My wife and I will be vacationing
in Mesa Arizona for the month of March. We will be staying at the Fiesta Mall Suites and would like to know if anyone who has stayed there have any comments concerning distance from the Grand Canyon and spots to visit while we are there. Also we would like to know a good car rental agency close to where we are staying.
Thank you.
Herb53

Grand Canyon is 4 hours away, Sedona, on the same general route, is two hours away. You don't have to drive far to get into the mountains north of Phoenix around Payson. East are the AZ White Mountains...but then, maybe you are trying to escape snow?? You are liable to find it in the White Mountains.

We love to go out there hiking. Almost all our exploration has been from Phoenix north. What sort of things would you be interested in? There is so much to do so it'd be helpful to know what you enjoy.

For certain you do not want to rent a car at the airport as you'll pay exorbitant taxes on it. We've rented from Enterprise in Chandler...check to see if there is a location near you. It's a good reliable operation.

Thanks very much for your information. I think we will try and stay away from the snow. This is our first time in the Phoenix area and what we are really hoping to find is a nice place to winter every year of course at a economical price. We enjoy museums,most historic sites and shopping. I am hoping to get hockey tickets and also take in a few ball games while there. Thanks so much again for your information. Herb53

Herb, Mesa is probably the least interesting area of the Phoenix area but if you are investigating retirement spots you will find many in Mesa. I would just use priceline and you should be able to get a car for $15-$20/day. That probably means renting from the airport pickup though.

The Grand Canyon will be very cold so if you want to stay away from snow that is not the place to be. Check out some spring training games (the cubs play in Mesa) and maybe make a drive down to Tucson for the Sonoran Desert Museum. In Phoenix there is the Desert Botanical Gardens, art museum, Taliesan West is in Scottsdale etc.

Thank you so much for sharing your information. I guess my wife will be going to see the Grand Canyon on her own.

Herb

The average high at the S. Rim in March should be in the 50s. http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/weather.htm

Whether or not that is too cold for you is up to you. There might be alot of snow, might be a little, or might be none at all, especially if you go later in the month. If you're going to be in AZ for a month, you can certainly check on the current conditions at the South Rim and decide to go or not based on that info.

Thank you for your information.
Herb

I just stayed in Mesa at the Hilton which I got on Priceline for $36 a night.

As far as rental cars, the best deal I found was using the Costco website and renting from Budget. I paid a little over $60 including tax and fees for a midsize car for three days. I got the Costco discount + one free day with a Costco coupon I got on their website.

I don't think you will have any trouble in getting Hockey tickets. Spring training tickets are on sale now, so I would look over the games and dates you want and get them as soon as possible, especially if you want Cubs tickets. The international baseball series (I forget its actual name) will also be going on then, so you might want to get tickets to one of those games also.

go to www.showuptickets.com to get discount tickets for Taliesen West and for various shows. The discount is significant.