Seven nights and about 750 miles of Route 66 planned around two things: diner counters and pie by day, and the old signs that come back to life once the sun drops behind the plains.
From$3,190per person, double room
Overview
Most Route 66 trips are done by dinner. This one starts its best hours after it. We drive late mornings and early afternoons, eat where truckers and families have eaten since the 1930s, and time each arrival so the group is standing under a lit sign at dusk: the Meadow Gold sign in Tulsa, the 66-foot soda bottle at POPS, the green glow of the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock and the blue swallows over the doors in Tucumcari.
Road captain Earl Whitfield grew up in Clinton, Oklahoma, and knows which cafe still makes its own cinnamon rolls and which motel owner will flip the sign on early for a photo. Days are short on driving, never more than about 175 miles, with long stops. Nights are spent in a mix of city hotels and restored motels, including a room at the Blue Swallow. Bring a phone or a camera with a night mode, and an appetite.
Photos
Itinerary
Meals: B breakfast, L lunch, D dinner. Day 1 is arrival day; flights to the start are optional.
Make your own way to the hotel downtown from Tulsa International, about 15 minutes by cab. At 6 pm Earl Whitfield meets the group in the lobby and we walk the Art Deco blocks around Boston Avenue before the coach takes us out 11th Street, the original Route 66 through town. The Meadow Gold sign, restored and relit in 2009, comes on as we arrive. Welcome dinner at a diner a few blocks east, with chicken fried steak and a first slice of pie.
A slow morning, then 15 miles east to Catoosa and the Blue Whale, built by Hugh Davis in the early 1970s as a gift for his wife. Back in Tulsa for lunch at a 66 diner on 11th Street. In the afternoon we stop at Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios, a former gas station guarded by a 21-foot space cowboy, and Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza by the old 11th Street bridge. After dinner, a night photo walk along the Route 66 neon on 11th Street.
West on the old road through Sapulpa and Bristow to the Rock Cafe in Stroud, built in 1939 from stones dug out when the highway was graded. Lunch there, then the red Round Barn in Arcadia, standing since 1898. We wait at POPS, a glass and steel filling station with 600 sodas on its shelves, until the giant bottle out front lights up after sunset. A short drive into Oklahoma City for the night, about 115 miles in all.
Out to Clinton, where the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum walks you decade by decade through the road, then 25 miles on to the National Route 66 and Transportation Museum in Elk City. Late lunch at a cafe in Elk City. We cross into Texas in the late afternoon and check in at Shamrock, about 170 miles from Oklahoma City. After dark the 1936 U-Drop Inn, a Conoco station with an Art Deco tower, is lit in green and pink neon. Bring a tripod if you have one.
Morning coffee in Shamrock, then west on old 66 through McLean, where the Devil's Rope Museum fills a former brassiere factory with barbed wire. The Britten leaning water tower in Groom is a quick photo stop. In Amarillo we spray paint our names on the half-buried cars at Cadillac Ranch and have a late lunch. Evening on Sixth Street, the brick strip of the old route through the San Jacinto neighborhood, where the bars and antique shops keep their signs on into the night.
Fifty miles west to Adrian and the MidPoint Cafe, halfway between Chicago and Santa Monica, where the ugly crust pie is the point of the stop. Past the ghost town of Glenrio and into New Mexico. We reach Tucumcari around 3 pm, with time to rest before a walk down Route 66 Boulevard: the Blue Swallow, Motel Safari, the Tee Pee Curios arrow and dozens of murals. Tonight you sleep at the Blue Swallow, under its 1939 sign promising 100% refrigerated air.
Breakfast at a Tucumcari diner, then 60 miles to Santa Rosa. The Blue Hole is a spring-fed pool about 80 feet deep and a steady 62 degrees, and the Route 66 Auto Museum next door keeps hot rods and a 1950s gas pump collection. We reach Albuquerque by late afternoon, about 175 miles for the day. Farewell dinner on Central Avenue, then a last neon walk past the 1927 KiMo Theatre, the El Vado Motel and the signs of Nob Hill.
One more diner breakfast: a booth at the 66 Diner on Central Avenue, open since 1987, for a green chile omelet or a malt if you prefer. Then the coach takes everyone to the Albuquerque International Sunport, about 15 minutes away. If you want to see Santa Fe, an hour north, we can book an extra night or two there. Earl hands out a printed list of every diner we ate at, in case you ever come back.
Pace: RelaxedTwo to four hours on the road on most days, long stops, short level walks in towns and at roadside sights. Every stop is optional; you can always stay with the vehicle.
Route map
Map tiles © Esri, HERE, Garmin, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Straight lines join the stops; the trip follows the old Route 66 alignments between them.
Route at a glance
Road miles are rounded and include the detours to the stops named in the itinerary.
| Day | From and to | Miles | On the road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tulsa airport to Tulsa | 10 | Airport transfer, Meadow Gold at dusk |
| Day 2 | Tulsa | 30 | Catoosa and back, neon after dark |
| Day 3 | Tulsa to Oklahoma City | 115 | Stroud, Arcadia |
| Day 4 | Oklahoma City to Shamrock | 170 | Clinton and Elk City museums |
| Day 5 | Shamrock to Amarillo | 95 | McLean, Groom, Panhandle plains |
| Day 6 | Amarillo to Tucumcari | 115 | Adrian, Glenrio, Blue Swallow neon |
| Day 7 | Tucumcari to Albuquerque | 175 | Santa Rosa, Central Avenue neon |
| Day 8 | Albuquerque to Albuquerque Sunport | 10 | Airport transfer |
| Total | 8 days | 720 | Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico |
Where you stay
Rooms by town and style. The exact motels and hotels for your date, these or similar ones, are confirmed in your travel documents.
2 nights
Restored 1920s hotel in the downtown Deco District, or similar
1 night
3-star hotel in Bricktown, a short walk to dinner, or similar
1 night
Simple 3-star hotel near Route 66, the best in town, or similar
1 night
3 to 4-star hotel near the Sixth Street historic district, or similar
1 night
Blue Swallow Motel, a 1939 motor court with private garages, or similar
1 night
4-star hotel in Old Town or downtown, or similar
Already included
7 nights, 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 entries and guided visits
Straight talk
Dates and prices 2026-27
Per person in US dollars, sharing a double room. Group up to 14 guests.
| Dates | Status | Double roomPer person | Single roomPer person |
|---|---|---|---|
| to Thursday arrival | AvailableLast minute: save $250 | $2,940 | $3,730 |
| to Thursday arrival | AvailableEarly booking: save $150 | $3,190 | $3,980 |
| to Thursday arrival | Few seatsEarly booking: save $150 | $3,190 | $3,980 |
| to Thursday arrival | AvailableEarly booking: save $150 | $3,190 | $3,980 |
| to Thursday arrival | GuaranteedEarly booking: save $150 | $3,190 | $3,980 |
| to Thursday arrival | AvailableEarly booking: save $150 | $3,190 | $3,980 |
Guaranteed means enough guests have booked and the departure will run. Seats change every week. Email [email protected] and we hold a seat for 72 hours. All departures on one page.
Optional add-on
Economy on scheduled airlines into Tulsa International Airport (TUL) and home from Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), per person including taxes. Add them when you book, or fly on your own and meet us on day 1.
Fares are held for 72 hours with your seat and confirmed when you pay the deposit. Extra nights before or after the trip on request.
Practical
Weather in Oklahoma
Spring is mild with thunderstorm and tornado risk, summer hot and humid, fall dry and pleasant; winter brings occasional ice storms
Weather in New Mexico
High desert: sunny and dry most days, windy spring, summer afternoon storms in July and August, cold clear nights from October
Time zones
Central Time, with daylight saving time from March to November Central Time, with daylight saving time; New Mexico, just past Glenrio, is one hour behind Mountain Time, one hour behind Texas, with daylight saving time from March to November
Where it starts and ends
Start: Tulsa International Airport (TUL). End: Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ).
What to eat
Onion fried burgers in El Reno, chicken fried steak, Ku-Ku Burger in Miami, the Rock Cafe in Stroud, barbecue and soda from POPS in Arcadia
Luggage
One medium suitcase and a small bag per person. Vintage motel rooms are compact and some have no elevator.
Your road captain
Oklahoma and Texas
Earl grew up in Clinton, Oklahoma, a block from the old highway, and remembers the traffic before I-40. He leads the Oklahoma and Texas section and the Neon and Diners trip.
Road captains rotate on some dates; the name for your departure is in your documents. Meet all the road captains
FAQ
Booking, motels, flights and insurance questions are answered on the main FAQ page.
Most neon stops run from sunset to about an hour after. In late March sunset is around 7:40 pm in Oklahoma and in September about 7:30 pm, so we are usually back at the hotel by 9:30. Every evening walk is optional; the coach can drop you at the hotel first.
A fair amount is, since that is what Route 66 diners serve. But every place we stop has salads, eggs and grilled options, and New Mexico brings green chile stew and posole. Tell us about allergies or a vegetarian diet when you book and we warn each kitchen ahead.
No. Recent phones handle neon well in night mode. If you bring a camera, a fast lens and a small tripod help, and Earl knows the angles where the signs are not crossed by power lines. Our photography trip with Annie Cho goes deeper into technique.
Small, clean and true to 1939, with vintage furniture, a modern bathroom and a private garage next to each room. Rooms are assigned in advance. If you prefer a larger room, we can book a modern hotel in Tucumcari for that night instead.
Yes, but you would miss the first two nights of Tulsa neon. Some guests join in Oklahoma City on day 3 for a reduced price. Write to [email protected] and we will quote it.
Other trips
Illinois to California8 statesNext departureGuaranteed
From$5,890per person
Illinois to California8 statesNext departureAvailable
From$6,890per person
Illinois to California8 statesAsk about dates
Email us the date you like, how many of you are traveling and whether you need flights. We hold the seat for 72 hours while you decide.
Ask about datesBookings, dates and free seats
What to include
We reply Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 17:00 Central Time, usually the same working day.
We use what you send only to answer you and to arrange your trip. See our privacy policy.
From$3,190
Ask about dates