How To Get to phoenix

There’s an airport right in Phoenix! It’ll only take you a few minutes to get from the airport to your hotel or Airbnb.

Best Time to Visit phoenix

Arizona gets HOT! The best time to visit is during winter or spring when temperatures are a little lower. Also, the nights are significantly cooler than the days, so make sure to pack some layers, no matter what season you visit.

Summer (June-August): mid 90s – 105 with nights in the 70s
Fall (September-November): 80s – 90s with nights in the low 60s
Winter (December-February): mid 60s – mid 70s with nights in the 40s
Spring (March-May): 80s – 90s with nights in the 60s

How Much Time Do You Need in phoenix

Due to its central location and international airport, Phoenix makes for a great starting and ending point for a roadtrip. You should definitely spend at least one day here checking out the highlights – and maybe one or two off-the-beaten-path locations as well!

Visit the Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden is a great place to spend your morning or evening (while the temperatures are cooler). If you have a Botanical Garden pass, you can use it here for free admission. We have a New York Botanical Gardens pass, so we had free entry. Meander along the paved pathways to see various desert plants, including tons and tons of cacti. When you’re done in the garden, you can walk up a bit to the hole in the rock. It’s literally just a big hole in the red rocks. This is a popular place to watch the sunset.

Two of my favorite coffee shops in Phoenix are Cha Cha Tea and Lux Central, both for different reasons.
Get a fun, fruity tea at Cha Cha Tea. The Blueberry Dream is the best if you ask me.
If you need to get some work done, Lux Central is a great place to do it. They have strong wifi and plenty of spaces to sit, both indoor and outdoor. Their coffee and pastries are also excellent.

Both the Gateway Loop Trail and the Camelback Mountain Trail are great desert hikes. Walk on (sometimes dusty) trails dotted with cacti to get a feel for the desert. The Gateway trail is a bit easier and you will gain and lose elevation throughout as you go up and down small hills, while on Camelback you will have some scrambles. Both trails get pretty hot and have minimal shade, so don’t forget water, sunhats, and sunscreen.

Gateway Loop Trail
Distance: 4.4 miles
Difficulty: Medium
Elevation Changes: 721 ft
Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Camelback Mountain
Distance: 2.6 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation Changes: 1,500 ft
Time: 2 hours

Platform 18 is one of the coolest bars we’ve ever visited. The space is small and intimate, and modeled after an old-school train car. There are movie screens on either side of the bar that show outside scenery. You really feel like you’re in a train car (traveling through a snowy forest on the day we visited). The drinks are next level. If you don’t want to order off of the menu, you can tell the bartender your preferred flavors, and they can make you a custom drink. I’d go early because the bar only holds 30 people. You can make a reservation ahead of time, but you need to put down a deposit that goes towards your drinks. The deposit amount was a little higher than what we wanted to spend, so we risked it and showed up right when they opened.

If you can’t get into the train car bar, there are two other bars in the same complex. 
Grey Hen RX – This bar will make you feel like you’re sipping a drink in 1800s New Orleans.
Undertow – This tiki bar is decorated to make you feel like you are on a pirate ship. Try one of their awesome, rum cocktails.

Get Some Tacos at The Beach House
Despite the long line, it moves really quickly. Step up to the counter to place your order, then grab a picnic table outside. Tacos are $2.50 each and the Baja taco is next level. Don’t forget to grab a flavored lemonade slushie. 

Dinner Alternative: Pizzeria Bianco
This highly hyped pizza shop has Neapolitan style pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven. There are a few locations around Arizona, and you need to go early to avoid a long wait.

Cosanti is an art gallery that sells interesting (and expensive) chimes, but the main reason to visit is to walk around the other-worldly outdoor space. The scenery has a Star Wars type feel. I thought it was worth a 15 minute stop. Check the hours online before you go to make sure they’ll be open!

NOT DONE TRAVELING?

Check out our guides of nearby areas:
Page, Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park
Saguaro National Park
Sedona
Scottsdale
Havasupai
Grand Canyon