Route 66 EB Self-Guided Tour

After months of waiting your departure day is finally here: Welcome to Los Angeles!

(Driving day 1: 253 km/157 miles)

This is the day you start your Route 66 adventure! When you are ready on your bike, you start your ride on the 4.000 km / 2.500 miles long Historic Route 66. Los Angeles disappears behind you as you head east for a unique adventure full of history and fun.

Today you will enjoy the magical roads and spectacular views on one of the US Best motorcycle roads; the Angeles Crest Highway (CA-2). It will be a breathtaking riding experience for the history books. Make sure to have your camera ready and fully charged. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Take several stops and make your time on Angels Crest Highway before you drive to the beautiful vacation resort Big Bear Lake, where you spend a magical evening.

(Driving day 2: 352km/219 miles)

It will be a day of city-, highway- and desert driving, and it will get very hot. We recommend riding with a hydration (cooling) vest, which makes it much easier to cope with the heat. You can eat breakfast and drive “the strip” before taking a group photo in front of the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

You are now in a city called “The adult playground” or “Sin City”. Vegas Baby! Have fun! Las Vegas has everything, stunning buildings, unique shows, casinos and all kinds of entertainment. Vegas is never boring! We highly recommend visiting Caesars Palace, Bellagio, MGM, Stardust, Treasure Island, The Venetian, Mirage, and Wyatt. In the evening you will be able to watch volcanic eruptions every 15 minutes at the Mirage. The garden is transformed into a flame show. Inside the casino, you will find rare white tigers. The water show outside the Bellagio is also a memory for life.

(Driving day 3: 229 km/143 miles)

You start the day with a spectacular drive to Oatman, an old western village in Mohave (county), which was established by two gold diggers in 1915. The driving distance to the Oatman consists of narrow curvy roads at different height levels, with mountain and desert landscapes. Ideal for filming, perhaps the best opportunity on the tour. In Oatman, remember to lock your bikes, and watch out for donkeys & outlaws in the streets. Then, you cruise to Kingman, another important city on the route.

(Driving day 4: 433 km/271 miles)

This day will for many be the highlight of the tour. You will explore Grand Canyon! But first, you drive to little Seligman, which has one of the greatest advocates for Route 66’s origin. Seligman is a fun, cozy and traditional Route 66 town, with a lot of great photo opportunities. You stop in Hackberry, a small traditional Route 66 gas station, full of history, like taken out of an old movie. You can enjoy ice cream or cola in the shade.

Then you drive to the Grand Canyon helicopter base. If you have ordered the helicopter tour you will get an experience of a lifetime, truly something you’ll never forget. To hover in the air over one of the seven wonders and experience this natural phenomenon up close is absolutely magical. Highly recommend! After the helicopter ride, you drive a short distance to the visitor center, where you have the chance to watch the world’s most viewed Imax movie. When you see the film, it feels almost like standing inside the Grand Canyon. Thereafter, you ride into the Grand Canyon, where you take this year’s holiday photo!

NB: Helicopter rides must be booked in advance.

(Driving day 5: 390 km/244 miles)

This will be a day of desert driving and unique nature experiences. You will first drive to Winslow and stop at the “corner”. Those who are Eagles fans know what “Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” means. Then you drive to Holbrook and into the Navajo and Apache Territories, the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Is it stones or threes? And is the sand painted? You drive through this wonderful nature before you finish the day by driving to Gallup.

(Driving day 6: 363 km/199 miles)

You leave the cowboy land and drive into the Indian land. It will be an eventful day where you drive through land that Indians have lived on for centuries. You drive straight to Acoma Sky City which is the sacred city of the Acoma Indians and situated on top of a high “Mesa”.You continue to Albuquerque, where you can eat lunch.

Afterward, you drive the small, winding and fun roads to Madrid. The last stop is Santa Fe, one of the most beautiful cities in the western United States. Santa Fe will be your home for the next two nights. You won’t spend more than a few minutes in Santa Fe’s narrow streets before falling in love with the city.

(Fun and explorer day)

You have ridden over half of the distance on your Route 66 adventure and take a day off to recharge the batteries and enjoy more of the wonderful Santa Fe. The city is located high in the mountains; scenic “Sangre de Cristo “, and is rich in Spanish and Native American history and culture. A unique blend that can be seen in the local art and architecture.

You can relax by the pool, enjoy one of the many art galleries, explore Santa Fe or a guided city tour, or visit one of the town’s micro-breweries. You can buy local art in the local market. Do not forget to try “The Green Chili Stew” which has become a favorite among our guests. Santa Fe’s cuisine is famous.

(Driving day 7: 448 km/280 miles)

It will be a hot driving day in cowboy country, with long flat plains and countrysides. You are riding into America’s largest state; Texas. The first stop is Santa Rosa, before continuing to Tucumcari and visiting “Blue Swallow” (the friendliest motel on R66).

You can eat lunch in Tucumcari, before heading out of Texas and into New Mexico, to Adrian, the “MidPoint Route 66 US”. Now you are halfway to Chicago. You can have a cup of coffee at the local Midpoint diner before continuing to the famous “Caddilac Ranch” where you can sign a very special artwork.

(Driving day 8: 427 km/267 miles)

You say goodbye to Texas and drive into Oklahoma. Oklahoma is the state that has preserved most of the original Route 66. It was in Oklahoma people began to use the term “The Mother Road”. The landscape changes from dry to lush.

You drive through several small towns before you stop in McLean at yet another real Texas steak house. Here it is possible to eat one of the tenderest steaks you ever have tasted. You drive into Oklahoma to Elk City and the National Route 66 Museum, which covers the entire time period from the 1920s to the present. Your journey continues along with the many small and cozy Route 66 towns several towns before you reach your final stop for the day; Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is the 31st largest city in the U.S. according to population, but the 8th largest according to land area.

(Driving day 9: 494 km/312 miles)

You ride through the beautiful & lush Oklahoma and make several stops: Tulsa, where you visit the Route 66 Harley Davidson, Stroud, and the Rock Café. The drive through Kansas on Route 66 is very short, only about 31 km. You stop at the famous “4 Women on the Route” and Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge, enjoying the historical aura, before continuing to Baxter Springs and into Oklahoma. Oklahoma is the state that has preserved most of the original Route 66 (in total, you can drive about 633 km), and the residents of Oklahoma are those who currently use Route 66 most because a lot of the new Interstate 44 is levied by tolls. It was in Oklahoma people began to use the term “The Mother Road”. Oklahoma is also the state where the landscape changes from foresty to dry.  You proceed to your final stop Springfield, home of President Abraham Lincoln.

(Driving day 10: 348 km/216 miles)

You continue through the “heart” of the United States, full of various experiences and impressions. This is the way people originally drove Route 66. Your next stop is Lebanon and then to picturesque Cuba, where you look at the legendary Munger Moss Motel. You continue southwest through the stunning mountain scenery of the Ozarks, which is among the most scenic along Route 66. Keep your camera ready!  Your first stop is at Stanton and the Jesse James Museum in Meramec Mines. You get the opportunity to go into the caves where Jesse & his gang hid all the loot they had robbed from their many raids.

You continue your journey through several small towns before arriving in St. Louis, where you cross the Mississippi River on the historic Chain of Rocks bridge before you stop at one of the most famous landmarks in the USA, “The Gateway Arch”, a monument raised in honor of the pioneers who went west. The Arch can be seen at a 6 km distance. St. Louis was long the last civilization. Like the real pioneers, you ride by the “Arch” and stop to capture the moment. You will spend the evening here.

(Driving day 11: 179 km/111 miles)

It will be a day full of traditional riding on Route 66 and spectacular nature. Many villages, ancient towns, and historic Route 66 places. Your first stop is Mt. Olive, an old Route 66 gas station. You continue to Hamel, where you take a break on at traditional Route 66 diner and enjoy the sun before arriving in Springfield, today’s end stop.

(Driving day 12: 307 km/187 miles)

It will be a new day with fun and historic Route 66 driving. You begin with the old gas station at Odell (which is a good example of an old  24-hour station) and continue along Route 66 to Pontiac. Then you continue to Wilmington and “The Gemini Giant” where you eat lunch. The next stop will be in Joilet, the hometown of the Blues Brothers, where can you stop for ice cream. Then you drive straight back to Chicago, where you return your vehicle.

You check out of the hotel and grab a shuttle bus to the airport to return home. Thank you for choosing our Route 66 Self-Drive Tour.

Note: Because of the time difference travelers from Europe will arrive home the date/day after departing the US.

Also: This program is a guideline for activities and experiences on the tour. Deviations may occur, but you guarantee that your positive tyour leaders will do their utmost to execute the program as described – as far as it is feasible and circumstances allow. You are continually working to improve the program, thus you may experience positive surprises.