Planning

This is down to personal preference - how much freedom do you want? Finding a place to stay is generally not too difficult, and most areas along Route 66 will be able to offer basic accommodation for the impulsive traveller. However, if you know in advance that you’d like to stay in a specific motel/hotel it’s essential to book in advance, particularly in peak season. Certain iconic motels will be fully booked months in advance. A sensible option would be to stay at a mixture of booked and spur-of-the-moment lodging; this way you get to balance the freedom of travelling the open road with the security of knowing you won’t miss out on the most iconic stops. Pick the motels you’d consider a must-see, book yourself a room, and fill in the remaining gaps as you go along. Spur-of-the-moment lodging at chain motels is particularly easy to find due to the high number of such establishments.

If you plan on driving Route 66 with a rental car then there are several major companies to choose from: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty. However, trawling through each of these sites individually, having to enter the same information time and time again soon becomes tiresome. There are sites that will search all of these companies on your behalf to find you the best deal. I have always used CarHire3000 to help me find the cheapest deals for car rental and have never been disappointed - they are easy to communicate with via email or phone. One point worth noting is that if you get an estimate for car hire online but do not book straight away, they wait a couple of weeks before sending you an email with a slightly reduced rate to entice you back!

This all depends on weather you can take the summer heat in the western states. If the answer is yes then I’d recommend driving Route 66 anytime between May and September. Coming from the UK I found the temperatures very hot but more than welcome! However, if potential temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit scare you off then you might prefer to avoid July and August and instead focus on the spring/autumn months. It’s worth noting that most events/festivals occur during the summer months.

During the winter you could potentially come up against some severe snow and icy roads. Also, some attractions are either closed or operating on reduced hours during the off-peak season.

There’s no clear cut answer to this and of course it depends on how long you plan to travel for. However, the total cost for your road trip can be broken down into 6 main considerations: flights (if you live outside the US), car-hire, accommodation, fuel, dining and entrance fees. Remember - it’s better to over-budget and have some cash to return home with than to under-budget and have to curtail the fun!

Flights (if needed) could be a sizeable chunk of your budget and you should shop around, the earlier the better. Web sites such as Opodo and Orbitz are a good starting point.

A good starting point for car rental (and I’ve always found the cheapest) is CarHire3000. The cost incurred will be affected by the size of the vehicle, the insurance offered, and whether you will be required to pay a one-way (or drop-off) fee. As an example, a 4 door medium sized vehicle driven by a 25 year old for 2 weeks in the summer can be approximately $650 including all insurances but not including a one-way fee. The one-way fee (picking up at Chicago and dropping off at LA) can be approximately $200. A good tip is to request a quote online and hold off responding for a few weeks. You’ll then be emailed a small discount offer to entice you back.

The cost of accommodation varies according to quality and whether you have opted for chains or independent motels/hotels. In the summer, certain budget motels offer rooms from $40 which will be more than adequate for most peoples needs. Allowing $50 to $70 a night for a double room should cover most of the motels you’ll encounter. Prices in the larger cities or for classic/vintage Route 66 motels might be a little more. For the vintage motels it would be highly recommended to reserve a room in advance.

A good estimate for fuel costs can be obtained using the fuel-cost calculator found here. An estimate of $250-300 would be realistic for an average sized family vehicle.

Eating on the road can be fairly inexpensive (particularly if you’re from Europe). Breakfast or lunch at a small diner could cost from only $5 per person while an evening meal might cost in the region of  $10 to $20. A quality steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch can cost less than $20 or you can opt for their whopping 72oz steak - eat it in less than an hour and it’s free! Don’t forget to budget approximately 15% for tips.

Entrance fees to small museums and attractions generally only come to a few dollars if not free so that just leaves the national parks or larger privately owned attractions. As a guide the National Cowboy and Western Museum charges $12.50 for adults whereas the Meteor Crater admission is $15 per adult.

Pack light if you can as you don’t want to be carrying a heavy suitcase every day. If you’re travelling during the summer months bear in mind that it can get extremely hot and so pack accordingly - shorts and tee-shirts will generally be fine!

If you’re renting a vehicle it’s almost a given that you’ll have air conditioning but even so it makes sense to always carry several bottles of water with you, particularly when driving through the more remote desert sections. I bought a cheap crate of bottled water (I think over 30 bottles!) from a supermarket and left them in the boot, occasionally restocking the glove box.

If you’re new to the States and fancy having a beer to finish off a day’s driving be sure to carry photo ID with you as you’ll always need to show ID to get served in bars. Obviously, if you’re a foreigner you’ll have your passport with you anyway - just remember to take it out with you in the evenings! Also remember to take your driving license as - aside from needing it to hire a car - in most states it’s against the law not to carry it with you.

A specialist Route 66 map is essential. A highly recommended map and guide is “Route 66: EZ66 Guide For Travellers” by Jerry McClanahan.

Aside from that just remember to take a camera to capture those memories!

I would always recommend a self-drive road trip if it was an option. Travelling by coach would mean that you would be a slave to someone else’s itinerary and unable to experience Route 66 on your own terms. Also, some group tours by coach aren’t particularly faithful to the old road and can take large liberties with their route. The charm of Route 66 is the freedom to explore at your leisure; being able to pull over whenever something catches your eye. You won’t get anywhere near this experience with a packaged trip.

However, that isn’t to say that a coach trip wouldn’t be enjoyable - far from it. If you really don’t think a self-drive road trip is for you then a coach trip is the next best option and will certainly give you a flavour of what the mother road has to offer.