ask questions because there's an entire community of travelers talking to each other and sharing tips and advice. Trippy is where you can get answers personalized for your tastes, budgets, trip dates & more!
For example, here are some questions people have asked about Los Angeles. Click on any question to see answers from the community!
Michelle from Mesa asked:
Where are the top 5 places to see a celebrity in L.A.? (27 answers)
Maxime from Los Angeles asked:
What's your favorite burger in L.A? (26 answers)
Clement from Singapore asked:
Free things to do in Los Angeles? (24 answers)
Steph from asked:
Area an hour away from LAX airport (21 answers)
Bianca from Miami asked:
What are the top 3 beaches in Los Angeles? (20 answers)
Click the button below to explore more questions and answers related to Los Angeles.
Yes, even this step is optional, because if you're on vacation who wants the trip to end? It's okay, you can start planning your next trip!
Want to plan the trip back? Get the reverse directions for a Los Angeles to Santa Fe (New Mexico) drive, or go to the main page to plan a new road trip.
You can also compare the travel time if you're flying or driving by calculating the distance from Santa Fe (New Mexico) to Los Angeles. Or get a full Santa Fe (New Mexico) to Los Angeles flight plan.
Don't forget about exploring your own hometown with a staycation. You can also find some cool day trips or get away for a weekend. Maybe try typing in a faraway location like London, Hong Kong, or Sydney, and get inspired for your dream trip around the world.
And if you know Santa Fe (New Mexico) well, please help your fellow travelers and answer their questions about Santa Fe (New Mexico)!