woodstockguy

A friend and I planned to visit Europe in early November and just decided to stay in the US for an easier trip. Because of weather, we thought Arizona might be a good choice.

We have traveled extensively through Utah, So. Colorado & New Mexico but never in Arizona. We would have 7 or 8 nights. Neither of us are interested in shopping or golf. We also have limited interests in big cities - OK for a day or 2 at most.

What is the weather like in Arizona in November? Should we head north towards Sedona or south towards Tucson? We hike a lot, but not on grueling trails. We would definitely want to visit Taliesen West. Beyond that, all suggestions are welcome.

We live in upstate NY, 2-1/2 hours north of NYC, should anyone be interested.

desertduds

Arizona November weather is divine!!! Could be almost perfect in every way...warm during the day, cool at night and sunny every day! I'm glad to hear you're interested in the Taliesin West tour. I believe the traditional tour is one hour long, on the hour...longer ones are available. In Tucson, for starters, I'd definitely include Desert Sonora Museum, outdoor flora/fauna/desert animals, absolutely wonderful!! Also, getting there driving thru Saguaro National Forest is a real treat, can't imagine there are that many saguaros this area! And, Sabino Canyon and San Xavier del Bac are definite must-sees. In Phoenix, besides a little city tour, hiking Piestewa Peak area/North Mountain Park areas are a good choice....loads of choices for hiking of all kinds, just stop in any visitors center in those areas. Lots to do in Sedona, hiking, jeep trips, exploring, and onto Grand Canyon. There is enough to see in Phoenix for seven or eight days, IMO, but the desert should be wonderful then. You might drive The Apache Trail, alongside three desert lakes, most people that have done that say it was their best drive. Also, the drive from Phoenix to Wickenburg, a small western town northwest of Phoenix, is great and once there, take a look at guest ranch, Rancho de los Caballeros, lunch at the golf course. By the way, there will the loads of outdoor eating everywhere in November, take advantage of that.

woodstockguy

What is a good itinerary for 7 to 8 days? It seems too short to go both north and south of Phoenix, much less to include the Grand Canyon south rim.

TheWeasel

In early November, I'm going to Grand Canyon for 4 days (backpacking) and then will spend 3 days in the Superstitions. If you're not real interested in big cities or grueling hiking, your options are pretty wide open and you can cover a lot of ground.

My best advice (since you have a bit of time to plan yet) is to not rule anything out, and give yourself a week or so to contemplate all your options. It's way too early in the planning process to get an itinerary when you don't even know what all the options are. That's just my opinion though, based on seeing many people throw out an itinerary, and then frantically try to make changes when someone suggests something new. Just research all your options and dream a little, then figure out what's most exciting to you and make it happen.

I've spent a couple days in Tucson, a weekend in PHX and a couple days at Grand Canyon. It's only a 4 hour drive from PHX to GC, so there really are lots of options in 8 days.

tuscanlifeedit

We went for about that amount of time last November. I think we did three nights in Phoenix, where we were able to swim. Two nights at the Grand Canyon, where it was only cold after the sun went down, and three nights in Sedona, where the weather was very nice. I would say that we found the weather in early November to be perfect.

MikePinTucson

Tucson weather should be very good in November, cool enough for some nice hikes but not too cool.

It will be pretty cool at the Grand Canyon. Put in your dates on this web site. Looks like mid 50's for high and mid 20's for low.

http://www.climatrac.com/choose.asp?...D=3&intLocID=0

It will be about 5-10 degrees warmer in Sedona.

What I would suggest is for you to drive right to the GC from PHX, spend a night there, then to Sedona for a couple of nights. From there, about 4 hours to Tucson. There are lots of things to see and do around Tucson. I have a pretty lenghty list on my blog. It is the second post on the page.

http://mikepintucson.blogspot.com/

richardsonsnm

The weather in Phoenix in november is heaven. We have a beyond great desert preserve that we hike in everyday with our dogs, a piece of heaven.