tucson: I'm planning on going from Los Angeles to Tucson, AZ on Christmas either leaving in the morning or afternoon. I'm planning on taking the 10 east all the way but I know I can also take the 5 south to the 8 east. Which freeway would be best to go? I'd rather take the 10 since it's shorter but if the 5 to the 8 is faster I'd rather take that. And how would the traffic be?|||I take the I-8 west from Tucson every year for the holiday either on Christmas or on Christmas Eve. It is heavier than usual but not bumper to bumper or have too many slow downs. Having gone up to Phoenix on the holidays, the I-10 is horrible because there will inevitably be a half dozen slow downs because the two lane interstate can't accommodate the traffic between Casa Grande and Phoenix. Going through the actual city isn't usually as bad, but problems always come up when there are only 2 lanes and every needs to slow down to see an accident, a cop pulling over someone, etc. The I-8/I-10 between San Diego and Tucson is pretty clear except for the 2 border patrol checkpoints which will add about 5-10 minutes to the trip for each stop. I have family in San Diego who don't touch the I-5 north of Del Mar because the traffic is always hit or miss with me actually being stuck in a traffic jam one weekend there for 3 hours. The only experience I have with the I-10 between LA and Phoenix are non-holiday weekends in the early morning and never had a problem once I was 10-20 miles outside of the cities. If I was in your position, I would leave as early as possible on the I-10 east until you hit Highway 85 near Buckeye then drive south to Gila Bend. After you are in Gila Bend, you just head east on the I-8 until you merge with the I-10 and get to Tucson. I would avoid Phoenix if you could. Highway 85 is a very well traveled road and most people use it to get between central Arizona and San Diego, but I never find it that congested. The key to all this is to leave early because traffic will only get worse as the day gets longer, and talking from a trip this Thanksgiving, a smooth drive at 9am will turn into an irritating afternoon of continuous speeding up and braking at noon.