PHOENIX · ARIZONA
Sonoran sunrise, red rocks, the Grand Canyon by lunch.
Hot air balloons over the saguaros, slot canyons up north, ATVs through the cholla, and Sedona’s red walls a short drive from downtown. Phoenix is the launchpad for half of Arizona.
Only in the Sonoran
Three things you can only do here.
Desert ATV rides and balloon flights exist elsewhere. These three don’t. The slot canyons, the saguaros at dawn, the red walls north of town. Each one is specific to this corner of the southwest. Plan the trip around them.
Light beams
Antelope Canyon
The narrow sandstone canyons four hours north of Phoenix only show their famous light beams at midday for a few weeks each year. The Navajo Nation owns access; you go in with a tribal guide. The walls are seven storeys high and shoulder-width apart. There is nowhere else in the world that looks like this.
- 1 Small Group Antelope Canyon Day Trip from Phoenix
- 2 From Phoenix: Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend Day Tour
- 3 From Scottsdale: Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend Day Tour
At sunrise
Hot air over the saguaros
The desert cools overnight and the air is still at dawn. From a basket five hundred feet up you can see saguaros stretching to the McDowell Mountains, the Estrellas glowing pink, and Phoenix waking up beneath you. Sunrise is when the desert puts on its show. A flight from Glendale or Cave Creek catches it.
- 1 Phoenix Morning Hot Air Balloon Ride with Bubbly + Breakfast
- 2 Phoenix Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunrise
- 3 Phoenix area Hot Air Balloon Ride on the Largest Balloon in USA
Red rock country
Sedona’s red walls
Two hours north of Phoenix the desert turns vertical. Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Oak Creek Canyon — sandstone the colour of brick fired in a kiln. The geology is specific to this fold of the Colorado Plateau and you can take it in on a half-day drive from the city.
- 1 Small-Group or Private Grand Canyon with Sedona Tour from Phoenix
- 2 Grand Canyon with Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon Van Tour
- 3 Small Group or Private Sedona and Native American Ruins Day Tour
The grand day out
Start with the one Phoenix is built for.
Most travellers fly into Sky Harbor for one reason. This is what they do once they land. A long day, an early start, and the two most photographed spots in the southwest in a single drive.
The classics
Phoenix’s Most Popular Day Tours
Grand Canyon, Sedona, Antelope Canyon, the sunrise balloon over the Sonoran. The reasons travellers actually fly into Sky Harbor.
By the elements
Sky, stone, sand, water.
Four ways to take the Sonoran. Balloons up at sunrise. Slot canyons at midday. ATVs into the cholla in the afternoon. Kayaks on the Salt River when the heat drops. Most desert cities do one of these. Phoenix does all four.
By day trip
Pick a stretch of Arizona.
Phoenix is the launchpad. Sedona for the red rocks. Grand Canyon for the rim. Antelope Canyon for the light beams. Apache Trail for the backcountry road. Or stay in the city for a walking, food or ghost tour after dark.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
ATV into the dunes. Balloon over the saguaros. Helicopter over the Sonoran. Kayak the Salt River. Walk Camelback at dawn. Or take a ghost tour through Old Town after dark.
The big one
South Rim from Phoenix.
Mather Point at midday, the road past the Painted Desert, the long return through Sedona. The three Grand Canyon day trips we’d send a friend on first.
Into the cholla
Where the Sonoran turns into a track.
ATVs, UTVs, side-by-sides and TomCars across the cactus flats north and east of town. Dust, dry washes, saguaros taller than the roll cage. Three desert runs that finish before the heat lands.
Past the city limits
The Salt River and the Apache Trail.
When the highway turns to dirt and the lakes turn up between the saguaros. Salt River kayaks, the Tortilla Flat drive, Saguaro Lake steamboats. Three half-days that keep most of the day shaded.
After the desert cools
Phoenix once the sun drops.
Walking tours through Old Town Scottsdale, ghost stories in the Heritage Square brick lanes, taco crawls in Roosevelt Row. The city does its best work after the heat lifts.
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