Route 66 was definitely the best road trip we’ve ever driven. After 3 weeks of travelling across America when we reached the endpoint in Santa Monica. All we wanted to do was to get in the car and drive back to Chicago!
We first did the drive in 2019 and were planning to do it again in 2020. However, “with one thing and another“, we will have to wait a little longer.
After completing the trip, we received quite a few questions from people planning their own Route 66 trips. These ranged from simple advice on car rental and accommodation to requests for our full itinerary.
So, to help anyone thinking of driving this iconic road themselves, here is a list of all the resources we used.
Route 66 Books & Maps
There are many books available on Amazon. However, the majority of these just highlight the same main attractions along the road.
The only ‘in-depth’ guide we found was the EZ Route 66 Guide For Travellers. Initially, it is quite difficult to understand how the guide works. But, once you understand the ‘Da Vinci Code like system’. You will find a wealth of highly detailed information.
YouTube & TV Shows
There have been several Route 66 trips shown on TV over the years. Our personal favourite was Billy Connolly’s Route 66. Another one worth watching is the Hairy Bikers Ride Route 66. They completed the drive only a few months before our trip.
We also watched quite a few YouTube videos while we were planning the route. These included Through My Lens and Adam The Woo although both of these travelled from California to Chicago. There are quite a few other YouTubers to choose from. However, we did find some quite annoying!
Talking of annoying, don’t forget to check out our Route 66 vlogs on YouTube.
Route 66 Websites & Apps
There are plenty of Route 66 websites and blogs out there but for up to date information and to really get to know the community we recommend joining some of the Route 66 Facebook Groups. These include Route 66 Travellers and Historic Route 66.
There are a few Apps available such as Route 66 Navigation and Route 66 Travel by Tripbucket. We did not use these ourselves and have seen very mixed reviews. We chose to plan each day using the EZ Guide and Google Maps which proved to be very effective.
The People You Meet On Route 66
When travelling along Route 66 you really get a sense of community. You will proabably meet the same people at various points along the road. Duing our trip we met quite a few people again and again including a couple from the UK, bikers from New Zealand and a group of Texans driving their classic late 60s Chevrolet Camaros.
There’s a chance you will meet some Route 66 celebraties too. We met Jerry McClanahan the author of the EZ66 Guide who gave us some updates hot of the press. We also met Angel Delgadillo, the guardian of Route 66. He was riding to work in Seligman on his bike at the age of 90+.
Finally, just remember that Route 66 is the drive itself so don’t rush from roadside attraction to roadside attraction. So, take your time, soak in the atmosphere and enjoy one of the best road trips in the world.
Nomadic Danny
September 22, 2021 at 7:06 pmRoute 66 is really high up on my bucket list. That’s great there are so many apps, blogs and resources out there for aspiring Route 66ers! I’ll be sure to bookmark this post for when it gets closer to the time! – Lol those old gas stations do seem so characteristic! I hope I get the chance to walk through those ‘Back to The Future Towns’ in the future! – This was a really insightful post and video. Thanks again guys