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Route 66 Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour
Route 66
Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour
The Mother Road, your way — Chicago to the Pacific over two weeks on your own time, no group, no guide, no schedule. Fourteen riding days with pre-booked hotels at every stop, a free day in Santa Fe to catch breath, and the Grand Canyon on the way through Arizona. BA direct both ways.
Day by Day
Thursday 2 September — Heathrow at breakfast, Chicago by lunch. Pick up the bike the next morning and head south on the Mother Road at your own pace.
London → Chicago
British Airways BA 295 from London Heathrow at 11:10, direct to Chicago O’Hare, eight hours forty minutes in the air. Lands at 13:50 local — self-transfer to the hotel in Chicago. The afternoon is yours in the biggest and most exciting of the Great Lake cities.
Chicago, Illinois → Springfield, Illinois
This morning you pick up your bike and are off on the ultimate American road trip. Parallel to I-55, the legendary Route 66 began its run right here, cutting through the state before running all the way to the Pacific Coast. Get a glimpse of the old-time diners and other Americana that still stand. From Chicago you head south, pass the old truck stop town of McLean, and roar through small towns to Springfield, the Illinois state capital and Lincoln’s old home town.
Springfield, Illinois → Rolla, Missouri
Your ride will take you further south as you head toward St. Louis and your overnight stop in Rolla. Along the way there will be numerous Highway towns, which invite you for a stop en route. You should definitely see the famous Dixie truck stop, “Our Lady of the Highway Statue”, Litchfield and the “Paris Stop Café”.
Rolla, Missouri → Tulsa, Oklahoma
From Rolla your ride will take you along the northern edge of the Ozark Mountains, which occupies most of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. This area remained frontier territory until the timber companies moved in at the end of the 19th century. None of the Ozark Peaks are particularly high, though the roads through switch, dip, climb, and curve.
Tulsa, Oklahoma → Clinton, Oklahoma
From Tulsa you head west through Oklahoma to your stop in Clinton. Cover a hundred miles of the Old West’s Indian country between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In the 1830s all this land, held to be useless, was set aside as Indian Territory — a convenient dumping ground for the so-called Five Civilized Tribes who blocked white settlement in the southern states.
Clinton, Oklahoma → Amarillo, Texas
This morning you should rise early for your journey into the Panhandle, the southernmost portion of the Great Plains, often called “the real Texas”. It certainly fulfills the fantasy of what Texas should look like. Once the buffalo — and the natives — had been driven away from what was seen as perilous and uninhabitable frontier country, the Panhandle became cattle country.
Amarillo, Texas → Santa Fe, New Mexico
Today you leave Texas and are on your way into “The Land of Enchantment”, New Mexico. Be sure to pass through the world famous Cadillac Ranch before leaving Texas. Stop at the ghost town of Glen Rio, where you can stand with one foot in New Mexico and the other one in Texas. With 4 states behind and 3 still ahead, you ride your bike through the land of mesas and pine trees as the air thins into the High Plains.
Santa Fe — Free Day
Today is at leisure to rest and enjoy the distinctive flavor of this nearly 400-year-old city. The blend of cultures here becomes evident in the southwestern architectural style so closely associated with New Mexico’s capital city. Perhaps you would like to take a ride along the river valley to the old Native American Indian town of Taos, enjoy a sunrise hot air balloon ride, or play cowboy for the day.
Santa Fe, New Mexico → Gallup, New Mexico
This morning you head south, down to Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, with a third of the state’s population. Albuquerque is sprawling at the heart of New Mexico, where the main east – west road and rail routes cross both the Rio Grande and the old road south to Mexico. You cross the Rio Grande and head west — out into the open country and the Navajo wilderness.
Gallup, New Mexico → Flagstaff, Arizona
From Gallup it’s only about half an hour to the Arizona border. Once you enter Arizona enjoy a very scenic ride through the Petrified Forest, a fossilized prehistoric forest of giant trees that has been unearthed by erosion. Just west of Petrified National Forest you get to Holbrook and Winslow, two old Route 66 towns that are kept alive by transcontinental trade.
Flagstaff, Arizona → Williams, Arizona
Today you will be able to visit one of the Natural Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon comprises of layered rocks, cliffs, hills, and valleys and is among the earth’s greatest on-going geological spectacles. Today you will have plenty of time to ride along the rim and stop for amazing vistas and photos. Tonight you will overnight in Williams.
Williams, Arizona → Laughlin, Nevada
Cruise down “Memory Lane” and head towards the town of Seligman, one of the longest surviving stretches of the “Mother Road”. From Seligman, Route 66 heads off on a northern loop through the Hualapai Indian Reservation and dozens of quickly fading towns. From Seligman you stay on Route 66 all the way into Kingman. Leaving Kingman, stay on Route 66.
Laughlin, Nevada → Victorville, California
Today it’s off to California, the final state on your ride down legendary Route 66. Ride along the Mojave Desert, which offers some of the most dramatic scenery in Southern California — rolling with lush grasses, startling volcanic formations, large stands of Joshua trees, and even in some Pinyon pines. From the desert you get right into the cool pines.
Victorville, California → Los Angeles, California
Today you are on your way to the final destination of your legendary American road trip, Los Angeles. You head for the end of Route 66 at the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica is one of the oldest and largest of LA’s resorts — once a wild beachfront playground, it is now a self-consciously liberal and healthy community. Spend the afternoon sightseeing and celebrating.
Los Angeles → London (overnight)
Your exciting trip concludes in Los Angeles. You may choose to extend your stay or discover more of California. Otherwise, you make your own way to Los Angeles International Airport and check in for your flight back to the UK. British Airways BA 268 at 20:55, direct, overnight across the Pole.
London Heathrow 15:25
Lands at Heathrow mid-afternoon, back in the UK with a story to tell.
What the Self-Guided Tour includes
No group, no fixed timings — just the route, the bike and the hotels pre-booked at every stop.
Chicago to Los Angeles — fourteen days on the bike
A pre-booked self-guided motorcycle tour from Chicago to Los Angeles across Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. Your motorcycle is held at Chicago on Day 2 for pickup and dropped at Los Angeles on Day 15. Hotels are pre-booked at every overnight stop on the route.
There is no group and no guide — you ride at your own pace, make your own stops and arrive at the next hotel in your own time. A free day in Santa Fe (Day 8) breaks the ride roughly halfway.
Your Flights
What’s Included
Included in your price
- Return British Airways flights, London Heathrow ↔ Chicago out, Los Angeles ↔ London Heathrow home — Economy, 23kg checked bag each
- Route 66 Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour (Chicago to Los Angeles) — bike hire, 14 riding days, pre-booked hotels at every overnight stop
- Full ATOL financial protection (£2.50 pp ATOL fee included)
Not included — allow for these
- Airport transfers at both ends (self-transfer, Chicago arrival and LAX departure)
Your Price
For the two of you, sharing a room throughout, on one bike.
Flights, bike hire and 14 nights of hotels
How payment works
£1,000 deposit secures the bike, the hotels and the BA flights at the quoted fare. Full balance of £9,180 is due on 20 May 2027, roughly 14 weeks before departure.
Your money is protected. Road Trip Co is part of Travelosophers (Travel Philosophy Ltd). This holiday is arranged with a specialist US tour operator, whose booking conditions apply. Paying for your holiday confirms you’ve read and accepted them. Prices and availability are not guaranteed until the booking is confirmed, and local fees and taxes payable in resort can change without notice.