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Me and my boyfriend are looking into doing route 66 in July 2016 , we will both be 21, however have no idea where to start looking in relation to renting a car and getting the cheapest deal possible. Any tips or advice would be be fantastic!!
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Hi, you need to make a few decisions on what you plan to do, all or part of 66, East to west or reverse, how many days.
If you narrow it down a bit you will get lots of advice. Buy a copy of EZ66 Guide (Amazons a good place) for your route planning and the maps on this site are brilliant. There is a wealth of information and support on the Web, you will need to start planning ASAP as some of the iconic hotels are small and fill up quickly.
Car rental is the biggest trap, beware of the one way fee it's not always quoted
June 15th to July 13th 2016
Did the whole thing, Chicago to Santa Monica
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Are you American? If so, you'll have no problems renting a car.
But, if you're from outside America, then you will struggle to rent a car because they usually have a 25-and-over policy.
--- Drove Route 66 in August 2012 ---
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Hi
Mariab said
Me and my boyfriend are looking into doing route 66 in July 2016 , we will both be 21, however have no idea where to start looking in relation to renting a car and getting the cheapest deal possible. Any tips or advice would be be fantastic!!
Hi - my wife and I are driving 66 in September 2016. Although it's our first time, we've driven in the USA before. Car rental can be precarious for anyone, but my advice would be to ring the car hire Co. and actually speak to someone. Get them to email EXACTLY your conversation and take their names (some are more than willing to give you their direct number as its commission based) There are 2 hire firms in the USA that charge $500 one-way fees and the rest are a lot higher. I used rentalcars.com and found them to be very good indeed. Tell them to quote you the 500 one-way fee and then get an email, reiterating everything. You'll be fine I'm sure. Enjoy..
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Booked our car through rentalcars.com and, as ever, they were more than helpful. We are doing 3 weeks Ca to Tx in September and the one way drop off (OWDO) charge varied from $399 to $1000! With the help of Matthew we booked best deal with National which was about £20 more than some others but had lowest OWDO. Overall saved about $560.
I've used them 6 or 7 times in the past for USA and never have any issues. Top firm.
Peter
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I am looking to book a rental car and found the following web site very good (compares a few rental car companies)
https://www.rentalcars.com
We are having trouble trying to work out appropriate over night stops from Albuquerque to LA over 9 days/nights.
Have come up with the following -
ALBUQUERQUE 1 OR 2 NIGHTS
GALLUP 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
PETRIFIED FOREST
FLAGSTAFF 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
NEEDLES 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
LA
We want to see as many of the most interesting places as possible along the way including a ghost town or 2 and a diversion to Peggy Sue's diner.
We prefer to stay in small/medium towns.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Everyone will have a different opinion, try not to worry about packing and unpacking each night (noticed that in an older post)
Here are some suggested stops
1 Albuquerque
2 Gallup
3 Holbrook
4 Flagstaff
5 & 6 Williams 2 nights, you can take the train or drive to the Grand canyon
7 Kingman
8 Barstow (via Peggy Sues Diner)
9 Santa Monica
Just keep juggling your plan , it took me 6 months to finally decide on my stops for my upcoming trip!
June 15th to July 13th 2016
Did the whole thing, Chicago to Santa Monica
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Sept. 2016 will be our 1st time on 66 too. We have done quite a few road trips across Europe and the USA in the past (UK to Southern Spain through France etc) and around France up to Scandinavia. We make mental blueprints of trips, but don't be afraid to detour and spend time in other places.
Our mantra is 'You've never lost when you've an adventure ahead of you' and so long as you roughly stick to the original 'blueprint' of your trip, then you'll be fine with seeing stuff away from the road.
We're heading east to west from Chicago to LA, but are veering off at Kingman, through Vegas, Death Valley then to see friends in Daly City then down H'Way 1 to LA. We've 3 weeks to do all this and whilst there'll be trials and tribulations on the way, we'll be thoroughly enjoying every second of being wherever we are. Good luck to everyone who is journeying this September in what is the 90th anniversary of the Mother Road.
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Wow what a famous couple's names Bonnie and Clyde. I hope you won't be driving a 1934 Ford Deluxe 🙂
My wife and I plan to do many diversions off Route 66. We want to see as much as possible in 9 days.
Visited the Grand Canyon 3 years ago so won't bother diverting there unless we end up with lots of spare time around Williams.
I thought that rather than traveling most days between overnight stays seeing things along the way we would plan to stop at 3 or 4 overnight stops and do day trips out from each of those places to places of great interest. We really don't want to have to repack bags and the car every morning.
Problem is working out which places to do those stops which will give us enough time to do sight seeing between each stop.
Maybe my initial (posted above) live of overnight stops.
Our "Route 66" touring guide has many places some which look like they shouldn't be missed (such as ghost towns, good museums) and others which are maybe not so interesting such as the meteor crater.
There is supposed to be a ghost town at Goffs but I cannot find Goffs on a map only Goffs Road which comes off interstate 40 west of Needles. Maybe there is another ghost town easier to locate? I remember seeing one on the internet which has been restored and a chanrge is made to visit it but cannot find it again. Any ideas?
We probably will never do such a trip again so want to make it the best. I was hoping that a reader would perhaps list (in their opinion) a (short) list of places not to miss.
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Google Maps ,you can see the buildings
Glenrio, NM
https://goo.gl/maps/3btivegTeKF2
Goffs CA
https://goo.gl/maps/dLq6UY7GGbw
June 15th to July 13th 2016
Did the whole thing, Chicago to Santa Monica
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Sounds an excellent trip and you've seen a fair part of the area already then. Nah we've only a modern-day car for this one ha ha. I know what you mean about packing every morning, which can be a chore I know. Have you watched 'World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides' with Henry Cole? (they're all on youtube) There's a great 3-parter on 66 and is quite an interesting insight to doing Chicago to LA. The ghost towns in the deserts do look incredible and soul searching which is (quietly) going to be my favourite part actually. Goffs appears to be off IS 40 and on an old part of 66 at the junction with Lanfair Road (which heads North)
We gave ourselves a few 2- nighters in places though to save that dreaded morning pack, plus I never drive at night if I can help it which hopefully we won't have to (be laid plans of mice & men eh lol)
The veer off at Kingman means we'll not exactly be driving the entire route, but we've always wanted to visit San Fran and Death Valley in particular, so we may have to re-visit that latter part of Route 66 another year with any luck. Oh...the 'Route 66 Motel' in Kingman looks to be a 'must stay' place (Henry Cole TV show focused on it)....it's only £20 a night and the rooms are all 50's original stuff (but clean of course ha ha) As for places 'not to be missed' I reckon you've got it just about right really. Ghost towns, deserts etc.
Good luck with the trip my friend and safe journey from 'straaaya
B & C.
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Thanks for those links.
Just Googled the Route 66 Hotel at Kingman and Tripadvisor doesn't have very good feedback for it (YES you have to be careful with negative feedback as the reviewers may have expected 4 star).
Found lots of ghost towns some being -
Goffs on interstate 66 off 40
Amboy and Ludlow (virtual ghost towns)
Newberry Springs, Daggett and Calico (not far from Peggy Sue's and restored with an entrance fee of $8)
So lots to do between Needles and Barstow.
Looking forward to this trip.
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The Eltrovatore Motel (my pick)
https://eltrovatoremotel.com
or the Hilltop Motel
https://www.hilltopmotelaz.com
Would be the classic motels for Kingman
June 15th to July 13th 2016
Did the whole thing, Chicago to Santa Monica
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I can heartily recommend El Trovatore Motel. If you get chatting to the owners, set aside an hour! Wonderful people and a great setting with distant view of the mountains. A proper quirky and authentic Mother Road motel.
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Cheers thepengy and paul duncan for the El Trov recommend. We're veering off at Kingman to head North to Death Valley and this looks a wonderful place to rest for the night. Stay safe and enjoy.
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jparnold said
I am looking to book a rental car and found the following web site very good (compares a few rental car companies)
https://www.rentalcars.comWe are having trouble trying to work out appropriate over night stops from Albuquerque to LA over 9 days/nights.
Have come up with the following -
ALBUQUERQUE 1 OR 2 NIGHTS
GALLUP 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
PETRIFIED FOREST
FLAGSTAFF 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
NEEDLES 2 or 3 NIGHTS?
LAWe want to see as many of the most interesting places as possible along the way including a ghost town or 2 and a diversion to Peggy Sue's diner.
We prefer to stay in small/medium towns.Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks
jp, Gallup, and Needles aren't really multiple day cities as there really isn't much there to see. However Albuquerque, and Flagstaff are very interesting.
From Albuquerque you can take the Route 66 alignment up to Santa Fe. It's a great day trip, and the city is beautiful. You can also take a day to drive the southern Route 66 alignment from Albuquerque to Las Cruces then back to I-40 then it's just a short trip back to Albuquerque. It's another fun day trip. Then you have old downtown Albuquerque that has some great shopping.
In Flagstaff you can visit the Petrified Forrest, and the Painted Dessert. The Grand Canyon (highly recommended) can be visited from Williams, AZ (try Rod's Steakhouse while in Williams) just a short ride from Flagstaff. You could also take a day tip down to Sedona, AZ from Flagstaff for some of the most beautiful Red Rock Mountains in the country.
So, if you can adjust your days I think it would be much better than trying to find enough to do in Gallup, and Needles. Good luck on your planning.
Jim
