We're spending 4/2-9 at Westin LaPaloma Resort & Spa. Would appreciate comments for interesting things to do and see for a couple in the area. We're already sold on the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

Do you need to make reservations "ahead" to play golf either at the resort or other venues? Suggestions for good courses, opinion on price, etc.?

Also, necessary to book spa appts. ahead at the Westin?

We really don't want to get all scheduled up (feels too regimented), but don't want to miss out on popular things either because we didn't make reservations ahead of the trip.

Any great restaurant suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Diane

Put Sabino Canyon on your A list. Take the tram to the top and walk down....a delightful way to spend a few hours, especially this time of the year, when the water is flowing down.

Agree on Sabino Canyon...gorgeous.

I would add Saguaro National Monument; one of the entrances is just past the Desert Museum. There are several short hikes--easy ones, some to petroglyphs--and the visitor's center has a great short film about the saguaro in Native American culture. Great scenery.

If you feel like a short drive, go south and stop in Tubac for a stroll, lunch and some quirky shopping, then continue on to San Xavier del Bac, a cathedral also known as the White Dove of the Desert--lovely. Some Native American crafters are often about.

If you're hikers or scenery lovers, you could continue south (a total of about an hour from Tucson) to the Huachuca Mountains: Brown Canyon, the San Pedro River, Butterfly Canyon, Ramsey Canyon are all great. Coronado National Monument offers a fun, steep and windy drive up to a great view of the valley--you can hike if you like, or you can just drive up and back. Return to Tucson via Patagonia and Sonoita (AZ wine country, believe it or not!), and keep your eyes peeled for antelope.

Enjoy!

Just to clarify from the last post - on the way south to Tubac is San Xavier del Bac mission - it's between Tucson and Tubac, not south of Tubac. It is worth seeing.
Some great restaurants - right at the Westin is Janos and J Bar. Other great places - Hacienda Del Sol (The Grill), North, Firebirds, Cafe Poca Cosa, to name a few.

If you have an "airplane" fans in your group then you need to visit the PIMA air museum. It is pretty close to Tucson and filled with all sorts of airplanes to view Blue Angels, MIGs, helicopters, bombers and even JFK's Air Force One that you can walk thru. I enjoyed it and my wife and we are not military junkies.

The Pima Air & Space Museum is IN Tucson, not near it.

Thanks, tucsonartist, for the clarification--my goof would surprise no one who knows me and my geographic disability! (I was used to driving FROM the south, you see, in which case Tubac comes up first. sigh. How embarassing.)

I probably should also mention, being a tucson artist, that there is an art show April 1,2,3 at the Tucson Museum of Art. Definetly worth going to!

You've already been there, but for others reading this board, I would recommend a visit to the Kitt Peak Observatory, which is about 45 miles west of Tucson. They have a special evening program that has an astronomer as a guide and includes a look through one of the telescopes. There are 25 optical telescopes on Kitt Peak. Also consider a hot air balloon ride. We did one with Thunderbird Adventures - http://www.thunderbirdadventures.com/pages/1/index.htm - and had a thrill of a lifetime when we visited Tucson in late February. There price was very reasonable.

More restaurant suggestions. You are close to Cafe Terra Cotta, a Tucson favorite. For something unusual in sightseeing AND dining, take Ina Road and go just past the interesection of Oracle. Turn right at the next trafffic light and right into Tohono Chul Park. It is a desert park with a charming tea room, open for breakfast and lunch. Two terrific gift shops, too. Speaking of shopping, you'll be close to the very fancy La Encantada shopping mall at the corner of Campbell and Sunrise. That's also the home of excellent restaurants, North (Italian), BluePoint Kitchen, or catch a casual sandwich on the patio of upscale grocery store AJ's. I also second the recommendation of Hacienda del Sol's restaurant. If you want a more western experience, try El Corral on River Road or Hi Falutin' on Oracle.
Vera