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Help planning route 66 holiday

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  • 06-01-2013 2:39am
    #1
    dropinthocean
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭


    Ok, here's the story. We're 4 irish lads, finishing college in April. We wanted to go out with a bang, and no better way than to do route 66.
    The only thing is that we don't have a clue what we're doing. None of us have even been to the US before. So a few questions

    The plan was to travel in May, fly to Chicago and fly home from L.A. or Vegas.
    The 4 of us have full licences but we're all 23/24 years old. Is there any problem with us renting a car, and is it ok to rent the car in chicago and return it in LA?

    How much should we budget for accomodation/food/ petrol/car rental/ drinking money etc etc. and how long will it take? We were planning on going to the grand canyon and probably stay in Vegas for a few nights. Also, should we book accomodation in advance or just turn up where ever to stay the night. Also, is it possible to sleep in a tent some nights or is it safe?
    Also, do we need to get visas or anything?
    I know it's alot of questions. I'd greatly appreciate any advice, esp from anyone who has done it before and has experience/ hindsight/ things they would've done differently.


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    #2
    ProudDUB
    Registered Users Posts: 11,569 ✭✭✭✭ProudDUB


    Great choice of a trip. My nephew did it in his last year of college. He has been all around the world since then, but he still maintains that this was the best holiday of his life. I can answer some of your questions, but not all.

    1. How long will it take? How long is a piece of string? Just a couple of days if you drive straight through. Months if you stop along the way to see the sights and experience all that that part of the US has to offer. It all depends on your budget, how much time you have, how much money you have, and what you want to see and experience along the way.

    2. Will you need visas? If you are all Irish, no you won't. Irish people don't need visas to go on holiday to the US anymore. But you will need to fill out the ESAT visa waiver forms, and have the paperwork with you at the airport when you fly. (You can do all online, it's not expensive)

    3. Renting a car? No, you won't have a problem, but you'll pay a fortune on car rental and car insurance if you are going for any length of time. If you are only going for a couple of weeks, you should be ok. But if you are going to make this trip be longer than a couple of weeks, consider buying an old rust bucket car or van (used cars are A LOT cheaper in the US to buy, tax & insure than they are here) in Chicago, insure it, sell it & then cancel the policy when you get to LA. That is what my nephew did. It saved them a ton of money in car rental fees.

    Also, one of you will HAVE to have a credit card to rent a car. Laser cards are pretty much unheard of in the US. A debit card will also not cut it for a US car rental. It has to be a credit card. Can you pick up in one city and return in another? Yes you can, but it will cost you. Yet another reason to consider buying a car.

    4. Can you camp? No idea, but what my nephew and his 3 mates did was buy a van & loads of sleeping bags. Two of them could sleep in the back, while the other two took it in shifts to drive thru the night. They saved a ton on both driving time and motel bills. Route 66 is a very romantic sounding trip to take, but there are large parts of it where the scenery is all the same, and there ain't a whole hell of a lot to see or do, so driving straight through may not be a bad idea.

    5. Booking hotels or motels now vs doing it there? I'd do it there. It gives you the flexibility to go/do what the mood takes you. There are also lots of great deals you can get on websites such as priceline or hotels.com. Also, sign up for the rewards programs that the budget hotel chains offer, especially Marriotts. Their chain of budget hotels/motels have the US's cheapo hotel market pretty much sewn up. Residence Inn, Comfort Inn, Clarion Suites, Quality Inn, EconoLodge etc etc all come under their umbrella. There is one in every small town in America, and dozens of them in the bigger cites. The accommodation is often quite basic, but perfectly adequate, often luxurious, by Irish standards. They often have great deals, such as stay 3 nights and get the 4th one free & it doesn't all have to be in the same city. Over time, those savings can really add up.

    Best of luck to you.


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    #3
    gambithh
    Registered Users Posts: 220 ✭✭gambithh


    great offer here buddy,could save a hell of a lot of hassle

    http://www.sunway.ie/usa/index.asp?Resort=USFYYROU&aff=#page=sun-holidays

    iam hopeing to do the same in the next 1-2 years and tie the knot in vegas with my partner.

    id advise a week if possible in vegas.its unbelievable there last September and loved it (iam not even a gambler)


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    #4
    athtrasna
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,420 ✭✭✭✭athtrasna


    gambithh wrote: »
    id advise a week if possible in vegas.its unbelievable there last September and loved it (iam not even a gambler)
    I'd totally disagree with this, a week in Vegas is crazy. I've been 5 times but Max 3-4 days at a time, it's spectacular at first but gets tired fast.

    On car hire, some companies have minimum ages for drivers, 25 is pretty common so do plenty of research.

    Also consider split car hire and fly into Vegas, there are plenty of budget options and routes. Driving on the strip is mental and hotels charge a fortune for parking, upwards of $30 a night!


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    #5
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    ProudDUB wrote: »

    2. Will you need visas? If you are all Irish, no you won't. Irish people don't need visas to go on holiday to the US anymore. But you will need to fill out the ESAT visa waiver forms, and have the paperwork with you at the airport when you fly. (You can do all online, it's not expensive)

    Best of luck to you.

    Just a correction....you can no longer do it at the airport, you need to do the ESTA online, there is no other way

    This is the homeland security page for it - do not use any other page online for this - there is a charge but it is minimal


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    #6
    dropinthocean
    Registered Users Posts: 122 ✭✭dropinthocean


    Thanks everyone for your replies. Would still appreciate if anyone knew how much to budget per day. We would be planning on doing the driving over 2-3 weeks, probably Chicago to LA, and then back to Vegas for 5 nights holiday maybe, before flying home.
    athtrasna wrote: »
    Also consider split car hire and fly into Vegas, there are plenty of budget options and routes. Driving on the strip is mental and hotels charge a fortune for parking, upwards of $30 a night!

    Because of the high price of parking, maybe drop off the car on the first day in Vegas, and travel by public transport/foot while there.

    What do you meen by split car hire?


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    #7
    lil_lisa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,829 ✭✭✭lil_lisa


    Parking in any hotel car park on the strip in Vegas is free. 100% free. Even if you're not staying at the hotel. They expect you to gamble your way through their casino. They won't charge.


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    #8
    athtrasna
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,420 ✭✭✭✭athtrasna


    lil_lisa wrote: »
    Parking in any hotel car park on the strip in Vegas is free. 100% free. Even if you're not staying at the hotel. They expect you to gamble your way through their casino. They won't charge.

    Really? I remember it as a big expense the one time we had a car there. That was in the Venetian. We didn't drive in Vegas after that.

    OP by splitting your car hire I meant hire car from a to b. Fly from b to Vegas and then fly to c where you pick up another car.


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    #9
    CaliforniaDream
    Registered Users Posts: 813 ✭✭✭CaliforniaDream


    You won't pay for parking on the strip in Vegas. Downtown will charge but you can get that waived if you gamble at all.

    Traffic sucks on the strip but take the roads behind the hotels and you're fine. Off the strip it's the same as everywhere else. Just stay away from the I15.

    With regards to route 66, a lot of the road is old and beat up. You should pick another route. You'll probably see a lot more and have a better experience.


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    #10
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    dropinthocean wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for your replies. Would still appreciate if anyone knew how much to budget per day. We would be planning on doing the driving over 2-3 weeks, probably Chicago to LA, and then back to Vegas for 5 nights holiday maybe, before flying home.

    Because of the high price of parking, maybe drop off the car on the first day in Vegas, and travel by public transport/foot while there.

    What do you meen by split car hire?

    Picking up a car in one state and dropping it off in another usually incurs a Big Fee. There are some neighbouring states where its not too bad, like CA and NV but not many. Check with the car hire company.

    Also get the extra Insurance. Dont skimp.

    Americans cover huge distances on their freeeways by driving slowly in giant cars. Dont hire a small car or you'll be unhappy. Get air conditioning too, (although if you're renting a car without a/c then its probably too small.)

    99.999% of cars in the US are automatics so be ready for that. You probably wont be able to hire a manual.


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    #11
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    dropinthocean wrote: »
    Also, should we book accomodation in advance or just turn up where ever to stay the night. Also, is it possible to sleep in a tent some nights or is it safe?

    Just show up, no need to book in advance.

    You'd have to use designated camp sites for camping though.

    Buying a van is a great idea.

    http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/cto/3481887303.html


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