Sedona, AZ (Mesa: real estate, to rent, credit)

[TopGuns]

I brought my wife along with me to the Shot Show in Vegas this year, and we rented a car and drove to the eastern part of the Grand Canyon. I totally fell for this area, and desperately wants to go back.

I live in Denmark in Europe, but was an exchange student and graduated from Liberty Union High School in Baltimore Ohio in ’85. I totally lost my heart to the US then and I’ve been back as often as my job and family allowed me.

Following our Vegas trip, I Googled ”the nicest place to live in the US” and Sedona Arizona appeared. Since then I’ve enjoyed so many pictures from the Sedona area that I’ve found on the web, and I am determined to visit soon.

My question is – what should we see, what should we do and are there areas as pretty as Sedona (I find that hard to believe!)

Any advice and suggestions you can come up with is highly appreciated !

Best regards

Kris

[LordBalfor]

Well, there is no doubt that Sedona is an incredibly beautiful place - jaw-dropping really in my opinion - and I count it as one of the uniquely beautiful places I've ever seen (right up there alongside Yosemite Valley, Zion and Bora Bora).

As you probably already know, Sedona is credited as being a "spiritual" place and I have my own reasons as to why I think this is. In my opinion, the reason is quite simple: it seems to me that many people probably have the same reaction to Sedona as I did - they think to themselves "How can this incredible place be a mere accident of geology?"

Ken

[esselcue]

Sedona is the epitome of desert type beauty, so looking for something comparable is probably going to disappoint you, but there are a lot of fascinating things to do and see in that area. Drive through Oak Creek Canyon, it's wonderful...travel down to the Verde valley and see Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well...also old Fort Verde, which is a very interesting piece of US history. Many neat sights in the Sedona area

[SouthwestStarlight]

Hello Kris,

Here are my suggestions on the places to visit/things to do for your first time in Sedona:

- Uptown Sedona (Shops and dining). I recommend stopping by the Cowboy Club and Oaxaca Restaurant.
- West Sedona.
- Village of Oak Creek.
- Tlaquepaque Village (Lots of beautiful galleries and shopping)
- Take the trolley for a tour of the city (You can board the trolley in Uptown Sedona or at Tlaquepaque).
- Visit Bell Rock in the Village of Oak Creek.
- Visit the Chapel; Beautiful area to take photos from.
- Visit Red Rock Crossing and Cathedral Rock. You will instantly recognize this area when you are here.
- Take a drive up to Oak Creek Canyon; Stop by Slide Rock for a swim.
- Visit Hillside Sedona (Galleries and restaurants)
- Go up to Airport Mesa for some stunning views of the town and surrounding areas.
- Take one of the jeep tours

If you want to save some money, I recommend staying at the Super 8 Motel in West Sedona. It's very nice as far as motels go and priced very reasonably.

These are some of my suggestions for a first time in Sedona. I am sure there will be some other great recommendations here.

[rich67]

Instead of hitting all the regular tourist haunts, you have to go out and hike and explore. Anyone can go out there and walk the streets and visit the shops, eat at the restaurants, etc....booooorrrrrrrinng. The jeep tour was a good idea. Do something like that. Do some research before you go, and look into hiking areas and some out-of-the-way sights that you need to 4x4 to or hike to in order to see. Check out: Arizona Highways I subscribe to this magazine and it is awesome. Tells you about all the out of the way spots and how to get there. But don't go out there and be a regular tourist. Be an adventurist! You'll have better pictures and better stories to tell your friends when you get home!

[Stumblina]

Originally Posted by rich67

Instead of hitting all the regular tourist haunts, you have to go out and hike and explore. Anyone can go out there and walk the streets and visit the shops, eat at the restaurants, etc....booooorrrrrrrinng. The jeep tour was a good idea. Do something like that. Do some research before you go, and look into hiking areas and some out-of-the-way sights that you need to 4x4 to or hike to in order to see. Check out: Arizona Highways I subscribe to this magazine and it is awesome. Tells you about all the out of the way spots and how to get there. But don't go out there and be a regular tourist. Be an adventurist! You'll have better pictures and better stories to tell your friends when you get home!

If you happen to like shopping and eating, etc., there's nothing boring about it. To each their own. I for one happen to LOVE shopping, but I also LOVE hiking and exploring as well. I think you can do the regular "tourist haunts" as you call them as well as the regular "outdoorsy stuff". It's all a matter of personal preference.

To the OP: If you're into wine, check out some of the local wineries. They have tours and tasting. There is a Jeep tour company that includes winery tours in their itinerary. Here is a good website for Sedona:

Sedona Hotels & Lodging, Bed & Breakfasts, Tours and Real Estate - Sedona Visitors Guide - Sedona.net

[twiggy]

Sedona is really unlike any other place in AZ. The red rock is beautiful! It's a expensive place to call home but it's a wonderful place to escape to from the hustle and bustle of the valley. There are some wonderful spa's up there and horseback riding. Go up a little to "Oak Creek Canyon" they have cabins up there you can rent with the creek running through, it's another really wonderful place. Oak Creek Canyon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[gc57]

What's the mountain and road biking like there? Do you have to share the road with cars fo road biking?

[twiggy]

Yes, I believe in most places you do out here. I am not sure up north though?

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by gc57

What's the mountain and road biking like there? Do you have to share the road with cars fo road biking?

I live in Sedona and hike, and often see bikes on the trails (actually they kind of wreck some of them for us hikers ). There is a place to rent them called 'Bike and Beans' or 'Bikes and Beans' on Hwy 179 (and possibly there are others).

You do have to share the road with cars here and quite frankly the way people drive around here, I wouldn't want to be on the road with them, I've seen too many cars go off the raod while looking at the scenery or reading their maps or whatever it is that they do.