First Time Visit to Sedona, AZ
 

My husband and I are retired and love to travel. We primarily cruise and have visited many interesting places in the world. This time around we are contemplating a trip to visit the southwest part of USA. I have started preliminary research on a trip to Sedona as we have never been there and it is on my wish list. We would have to fly to Phoenix, rent a car and drive to Sedona (I understand it is a 2 hr. drive). I am looking for lodging for approx. 12 days and have been focusing on Sedona area. I have found a golf resort in West Sedona that looks nice and would fit our needs. My husband is a golfer so would like to do some golfing. The resort I have looked at is "Ridge on Sedona Golf" (Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort Hotel), reviews are very good, it is about 15 min. from Sedona and the accommodations seem to be what we are looking for. We are going to rent a car at PHX airport and drive to Sedona. We would also like to explore other areas. We have been to the GC North Rim so have already seen that but would not be opposed to driving to the south rim. I would possibly like to see an Indian reservation while we are there. Any suggestions would be most appreciated from all.

We are planning to go 2/1-2/12 (can be a bit flexible in dates) but mainly looking for a winter escape from the cold and snow of New England). Thanks everyone.

We have only been to Sedona once and we loved it. We took the Pink Jeep Broken Arrow tour and it was great. We went to Jerome for a day trip and really enjoyed looking around there. There are so many hiking trails and parks to go to in Sedona, you will love it. Get the Red Rock pass at the vistor center and you can park at all the trails when you hike.

The Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort would be good for your golfing husband. We have stayed there, and it was fine. We prefer being in Sedona instead of the Village of Oak Creek. But we don't golf, so did not have that draw to stay at the Ridge.

Along I-17, before the Sedona turnoff, you can visit Montezuma Castle and a little further up I-17, Montezuma Well.

Other things to see / do around Sedona:
Visit Bell Rock
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Pink Jeep Broken Arrow tour
Red Rock Crossing
wine tasting at wineries on Page Springs Road
Visit Jerome
Explore Tlaquepaque and uptown
Drive through Oak Creek Canyon (you can do this on the Grand Canyon trip).

For the south rim trip, I would get an early start:
Drive back down 179 to I-17, take I-17 north, to I-40 east, to 89 north.

You can stop at the Cameron Trading Post for a late breakfast / early lunch, then take 64 through the GC east gate. Stop at Desert View and other viewpoints on the way to Grand Canyon Village. At the Village, park and walk the rim trail right in front of the lodges for more views.

With the short days, you probably won't have time to do any of the Hermits Rest road, so head back toward Sedona at least 2 hours before sunset. Exit the south gate, drive to Williams and take I-40 east to I-17 south, and take the Oak Creek Canyon road to Sedona. Very scenic.

For dinners in / near Sedona:
Cowboy Club Silver Saddle Room
Dahl & DiLuca is my favorite, but you might want to eat at Cucina Rustica, which is quite close to the Ridge.
Harry's Hideaway, in Cornville (will be close if you do wine tasting). It is small, so definitely make advance reservation.
Shugrue's Hillside.

We just spent 2 days there. I guess if you are going to golf a lot it would be ok but I would go stir crazy there for 12 days.

Winter escape - it will be warmer than New England but don't count on it being "warm".

I would stay way less time there and head somewhere else. But that's just me.

I found most of the shops along 89A to be tourist schlock. There was one nice little area that had nicer shops http://www.tlaq.com but that was it.

I would want to spend the night at GC even if I had the resort paid for. There is something special about seeing sunset there and getting up and having breakfast at el Tovar overlooking the canyon in the morning. If you can, stay in el Tovar.

We always find plenty to do for a week. Yes, 12 days could be a bit much. But you can also do some day trips a little away from the area. Flagstaff, Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, even the Petrified Forest. Or do a day trip to Prescott and Wickenburg. There is also the Out of Africa Park, which would take several hours.

A large percentage of the shops in uptown are tacky Tee-shirt shops and the ilk. But there also are some good galleries. You can also head up Oak Creek Canyon to view the Indian jewelry being sold at roadside tables. Or, for high end Indian jewelry, stop at Garland's in Oak Creek Canyon.

February is actually the offseason in Sedona. Several years ago we got a fabulous rate at the Enchantment Resort--still one of my all time favorite places to stay. We had a studio casita with a living room, Murphy bed, fireplace, kitchen and a large patio with a grill---all surrounded by Boynton Canyon--what a location.

While we were there though, we did have snow. It rarely snows in Sedona and the locals were totally excited. We get our fill of snow in Ohio in Feb. so we were not excited.

Unfortunately, the road into the Grand Canyon closed so we missed our visit there. We got to the Grand Canyon on another trip. I wouldn't miss going to the Grand Canyon if I was in Sedona.

We did a lot of really great hikes when we were in Sedona, took the Pink Jeep Tour and my husband did play golf.

Since you are golfers, you also might want to consider staying part fo the time in one of the Scottsdale resorts. It's high season there.

Ok, you guys are awesome! Thanks for the info and keep it coming. You have definitely given me lots to think about in a good way.

I have been pricing flights Bos-PHX and there are some great prices. We are looking to fly out of PVD as we live about 1/2 hr. from Green Airport. I have finally found US air flights that leave here in AM and arrive PHX mid-afternoon. This is where I have been having difficulty. Most flights arrive 8:30 or 10 ish into PHX and we don't want to be driving in unknown terrority that time of night.

We definitely want to visit Sedona so that's a given. I agree that maybe 12 days at one resort/hotel might be too much. My DH is not planning to golf every day. He's debating whether to bring his clubs but rent instead. Maybe I'll look closer to Sedona and see what's available. I'll keep searching.

Weather - we have had a terrible winter, snow, very cold, etc. so if we could hope for 65 deg temps that would be heaven to us. LOL I have been tracking 10 day forecasts to see what temps are out there. Anything above 50 would be lovely.

Car rental - airport sticker shock, which I knew. More to rent a car than flights. Any suggestions for someplace outside the airport we could rent. Could take a taxi. Not sure what we will do here still researching.....

I have all of the above suggested itineries on my wish list, guess we can pick and choose. We have been to North Rim of GC so not sure about visiting there, although to see the sunset there would be awesome. I definitely thought it would be nice to visit the winery as we are wine drinkers (me more than my DH). Just something different to see.

MikePinTucson - u mentioned roadside jewelry stands. That's all I need to hear, jewelry! I have one piece of turquoise jewelry I bought in SD a couple of years ago and love it! Thanks for that tip.

One other question at this time - toll roads and rental cars. Would we be driving on any toll roads from PHX to Sedona (or elsewhere) and need to worry about "fast cash" vs paying cash for the toll. I don't want to get stuck at a toll booth cause they won't take cash.

Thanks so much for all your great suggestions. I'm off to more research.

The north rim isn't an option. It is closed until mid-May. I am sure you will find the south rim equally as awesome, perhaps more so, since there are maybe 2 dozen named viewpoints compared to just a handful at the north rim. Sunrise and sunsets at the south rim are definitely awesome, too.

I don't think there are any toll roads anywhere in /Arizona, so no worries there.

Re: jewelry. Besides the parking lot a few miles up Oak Creek Canyon, you will also find a lot at the Oak Creek /Canyon vista near the top of the canyon. Also, if you stop at the Cameron Trading Post on your way to / from the Grand Canyon (or as a day trip), they have a huge amount of jewelry and other Navajo arts and crafts, with prices all the way from a few dollars to thousands of $$$$.

A rental car would probably be cheaper in town, but I'm not familiar with them. I'm not sure what type of car you are considering, but you definitely will not need a 4 wheel drive or an SUV. A midsize car will be fine.

Checked out El Tovar and it's closed for renovations until March.

Rental car - we would be ok w/ a midsize or compact car. Prices for airport rentals are high when all the taxes are added in and we would be renting for approx. 12 days. I am going to see about rentals outside the airport area also.

I am re-thinking spending all our time at the golf resort as we want to explore other areas. Maybe 3 or 4 days there would work out and we can do day trips to Jerome, etc. from there as well. Still exploring....

If el Tovar is not available at GC, check out Thunderbird or Kachina lodges, they are right on the rim also. They have rooms that are like a motel, clean but basic. The location is perfect.

Look at some of the trip reports from people who have posted here for ideas of things to do in the area.

Phoenix is notorious for horrible rental car costs. We have planned trips using Las Vegas as the place to fly in to and have sometimes had good luck with low flight and auto costs. When I started going to this area I found it easiest to get a large map and then put on the places I might want to visit and then work out a route that would loop back to my starting city without adding too much car time. mapsgoogle.com or map quest.com help in the planning.

I messed up the links, you want to try google maps or map quest I think the autocorrect didn't help.

Just FYI, if you have a National Parks Pass, you won't need the Red Rocks pass.