Phoenix Travel Forum

Hi everyone,
I am planning a trip to Phoenix/Sedona/Scottsdale for about 4-5 days (first week of Feb). I have done some research as to what to do and where to stay but it seems that I am not really finding things that spark my interest. And, I can't find any hostels or lower end hotels. So my questions are: 1) what are the must do/see/visit around the area? 2) How easy is it to get around without a car? I guess I could rent a car if I must. I'm open for it. Would you guys help me out? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Sage

Here is a link for a shuttle from Phoenix to Sedona and visa versa.

http://www.sedona-phoenix-shuttle.com/

It has some great stops along the way but I do not know how long it stops at each of them.

A car would be much easier and possible a van could serve as a bed for an evening or two.

There is also a great to called Jerome. It is a mining town perched on the side of the mountain. Check it out on the web.

I do not believe that there are any hostiles left in Sedona.

Yes, unfortunately, Phoenix is still working on its public transportation...but the roads are wide and very easy to drive on. There are buses but I don't think they are frequent enough as in other cities... We also don't have much in way of hostels or cheap motels, but I always see $300 fixed-price offers for a week stay on Extended Stay America Hotel but never tried them myself...But if you are coming from Chicago, I am sure you will enjoy your February visit temperature-wise! For us locals, it would be "cool" but for you it would feel like paradise.

If you are single, you would like Scottsdale which is famous for its bars/nightlife, and Sedona is a very romantic place with great red rocks and spas. But near Sedona is the Tuzigoot Monument which is where the Sinaguan Indians used to live, and then there is the Montezuma Well and Castle...but all those conveniently reached only through driving. I agree Jerome is also nice to visit as this little town is precariously set on the side of a mountain. Will you be visiting the Grand Canyon?

You probably could also visit the West side of Maricopa County (the county which encompasses Scottsdale to Phoenix to Buckeye) which has the Westgate Center which has the University of Phoenix Stadium where the Superbowl was held last year (and the area is very new...) There is the new Renaissance Hotel and I love their breakfast on weekends at the Soleil --- you might even see us having breakfast with our twins if you eat at this classy hotel!

There's a lot of hiking areas in Phoenix and I have them in my tips pages in Phoenix. It is kinda hard to budget "gas" in this area because Maricopa County is such a huge area...

If you are into museums, there is the Heard Museum which features Native Indian culture. There is also Hot-air ballooning if you want to see the whole Maricopa County from the skies. Golfing is also big here in Phoenix. Basically, the activities here are mostly expensive stuff like spas, country clubs, golfing and family activities in resorts...and shopping. And for nature tripping, we go to Sedona or Grand Canyon.

Maybe I'll see you driving while you're here! Be careful of our new highway "speeding-detectors"/cameras on the 101 and 17 freeways... Enjoy and good luck! Norman :)

To be honest: I found Phoenix rather disappointing as a tourist destination. We liked Scottsdale a lot more. It offers the more or less quaint 'Old Town' with nice shops. Further away is a huge shopping mall called 'Scottsdale Fashion Square'. Between Phoenix and Scottsdale is an interesting Desert Botanical Garden.

Sedona is - in my opinion - rather overrated, very commercialised and expensive. It has a couple of highlights: Oak Creek Canyon (Oak Creek Vista), Bell Rock, viewpoint at Airport Road, Red Rock State Park with Cathedral Rock and the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
Sedona offers a lot of shopping: Upper Sedona and the famous - but very expensive - arts and crafts village of Tlaquepaque.
Having a car you also could visit Flagstaff, not far away from Sedona.


On your way to Sedona you could take a look at Montezuma Castle, a spectacular cliff dwelling.

To save money and to be away from the hustle and bustle of Sedona we stayed in Cottonwood (between Sedona and Jerome).

Happy travels
Jaap

guys, thanks so much, the information you provided absolutely way better than what I was getting from my initial random web search. OK, so I think I will rent a car. Yeah, I am so looking forward to enjoying the weather. It's been below zero over 40 consecutive days here. OK, I am going to plan based on what you guys suggested and post other questions as they arise. Thanks much,

We leave for Phoenix tomorrow evening for a long weekend (gotta love Allegiantair)and after the cold Montana winter we have had this year, 70 degrees sounds quite nice. My son is a senior at ASU and we have been down there several times so we will not be renting a car this time. We stayed at and will be staying again at the ramada LTD on Apache blvd for around $60 a night and we are quite satisfied with it. The light rail recently opened and there is a stop right near the hotel. So we will explore the parts of the city that it goes to. When we did have a car one of my favorite things was Taliesin west, Frank Lloyd Wrights school of architecture. Kind of spendy but definitely worth it. We also drove up to Fountain Hills and checked that out. Papago park is quite nice and very near the city. The walk down by the lake is nice, Roy's in Scottsdale is amazing, we have reservations for dinner Sunday night :) And I have been told to eat at chuy's also.
Mostly I get to see my son!

Sage-

If you are going to take the trip to Sedona I highly recommend visiting Flagstaff too! It is only 45 minutes north of Sedona and it is a great town. You can take a very scenic drive through Oak Canyon to get to Flagstaff. There are hostels in Flagstaff as well.

Yeah, I hear a lot of the town.
By the way does anybody know where the coffee pot rock is, or where I can view it the best? Thanks,

While your in the Sedona area you can see Coffee Pot Rock.

Here is a link to it: http://www.dreamsedona.com/coffee-pot-rock.html

I think it is allot like laying on your back and looking up at the clouds as they pass by, each has their own impression on what they are seeing and tells the others, "Hay look over there, Don't you see it ?"