jeff

My family and I are thinking about visiting the Santa Fe and Taos area this summer. How long should we budget to see the sights of interest in this area? We have a total of two weeks to play with, but depending on how much tiem should be allocated to the Santa Fe - Taos area, we might continue on up to southern Colorado.

Also, does anyone know how long it would take to drive from Santa Fe to Durango? And would people recommend actually staying in Taos for a night or two, or just doing it as a day trip(s) from Santa Fe?

xxx

Not knowing what you want to see and do in these locations or how leisurely you like your vacations, it's difficult to determine appropriate times for someone. I would, however, recommend staying in Taos for atleast one or two nights.

Are you flying into Albuquerque and renting a car for two weeks and returning to Alb?

Carla

I have a similiar question, but with much less time. I am flying into ABQ late on a THU night, and flying home early on a MON morning. This give me 4 nights, which to spend between Santa Fe and Taos. I would like to spend a night in Taos, but it would not make sense to drive 2.5 hours the day I arrive or depart. My dilemma is whether to just do Taos as a day trip from Santa Fe, or to spend a night in Taos and break up the nights in Santa Fe, which means checking out and back into a hotel there; something I prefer not to do. I realize that I really haven't asked a specific question, but I would appreciate comments from anyone who may have first hand experience from which I might benefit. Thanks.

travellyn

jeff - The (beautiful) drive from Santa Fe to Durango takes about 4 hours if you go through Chama and Pagosa Springs.

I'd probably spend 4-7 days between Santa Fe and Taos, but it all depends on your own style of travel. You might enjoy reading the book Journey to the High Southwest to get an idea of how long to visit each place.

Carla - if it were me, I'd make Taos a day trip. I might also drive back to Albuquerque on Sunday night, turn in my car, and stay in an inexpensive motel (like the Sleep Inn) near the airport. Then I'd take a shuttle or taxi to the airport early monday morning.

The reasons for this are unpredictable road construction through the summer, less pressure to get the car in, maybe less expense overall, and the fact that I can't stand waking up any earlier than absolutely necessary.

mjh

If you plan to arrive back in Albequerque at night don't make it late or else be sure to eat before you arrive. We had trouble finding restaurants around Old Town open when we got there at 10 pm. We ended up having Domino's deliver.

A one day trip from Sante Fe up to the town of Taos and the Pueblo is about right -- that's what we did.

If we had it to do over again we would drive right up to Sante Fe and stay there for there until the day before your flight. We had some time the morning of our flight to see the Old Town.

Spencer

Santa Fe: you could spend a half day at the Georgia O'Keeefe museum, pretty cool and I'm not into art. And, you definitely want to be at Sante Fe when the Indians are out selling their goods. But the best advice I could give you is to stay at Alma del Monte! It's an ideal location. It's located between Taos and the Taos Ski Valley. And the bed and breakfast is probably the best bed and breakfast you will ever find. You may never want to go into town!!

curious

Jeff, you posted this same message earlier and got quite a few replies. Any particular reason that you posted again?

J T Kirk

I agree with above poster - make Taos a day trip. I like Taos, but it'd take too much time away from Santa Fe to spend a night there. You have so many more options for restaurants, galleries, shops in Santa Fe than in Taos. You could easily spend all of your time in Santa Fe. I guess an argument could be made that you need to do the drive (High Road) from Santa Fe to Taos. And that drive IS awesome. But if you're coming in from Albuquerque, you can drive the Turquoise Highway, which also has some great scenery. And if take a trip out to Bandelier (highly recommended), you'll see plenty of great scenery. Also, stop at Madrid and check out that place. Pretty cool little town. Have fun.

connie

I would definitely spend the majority of my time in southwest Colorado. I've been to both areas. Don't care if I ever go back to Santa Fe/Taos. Could go back to SW Colorado over and over.

jeff

Curious: I re-posted because my original post didn't seem to be coming up on the New Mexico board for some reason, but only on the United States board. I'm relatively new to this site, and I'm not entirely sure I'm doing the right things so that my message gets posted in a place where it will turn up easily on searches in the future. If you can help me puzzle out how to do this, that would be great!

gab

I'd skip Taos altogether or just do a day trip at most. Santa Fe has much more to offer. You'd need two days minimum for SF, though three would be better. In Taos, the only things I thought were worthwhile were the O'Keefe church and a museum that was the former house of a Russian craftsman/artisan (I can't recall its name, but it's in the guide books).

r

O'Keefe Church? Does she have her own church now? Or did you mean: The Mission Church of San Francisco de Asis in Ranchos de Taos? It has been portrayed more often and by more artists than any other church in the U.S. It was painted by many great artists before O'keefe painted it.

Jeff; I agree with the others who said that it is difficult to help you plan your trip without knowing your travel style. Some people like to zip through an area and get bored easily, while others like to linger. A week in Santa Fe and Taos could be a long time for a person who zips. There is also so much you could see in Colorado: Pagaosa Springs, Durango, Ouray, Telluride.

You could see Santa Fe and Taos,comfortably in five or six days.

lisa

Jeff -- if you give us a little more info on what you like to do and what your travel style is, we could probably help.

Personally, I spent a week in Taos and Santa Fe, but on a hiking trip. I don't agree that you should skip Taos. I thought it was beautiful and less "touristy" than Santa Fe. Don't miss the Taos Pueblo -- especially with a family. Stop in the square and do some shopping, too. You might also take a drive outside of town for the beautiful countryside. I'd spend two days and one night there.

In between the two towns, you might consider stopping in Chimayo. A beautiful and very moving church there where local people believe that healings occur. Also some wonderful food at a restaurant whose name is also Chimayo (someone help me out with the full name). You can make this a day stop on your way to Santa Fe.

I highly recommend a stop at Bandelier Park. They have a nice welcome center and lots of hiking trails with interesting foliage. You can see the caves where the Anasazi Indians used to live and even climb up the the top of one cliff where there is a ceremonial space.

While the Georgia O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe is popular, I found it disappointing. It is pretty small and you can zip through it in a hour or two (and I'm one who lingers at museums). You'll also want to shop in Santa Fe and see the market that Native Americans set up in town. I'd say 2-3 nights in Santa Fe is probably enough, again, depending on your interests.

gab

rj,
No need to get snippy. I didn't capitalize the "c" in "church" because I know that that is not the proper name for the church. But without guidebook in hand and recalling a trip that took place three years ago, calling it the "O'Keefe church" was the best I could do. And you certainly knew what I was referring to, so I'm sure the original poster could figure it out as well.

carolyn

I'd recommend spending an evening in Taos. We went for a long weekend, 2 nights in Santa Fe, 1 night in Taos and our last night in Santa Fe.

We took a leisurely drive up the scenic route to Taos, had a late lunch, checked into the hotel, toured the town. The next morning we went to the pueblo, did a little more driving north and took the highway back to Santa Fe in the afternoon stopping at road side stands and a winery. It was nicely paced.

5 or 6 days would be more than enough time to see the area.

They are great towns to visit. Enjoy!

Jeff

Thanks for everyone's contributions. We like to see things in a fair amount of detail, but also have some time just to get the measure of a place. We have to balance my love of history, archaeology, and architecture with my wife's love for galleries and shopping, and the more limited attention spans of children aged 6 and 8. I think I'm probably leaning towards around 5 nights in Santa Fe, and then maybe 1 night in Taos before moving on to points north.