Santa Fe or Sedona?
 

I live in the Midwest and my husband and I have been trying to plan a long weekend, kid free trip out west. I had been looking into Sedona but had trouble finding really nice accomodations other than Enchantment (which is SO expensive). Then I settled on Santa Fe, but things came up & we never went. We love the outdoors, good food, and would like to be able to shop for some reasonably priced art for our new home.

So . . . Sedona or Santa Fe? Is one "more charming" than the other?

I've been to both and enjoyed both. But I must say that I would return to Sedona before Santa Fe.

Sedona, to me, is a very singular and special place- more unique. The drive there, if you are coming from Phoenix airport, is also more interesting and varied.

One of your determinations may be the climate/ season of year. Santa Fe is desert and much warmer in the winter, than Sedona would be. Sedona is foothills and actually gets snow on the red rocks, although it melts quickly, I hear. But all around the temperature is much, much cooler in Sedona year round.

The arts and crafts of Santa Fe are super. But for the out of doors, I myself prefer the access at Sedona to Slide Rock Canyon Park/ Oak Creek Canyon and the other various area hiking opportunities. We had a couple of days when we searched for the "vortexes" that you hear so much about. It's a very individual type of beauty around Sedona. We had delicious food in both places. You'll get some good green chilis in both places.

We'll be taking our first trip to both places this fall, so I can't say anything about my preferences till later. We made reservations in Santa Fe nr. the Plaza and in Sedona chose Alma de Sedona (B&B). It sounds just perfect for us. I would suggest you send for the guidebook "Experience Sedona" from website(s):
www.visitSedona.com and/or www.experienceSedona.com
I looked at lots of websites and read the postings on this board (very helpful). There is a similar website for Santa Fe, I believe it is www.santafeliving.com
Also I wanted to mention that I did not see your posting under AZ and NM. It would get more responses if you also post with both states.
It promises to be a great trip. Wishing you the same.

I found Sedona not as nice as Santa Fe. Sedona seemed much more touristy with a lot of tacky t-shirt shops and phony new age spiritualism. Jerome, Arizona which is only about 25 miles from Sedona has much more charm and better art shops.

I visited both places but keep going back to Santa Fe. Sedona scenery is stunning, but that's it. Expensive area. Santa Fe has more to offer in my opinion - shopping, galleries, museums, wonderful restaurants, the mountains, almost like being in a different country. A GREAT place for a long weekend getaway.

Another vote for Sante Fe over Sedona.

I've been to Sedona several times and Santa Fe only for a day, so I may not be the best judge of that town, but if you are going primarily for shopping, I think that would be your best bet. If you are as interested in the scenery and hiking, I'd say Sedona, which is far more beautiful, but shopping in Santa Fe far surpasses what they have in Sedona.

The galleries along Canyon Road (Santa Fe) are wonderful, but <i>expensive</i>. We are proud owners of a signed bowl, sold to us by Kathleen Nez, the Navajo who &quot;threw&quot; it (is that the correct terminology?) which we love as it reminds us of the trip, but it really doesn't fit this decor either! www.robertnicholsgallery.com The website has examples of her work as well as some other artists--I think you'll see what I mean when you try to picture that sort of artwork in a home in FL! Bowls you'll see on that website are several hundred dollars and prices easily go up from there on Canyon Road. What fun exploring those shops though! Shops around the plaza had more reasonably priced goods, but not nearly as interesting either, and if you hit Canyon Rd first, you'll be spoiled by the time you reach the Plaza!

I've got to agree with RBC about the New Age Spiritualism bit in Sedona too. That was old after the first trip and hasn't improved in repeat visits. :)

The above comment that Santa Fe is warmer in winter is incorrect. Santa Fe is in the HIGH desert (6500 ft elevation) and is MUCH cooler than Sedona in winter. Avg daily highs in Sedona in Nov-Dec-Jan are: 65-57-54, while in Santa Fe they're: 52-45-43.

Santa Fe gets ~twice as much snow as Sedona (18 vs. 10 inches per year).

Shopping for art is far superior in Santa Fe. Restaurant selection and quality in Santa Fe is significantly better. Choise of lodgings is much better in SF as well.

Sedona is on the 'top destinations' charts because of its stunning scenery. The area around Santa Fe is beautiful, but much less spectacular.

Been to both.....Prefer Santa Fe. Make sure you go to 10,000 Waves Spa and I love the food at The Shed. For some spectacular scenery go NW of Sante Fe to Abiqui (sp?) to Georgia O'Keefe country. Bandelier is also awesome and great for hiking. JJ5....not sure if you've been to Santa Fe in winter, but it is cold and we've been treated to some lovely snowfalls there...and you can ski about 45 minutes from town.