Embark on your own ‘American Road Trip’

Jamie Oliver begins his American Road Trip on Channel 4 this week - a journey to discover the real heart of America through its people, landscapes, culture, music and food.

TrekAmerica’s American road trips offer pretty much the same enticing ingredients - although the meals en route may be of a different standard as travellers club together to prepare most meals for themselves!

Jamie Oliver’s route takes him from California, through Arizona (where he meets some local Navajo Indians), to Louisiana, into the Deep South and northwards to New York. Travellers inspired to follow in his tyre tracks can do so on TrekAmerica’s Southern Sun road trip, a 21-day coast-to-coast adventure between Los Angles and New York.

The Southern Sun route has been running ever since TrekAmerica was established in 1971, with its blend of Eastern energy and slow-paced Deep South vibes mingled with mountains, canyons and cacti-studded deserts offering a vibrant and varied snapshot of the USA.

Like Jamie Oliver, TrekAmerica travellers will have the chance to encounter the Navajo in their sacred land at Monument Valley, explore the Mexican influences along the border regions of Texas and sample Creole cooking in the Big Easy, New Orleans. Heading north, the roadtrip route traverses the heart of Dixie in Alabama and Tennessee before taking in the famous sights and monuments of Washington D.C. and New York City.

The 21-day Southern Sun tour runs from Los Angeles to New York (or in the reverse direction), with departures throughout September and October 2009. Prices start from £1,059 per person (valid on 7th – 27th October 2009 departure, LA to NY).

This price includes transportation by private vehicle; the services of a TrekAmerica tour leader/guide; all camping fees and equipment; admission to all national parks and monuments; plus selected tours along the route including an illumination tour of Washington DC and a limousine ride in Las Vegas. Flights are not included.

For full trip details, including a map of the route, and reservations, see trekamerica.co.uk.