Have you ever heard of the Mother Road? Or of Route 66?

Perhaps you have read On the Road by Jack Kerouac and been captivated by the sense of adventure, the vastness of the American landscape and the countless opportunities that define the USA?

If you have always wanted to drive the most famous highway in the whole of the United States of America, this post is for you.

Route 66 is a route 3755 km long but, being on American soil, it would be more correct to say 2333 miles. Yet the miles do not always match those actually driven, partly because over the years Route 66 has undergone several changes of course, and partly because there is always a temptation to add a stop or two to the Coast to Coast journey.

New York

Flying into New York will give you the chance to visit the quintessential American city. The Big Apple, where the American dream was born, is a metropolis of skyscrapers, art, design, fashion and music. The perfect city in which to lose yourself in the streets, nose in the air, dazzled by the neon lights of Times Square. This cocktail of multiculturalism, history and opportunity will make you want to stay in this city forever.

Chicago

The third most populous city in the States (after New York and Los Angeles).

Chicago will treat you to a splendid view of Lake Michigan, so vast and imposing (with its 27 beaches) that you will feel as if you are walking along the seashore.

Known as the Windy City, it boasts a breathtaking skyline of ultra-modern skyscrapers, among the tallest in America. Chicago deserves to be explored on foot, so as not to miss any of its countless sights, such as Cloud Gate, known as The Bean, the most photographed sculpture in the metropolis and by now a symbol of the city.

And it is on Adams Street that you will find the sign marking the start of United States Route 66, better known as Route 66, one of the first federal highways in the United States. Opened in 1926, it crosses Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in California on the Santa Monica pier.

Grand Canyon

Crossing the state of Arizona, you stop in the small town of Flagstaff, in typical Western style. This Arizona town became famous chiefly for its proximity to Grand Canyon National Park, the most famous park in the USA.

The Grand Canyon is a deep, immense gorge stretching for some 446 km, divided between two sides, the North and the South Rim. But which to choose? We suggest starting with the southern side, the better equipped and the easiest to visit, to reach the main scenic viewpoints and on to Grand Canyon Village, with its lodgings, restaurants and visitor centre.

Las Vegas

On the border with Arizona lies Las Vegas, a city whose life outside the lines has earned it the nickname Sin City; here excess is the watchword. Home of gambling, America’s amusement park, world capital of entertainment: in Las Vegas it could be said that anything goes. Not to be missed is Las Vegas Boulevard South, better known as the Strip, the famous street with the greatest concentration of casinos and some of the largest hotels in the world.

Many of the casinos in the city have the peculiarity of being linked to one another by monorail lines or by underground passages.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles, the City of Angels, marks the end of Route 66. This metropolis of the film world, with the famous Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, will take you on a stroll among the stars of show business. Rich in neighbourhoods, museums and theme parks, LA impresses with its unique urban charm.

Enjoy the wonderful Californian beaches at sunset, as Los Angeles comes alive in an entirely new world.

Yosemite National Park

Although it is not part of the Route 66 itinerary, once you reach California this park deserves a visit of at least a few days.

Dizzying rock walls, breathtaking waterfalls, centuries-old sequoia trees and granite monoliths are just some of the wonders of Yosemite National Park.

Let the rangers guide you through the less crowded and most remarkable areas of this UNESCO World Heritage park.

Through the excursions organised by the National Park Service you can enjoy a fantastic adventure in nature, both on foot and by mountain bike.

San Francisco

Ups and downs, Victorian houses and colourful cable cars to hop on and off… San Francisco is exactly as it appears in the films.

Full of personality, San Francisco is a city where various cultures, peoples and traditions intertwine. With its pagoda roofs and golden dragons, Chinatown is a little city within the city, home to the largest Chinese community in the whole of the United States of America.

The city’s symbol peeps out through the morning fog: the iconic red bridge across the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, which can easily be crossed on foot or by bicycle to reach Sausalito, a small coastal town where you can enjoy views of the Californian coast and eat fish fresh from the Pacific.

Choose Guiness Travel’s tours

Guiness offers you several tours to discover the United States, letting you visit these legendary places and savour the true atmosphere of the USA.

For Guiness, travelling is an enriching experience to be savoured in every pleasant moment and means feeling pampered by every kind of comfort; the only way to guarantee the well-being of participants and respect for the places visited is to open our tours only to a limited number of participants, carefully selected.

All the itineraries in our catalogue are 100% independently planned and carefully designed and tested, allowing our product to evolve constantly and to reach a high, wide-ranging cultural standard.

This is why we created the Guiness Exclusive Tour, a unique travel experience, mindful of sustainability, that offers you considerable advantages:

  • organisation;
  • attention to detail;
  • carefully selected services on the ground (designed to give you maximum comfort, leaving you free to think of nothing but enjoying the moment).

Discover Guiness Travel’s tours in the United States

Team Guiness