Route 66 is a 3.940 km road that runs all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica, snaking through 8 different States; Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
But Route 66 (or -how the Americans prefer to call it- the Mother Road) is more than just a count of states crossed or kilometers traveled. It is an open road that symbolizes the hope, the thirst for freedom, the American Dream and what’s more the expectation that the travelers will eventually find (if not lose???) themselves along the way…
We started our epic journey from sky-scraping Chicago, with the excitement of small children setting off to Wonderland!
Within the 16 days on the road, we time-traveled into a nostalgic era of classic cars, retro signs, and quirky roadside attractions. We visited lively towns that retained their retro looks over the years, and others that faded into nothingness after the Interstate bypassed them. We changed three different time zones and witnessed incredible changes in the landscape. We visited some amazing National Parks and detoured on other scenic byways.
Does it maybe sound too much for only 16 days? Indeed it was. We did overstretch our schedule. We did underestimate the route. And yes, at the end of the day, we felt the time we spent in some places was clearly not enough…
But maybe that also gives us a very good reason for going back! Hmmmm… Why not!?!?!
What We Precisely Did On Our Route 66 Road Trip
For a more detailed review of our daily plan on Route 66, you can take a look on the dedicated posts!
Days 1-2: Embarking on our Route 66 Adventure
Day 5: Route 66 Midpoint Reached
Days 6-7: Gateway to New Mexico. Out and About Route 66
Days 8-9: Living the Arizona Dream on Route 66
Days 10-11: Taking a Detour from Route 66
Days 12-15: Reviving the Course of Life (Birth, Sin, Death) or Route 66
The Costs
I can only provide you with some average costs and based on a budget-like trip as we tried to do ours (excluding all personal expenses). However, I trust that the below can give you a rough idea of the minimum costs you should anticipate while planning a Route 66 trip:
- Car Rental: 2.140 USD for 22 days (including drop off in different location, one additional driver and full coverage)
- Gas: 350 USD from Chicago to Los Angeles (we forgot to check the precise kilometers/miles traveled, but as you will see from the exhaustive itinerary, we did A LOT of detours along the way!)
- Accommodation: You should expect an average of 30 USD per person per night as your accommodation expense while ON Route 66. This cost is of course not applicable for your stays in big cities like Chicago and/or Los Angeles.
- SIM Card: 90 USD (unlimited data and calls within the US for a whole month)
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