One passport, eight states, dozens of stamps and memories gathered along the road. When you travel Route 66 with a tailor-made Planet Ride trip, a new companion joins your luggage: the Mother Road Route 66 Passport, the blue stamp booklet. Discover our On the Road of American Icons tour as one example.
We include it in all our tailor-made journeys along the Mother Road for a simple reason: this little booklet encourages you to look at Route 66 differently. To stop, explore, step inside places you might otherwise pass, and keep a personal record of your journey.
An illustrated map follows Route 66 through its eight states.
Collect stamps along Route 66
The idea is simple: dozens of participating locations along the Mother Road can stamp your booklet. Visitor centres, museums, shops and iconic addresses become small discoveries between Chicago and Santa Monica.
Examples include the Route 66 Museum in Pontiac, stops in New Mexico and Arizona, Kingman Visitor Center and 66-To-Cali on Santa Monica Pier. What matters most to us is not filling every space, but what can happen when you go looking for a stamp.
Participating locations can change between editions. Check opening hours before planning a stop. This souvenir booklet is not an admission ticket to attractions.
Pages introduce the stops and provide spaces to collect stamps.
A good reason not to rush past Route 66
On a road trip, it is easy to focus on the miles. You leave your hotel with the next destination in mind, the GPS still shows three hours of driving, and you pass places where it would have been worth switching off the engine.
The passport creates small opportunities to stop. You enter a visitor centre for a stamp and someone suggests a lunch spot. You discover a local-history collection, chat with an enthusiast and leave with a story your GPS could never have told you.
It does more than suggest where to go: it gives you a reason to be curious when you get there. On Route 66, that is often how the best memories begin.
Maps and introductions offer ideas for exploring along the way.
Why do we include it?
When we create a tailor-made trip, we want to do more than arrange reservations before you arrive in the United States. We also want to give you useful ways to enjoy the journey itself.
The passport complements your itinerary without dictating it. You can look for many stamps, collect just a few or use the booklet for ideas along the way. It adds a playful dimension and helps you notice places that contribute to the Mother Road’s history and culture. A small inclusion can make a real difference once you are there.
How do you receive your Route 66 Passport?
It is included in all our tailor-made Route 66 trips. We send one booklet per couple by post before departure, ready to take with you from the start.
Tailor-made means personalising your trip; it does not necessarily mean travelling with a guide. Our comparison of Route 66 travel formats explains guided tours, self-guided travel and customisation.
You can also read the publisher’s presentation of the blue booklet. The pages pictured here are examples: layouts and printed information may vary between editions.
Your Route 66 takes shape along the way
Whether you start in Chicago or California, your passport begins almost empty. Then come the first stamps. Westbound, the route crosses Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. You can also travel in the opposite direction or explore only part of the road.
As the miles pass, the pages fill up. Each stamp marks somewhere you have actually been: a meeting, a particular day, a laugh or an unexpected stop that becomes a favourite. The booklet gradually turns into a small archive of your road trip, with space for your own notes.
Space to record encounters, discoveries and memories from your trip.
A souvenir you cannot recreate after the trip
You can return home with a magnet, a Route 66 sign or a T-shirt. The passport is different: its value comes from what you have done with it. Years later, opening it may bring those moments straight back.
That is why we include it. At the end of the road, your passport may not be completely filled, but it will tell the story of your Route 66.
Ready to collect your own memories? Explore On the Road of American Icons and talk to a travel adviser about your tailor-made Route 66 trip.