After getting an unbeatable fare, my friend and I are meeting in El Paso with our daughters. We are 2 moms and we each will be traveling with a four year old daughter. We'll be staying in September for 2 nights and 2 days. After reading some posts, I am worried we are making a mistake. (Saftey, ugly, not a place to visit, etc.) We were thinking of staying at the Embassy Suites, and not getting a rental car. We are most interested in seeing each other, but hoped that this was a good spot because of the zoo, and hopefully some yummy mexican food. Should we trash the idea and get a rental car and stay in another nearby city? Or, any good hotel, restaurant, shopping, activity reccomendations for us? Thank you!

We occasionally do the same thing - grab a cheap fare and make the best of it.

I was in El Paso briefly a couple times in the 80's. I found it to be typical of a border town and a military town. But for a really cheap fare, I would go there too.

Hopefully others can share their experiences there, but the tourism site looks like a good place to start:
http://www.elpasocvb.com/attraction_...?category_id=7.

Enjoy!

Thank you! I would love some more insight from others too.

Well if you look at a map, you will that there aren't too many towns around El Paso LOL. Las Cruces, NM is the closest. I can't imagine being in El Paso without a car Is the zoo close to the Embassy Suites? Keep in mind that it will be hot in Sept so you will need to do activities in the morning or evening (like the zoo).

Geez, I'm thinking if the zoo IS close to the Embassy Suites, and it IS that hot, you probably want to stay someplace else

swaymock-Well El Paso is not a place I would pick to go but since hannys already has her ticket, hopefully she can some helpful information.

hannys-Where are you and your friend traveling from? Sounds like you are trying to find a central place to meet. Is your unbeatable fare through Southwest Airlines? If so, you could alway pick another location and put the ticket you have now towards that airfare. That said, you probably would have to pay more money to make up the difference.

Meant to say "get some helpful information".

It's been along time since I was in El Paso. When I was in college, used to spend the night there as a halfway point of driving between San Antonio and Phoenix. My college friend lived there so would stay with his family. Pretty much El Paso was a place to sleep and drive through quickly.

If you can reasonably reconsider this destination, I for one would recommend doing so. El Paso, and especially the mexican side border town are not the safest places, especially for signle women or small children. Add to that the lack of touristy things to do and the heat, and you've got a (possible) big zero trip in the cross hairs. What about San Antonio?

If you can't change your tickets, you could go to Carlsbad Caverns, spend the night, then come back to El Paso the next day.

Lee Ann

Here's one thread about the pros and cons of El Paso and also about staying in Las Cruces. It also lists some restaurants, etc. You would definitely need a car no matter where you stay.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...0&tid=34916345

Here is another thread about staying in Las Cruces.

/www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1&start=0&tid=34916345

Sorry-wrong link to the last thread about El Paso vs Las Cruces. Here's the correct one.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...0&tid=34890834

Thank you so much for all the help. We canceled our tix to El Paso and have rebooked flights to Phoenix. I am sure the change will be worth every penny. We are coming from CO and my friend is meeting us from CA. I feel so much better about this and now will look forward to fun activities in Phoenix! Thank you again for caring!!

Great choice! I know you will be happier in Phoenix. You definitely will need a car in Phoenix but it's pretty easy to get around. There are some nice resorts or hotels with good pools that your daughters will like. The Phoenix Zoo is nice.

Try to plan your activities for early in the day since it gets very hot. Hottest around 3pm. The zoo hours are 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. weekdays
7 a.m. - 4 p.m. weekends
Zoo is very nice.
Stay hydrated!