Route 66

AJSmith321

We're planning a trip to the USA in July/August this year, on a budget(hopefully).We'll be starting with a visit to family in Washington and then the plan is to fly to Chicago, pick up a car and drive Route 66 through to LA with a few day in Vegas. I have lots of questions - first what are the best airlines flights will be Manchester Uk to Washington, Washington to Chicago and finally LA to Manchester. Will there be any problem collecting a car in Chicago and dropping off in LA? Finally I understand lots of the old Route 66 has disappeared and I know there are parts where there's not much to see so what do people recommend as a must see? All help/tips are gratefully accepted. Thanks

ferf1223

you should be able to rent a car in Chicago and drop off in LA though you will likely have a one-way charge applied so make sure you understand what that will be.

I recommend Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, AZ to everyone I know who does the Route 66 thing...don't read too much about it - just know it gets a lot of 5* reviews (not for the food, it's a tiny place and not fine dining - just need to visit to understand why it's worth it).

blindman

AJSmith321 wrote: »

We're planning a trip to the USA in July/August this year, on a budget(hopefully).We'll be starting with a visit to family in Washington and then the plan is to fly to Chicago, pick up a car and drive Route 66 through to LA with a few day in Vegas. I have lots of questions - first what are the best airlines flights will be Manchester Uk to Washington, Washington to Chicago and finally LA to Manchester. Will there be any problem collecting a car in Chicago and dropping off in LA? Finally I understand lots of the old Route 66 has disappeared and I know there are parts where there's not much to see so what do people recommend as a must see? All help/tips are gratefully accepted. Thanks

I think you need to research as to why you think this is a "good " road trip.

As you said most of it is gone\disused and the TV hypes up other bits

Lots of sites with details

Not sure it's worth travelling the whole route (most of it is gone) but there are some iconic places worth a night stop.

Have fun

cubegame

blindman wrote: »

I think you need to research as to why you think this is a "good " road trip.

As you said most of it is gone\disused and the TV hypes up other bits

Lots of sites with details

Not sure it's worth travelling the whole route (most of it is gone) but there are some iconic places worth a night stop.

Have fun

I agree with this post.

If you've not done an American road trip before then Route 66 is not a good starter.

It's overhyped and quite dull. There are better routes.

weezy_gal

There is a drop off fee like previously mentioned and it is around $600

I've done the US internal flights with United before, they're quite reasonable and really easy to book in the UK.

Virgin holidays offer a route 66 tour that takes around 15 days, you could use that for inspiration perhaps?

I wish you luck, that will take some fun planning

ferf1223

agree that most of that trip would be long and boring to me...but I know a lot of folks in the UK have it on their bucket list...we drove a short stretch of it on the way back from the GC (returning to Vegas) as it was one of my FIL's bucket list things - so we knew we could drive a bit of it and make him happy (and he was thrilled)...but driving the whole route would not appeal in the slightest to me...I do know people who think it's a great thing to do though.

KarenG

I'd really urge you to start checking flight prices often - that is school summer holidays, and flights are going to be pricey. I use kayak.co.uk and skyscraper.co.uk to do this. You can save (or pay!) thousands if you're a family by doing this.

Did you have a price in mind for your flights? They will break or make your budget.

Regarding Route 66, I'd agree with everything previous posters have said. Lots of boring road, and albeit some really nice highlights, they were few and far between in areas!

DesertWind

I am not to sure about the route you have planned. Like others have said there are better routes to drive in the USA. Last August we did San Francisco down though Big Sur to LA and the continued down to San Diego. Across to Palm Springs, then onto Flagstaff, seeing the Canyon, Sedona etc. Near Las Vegas though you also have lots of the parks not too far away such as the Grand Canyon. I would say if it is at all possible and you have not done so yet try and see the Grand Canyon, Yosemite which you could get to from Vegas by driving across Death Valley. Some great possibilites out there. Next to Australia it is my favourite Country for road trips.

marky_p

DesertWind wrote: »

Across to Palm Springs, then onto Flagstaff, seeing the Canyon, Sedona etc. Near Las Vegas though you also have lots of the parks not too far away such as the Grand Canyon. I would say if it is at all possible and you have not done so yet try and see the Grand Canyon, Yosemite which you could get to from Vegas by driving across Death Valley. Some great possibilites out there. Next to Australia it is my favourite Country for road trips.

I did something similar to this - highly recommend it!

jackieblack

Vegas and across Death Valley in August :eek:
Definitely not for me

AJSmith321

Thanks for the tips, we will be going from Vegas to San Francisco and then driving down to San Diego and have a house booked in Palm Springs so that covers a lot of what's been recommended. I know we'll have to pay a premium for dropping off in another city and I know some people wonder why on earth we want to do this, but it is something we'll enjoy and fortunately not everyone's alike or the world would be a very dull place. Looking at Six Flags theme park - anybody been?