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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Amboy
Stop for 1–2 hours: fuel, photos at Roy's, then Amboy Crater. Do not plan a night here — no working lodging, no water, no food.
Amboy is a near-empty Route 66 settlement in the Mojave, owned by a private preservationist and kept alive by one fuel pump and the sign at Roy's Motel & Café. The real reason to pull off Interstate 40 is Amboy Crater, a 6,000-year-old cinder cone 2 mi (3.2 km) east, where the round trip on foot takes 2–3 hours. Treat it as a half-day leg between Barstow and Needles, not a destination with beds.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Oct–Apr
- Avoid
- Jun–Sep (desert heat), Jul–Aug midday
- Stay
- 0 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $40–70 excl. bed (fuel, snacks, park-free stops) · Mid $80–140 excl. bed (fuel, meals in Barstow or Twentynine Palms) · High $180+ excl. bed (rental car, motel base elsewhere, guided desert tour) (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911 · San Bernardino County Sheriff (non-emergency) 909-387-8313 · California Highway Patrol (road conditions) 800-427-7623
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Fuel at Roy's (per gallon) | $6–9 (check) |
| Coffee or cold drink at a Route 66 stop | $3–6 |
| Diner meal in Ludlow or Barstow | $12–22 |
| Amboy Crater trail | Free |
| eSIM or data plan, one week | $20–40 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- ONT · Ontario International
- About 2 h 30 min by car via I-15 and I-40; the usual rental-car start for this stretch.
- LAS · Harry Reid International
- About 3 h 30 min by car via I-15 and I-40 eastbound.
Typical fares
- Fuel at Roy's, per gallon
- $6–9 (check)
- Amboy → Ludlow by car
- about 30 mi west on County 66 to I-40
- Amboy → Twentynine Palms by car
- about 1 h 30 min south on Amboy Road
Get around
You need a car. Amboy sits on San Bernardino County Route 66 (the old National Old Trails Highway), reachable from I-40 at Ludlow in the west or Essex/Needles in the east, or from the south on Amboy Road from Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree. There is no bus, no rideshare and no taxi. Fuel up before you commit: the pump at Roy's is the only one for many miles and is priced accordingly.
See and do
Known for
- Roy's Motel & Café sign
- Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark
- Route 66 through the Mojave
- BNSF train watching
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Amboy Crater | Drive 2 mi (3.2 km) east on County Route 66, park at the trailhead, walk the lava field to the coneDrive 2 mi (2 mi) east on County Route 66, park at the trailhead, walk the lava field to the cone | 2–3 h on foot |
| Ludlow, California | West on County Route 66 to I-40 | About 40 min |
| Twentynine Palms | South on Amboy Road | About 1 h 30 min |
| Joshua Tree | Amboy Road south, then Highway 62 | About 1 h 45 min |
| Yucca Valley | Amboy Road south to Highway 62 west | About 2 h |
Sleep
- No lodging in Amboy
- The Roy's motel building still stands but is derelict and not bookable. Sleep in Ludlow, Barstow, Needles or Twentynine Palms instead.
- Ludlow (west)
- Closest services on I-40, about 30 mi west; a few motels and truck stops.
- Twentynine Palms (south)
- About 1 h 30 min via Amboy Road; the nearest full-service town with hotels and food.
Language
English everywhere, with strong regional accents; Spanish is the second language in the Southwest, Texas, Florida, California and New York. Some words differ from British English: restroom (toilet), check (bill), gas (petrol), trunk (boot), first floor (ground floor).
- Measurements are imperial: miles, Fahrenheit, gallons, pounds. 100 km ≈ 62 miles; 30 °C ≈ 86 °F.
- Small talk with strangers is normal and friendly; it is not a sales tactic.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer midday heat is the main hazard: hiking the crater in July or August is dangerous, and black volcanic rock radiates heat into the afternoon.
- Carry at least 1 litre of water per person per hour on the crater trail and turn back once you have used about 40% of it.
- Cell service is patchy to absent; download offline maps and carry a paper map before leaving I-40.
- Do not count on the café, shop or motel being open — services here have closed and reopened repeatedly. Check before you rely on them.
- Two hikers died near Amboy Crater in 2017 after setting out unprepared in heat.
The desert, not crime, is the risk here. Heat, distance from help and no cell signal are what hurt people; hike the crater early, carry more water than you think you need, and never leave the paved road without telling someone your plan.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Amboy yet. Suggested stay: 0 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Roy's Motel & Café sign
- Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark
- Route 66 through the Mojave
- BNSF train watching
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Bureau of Land Management — Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark: www.blm.gov/visit/amboy-crater-national-natural-landmark
- Visit Amboy: visitamboy.com/
- Wikivoyage: Amboy, revision 4793758 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4793758
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Amboy
87520 National Trails Highway, Amboy, CA
Please take me to Roy's Motel & Café on Route 66
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
- San Bernardino County Sheriff (non-emergency)909-387-8313
- California Highway Patrol (road conditions)800-427-7623
No consulates here. Nearest consular services are in Los Angeles; embassies are in Washington, DC.
No cell signal in stretches of this road. Save an offline map and tell someone your route before leaving I-40.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/amboy). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.