Sedona AZ must see and do!
 

Going to Sedona in September, should I fly into Phoenix?
Best Place to stay? Must hikes,things to see and places to eat.
Any information would be great!

I did just a quick 1 day excursion to Sedona from Scottsdale a few years ago and would love to return for a longer stay. The Pink Jeep Tour was great. Bring water and a camera. The jeeps really do go off the road for a fun outing and great scenery.

http://www.pinkjeep.com/jeep-tours/sedona/

The "best" place is probably Enchantment Resort. However, it is also the most expensive, by far. It really would help to know what kind of budget you have.

There are literally dozens of hiking trails around Sedona, from very easy to quite difficult. For easy hikes, try the Bell Rock / Courthouse Butte loop. Or the hike from Red Rock Crossing to Cathedral Rock.

Must-see / must-do:
Red Rock Crossing
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Jerome
Pink Jeep Broken Arrow tour
Verde Canyon Railroad, if you have an extra day
Oak Creek Canyon

Places to eat -- My favorites:
Dahl & DiLuca
Cowboy Club Silver Saddle Room
Shugrue's Hillside (if you can get patio seating).

I know a lot of people rave about Elote Cafe, but it was a place I would not eat at a second time. To me, the food was quite bland, and there was well over an hour wait (no reservations for small parties).

Phoenix is cheaper than Flagstaff. In Sedona - Chapel of the Holy Cross, if you are not religious, still go for the views. You park at the bottom, and walk or take the "golf cart" to the top.

Have you been to Grand Canyon? If no, it's a day trip from Sedona.

Agree with Mike about Elote - wouldn't go there.

There is a small local airport where everybody goes to watch sunrise/sunset, don't miss! When you drive up, it's the 2nd parking lot, not the first private one.

I went to the airport for sunset and it doesn't compare to the sunset at the Crescent Moon picnic area where you see Cathedral Rock in the background and Oak Creek in the forground. That's the promo shot for Sedona. I took photos every minute or so and Cathedral Rock turned red.

I spent 3 days hiking around Sedona. The most scenic:
Boynton Canyon Vista (not the full Boynton Canyon hike)
Bell Rock Loop
Broken Arrow hike

All above pretty easy.

I didn't take the Pink Jeep tour. They maintain a "roadway" parallel to the Broken Arrow hiking trail. I hiked it and it was among the most scenic. Not difficult at all and I didn't have a driver terrorizing me.

The passengers seemed to be having fun as I saw several jeeps pass me. Maybe it was nervous laughter.

I stayed at the BW Inn of Sedona. It's was renovated a few years ago and when I went (2007) it had the look and feel of a new place. Excellent location directly at the "Y". It's right near the highway but you take a little road up to the main level. So, the main level is the 3rd floor and it goes down from there.

The best rooms are on the "main" level backing Chimney Rock. There are about 8 rooms on that side. They have 2 entrances; one to the parking lot and the other to a large patio where you can sit out and watch the sun set behind Chimney Rock.

If you search for my 2007 trip report I list the room numbers.

You can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

Select 2007 Bryce, Zion, GC & Sedona.

Myer, are you sure about which BW you stayed at? The BW Inn of Sedona is in West Sedona, about a mile west of the "Y". The BW Arroyo roble is in uptown Sedona, just to the northeast of the "Y"..

Mike,
Yes, it was BW Inn of Sedona. Just west of the "Y". Actually, when you drive down the incline to the highway, it's directly opposite the road that leads up to the airport.

I just checked a map and you are correct. It's about a mile west of the "Y". Hmmm.

But it is the Inn of Sedona with the great patio and views.

BW Inn gets really good reviews.

I have taken the PJ Broken Arrow tour 3 times (keep going back). It is "having a great time" laughter, not nervous laughter. The guide / driver really doesn't terrify you. The drivers are very knowledgeable about the area, the flora, fauna, and geology, so it is very informative in addition to being a lot of fun.

Is the PJ Broken Arrow tour one of the Pink Jeep Tours? Going in October - want to see it all, but don't want to be terrified- as some "jeep tours" can do! What is the best jeep tour of Sedona?

The Pink Jeep Broken Arrow tour is by far the most popular jeep tour in Sedona/ So I guess that would probably make it the "best". Not at all terrifying, but thrilling in a couple of places:

http://www.pinkjeeptours.com/jeep-to...en-arrow.shtml

Thank you all for your info. Been to the grand canyon but would go back if I could do it as a day trip???Would like to stay at a place that is close to what we will be doing,and a reasonable price,nice scenery would be great the BW sounds like a good fit.Any other day trips worth taking?

The Grand Canyon can be done as a day trip. I would go up Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, getting an early start, and take 89 up to the east entrance to the GC. On 89, you could take the loop road to see Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument.

Jerome would be another good day trip. It isn't that far from Sedona, but you can spend several hours browsing the shops there.

You could also visit Walnut Canyon, east of Flagstaff, and possibly Standin' on The Corner Park in Winslow.

http://www.standinonthecorner.com/

ok this may be crazy but would it be worth driving to Page AZ to Antelope Canyon maybe stay a couple of days? Saw pics it looks beautiful!!

Antelope Canyon is definitely worthwhile. Check my pictures:

http://mikepintucson.shutterfly.com/1359

Personally, I wouldn't spend too much time in Page. But that's just me, and I'm sure there will be some disagreement. I would rather spend more time at the GC and Sedona.

I would do Antelope Canyon on the way to the GC, after Sunset Crater and Wupatki. While near Page, check out Horseshoe Bend. I would then head back toward the GC, maybe stay the night at the Cameron Trading Post. For dinner, have a medium Navajo Taco):

http://www.camerontradingpost.com/

Your pictures are great did you do the photo tour? I would do grand canyon again, so thats doable in 2 days, one night at Cameron. Also keep seeing kokopelli Inn as place to stay is it nice and in good area to get to different excursions?
thank you for all your help!!

I didn't do the photo tour. I just drove up and took the next available tour guide.

Sorry, but I don't know anything about the kokopelli Inn.

MPT you mentioned easier hikes any other hikes that are must do that may be somewhat difficult? I would like to keep the room budget to 100-150/night but if you reommended some place that is a must then I would be willing to go higher. How many days do you think is needed to really see Sedona? thank you.

We have only done Bell Rock/courthouse butte, Baldwin Trail, Boynton Canyon, Devil's Bridge and Airport Loop. All of those are pretty easy. My wife isn't big on hiking. But here is a website that gives good descriptions of the hikes:

http://www.hikearizona.com/interestDEX.php?ID=42&RID=9

How many days? That's a tough one to answer because so many people just fall in love with Sedona and can't get enough of it. We live in Tucson and have bought a timeshare there, so have been going for a week for the past 3 years and have been for a few days several times before.

We stayed at Sky Ranch Lodge twice, and would go back. Rooms without a view start at around $85 and view rooms run from around $140 to $170.

http://www.skyranchlodge.com/

Sky Ranch isn't fancy, but it is clean and comfortable. But if you want something within walking distance to restaurants and shops, sky Ranch isn't that place. It is up on airport mesa, and there is a great viewing area right there that people visit to view the sunrise and sunset.

Other than that, we have stayed at a couple of B&Bs in the Village of Oak Creek. But they are pretty pricey. Your best bet would be to do a hotel search, then ask questions, either here or on Tripadvisor and read the tripadvisor reviews.

I went to Antelope Canyon and it's definitely worth a reasonable detour. While there, make sure you go to The Best Dam View and Horseshoe Bend.

You can see my photos of these at:
www.travelwalks.com

Select the 2007 trip to Bryce, Zion, GC and Sedona.

We were there in June. My favorite hike was Devil's Tower. Loved Jerome, but you have to visit Slide Rock State Park. It's beautiful, even if it was a bit crowded. We just walked further upstream and found a quiet spot to sit and relax. When we got in the water to slide through the rocks, the water was so cold it literally took our breath away. If you have water shoes, I recommend them since there are many slippery spots.

Thanks for your reply, where did you stay when you went in June? I read reviews for rooms at Sky Ranch Lodge some real good others bad, so confused. Where would you stay if I go to Page?

JEF

We stayed at Sedona Summit--a resort on the south end of town. We got a deal through our time share. It was a nice place, but our particular condo looked out on a parking lot. They are in the process of updating all the units, one building at a time, so there was some construction going on there also. We didn't care since we were gone most of the time anyway and the price was great. I don't know anything about Sky Ranch Lodge or Page, sorry.

The Hyatt Pinion Resort is right at the center of town and looked very nice.

If I do a pink jeep tour is it worth it to do the broken arrow/scenic rim tour or is just broken arrow good enough?

I thought the 2 hour BA tour was enough time in the jeep. I'm not sure I would want to spend another hour in it.

I forgot to add that we (my sister and I) flew into Phoenix. We used Ace Express Shuttle to get from the airport to the resort and highly recommend that company. I believe we paid $99 each for round trip rides; the one thing we found different about them is that they delivered door to door; we didn't have to worry about meeting the shuttle anywhere.

We met our husbands at the resort who had driven from Minnesota so that they could bring golf clubs, plenty of food and so that we'd have a non-rental vehicle for the week. I highly recommend that method of travel also--if you can talk your spouse or fellow travelers into doing the driving part!

I was just looking at my photos this afternoon--we truly loved it there. Hope you do too.

thanks for all your help. Just wondering if i fly into phoenix and drive up to Page ( i know sounds crazy) stay there for two nights,then drive to Sedona for six nights. is there a better way to do that, fly into another airport? ANy suggestions?

I really wouldn't spend 2 nights in Page. If you get to PHX early enough, you will be able to get there, do some sightseeing, stay for the night, then do Antelope canyon the following day.

From there, I would go to the GC and spend the second night there, then to Sedona. Lodging inside the park is probably all booked, but keep checking the website and call every day. There will undoubtedly be cancellations.

http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/

Our family of 5 stayed at the Sedona Reale. Fabulous large room, with a somewhat separate living room space. Our "suite" had 3 queen sized beds, and a mini kitchen. Not expensive at all.

would like to stay closer to town, walking distance. where would the town be located (the road name?).finally came to that conclusion after many discussions.

You would want to stay in "uptown" Sedona, which is just northeast of the "Y" (the intersection of 179 and 89a). It is 89a that runs through uptown.

Best Western Arroyo Roble is right in the heart of uptown. There are several others, but I have no specific recommendations for them. Check them out here:

http://www.sedona.net/category.php/s...resortslodging

Just read somewhere about a Red Rock pass? Can someone tell me about that?

http://www.redrockcountry.org/passes...ts/index.shtml

I had forgot about that because we have the "senior" national parks pass, which is a substitute.

So I need to get this pass to do all of your recommended hikes? Thank you.

Yes, unless you have one of the national parks passes listed on the website.

I'm jealous! I could go back to Sedona anytime! (Well, maybe not in 115 degree weather in August....)

Check out my trip report at http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...tisfaction.cfm. You'll see that we especially enjoyed either of the Cafe Jose's, especially for breakfast. I second the suggestion about driving up Oak Creek Canyon to the GC - lots of beautiful scenery along the way. Have fun!

Do you think I will need hiking boots or sneakers will be fine? Will be doing mostly moderate hikes maybe a difficult one. thanks for all your help.

Sneakers (we started out on a moderate hike that turned out to be a little more difficult because we made a wrong turn. Still, sneakers were fine).

Thanks, read twina49 report sounds great! other than getting there. can't wait to go next month.Will definitely try cafe Jose's

Does anyone have any other places to eat dinner, will be there 6 nights. Thanks for everyone's help. Anything else I should know or pack for this trip?

The Barking Frog was very good somewhat upscale Mexican (great prickly pear margarita, and lovely roasted tomatillo sauce on whatever it was I ate -- I remember the sauce, though!)