Route 66

Murphy_The_Cat

John259 wrote: »

A normal car is fine. A 4x4 would offer no advantage because you still wouldn't be able to drive it on unpaved roads without breaking the rental agreement, voiding all LDW/CDW/insurance etc.

A normal car is a lot more practical and less expensive than a special car. Maybe you could rent a fancy car for one day in Las Vegas?

I've found what may be glitch with one particular hire company which means that a full sized SUV can be a lot cheaper a per than an economy car. Given the choice of a Chevy Suburban or a Toyota Corolla, with the Chevy being cheaper , the big fella would win hands down every time.

OP if you drop me a PM, I'll send you the details. Glitch was still live yesterday.

sarahkmv

Hi Gavin,
We've booked to drive route 66 this year. We're going in the middle of August as that's when my daughter is going away on hols with my mum, not the best time 're weather and flight prices, but hey ho.

There's tons of stuff online telling you about the route, actually a fair bit is still drivable and there are a lot of American historical societies around who help keep it "alive".

Anyway, we are going for 12 days, but as we've been to Chicago before we won't spend anytime there, nor will we bother with Vegas (it's off route anyway) and only plan on 2 nights in LA as have been there lots of times (I love it, but it is a marmite place!).

As for costs, we are flying with American from Heathrow as we got a fab deal at £808 each, but flying from Dublin often works out a lot less. 12 days car hire for a Chrysler 200 is about 830 (the one way rental is $500!!!!) If you're under 25 then you'll be stung for a young drivers fee too.

After some research we've budgeted £70/night for hotels, but 100 for LA. Food around 30-40 a day, plus fuel, attraction fees etc.

It's not a cheap holiday, but we've fancied it for years. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm looking forward to it. We've done a few road trips in California and Nevada before and met some wonderful (and some odd) people. Hope this helps aa bit.

sarahkmv

Oh, btw, OH and I checked out doing the route in a muscle car. Bearing in mind we're both early 40's so no young driver fees we were looking at over 2 grand for 12 days!

John259

totallybored wrote: »

Any recommendations for where to stay on the Oregon coast?

Maybe it would be a good idea to start a new thread for that question?

Gavin83

sarahkmv wrote: »

Oh, btw, OH and I checked out doing the route in a muscle car. Bearing in mind we're both early 40's so no young driver fees we were looking at over 2 grand for 12 days!

I've already researched this. To hire a V8 Mustang from LA and return it to LA for 2 weeks costs around £850. If I wanted to hire it in Chicago and drop it off in LA the cost was around £2000. You pay so much more to drop it off in a different location. I'm 29, turning 30 during this holiday (the reason for going!) so the young driver issue isn't a problem for me either.

How does insurance work? Does the hire company sort this out? Also, does the company sort out some sort of vehicle recovery? I don't particularly wish to be sitting there wondering what to do should I break down in the desert. I was also considering getting some extra cans for petrol for emergencies, are these a good idea and easy to obtain?

I have to ask as well, how do the American speeding laws compare to over here? It'll be hard not to 'enjoy' myself on those long straight empty desert roads when I'm sitting at the wheel of such a beast.

torbrex

It's only my opinion but having travelled along various sections of R66 during my numerous visits to America, I can safely say it is one of the longest, most boring tourist traps I have ever had the misfortune to visit.

I may just have been unlucky and visited the wrong sections but.......

John259

Gavin83 wrote: »

Also, does the company sort out some sort of vehicle recovery?

If the car can't be driven then the company usually sends out a replacement car. If the car can be driven, you can take it to their nearest depot and swap it. So renting from a company which has depots all over the country is a considerable advantage on a road trip. If you're a long way from a depot they might agree to a local garage doing a repair, and maybe a tow if necessary, but this can be tricky to negotiate because most rental cars are fairly new and still under the manufacturer's guarantee.

I don't particularly wish to be sitting there wondering what to do should I break down in the desert.

Mobile phones should work on interstates but might not on other roads or in national parks. I've only had one serious breakdown, a radiator hose burst in Mesa Verde National Park. Another visitor gave me a lift to the visitor centre and the park's security officer arranged a local tow and repair. I was very lucky it broke down there and not on the open road.

I was also considering getting some extra cans for petrol for emergencies, are these a good idea and easy to obtain?

That's not necessary and I suspect it might be illegal. There are very few places in the USA or southern Canada where there are long distances between gas stations and those places have warning signs. It's a good idea to fill up when the gauge gets down to around half though.

I have to ask as well, how do the American speeding laws compare to over here?

You'll probably get a variety of opinions on that. FWIW here's mine. In towns and cities speed limits are tightly enforced, both on freeways and normal roads. Out in the country most people drive about 5 to 10mph above the limit unless someone knows the cops are around but whether you risk doing that is your decision.

sarahkmv

I think there will be some dull bits of R66, but there are so fab ones. Can't wait to go back to the Grand Canyon, walk away from the crowds and just take it all in. Everyone I know who has been to Santa Fe say it's fascinating, also I'm really intrigued to see the Painted Desert and the petrified forest!


Having done a fairly long and rambling California and Nevada road trip fuel isn't an issue, but I guess filling up in larger towns where it will be cheaper makes sense.



Alamo include vehicle recovery, I'm hoping it won't be necessary.

Re insurance, Alamo included the insurance we need and we've also taken out separately 0 excess insurance as "belt n braces". Having once had to use it for the sake of £20/30 it saved us around £400 so I consider it useful, but not everyone does.


Speed limits are slower than here generally, but then the 66 isn't to be rushed I suppose (mind you we are aiming for 240ish miles per day on average!). We were stopped in the middle of nowhere in Nevada for doing 65 on a dead straight, could see for around 5 miles kinda road with nobody on it. The cop was fine, gave us a warning and then asked us if we had ever met the Queen (I kid you not). I know it varies, like it does here I guess. Be warned tho as some of the rural areas use a plane to check for speeders (well they used to in Nevada anyhow).


Let us know if you go for it - would be fab to compare notes!