The trip
Route 66 turned 100 in 2026, and you couldn't get a room in Tucumcari if you begged. This is the year after. The neon's been fixed up, the motels have been repainted, and the crowds have gone home.
We pick up the road where it crosses into Texas and drive it west, about 1,200 miles, to the Pacific. That's the half with the deserts, the classic motels and most of the old roadside weirdness. We take the old alignments wherever they still exist and are paved, and we stop at the places that have kept the road alive for decades: diners, trading posts, barbershops and gas stations.
You'll sleep in a couple of "authentic" motels (clean, well-kept, small rooms) and some regular good hotels to balance it out. And yes, we take the detour to the Grand Canyon. Coming this close and skipping it would be silly.
Highlights
- Spray-painting a Cadillac at Cadillac Ranch at sunset
- The neon of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari
- A night in a concrete wigwam in Holbrook
- Petrified Forest, the only national park with a section of Route 66 in it
- Feeding the wild burros on Oatman's main street
Day by day
Dallas to Amarillo
Northwest across the plains to Amarillo. Sunset at Cadillac Ranch with cans of spray paint (bring old clothes), then dinner at the Big Texan, where the 72-ounce steak is free if you finish it in an hour. Nobody on our trips has. Yet.
The Texas Panhandle to Tucumcari
Coffee and pie at the MidPoint Café in Adrian, halfway between Chicago and LA. The ghost town of Glenrio on the state line, then Tucumcari's murals and a swim in the Blue Hole at Santa Rosa, a spring-fed pool that stays around 62 degrees all year. Night at a restored neon motel.
Santa Fe & Albuquerque
The pre-1937 alignment swung up through Santa Fe, so we do too: the Plaza, the Palace of the Governors and green chile everything. Evening on Albuquerque's Central Avenue, which is still lined with old motel signs.
Albuquerque to Gallup
West across the high desert, with a stop at a pueblo for a guided visit. Gallup's trading posts are among the best places in the Southwest to buy Native-made jewelry directly. Night at the historic El Rancho Hotel, where the movie stars stayed in the 1940s.
Petrified Forest & Holbrook
Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. Look for the old car rusting on the original 66 roadbed. Then Holbrook and a night in a concrete wigwam. They're bigger inside than you'd think.
Winslow to Williams
Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. Meteor Crater, the best-preserved impact crater on Earth. Flagstaff for lunch, and on to Williams, the last town bypassed by the interstate, for two nights.
The Grand Canyon
The South Rim. We spend the day on the rim trail and at the viewpoints, and we stay for sunset at Hopi Point.
Seligman to Oatman
Seligman, where a local barber started the movement to save the old road. The Hackberry General Store, Kingman, and the switchbacks over Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman, an old mining town overrun by friendly wild burros. We cross the Colorado River into California for the night.
The Mojave to the Pacific
Roy's in Amboy and its famous sign, Barstow, down through the Cajon Pass and across greater LA to Santa Monica Pier and the End of the Trail sign. Sunset over the Pacific and a farewell dinner by the beach.
Fly home
Flights from LAX to DFW.
What's included
✅ Included
- Van transport from Dallas to Santa Monica with a driver-guide
- One-way flight from LAX to DFW
- 9 nights, including the classic motels, double occupancy
- Breakfast daily and 4 group dinners, including the farewell dinner
- Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon entry, Meteor Crater, and the pueblo tour
- Spray paint (we're responsible like that)
➖ Not included
- Most lunches and 5 dinners
- The Big Texan steak challenge, if you're brave
- Tips for your driver-guide
- Single supplement (from $640) and travel insurance
Good to know
The classic motels are clean and loved, but rooms are small and a couple have limited Wi-Fi. That's part of the deal. Desert days in May can hit the 90s, so pack sunscreen, a hat and a refillable bottle. The cooler in the van does the rest.
