vacationing in phoenix in August (rental car, rental, hotel)

[jakespop]

would like to buy but everybody's scaring me!

[jco]

Don't be scared! Look at resorts (on their website, not through other sites). You'll find a great deal. Some do a $99/night with $99/day food voucher deal. Not too shabby! What's scaring you off?

[exit2lef]

The heat during a Phoenix August is hard to imagine unless you've been deployed to Baghdad. It's survivable, but some common sense is needed to adapt. If you come during August, I would recommend the following cautions:

-- Any outdoor recreation -- golf, hiking, etc. -- should be done by 8 AM.
-- Sunblock and a good hat are essential if spending lots of time outside.
-- Go to a drugstore and buy an inexpensive shade for your rental car's dashboard. Without one, the steering wheel may be too hot to touch.

The plus, as mentioned above, is that you can get fantastic deals at nice resorts. If were to vacation here in August, I'd do little bits of recreation (short hikes or 9 holes of golf, for example) early in the morning, lounge around the pool a lot, visit museums during the hottest part of the day, and enjoy great dinners in the evening.

[FunkyPioneer]

Are you nuts? Vacation in August? In Phoenix? Its 108 today. All you'll do is sit in your hotel room all day. If you thinking about buying wait at least another 6 months, prices are still dropping like a hot rock and you'll get a better deal if you wait.

[wit-nit]

August is traditonally the worst heat/humid month we have.

[heaton]

Don't come in Aug. It's the worst month in Phoenix and won't get better until around Halloween. It's 10 pm and it's still 100 degrees. If you come you will either be at the pool or at the mall.
Good luck

[twiggy]

If your coming to relocate then this is a great time to come. This is how it is 4 months out of the year. You can see if you'll like it. Now is still a good time to buy. If your just coming for a visit then your crazy hang a right and go to California. Unless your paying all that money to come here and use our swimming pool.

[azkylady]

To come to Phoenix in August I would not consider that a vacation, you will not want to be outside for any length of time. Just getting in a car that has been parked for 30 minutes is misery, wait till fall!

[Bardo]

My mother used to say, if you're thinking of moving to a place, be sure to visit it during the worst time of year. If you still love it, then it's the place for you.

Given that advice, I think coming here in August is an excellent idea. Plan your days for early in the AM with indoor/swimming activities for the heat of the day which will be between 3-5 pm.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

My wife and I vacation in Phoenix almost every year in August. It's great. When we go to a nice resort hotel, we prefer to get our money's worth and spend most of our time at the resort anyway, and it's nice and cool there. Obviously the price is right, and usually we've lucked out and had decent weather (95-100 degrees, rather than 110-115). We got caught in a rainstorm last year while staying at the Westin Kierland, that was fun!

If we were planning on moving there, we'd probably want to spend more time away from the resorts while visiting... we're not poor but I'm no Howard Hughes.