7 Weeks across America - Realistic or Delusional?

Hi Southwest Dave,

Ok this is a lot of good Information i have to digest.

a little confused now though...

You named so many cool things. i just looked them up.

But the monument valley for example is right in the middle of route66 and route50. when should i do that?

if i would drive the route66 to the end i would have a problem getting to death valley because i don't have that much time. it is going to be a lot of back and forth thing.

one thing that i now know is that i will be starting in new york because all the flights to chicago and elsewhere are more expensive.

so the first few days in new york WITHOUT a car
then via train to chicago
few days in chicago WITHOUT a car
rent a car in chicago
the roadtrip begins

now its all about planning the correct route for the roadtrip.

i will look into when to do what.

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Originally Posted by GST

But the monument valley for example is right in the middle of route66 and route50. when should i do that?

if i would drive the route66 to the end i would have a problem getting to death valley because i don't have that much time. it is going to be a lot of back and forth thing.

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These are exactly the reasons why I'm not at all a fan of building a roadtrip around highway numbers, especially when you're talking about a trip that's your first chance to see so much of what America has to offer. A roadtrip is about getting to do and see what you want to do, and if you limit that down to a strip of road that happened to be assigned a specific number decades ago, you can really miss out on a lot of things you'd enjoy.

If you're planning to drive coast to coast and back, it may be cheaper and easier to rent the car when you're ready to leave NY. While Chicago is a place you don't need a car, you'd avoid the one way fee, which could save you a lot of money.

Hi Michael,

Your Post made me think. it seems to be a damn good point.

Route66 is legendary but all the other things are just not worth missing.

Route 50 doesn't seem to be a Problem, it's just the Route 66.

Hmm... the planning and research continues.

Thanks for all your help though. this is a great community.

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But the monument valley for example is right in the middle of route66 and route50. when should i do that?

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I was suggesting you do that instead of the Skywalk, so basically while visiting the South rim of the Grand canyon. Many of the suggestions I made are taking you on detours from the two route numbers you wish to follow but I feel you have plenty of time to do so.

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if i would drive the route66 to the end i would have a problem getting to death valley because i don't have that much time. it is going to be a lot of back and forth thing.

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It's just a case of what you want to do. If you really want to drive route 66 and say you have done it from end to end, there is a 'price to pay'. I must say that I am in the 'other camp' where I would prefer to go where I want to go and not have a route number decide for me, it's whether or not you want to complete it and if the answer is no, then maybe looking at possible alternative routes is a better option. Another example is that you could complete route 66, head up to SF, through Yosemite and Death valley to Vegas and then head north to Zion and Bryce and I70/US50 from there. At the end of the day there are thousands of options on such a trip and it's for you to decide what will work best for your trip and we will give you all the help we can, so you can achieve your goal.

Enjoy the planning, it's a fun part of the adventure !!

Hi,

I'm not an experienced road tripper like the others (only doing my first trip this May), but I would like to add a couple of things, which I have learned from my own planning.

The idea to drive both roads is a great, romantic one (I had similar ideas), but as others have said Route 66 is mainly covered by Interstate highway now, and following it all the way would probably just take you through places and cities that you wouldn't otherwise want to visit - therefore better to plan your trip according to things and places you want to see instead. This would also allow you to see more of the National Parks.

The whole of the US-50 I would actually personally like to do one day, with detours of course. But again, if you're going to do it, don't be fixed on the road number - rather plan according to the things you want to see along the way (even if they might be 200 miles off the US-50). We plan to follow this road for a few days, and then for the rest of our time, different routes.

Mainly though, I would like to caution you on the cost front. While $8000 sounds like a lot, if that includes (like you said) flights and car rental, it does sound a little low. Our car rental (with one-way fee - avoid this, if you can!) for an 18-day rental is around $1500 - your 6-7 week rental will probably be more (make sure you always keep clicking till the end to get the 'real' price and not the 'advertised' one). Add to that your flights ( around $1000?), and your daily budget will look significantly less healthy.

Bear in mind that your 'few' days in NYC, Chicago, Vegas, SF, etc. will not be particularly cheap, accommodation wise. And if you plan to stay at/near the National Parks, you will not find many budget motels there either. Also, in any major city along the way, the cheapest lodgings you see quoted online are always miles from the actual city centre - so if you want to stay downtown, prepare to pay more again.

I don't want to discourage you - I think it sounds like an amazing trip - just be aware of the costs when planning it. Our upcoming trip has already almost doubled in price from our initial estimates...

All the best!

Thanks for your input Subman.

Money is ofcourse a huge factor.

The Flight from Vienna to NewYork is about 800$
and the 6 week Rental 'advertised' price ranges from 1500$ (small car) to 1830$ (SUV)

i am also active on historic66 forum where some people claim that it is possible to follow the historic route the most of the time. the route 66 in my map is based on their suggestions.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?m...k.k7ajHyeyxMJk

but even if the historic route 66 is possible to drive, it is still becoming a problem for me because of all the other cool attractions i would miss as my time and budget are limited.

i guess i will have to ditch the route66 after new mexico and carry on with monument valley from there on. i do want to do the complete route 50 though because most of the cool attractions can be done if i leave the route66 in new mexico and head towards san francisco doing all the attractions on my way.

i still have a lot of planning ahead of me.

my goal is to prepare a complete google map of my roadtrip, convert it into a format my gps software would understand so that i can just follow it.

I would strongly recommend you buy paper maps or an atlas as they will assist you during the planning process and are an absolute must have when travelling. Do not rely solely on electronics as you can miss lots of cool things and more importantly people have landed in serious trouble and even death by blindly following a GPS.

I also thought about that.

There are a few books, i have already planned to buy.

Road Trip USA by Jamie Jensen (7th Edition will be out in 2 Months)
EZ66 - Route66 Guide
Coast to Coast by Wulf Berg. (Book about Route 50)

do you have some suggestions on good maps or atlas for such a roadtrip?

i have just updated my google maps. route66 stops for me in Gallup, NM

From there on i will be doing the following:

Monument Valley
Grand Canyon, South Rim
Las Vegas
Death Valley
Sequoia
Yosemite
San Francisco
and then Route50

Bryce will then be done as a off-trip from Route50

is this acceptable?

It seems to me you are planning a trip exactly backwards - the traditional method is to pick the places you want to see and then see which roads take you there!

Its certainly doable with the time you have and it only needs to be acceptable to you. ;-)

If you look in the green tool bar above you will see the Maps link where you can look at Atlases and maps or you can often order them from your local book store. Randy McNally atlases are popular or you can get detailed state by state maps.