Sedona, Arizona. What an amazing place. I have never been to a place with such beautiful landscape. I got to spend a weekend in Sedona a few months ago and had an amazing time. I’ve been telling everyone they need to go.
Here are the things you should do if you are heading to Sedona.
Getting to Sedona
There are a few different airports you can fly into to then drive to Sedona from. Prices will definitely vary depending on where in the world you are coming from.
- Flagstaff Pulliam Airport: This is the closest airport you can fly into. Sedona is a quick 20 minute drive from Flagstaff.
- Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport: This will be your next best option and what we chose to do. We had spent a week in Phoenix before coming to Sedona. The drive is just under two hours and not a bad drive!
- McCarran Airport: Flying into Las Vegas can be pretty inexpensive. It is roughly 279 miles (about 4 hours, 30 minutes)
Where to Stay
We joined our friends and got a room at Sedona Summit Resort by Diamond Resorts.
- These are condo type accommodations.
- They have small kitchenettes
- They also great pools spaced throughout the property. My favorite pool was the hot tub that overlooked the red rocks!
Things to Do
Hike! I could have used another week to do all the cool hikes in the Sedona area. The two that we did do, I definitely recommend:
- The parking lot is very small so I recommend getting there early to not only avoid the crowds, but also to hike when it isn’t super hot.
- Within the first two minutes you will come to Devil’s Kitchen, which is a sinkhole! It is pretty cool to check out.
- Overall, the hike is pretty mild. When you get to a clearing in the trail where you are standing on red rocks, you will come to the Seven Sacred Pools.
- Now, if you want to find the caves “Soldiers Arch” in the cliff side, you will come to a “T” in the road where normally you would need to go right to continue on to soldiers pass, however, go straight through the trees and onto a rock walkway.
- Be ready to do a bit of rock climbing. The last 10 minutes of the hike will be a bit intense and uphill. It is worth it though as I have never done a hike like that.
- Overall, the hike took us about 2.5 hours including a bit of time to enjoy the cave.
- Though the parking lot is larger, I also definitely recommend hiking this one early. Not only can you get a parking spot and beat the heat, but you also can avoid the LINE of people waiting to get photos on devil’s bridge.
- If you have an off road vehicle, DRIVE to the next small parking lot. The first 30 minutes of the hike is all exposed and walking along dirt road.
- The hike is 1.8 miles round trip from the 2nd off road parking lot, but it is closer to 2.5 or 3 miles round trip. Once you pass the 2nd parking lot, the uphill climb begins.
- This is where the trail got really crowded at 12:30 PM on a Saturday. At the end when the rock climbing begins, it can get pretty crowded.
- At the top, you join a long line of people waiting respectfully to take their picture on the bridge without other people photo bombing.
- It was worth it in the end for the amazing photos!
I didn’t play at this course, but my husband did. It was a great course, nice clubhouse and wasn’t too hot on the day they played so they really enjoyed it.
I thought this was an underrated place to watch the sunset in Sedona, but NOPE, everyone knows about it. Be prepared to pay $3 to park in the airport parking lot and then walk across the street to the “viewing area.” I recommend getting there about 30 minutes early as people were there already staking spots with their camping chairs!
Eating & Drinking
We got some beer to go and had beer and pizza outside of the brewery! The beer was good, no complaints.
OMG, some of the best pizza I have had in awhile! I highly recommend getting the peach pizza and the prosciutto pizza! We ended up taking the pizza to go and eating outside in the Oakway Center!
Great coffee with even better views! If you have time, grab a table outside so you can stare at the red rocks as you enjoy your coffee. I’m pretty basic when it comes to my coffee order – I like an iced Americano with a little 2% milk!
This spot is a classic and is located in Old Town Sedona. If you can, eat outside. The atmosphere is great! I enjoyed a prickly pear margarita. I also recommend getting the appetizer sampler. It was the right amount of food to start for 4 people!
We initially tried to go to another spot, but apparently you need reservations. We stumbled on this restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised. It is a great place for some good Mexican food.
We ate here on our last night in Sedona. It is a hotel restaurant but was great! I highly recommend the scallop dish!
Have you been to Sedona? What are your recommendations for things to do? Leave them in the comments.
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