ericandfaye

My Fiance are from Hawaii & are looking into AZ for our Honeymoon. It doesn't really make sense for us to go somewhere tropical like Jamaica...thought the desert might be a good change! We're planning on going the last week of May '06 for 8 days.
We are flying into Phoenix but want to take in a couple of cities. Should we go North toward Sedona or should we venture south to Tucson? We don't really care for the hiking & biking thing. Just need great places to relax & do some sightseeing.

lisatravels

I'd recommend going north instead of south if you are at all sensitive to heat as that time of year is hot in Phoenix and even hotter in Tucson. It is dry heat so you don't deal with humidity, but the sun is very strong. What sort of things or types of towns do you like - museums, spas, native American ruins/culture, architecture? You say you don't much care for hikning, but would you want to see some beautiful rock formations that don't require much walking?

MikePinTucson

Actually, Phoenix is usually quite a bit hotter than Tucson -- generally at least 5-10 degrees. The reasons?

1. elevation -- Tucson is about 1,000 feet higher than Phoenix.

2. Phoenix, with over 3 million people, is much more of a heat island.

I would suggest Sedona. The area (not the town) is just gorgeous, there are plenty of good resorts where you can be pampered all you want. And you can do a good bit of sightseeing without hiking. You can also see sights around Flagstaff, up to the Grand Canyon, and over to Jerome, a really quirky town on the side of a mountain.

Here are a couple of links. Unfortunately, Fodors does not have clickable links so you will have to copy and paste.

http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/

http://www.azjerome.com/

ericandfaye

I'm ashamed to say it, but we have never been to anywhere on the mainland except for Las Vegas! (I've been to Europe). So, I think we're open to any & all types of towns & experiences!
I would rather stay at a resort though b/c I want to go to a spa. I want to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.
I sort of figured it would be really hot. Are there any other great cities/towns north of phoenix (up to a 2 hour drive away)??

MikePinTucson

Nothing at all to be ashamed of. After all, you now live in a most wonderful place.

The northern part of Arizona will be much cooler than Phoenix or Tucson because of the higher elevations in the north.. Sedona should be in the high 70's to low 80's during the day and probably 30 to 35 degrees cooler at night. There are lots of really nice resorts there. Browse through the web site I gave you.

One city only a short drive (maybe 40 minutes) from Sedona, up beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, is Flagstaff, a smallish city of just over 60,000. Here is the city's web site:

http://www.flagstaff.az.gov/

Go to the "Community Profile" page and it will give you all kinds of info. Flagstaff is even cooler than Sedona because it is about 1,000 feet higher in elevation. The Grand Canyon temperature should be about the same as Flagstaff.
Of course, Tucson (900,000 population) is only about 4 hours south of Sedona. Lots to do and see here, if you decide to come down this way. Just let me know and I can provide you with a lot of links to web sites.

Or, if you want big city, the Phoenix area has over 3 million people.

MichelleY

Dear Eric & Faye:

Do a search above by clicking on Arizona. It will pull up info and trip reports on AZ & the Southwest. We travelled in July to Sedona & the GC. Both are spectacular. Here is a link to our trip report:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...200&dirtyBit=1

I would recommend at least one night at the GC rim. The helicopter tours are not allowed at this area, which is the most spectacular.

Congrats and have a nice honeymoon.

MY

amwosu

Just to get an idea of temperature differential...one day last July while I was in AZ it was 116 degrees in Phoenix, 106 in North Scottdale, 78 in Sedona (2 hrs north) and 65 in the Grand Canyon (4 hours north).

rain_monkey03

The big cites are Flagstaff, Sedona, and Grand Canyon. I recommend staying in Williams and taking the train to the Grand Canyon. You will see a lot of Arizona that you don't get to see when driving through. A good drive that I enjoy quite often is from Flagstaff to go through Jerome and Prescott through Wickenburg back to Phoenix. It's a nice slow drive with lots of scenery.

bigtyke

Except for the middle of the day, I think even Phoenix would seem as comfortable as Hawaii.

All the recommedations made are good. I would also consider taking the Verde Canyon Railroad.

venice_is_my_fav

Aviod Tucson, there is nothing to do. I would look for a spa somewhere... there a plenty of nice spas all over arizona. OK, tucson is not that bad, there are some spas... but the city itself is a drag. I would definitely recomend phoenix and north. have fun!

MikePinTucson

Yeah, Phoenix is just great -- that is, if you like to see the air you are breathing and if you want to take 90 minutes to drive from one side of town to the other. Phoenix looks more and more like L.A. every day. So if you like cities of 3.3 million people and all the various types of pollution that goes with that, by all means, go to Phoenix.

If you are looking for resorts, there certainly ARE many very good ones in Scottsdale. And the nightlife in the Phoenix area really is good -- much better than in Tucson, since Tucson is much smaller.

I would still recommend Sedona. You couldn't ask for a more romantic place for a honeymoon.

Candy88186

Sedona is the most beautiful place I have seen!!!

Have been to Hawaii 5 times and like it
also....