Route 66

Whether you drive this route by car, motorhome or motorbike, this is the ultimate ‘all American’ road trip to self drive Route 66.  Crossing the USA from east to west covering over 2000 miles, get your motor running and ‘get your kicks on route 66′! (See bottom of this page for price guidelines).

There are many fabulous fly drive holidays in the States but this has to be the biggest and best! I’ve driven parts of it around the canyonlands myself and it really is incredible (and Las Vegas has to be seen to be believed!). I can arrange for you to travel Route 66 on a Harley Davidson and really get the wind on your face!  Maybe you saw  Billy Connolly on TV which gave a flavour of this classic highway. You can do this driving holiday most of the year though I’d suggst you avoid winter as some roads can be closed by snow and it’s not very pleasant in the cold (especially if you are on a bike or camping!). Bike hire is only available April to October.

Sometimes know as the Will Rogers Highway after the humorist and also referred to as the ‘Mother Road’ or ‘Main Street of America’ this was just part of the US highway system until it became recognised in popular culture as the iconic drive that it is today. Road signs were erected in 1927 a year after it was originally established, running from Chicago to Los Angeles.  The hit song making bringing worldwide fame to this road was originally recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio in 1946 and later coped by various artists including The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry. Route 66 has had many changes and improvements over the years, altering the overall length and often detouring around cities to avoid congestion. In 1985 ‘US66′ was removed from the Highway System and replaced by the Interstate Highway System.  Some sections of the former road have now been designated ‘Scenic Byways’ under the name ‘Historic Route 66′ and there are maps to help you through these sections.

So where is the actual ‘Route 66′? There are some deveations and of course with self drive holidays you can do your own thing, but here is a ‘standard’ trip of just over two weeks that I can book for you with overnight hotels pre-booked. If you want different hotels or to deviate from the standard tour or just want the flights and car hire, that’s fine too, I can tailor make any version of Route 66 you don’t have to do the tour everyone else tells you to!

Standard itinerary: Pick up your car in Chicago Airport and stay overnight with a day to explore on arrival (note if you are hiring a Motorhome you must overnight in Chicago on arrival). Head to Route 66 and towards Springfield (home of Abraham Lincoln) following the Mississippi to St Louis and see the Gateway Arch at the river, overnight.

Continue through the Ozarks and Mark Twain National Forest to Springfield. From Missouri into Kansas and Oklahoma (sometimes referred to as ‘Indian Territory’) overnighting in Tulsa. Across the ‘Texas Panhandle’ you will see Palo Duro Canyon State Park and get to Amarillo. Across the plains and through Sangre de Cristo mountains detouring north to the town of Santa Fe before re-joining Route 66 to Albuquerque.

Gorgeous cruising roads are next across the New Mexico desert to Gallup, the Four Corners area and the Navajo Nation. West to Flagstaff you can visit the Grand Canyon then come back off the route to journey across the desert to Las Vegas for a couple of nights in this mind blowing neon playground!

The final part of Route 66 ends just before the Pacific Ocean but you can drive right up to it, turning into Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles and ends up in Santa Monica by the famous pier. The road and America stops here – next stop is Hawaii! Drop your car at Los Angeles airport.  Maybe extend your holiday and actually go to Hawaii or spend more time around California.

Whichever way you want to enjoy this fabulous road trip get in touch and I can arrange the ultimate fly drive American adventure. Remember you can do this route in either direction, but the more common choice is to start in Chicago.

Route 66 by Motorbike – I can arrange for individual bike hire or guided motorcycle tours of Route 66.  The most popular bikes are Harley Davidson Fatboy, Honda Goldwing 1800 and the BMW R1200GS. Rentals are charged per 24 hour period and all bikes come with Saddle Bags, Helmets (for driver and pillion) and include unlimited mileage and insurance. There are also group guided Motorcycle tours of Route 66. Note bikes cannot be hired on this route in the winter.

Route 66 by car – all types of normal rental cars are available from economy and compact up to luxury and 4×4. Normally you get driving directions, although if you want a sat nav with can book one! If you fancy a soft top, the most commonly available model is a Chrysler Sebring or Mustang Convertible. Note on convertible cars: it is not possible to hire convertible cars one way out of Illinois, Missouri or Oklahoma.  This means that if you want to do Route 66 in a convertible you must either do it in reverse starting in LA OR take a standard car from Chicago to Albuquerque then pick up a convertible for the second half to LA.  This would involve two one way rentals. American Classic Cars are hard to rent and very pricey.

Route 66 by motorhome – Motorhomes or ‘RVs’ (Recreational Vehicles) are a popular way to self drive anywhere in America. For Route 66 I can book a variety of sizes to suit your group the biggest would usually sleep 6 people.  If you have an HGV licence it may be possible to hire one of the huge ‘motor coaches’ used in the movies!  Ask me to check this out for you. Usually Perosnal kits (linen and towls) and Vehicle kits (crockery and kitchen essentials) are included. I can give you a web link to check out the variety of campground available along the route. Note that motorhome depots are not open on Sundays and all operators require that you overnight in a hotel on arrival before collecting a motorhome.

On all vehicles my quotes will usually include the top level of insurance – details can be provided.  If you are shopping around beware that some hire companies do not include things like essential items, cooking fuel and linen in motorhomes, decent insurance and local taxes on cars and bikes, etc. Cheapest is not always the best option!

PRICE GUIDELINES To give you a rough idea of prices for Route 66 holidays, on the standard 18 day itinerary, with a ‘normal’ (intermediate size 4 door saloon car), 2 people sharing a room, hotels along the way and transatlantic flights, you are looking at something in the region of £1600 – £2000 per person for travel in 2012, depending on the time of year, standard of hotels and flight fares.

Convertible cars are more expensive (average price including flights, hotels and convertible around £2500 per person on standard 18 days and must drive LA to Chicago). Bike hire for a Harley or similar is usually around £200 per day (plus one way drop fee around US$550).  Motorhomes can work out a little cheaper as you are not using hotels but are quite heavy on fuel consumption and you need of course to pay campsite fees and ususally a one way rental too.

NOTE One way rental fees are usually applicable on any self drive holidays worldwide and depending on your vehicle and the distance covered on Route 66 is usually US$250 – $600.  On the standard route 66 itineraries, I can sometimes get this waived for standard saloon cars.  Young driver fees apply and anyone between 21 & 25 needs to pay this locally, currently US$25 per person per day, some of my suppliers will cover the young driver fee in the rental depending on the route.  Minimum age for rental vehicles is 21. There is often a local CFC (Customer Facility Charge of US$8 per day) paid locally.