Hi: My advice would be to rent a car at ALBe airport for your whole stay ... and stay somewhere like the El Rey Inn in Santa Fe. I'd skip Albuquerque. Having a car gives you so much freedom to drive to Taos for the day (stopping at the small villages),etc. ... and the weather won't be an issue.

Hello All! Well, I dropped the ball here. I got one of those 'flus going around and it wiped me out for 3 weeks. I am back to 90% now. SO I know this is last minute, and it will be a holiday weekend, but Debit NM, ElendilPickle and any other ABQ residents, I will be in ABQ Friday 5/24 to Tues 5/28, and then in Santa Fe & Taos 5/28 - June 2. Would love to get together with any Fodorites if you are free ( or at least "reasonable" sorry, my dad's old joke) for lunch or an evening, whatever.

Hope everyone is well. I had all my reservations made, except the car, lost out on better rates, but I have a car for the whole time ( thanks Taos6 & others for the advise).

The 26th or 27th in ABQ would work for me. You can contact me at same name at gmail . com

Debit - great! I will email you later.

Drat, I'll be out of town while you are here.

Have a wonderful trip!

Lee Ann

Nina, If you are interested, we could meet at the zoo and I can give you a private tour. I am a docent there and would be happy to show off our wonderful zoo. [I can't get you in for free, so you would have to pay for a ticket].

DebitNM - I must not have hit "submit" on Friday to complete my post - thank you for the lovely offer, that sounds great, and the zoo was on my list. I will email you later.

Lee Ann, let me know if you will be around Sunday June 2, I will be in ABQ again then.

Any other NM people -- ABQ Santa Fe, Taos, I would love to see you when I am there.

DebitNM - I sent you an email at 4:25 pm EST today. Let me know if you don't receive it, I sent from a new gmail acct.

I posted in the Lounge as well, but anyone with fave places, please chime in. I have rented a car for the entire time, and have a list of sites, scenic drives and restaurants.

I will be 3 1/2-4 days in ABQ and 5 days based in Santa Fe, and for Taos from there. Is Taos a cover in one-day type day trip? I just can't tell from what I've been reading.

I like a little adventurous eating ( not blowfish or insects, but spices, combinations, techniques) but also being outside and people watching, so with maybe one or two exceptions for an upscale experience, would probably prefer casual meals. I probably won't stay in and cook at the casita in SF.

Also I am not a bit shopper, but are there any things you would definitely consider picking up?
Thank you in advance.

Taos is a one day, day trip. Will check my email shortly.

thanks Debit for the Taos reply!

Taos is a perfect day trip. Take the high road to Chimayó for a stop at Sanctuario de Chimayó with pictuesque stops along the way to Taos. Check out Taos Inn for Adobe Bar for a cold beverage and then have lunch at Graham's Grill (one of my favorites). There are mexican food joints and sandwich/salad spots around as well so you can stop in wherever interests you without a wait. If you want Mexican you can go just north of the plaza area to Orlando's.
Also, a quick 15-minute drive will take you to the Gorge. Get your camera ready!
Drive back on the highway and enjoy the sunset.

I'll get back later for some of my Santa Fe restaurant rec's.

BeachGirl - aren't you a peach! thank you very much! Graham's Grill - from the writeup, I wasn't sure if I was hip enough for that room, but I will check it out. I did have Adobe Bar on my priority list. I definitely want to do the Gorge drive.

Two more sleeps, and then I'll be livin like a Luddite, off the grid for 10 days!

Hello All! I just wanted to thank everyone for all the feedback and suggestions. You were right, couldn't really have done the trip without a car rental.

My casita in Santa Fe - The Casa del Toro & The Chapelle Street Casitas on Mc Kenzie. A BIG thank you to my Fodorites for getting me to a place situated so centrally, also I just wouldn’t have known on my own, or from research how good an option the casita was. Mine was so cute, the website didn’t even do it justice. And cool, I used the ceiling fan once in a while. It was mostly quiet, and had everything I needed.

I invite you to check out my trip report. Love you guys.