Any advice on the best time of day to go? And is a 3 hour tour worthwhile or is the two hour sufficient? Any other advice? TIA.

I don't think you have a choice as to the length. That's determined by which tour you take.

I haven't taken taken any. Pink Jeep together with the NPS maintain a jeep trail more or less parallel to the Broken Arrow hiking trail.

I was hiking the trail when a douple of Pink Jeeps came along and passed me. The driver was terrorizing his passengers but they were having a lot of fun.

At the end of the trail they all got out for a few minutes to enjoy the view.

If you go to their web site I'm sure they describe the different tours.

O can tell you that the Broken Arrow hike was among the most scenic of my three days there.

I've been on the Broken Arrow and the Scenic Rim tours. Both were good. I'd do the Scenic Rim at sunset and the Broken Arrow at any time.

Depends on time of year, it gets pretty hot out there now until the late fall. Earlier is better, lots of sun, not much shade.


IMHO 2 hours is enough of the shake rattle and roll. I hope you don't have any back issues, it really isn't smooth and comfortable....

We have been on the PJ Broken Arrow tour a few times, and never get tired of it. That is the most popular PJ tour, and I think 2 hours is enough. You actually get out at least twice -- at submarine rock and chicken point -- but the driver also stops several times to point out various things.

It is starting to warm up. So if you are going before Autumn, go early.

I've been twice - both times in July (because that's when corporate meetings get a great rate at the Phoenix/ Scottsdale resorts).

The Broken Arrow tour gets bumpy. We deliberately chose the Scenic Rim tour because my sister had a broken foot and was wearing a walking cast. We discussed the options with the tour company and felt the Scenic Rim tour would be best - less bumpy and little need for her to brace with her foot.

The Broken Arrow tour uses a route only available to Pink Jeep tours and it climbs rocks and boulders.

The Scenic Rim tour travels along a dirt road open to other vehicle traffic. I'd hate to drive that road in MY car, but it was a great experience with a great guide. We happened to be the only ones on the tour and choose sunset on purpose.

You may also want to consider the biplane tour. I did that at sunset on another trip to Sedona and it was magical. Flying over the red rocks when they were lit up with the colors of the sunset. Gorgeous. That's a VERY smooth ride.

We went on the Pink Jeep Broken Arrow tour about 9am-we went in January. We had a great time and the length was perfect for us. We are a retired couple and it wasn't too bumpy for us.

2 hours is plenty and if you can ask for an extra cushion for your tushy would help..its extremely uncomfortable.
Go early in the summer months..
I like starrs biplane idea..that sounds like a blast!

Thanks very much for all the replies.
The reason I asked about a two or three hour ride is that they offered the Broken Arrow or Scenic Rim for 2 hours and then for 3 hours, the Broken Arrow combined with a climb to the Scenic Rim, which sounded nice.
I thought late afternoon would be nice to catch the sunset, but perhaps morning is better if it's too hot. I'm leaving for AZ Saturday and will do the tour either Sunday or Monday.

I guess to me scenery is the most important thing, so that being the main criterion, is Scenic Rim or Broken Arrow preferable? Or should I stick with the combo tour?

As much as I like the Pink Jeep tours - and I've taken both - I wouldn't do the combo tour. 5 hours in a jeep is too much IMO.

I just looked at the website and it says the combo tour is 3 hours -
"Enjoy the thrill of our most popular four-wheel drive tours combined with a spectacular ascent offering panoramic views of the Sedona area!"

That sounds okay. It sounds like the Broken Arrow tour with a different exit. I'd probably just do the Broken Arrow tour, but an extra hour in the jeep wouldn't be too much. I don't remember the end of the Broken Arrow tour but it sounds like they are just looping around to the dirt road and coming down for the views.

I doublechecked my notes and we did the Scenic Rim tour at 3pm, were the only guests in the jeep, it wasn't too hot (July) and Paul was our very good tour guide.

Enjoy!

If you are doing the tour next week, I'd definitely do an afternoon tour. The mornings are packed (for the reasons stated above) but we had no problems with an afternoon tour in July - and we were the only ones in the jeep which was nice.

I noticed they have a new excursion to the Grand Canyon that looks good too.

I hzte to make a novel suggestion but why don't you take the Rim Tour and hike a few trails such as the very short and scenic Boynton Canyon Vista (not the full Boynton canyon but a detour at the start - a vortex site) and hike Broken Arrow and/or near Bell Rock.

Thanks, starrs, I didn't make myself clear. Yes, the combo is just 3 hours - more than enough time in a jeep!

And now, maybe I should ask the real question -- what is the attraction of the jeep tour? Does it cover places that are not otherwise accessible? (Sounds like this might be true of Broken Arrow). Or is it just the fun of getting bounced around in a jeep? Everyone seems to enjoy them, but now I'm wondering what makes them special?!

Myer, I do intend to do some hiking in Sedona. I'll be there for 2 1/2 days, but just heard so much about the jeep tours I thought I'd give them a try.

Hi panecott,
As I understand it, here's the scoop on the Pink Jeep tour.
There was a real estate guy and sales were slow. A lot of people wanted to go out and "just look" but didn't buy. Then he figured out it was because he was taking them out to see property in his jeep - and they were seeing parts of Sedona they wouldn't normally see from the road. According to the possible urban legend version (but this is what was told to me) while on vacation he floated the idea to his wife of starting a tour company...driving Sedona visitors around in his jeep. She was skeptical but agreed...with one condition. They were staying at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki
http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/
the Pink Palace, so she said he needed to paint the jeep pink.
He agreed and started the business when he got back home.
He identified a niche and created a solution.
Since then, other tour operators have tried to mimic his operation. I've gone out when the Red Jeep tours (for a "vortex" tour) and didn't really enjoy it a lot.

Pink Jeep has a class operation with great guides. I've gone several times through the years and taken other guests and everyone enjoys it.
IMO part of it is seeing the gorgeous countryside and part of it is the jeep ride.

They have exclusive rights to the Broken Arrow tour so I'd pick that one if there's no reason not to choose a bumpy ride. As someone else pointed out, you can hike the route - but the PJ tour is just a lot of fun.

The Scenic Rim tour is a nice ride too. It could be a bit boring I guess - but our tour guide really took the time to point out a lot of things and he was a lot of fun. One of the best tour guides I've had anywhere.

Their customer satisfaction stays very high so they do what they do very well. The tour I took with another company was lame compared to PJ.

You're going to be there during good hiking weather. Enjoy.
(but I'd still take a Pink Jeep tour)

The guide will give you the history of the PJ and it is just about as Starrs said. Reasons to take the BA tour:

PJ is the only tour operator on that trail.

The drivers are VERY knowledgeable, not only about the area and the various named rock formations, but also about the geology of the region and the flora and fauna.

The drivers are also fun.

Taking the tour is a great way to get to know about the area before you go exploring on your own.

Thanks so much, starrs. You've convinced me. I'll do the Broken Arrow Pink Jeep, and drive the Scenic Rim myself -- when I get tired of hiking.

And thanks for the great story. Sounds like it could be true.

"The drivers are VERY knowledgeable, not only about the area and the various named rock formations, but also about the geology of the region and the flora and fauna."

VERY true! Paul had two teachers along on his Scenic Rim tour and he could stop anywhere and talk forever on any topic - or so it seemed.

Vs the Red Jeep tour guide that drove us somewhere, recited a few lines and stood there while we looked around at scenery. Lame. She did take us to a neat stop by a creek and upstream there was a simple streamside wedding going on. THAT was cool. The tour = less so.

It's not true that Pink Jeep has exclusive rights to the Broken Arrow trail. That's just for jeep tours. Not hiking.

Pink Jeep in conjunction with the National Park Service (I believe) maintain the jeep trail.

When I was in Sedona for about three days a few years ago Broken Arrow was one of the trails I hiked. Several times Pink Jeeps passed me. It's a great, scenic hike.

In my opinion the Boynton Canyon Vista, Broken Arrow and the area near Bell Rock are among the most scenic.

Since you'll be there a few days, I would try sunset in two locations; the Crescent Moon Picnic Area where you can find the famous view of Cathedral Rock from the other side of Oak Creek and the Airport.

You can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

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

BTW, I checked out the biplane that you mentioned. Looks very interesting.....
I couldn't tell from the picture, but is it open? And how many passengers does it take?

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I booked the Broken Arrow for Sunday morning so it will be a good introduction to the area, as Mike indicated.

Myer, is the Crescent Picnic Area where you took those lovely reflections of Cathedral Rock?

I'll have 3 evenings in Sedona. Any other suggestions for great sunset views? Sunrise??