I'm planning a quick trip to Santa Fe as surprise to my partner. We'll be staying at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi for 2 nights (perhaps 3). This hotel seems to be very well located for a lot of the tourist activities. Will we need a rental car while visiting Santa Fe?

What kinds of things do you want to see and do?

Anything even remotely outside the "plaza" area of the city will require a car - do you want to see any outdoorsy things? Visit a pueblo, see Taos, go hiking, see any of the ancestral pueblons sites.... all of these will require a car.

If you want to shop, eat, go to galleries, go to museums - you can do that without a car.

Thank you.

On my way to the office, the Taos alert went off in my head. We'll rent a car as I would like to do a day trip.

I assume you are flying in to Albuquerque - so renting a car will also save you from paying for a shuttle to and from Santa Fe. Most hotels have free parking, so that won't cost. I think that having a car will give you much more freedom and flexibility.

When are you planning to come here?

I'm actually thinking about flying into SAF on AA via DFW. It's only about $100 more dollars per person to do so. I'm thinking of Valentine's Day weekend as that will give us something to look forward to in between our trip to NYC in December and then Europe in April. This is probably not the most ideal time for a visit to Santa Fe, but we'll make the most of it.

Correct me if I wrong, but isn't Albuquerque about an hour from Santa Fe? And then isn't Santa Fe about an hour from Taos?

I can't believe we've never been Santa Fe / Taos in all our travels. I'm intrigued!

We came from Albuquerque, so we rented a car. The hotel has a valet that will park your car for you. There's a parking garage behind the hotel. I was glad we had the car so we could go out exploring, but if you just want to go to the Plaza, eat at the Shed, explore the churches, etc. it's all close enough to walk. The drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe was a little over an hour for us, but there was a lot of construction when we were there.

The drive from ABQ to Santa Fe is about an hour. Personally, I would rather fly into and out of ABQ. The flights in and out of SF are VERY limited and if there is a problem [Feb = Snow] there may not be any other planes to get you in or out of Santa Fe. Too me, $200 extra to avoid an hours drive is not worth it, added to the possibility of canceled/delayed flights, would have me flying into ABQ. Don't know where you live, but Southwest [if they serve your airport] has very good prices to ABQ and you can sign up for email alerts for special fares or for their DING! program.

http://www.southwest.com/ding/what_i...4ADING00100127

Taos is a little more than an hour from Santa Fe in good weather, again snow can be an issue in Feb, especially heading up that way.

Winter in Santa Fe can be magical, it will be sunny blue skies with cold temps that feel warmer than the thermometer reads. Night will be cold and a fire will be lovely...

My husband and I went there two years ago for our 10th anniversary. We drove from ABQ (take the scenic route). I can't imagine not having a car. FYI, there are awesome restaurants in Santa Fe. Enjoy!

I should mention that the parking at the hotel wasn't free. I think we got charged about $20 per day, but we could come and go as many times as we wanted. We really loved the hotel. Great service, nice fireplace in the room, and nice touches like little snacks in the room at night, knowing us by name, etc. Their concierge service was really helpful too.

Agree with DebitNM.

Fly into.out of Albuquerque.

Rent a car.

Thanks to all! This will be a fun get away.

DebitNM, your points are valid. If I switch our depature from Friday to Saturday, we can get an early morning non-stop on SWA from MCI to ABQ, and then an afternoon non-stop from ABQ to MCI on the way home. This is a no brainer! Forget AA on this trip.

Be prepared for full-on winter driving if you are visiting in February.

Santa Fe is at 7000ft elevation

I would suggest a 4wd vehicle to be on the safe side. Getting to and around SF won't be much of a problem, but going up to Taos could be, so the 4 wd is a good way to go.

Don't take the scenic route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe -- that's like 2.5 hours and it could get clogged with weather-related foulness. The I-25 route is a quick shot from exit 221 to 287 -- about 66 miles.

Don't kid yourself, Santa Fe is a small town (72,000 people) so expecting its airport or rental agencies to have what you need is not wise (just because it's the state capital doesn't mean it's large). ABQ is the only decent-sized airport (in the only 100,000+ person city) in NM, and it is clean, well-run, and easy to navigate. All the car rental agencies are at one location a short ride from the airport and within about 2 minutes of hopping on I-25 and heading to SFe.

Taos is about 1.5-1.75 hours from Santa Fe -- the distance is about the same as Albuquerque to Santa Fe but the roads are not blacktop Interstate. We've stayed at La Posada de Taos Inn three times, under three different innkeepers, and always with good results. If you have the dough for the Anasazi, Posada is cheap (and breakfast is good) for an overnight.

P.S., we stayed at the Old Santa Fe Inn and had great breakfast, free parking, fine room, and a price a lot lower than the Anasazi. Just saying.

Put BeachGirl247 in the search box and you'll find her extensive list of eateries in Santa Fe. The Shed is the same ownership as La Choza but the latter is away from the Plaza and far less expensive. La Choza is pretty good, but there's better. We like Tomasitas and the Cowgirl Bar & Grill. The Flying Star Cafe has great desserts.

Sounds like a lovely trip!

If you plan to include Taos Pueblo in your travel plans, check their website - www.taospueblo.com - as they close to visitors in late January and part of February.

Lee Ann