any one done the route 66 fly drive, things to do or avoid, cost of fuel on journey, any help and idea of the total cost, best time of year as I do not want to be toasted or frozen, I am grateful to the companies I have worked for that gave me the opportunity to travel all over Europe but would like to see some of America and fly drive seems the best way to see more than 100 yards either side of a hotel.
I booked this a few years back as a package but cancelled due to “unforseen circumstances”. Looking back it would’ve been much cheaper to actually plan and book the whole thing myself. Take some time and plan what you want and see what you want when you want. Price at the time was about 3 1/2k but think coukda dine it cheaper. Extra cost was apparently the car hire places take $500 on a card when you ger there so they can bring their car back. Made no sense to me.
Woulda been a nice trip and maybe someday
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Route 66 is really an over rated cliche.The more northern route through Iowa,Nebraska,Colorado,Utah and Nevada provides some of the most spectacular and typically expected scenery that the States has to offer.I also took enough time to fit in the Golden Gate Bridge,Pacific Coast Highway and Yosemite and Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada and the ■■■■■■■■■■■■ then ran back to LA for the flight home.I did all that in one 6 week holiday including using the QE2 to NY.
Also did another trip from NY to Key West then back North to Niagara and Toronto via West Virginia and then back to NY then used the QE 2 home.Also remember the car hire reception not believing the respective mileages when they saw them. 
On that note it’s better to go for as long as possible and fit in as much as possible.Rather than going for numerous short trips and/or concentrating on any particular theme like just doing Route 66 which will always mean having to compromise what you can fit in and see during any of them. 
Route 66 is long gone, most of it is under an interstate now. The state’s that it crossed have more or less preserved bits of it, and in many places there are businesses catering to those who want a trip back through history.
It was heavily used as the best route to California in the great depression, when going west was the only option and it gained it’s name as the mother road. John Steinbeck among others helped it gain it’s place in history with the grapes of wrath.
If you research it a bit, and get into the reason why it was so important in American history ( mostly hope when there wasn’t much about) it is a worthwhile trip. There are still loads of fun and weird places like Cadillac ranch etc, ■■■■■■■■■■■■ is a
Short detour from the old road and so is Las Vegas, and a few places particularly in New Mexico that seem unchanged, old motels etc and even Barstow in California harks right back many years but make no mistake there are many many miles of very little between the better known sights.
Personally I’d say that to anyone who’s prepared themselves well it’d be a blast. Anyone who thinks they’ll rent a Harley and get into the easy rider vibe is going to come crashing back to reality. Don’t go between Oct and Easter, don’t rent a car without ac and don’t rush too much.
I’m lucky, I’m paid to drive out here so I get to enjoy lots of historic routes, and I’ve learnt the more you research before you use them the more you get out of it. Here’s my wife and dog on boxing day 2014 at the end of the road on Santa Monica pier, that is an excellent town and just up the road from Venice and muscle beach if any of you want to go profiling and styling and showing off those bleach tanned trucker bodies you’ll have an audience there alright.
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Drove the Pacific Highway, San Francisco to San Diego, couple of years ago. We were there mid June to Mid July and until we got down to LA there was always a cool breeze off the water. Pics are Muscle Beach.
We always do our own research, choose routes and hotels etc. Then draw up a detailed itinerary and take it to a local independent travel agent who books the whole thing through a specialist like North America Travel, have a look at their website. It may be more expensive than a fly drive package but you see what you want to see in your own time.
We have done the same for NZ OZ And Canada over the years. Some of the fly drive packages consist of a lot of one night stops and you never get the chance to have a good look,at one place.
Tyneside.
Which one of those is you?
This is probably the most scenic drive in North America, from the Canadian border down to San Diego it’s all unbelievable. But from San Francisco to Santa Monica is as good a drive as it gets.
tyneside:
Drove the Pacific Highway, San Francisco to San Diego, couple of years ago. We were there mid June to Mid July and until we got down to LA there was always a cool breeze off the water. Pics are Muscle Beach.
We always do our own research, choose routes and hotels etc. Then draw up a detailed itinerary and take it to a local independent travel agent who books the whole thing through a specialist like North America Travel, have a look at their website. It may be more expensive than a fly drive package but you see what you want to see in your own time.
We have done the same for NZ OZ And Canada over the years. Some of the fly drive packages consist of a lot of one night stops and you never get the chance to have a good look,at one place.
Tyneside.
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Let’s just say I am the handsome one!!
For what it is worth the Big Sur scenery is good ( attached pictures)but the drive over the Rockies is better. New Zealand is the best in my opinion.
Tyneside
thanks for the replies, I will need to look into the other routes as the 66 was just a thought and as I will probably only get the one go at it I will want to take it slow and easy,