TDudette

Have purchased tickets for end of April 2018 to Albuquerque. In general, art is my main interest and have heard that Taos is interesting. Before I try to navigate the new system for previous posts, here are some general pre-trip questions:

Should I rent a car or look for guided tours?

Should I stay in Albuquerque or Santa Fe?

Will altitude be a factor?

Am sure to think of other things but would appreciate your input. Thanks in advance.

RoamsAround

Yes, definitely rent a car. There's a lot to see/do in and around Santa Fe.

Stay in Santa Fe. Santa Fe is 65+ miles northeast of Albuquerque and Taos is about 70 miles further to the northeast from Santa Fe. You'll add a lot of unnecessary driving staying in Albuquerque.

Yes, altitude could be a factor,. Avoid strenuous hikes for the first few days of your visit until your body gets acclimated. If you don't rush and walk slowly you'll be fine. The air is crisp and dry so you might experience some drying of the mucus membranes in your nose. Keep hydrated.

sweetannie

Agree with staying in SF and having a car. You could make Taos a day trip, if you wish. If you like art, you might enjoy the tour of Georgia O'Keefe's home and studio in Abiquiu. The museum of her works is in Santa Fe. You might also enjoy the International Museum of Folk Art in SF. Just mentioning a few, you'll find no end to the art in SF and environs. Enjoy.

yestravel

Definitely rent a car & spend most of your time in Santa Fe. I agree to visit the home and studio of Georgia O'Keefe--beautiful drive and great tour. Her museum in SF is very nice. They used ot have events on Friday evenings which were fun. Lots of galleries in SF. How long are you staying? ABQ is interesting as is Taos. How to divide your time depends on how much time I think.

emalloy

I'm assuming you will be flying into/out of Albuquerque. If you take the back road (Turquoise trail) between them. Lots of galleries and interesting shops.

If you are worried about altitude sickness, drink more water than you think you can hold and avoid alcohol.

Bitter

looks like this may have been tagged as an AZ trip, instead of NM. I don't know if that can be changed under the new format.

Count me as someone who was underwhelmed by Taos.

TDudette

Thanks to All. I may have performed the mis-tag, Bitter in error. Ooops and thanks.

Tues-Friday excluding air, yestravel.

I love art, sweetannie, but O'Keefe is not a fave. After reading her bio though, I got curious about how the desert called out to her.

Thanks again.

TDudette

FWIW, in looking at reservations for O'Keefe's home in Abiquiu, I see times are filling up.

Has anyone had trouble renting a car in Santa Fe for one day without making reservations during this busy time? Thanks.

yestravel

We always rented the car in advance. Why not do that? You can always cancel and it should be way less expensive renting in advance.

With that time frame I would spend a day in ABQ, drive the Turquoise trail up to SF. Spend 2 days exploring SF and go one day out to Abqui and environs. If you really feel a pull to see Taos, take a day and go up there. I remember the first time I was there many years ago, I loved it. The second time maybe 15 years ago, not so much. Part of my dislike may have been how much more touristy it had become. While I've been to SF 4-5 times, it's not my favorite city. ABQ is interesting and worth at least a day. Hopefully the locals will see this thread and I'm sure add lots more info about the area. There is some nice hiking and Bandelier National Monument is very nice. Or you can send them a PM now!

Nikki

I really enjoyed Taos, only spent one night there but toured the Taos Pueblo and had a nice dinner somewhere, several years ago now though.

KTtravel

I am so glad you posted as we are hoping to go this Spring as well. This will help with planning!

TDudette

Hi KTtravel, So far, I have plane ticket with SW, hotel is Old Santa Fe Inn, and Shuttle to and from airport is Sandia. As mentioned above, Viator van tour to Abiquiu was sold out. I went ahead and made a separate reservation for the house tour. Hope to figure out transportation to and from there.

I also ordered a portable nebulizer in case I have trouble upon getting out of the airplane!

What are your plans so far, please?

sweetannie

Are you not renting a car?

TDudette

No, sweetannie, unless for a day. Too stressful alone if my Florida trip was any indication.

Nelson

If you decide not to rent a car the a guided day tour makes sense. A quick search turned up several, but I have no experience with them.

This one makes the short detour to Chimayo en route to Santa Fe, which is worth it (also if you have a car). Some well known Ansel Adams photos from around there.
http://www.sfdetours.com/tours.html

Another option that turned up in the search:
True New Mexico with Tom Gallegos - Home

This is one of my favorite of O'keefe's paintings from her Abiquiu days, I have a print on the wall purchased at the Santa Fe museum.


Black Mesa

I also like her New York City paintings, but I guess that's a different trip!
Good luck.

KTtravel

Hi TDudette,
Sorry it took me a while to reply. I am just starting to make plans. We made plane reservations today and figured out our general itinerary. I am researching where to stay and already have a long list of what we'd like to do but know we can't fit it all in. We are flying in and out of Albuquerque so will spend two nights there, four nights in Santa Fe, two in Taos and return to Albuquerque. We are going to rent a car and also want to visit Abiquiu. I hope you are able to find a good trip there!
Happy planning!

TDudette

Thank you very much, Nelson. I will check out those links. There is a biography of Stieglitz that includes some of their married years--very interesting (IMHO).

No worries, KTtravel. That looks like a nice itinerary. Too bad they don't issue Fodor's badges anymore--we might run into each other.

KTtravel

That would be fun to run into you,TDudette! However, we are going mid-April and returning the 21st. Will you be in the area prior to the 21st?

TDudette

Sorry to be missing you, KTtravel--I land the 22nd.

Nelson, I'm in touch with Tom Gallegos and have read some good things about him! If the fates are kind, I will join him for Abiquiu tour. I haven't contacted SFdetours yet but they have a less expensive Taos and vicinity tour. Thanks again so much.

Nelson

Hope that tour works out for you TDudette, and that you get some of those magical Southwest skies!