I'm traveling to Tucson in two weeks and am staying at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort. The hotel recommends Arizona Stagecoach as the best means of airport-hotel transportation, but it's $54 round-trip which seems high considering the airport is supposed to be 15 minutes away. Would it be cheaper to hail a cab? Are they readily available at the airport?

Thanks for your help.

Arizona Stagecoach is a basic shuttle service so trips are a flat fee. Unless it is an unusual arrival time, there are plenty of cabs at the airport in a taxi line. There are a variety of cabs in Tucson but at the airport line, you would take the next available. You could call and reserve a cab, but with flight delays that might not be the best idea. You could call City Cab (520-203-8787) or Yellow Cab (520-624-6611) to get a typical price to Marriott Starr Pass. Any cab should be less than the fixed shuttle fare since the distance is not that far, but it is a challenge to get there with all the contruction. The resort is wonderful, but it is quite isolated from the city if you want city life during your stay. Be prepared for heat!

Thanks! I'm coming from Miami, so I'm used to heat, but the dry AZ heat kills me! I'm staying at the Marriott because it's the site of the conference I'm attending. We will have access to a shuttle into town. Any recommendations on things to do or places to eat?

Without knowing your interests or amount of time you will have outside of the conference for touring or avaialbe transportation, here are a few possible things to see or do
1. Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum -highly recommended but go early in the morning as it is mostly outside - www.desertmuseum.org
2. Flandraw Planetarium and Az State Museum - both on U of A campus
www.flandraw.org and www/state museum.arizona.edu - Az museum has excellent display on sw civilization history and many earthern pots from early tribes on exhibit if history interests you.
3. San Xavier Mission - or Dove of the Desert - just 9 miles south of Tucson on Highway 19 and worth the trip if a 300 year old beautifully maintained church and Jesuit history interest you. www.sanxaviermission.org
4. Titan Missile Museum just off highway 19 at Duval Mine Road in Green Valley about 20 minutes south of the airport. It is a great tour on a hot day since half of the hour tour is underground. If you lived during the "cold war" this is a fascinating history refresher.
5. If you like aircraft, the Pima Air and Space Museum on Valencia road east of the airport is great, but it will be very hot viewing in July. The Titan and Air and Space Museum have a combination pass if both interest you.
As for restaurants, there are many, many places with a wide variety of offerings. Check www.tucsonrestaurantguide.com for more details. One of our favoirte Mexican restaurants is La Placita in Green Valley so if you go to Titan it is just a few miles further south. Tucson Mike who often posts here has many favorites in Tucson. If you like Thai food, the Bangkok Cafe on Speedway and Tucson Ave is a little non-fancy restuarant which is a favorite of ours for great Thai food. It is not far from U of A if you are there for museums etc. Enjoy Tucson!

Correction to above info: planetarium is flandrau with website:www.flandrau.org
Don't know why I typed w instead of u twice!

Heavy lotion and lots of chapstick That's how I survive in esspecially dry climates. Otherwise I just crack.

During a recent stay we enjoyed Salud at the Starpass enough that we dined there two nights out of three. The patio in the evening is just a spectacular vieew of the city below.

If you have an opportunity to hike Sabino Canyon, about 30 minutes from Starpass, it's a beautiful trail through the Sanoran Desert.

There are a couple casinos south of Starpass about 30 minutes away. One more recently remodeled than the other. Not Vegas, but not bad.

thank you!