Origin
Bell Gardens, CA
Late night in Bell Gardens on Saturday
Local time
2:02 AM
PDT
Current temp
72°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
38m
Distance
33.8 mi
54 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$8
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 35m
★
6 AM
0h 39m
8 AM
0h 45m
10 AM
0h 41m
12 PM
0h 40m
3 PM
0h 41m
5 PM
0h 45m
8 PM
0h 37m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Bell Gardens, CA
Carly King
Irvine, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA covers 33.8 miles and takes about 38m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Garfield Avenue, Florence Avenue, I 5 for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $7.77 one way before food or hotel costs.
About the Cities
Arriving in Irvine, CA
Full guide →Founded 1971
Irvine is a city of 308,000 people (2020) in Orange County, California. Irvine is one of the newest and largest cities in Orange County, and it is still growing. The city is a perfectly planned suburbia. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 1971.
Top landmarks
- • Pretend City Children's Museum — children's Museum in California, U.S.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 38m. Total distance: 33.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
38m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (0%). Straightforward navigation.
Scenic Drive
Turn-heavy local drive route profile.
Drive Character
Expect a 38m drive with frequent turns across 33.8 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 19 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Garfield Avenue is one of the defining roads on this drive.
How Hard Is This Drive?
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. Navigation is very simple - set it and forget it for most of the drive.
Driving Effort
1/10
Very easy - short and simple to drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
The drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA is easy. At 38m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.
Where does it get tricky?
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Garfield Avenue | — | — |
| Florence Avenue | — | — |
| I 5 | — | — |
| Santa Ana Freeway | — | — |
| Broadway | — | — |
| I 5 South | — | — |
| CA 55 South | — | — |
| Costa Mesa Freeway | — | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Longest stretch:
Garfield Avenue
— detailed segment metrics are refreshing.
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Bell Gardens, CA and Irvine, CA.
1
Start on Florence Avenue
36 ft
·
2 sec
·
Florence Avenue
2
Turn right onto Garfield Avenue
400 ft
·
18 sec
·
Garfield Avenue
3
Continue on Garfield Avenue
427 ft
·
16 sec
·
Garfield Avenue
4
Turn left onto Florence Avenue
3.9 mi
·
6 min
·
Florence Avenue
5
Take the ramp left toward I 5 Southbound: Santa Ana
0.4 mi
·
51 sec
·
I 5 Southbound: Santa Ana
6
Merge slight left onto Santa Ana Freeway
16 mi
·
18 min
·
Santa Ana Freeway
7
Keep slight right to continue on Santa Ana Freeway
0.2 mi
·
16 sec
·
Santa Ana Freeway
8
Take the exit slight right toward Broadway, Main Street, Santa Ana
0.8 mi
·
57 sec
·
Broadway, Main Street, Santa Ana
9
Keep slight left
0.1 mi
·
10 sec
10
Keep slight left to continue on I 5 South
0.2 mi
·
13 sec
·
I 5 South
11
Merge slight left onto Santa Ana Freeway
0.8 mi
·
54 sec
·
Santa Ana Freeway
12
Keep slight right to continue on Santa Ana Freeway
0.8 mi
·
52 sec
·
Santa Ana Freeway
13
Keep slight right to continue on Santa Ana Freeway
1.1 mi
·
1 min
·
Santa Ana Freeway
14
Take the exit slight right toward CA 55 South: Newport Beach
0.4 mi
·
28 sec
·
CA 55 South: Newport Beach
15
Merge slight left onto Costa Mesa Freeway
3.7 mi
·
4 min
·
Costa Mesa Freeway
16
Take the exit slight right toward I 405 South: John Wayne Airport
0.6 mi
·
39 sec
·
I 405 South: John Wayne Airport
17
Keep slight left to continue on I 405 South
0.1 mi
·
10 sec
·
I 405 South
18
Merge slight left onto San Diego Freeway
2.7 mi
·
3 min
·
San Diego Freeway
19
Arrive at your destination
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$7.77 one way
$15.54 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
12 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $8.01 | $16.01 |
| premium | $6.18 | $8.22 | $16.44 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $7.46 | $14.93 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$8
Estimated CO2 emission: 11.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $4 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 10.1 | 0 | $3.55 | $1.62 |
| Efficient EV | 8.5 | 0 | $2.96 | $1.35 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 13.5 | 0 | $4.73 | $2.16 |
Gas CO2
12 kg
EV CO2
4 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Irvine, CA
Late night in Irvine on Saturday
Local time
2:02 AM
PDT
Current temp
71°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
1 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
38m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
Frequently Asked Questions
The drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA covers 33.8 miles and takes about 38m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Garfield Avenue, Florence Avenue, I 5. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 16.9 miles from Bell Gardens, CA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $7.77 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.
Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.
The drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA is easy. At 38m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
The route from Bell Gardens, CA to Irvine, CA does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
How this page is built
Compiled by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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