We're going with a group of 10 friends to Santa Fe/Taos in September. Other than my husband and myself, the others have never been there. Fodorites, please check this and see if it's "do-able" in our time frame. We fly into ABQ airport on a Wednesday, arriving about 2pm. Pick up our rental cars and head for Santa Fe. Have booked 5 rooms at the Don Gaspar in the Railyard District. By the time we get there, we might have time to mosey around the area, then have dinner there or someplace downtown,tho It would probably be nice NOT to take the cars out and park. So the first question is for a restauant suggestion near the hotel...nothing too pricey or uber-trendy.
Day 2: Morning hike in Bandalier and Tent Rocks...how much time to allow in each and where to have lunch or should we pack a cooler to take with us?
Afternoon/evening: sightseeing + shopping on the plaza and dinner in that area. Maybe do the O'Keefe Museum and others near the Plaza, followed by dinner downtown. Suggest a place for that...doesn't need to be the most popular spot in town ( ie long lines/no reservations).
Day 3: High road to Taos with stops in Chimayo,Truchas,and probably the Taos Pueblo (should we get a reservation or call ahead?), lunch in Taos,Rio Grande River gorge viewing, then on to Abiqiu (what is the fastest route?) How much should we see at Ghost Ranch ? Most want to take a little hike. ..altho if this day has "too much stuff" we could dispense with Abiqiu completely. Return to Santa Fe late afternoon, dinner in town.
Day 4: Group splits in half: Hikers go to Valle Caldera Preserve, culture mavens head for Canyon Road , Museum Hill, shopping and.maybe even Shidoni Gallery (or would that be better on the way to or from the Taos trip ?). Last nite dinner in town.
Day 5: early departure back to airport for flight home.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions!

Phew - lots here to digest.

Dinner first night La Choza. Great NM food at reasonable prices, its where locals go. It is right near your hotel, no car needed. Sept. is really a busy time here, lots of tourists in the past [who knows now with economy] so don't be surprised if you have to wait to get a table at most places, except fast food.
Here is a thread with some restaurant ideas:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

Day 2 - I don't think you can or should try and do both Bandelier and Tent Rocks in 1 morning. Where are you coming from? Are you in good shape? The altitude can really make strenuous activity difficult if you are from sea level, even if in really good shape.

I think you need to pick one or the other. Tent Rocks is very unique, can get hot as there isn't any shade on the climb. There are no facilities there, except port a potty and a couple of picnic tables, which may have a bit of shade. There is no place to buy lunch near Tent Rocks.

It will take about 2 hours to do the longer trail up and back. There is a shorter, less strenuous trail that is faster but the views aren't as good.

Bandelier has ruins to view along with hiking. You can spend a little or a lot of time.

Drive time between Bandelier and Tent Rocks would be at least an hour and 1/2.

I am pretty sure you need reservations for Ghost Ranch tours. Most of Ghost Ranch is set up for seminars, and retreats, there are some tours for general public and reservations are needed for those.

Shidoni is nice, but not a necessary if you are pressed for time.

Hope this helps.
Deb

Don Gaspar isn't really in the Railyard District, is it? I think you'll only be a 10-15 walk from the Plaza, so can pretty much choose anything you want for dinner that first night.

Bandelier is NW of Santa Fe; Tent Rocks is south. You could do one, but not both places in a morning. Or, were you thinking about combining Bandelier with Tsankawi (which is actually part of Bandelier)?

I've taken the High Road to Taos several times, but have yet to experience the pay-off. Sanctuario de Chimayo is interesting and well worth the stop, but to me, everthing else along the way wasn't worth the added time over the more direct route. With everything else on your schedule that day, you'll have trouble making it back to Santa Fe by dinner time.

When in September are you going? Wouldn't be around the Wine & Chile Fiesta dates, would it: http://www.santafewineandchile.org/ ? Also, it's either Thursday or Friday evenings when galleries on Canyon Road stay open longer than usual, many offering wine and other refreshments. Check it out!

We spent about 4 hours at Bandolier and then on another am we hiked in Tent Rocks for maybe 3 hours, so I wouldn't suggest doing them in the same day. We were there in early September last year and it got really hot as the day went on, so suggest u do your hiking in the am.

If u go to Abiqui, don't miss Georgia O'Keefe's house -- it was reallly interesting to view what she saw and then realize what she painted. U do need to make reservations for the tours there. However, I can't see going to Taos and then to Abiqui in 1 day -- really a rushed day.

We ate at La Choza and it was one of the only places that didn't have a line--good food at reasonable prices.

My favorite restaurant in SF is Pasquales, although it does have lines generally, but they move pretty quickly. Can't recall if they take reservations or not.

IF you should end up in Santa Fe on Friday, the O'Keefe Museum is free from 5 - 8 pm and there's a very good docent led tour then. You could straight to dinner from the museum.

This is all very helpful, thanks everyone. One other question: Anybody been to check out Earthship Taos, the intriguing off-the-grid "green" community ? Sounds like a unique place that appears to be along the route we're going...

Day 3 isn't doable with all you have lined up.

You could take the high road to Taos stopping along the way, eat in Taos and come home via the low road (highway) and that is a full day. You can also stop at Rancho de Chimayo which should be open in September. They had a fire this spring and haven't reopened yet. It's a grand old place along the high road and worthy of stopping for their New Mexican fare. It's been there for many years and a favorite of ours for historic reasons and for the food. Have a meal on their terrace among the cottonwoods & aspens which should be turning a golden yellow about the time you are there.

www.ranchodechimayo.com

If you want to go to Abiquiu then do that as a day trip from Santa Fe. It will take about an hour fifteen - hour and a half to get there. As Debit mentioned, you need to call ahead about the tour at Ghost Ranch. The tours in town for Georgia's house fill up in advance so reserving ahead is a must. It is a very nice tour of her house and the guide is very interesting and informative about her life. We enjoyed it very much. The tour at Ghost Ranch will not take you to her house there as it is still owned by the family and not available for tours. You can peek over the fence and take photos of it, though.

Ghost Ranch is beautiful and has trails for hiking which would give you a nice opportunity to take in the scenery that inspired Georgia O'Keefe. Very, very beautiful. Especially at sunrise and sunset. Trails are not difficult so it's good for most everyone.

If you choose not to hike at Ghost Ranch that should only take a little more than 1/2 day depending when you get started. If you leave around 9 or so you can be back to Santa Fe by early afternoon. If you want to hike, which I recommend, you won't be back until evening. The afternoon light on the canyon is spectacular.

Shidoni is just 10 minutes from town so you can work that in during your trip. Bronze pours on Saturday are open to the public and are usually around 1 but you need to check ahead to confirm the time. The drive from the plaza up/down Bishops Lodge Road to Shidoni is beautiful as you are in Tesuque meadows and will be beautiful with the colors of fall setting in. It's a pretty winding, country road.

Earthship in Taos: We drove by it and I thought it looked quite junky and run down. BUT, if you are into bizaare architecture and junky houses, you may be interested. I certainly would not make it a destination.

The Gorge in Taos will be 20 minutes from town center. You park along the highway, walk over take a few shots and back in the car so it would add at most an hour from Taos.
Graham's Grill is a good spot for lunch. Also, traditional New Mexican is Michael's Kitchen and others love Orlando's up the road. Fun atmosphere with a few tables outside.

Parking isn't a problem unless it is a big festival weekend. We didn't have any problems over 4th of July. If you aren't driving don't depend on cabs. They are not dependable and are few and far between. We noticed a couple that waited 45 minutes. We've tried before and it was 30 minutes for us. Walk or drive in and park. There are lots of public parking lots as well as street parking (2 hour limit on coins).

Hope that helps. You will love New Mexico in September.

**I just checked my notes from one of my trips to Abiquiu and it took us about an hour to get there.