Visiting Phoenix (Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler: to rent, hotel, house)

[rex67]

Hi all!

Me and my friend are thinking about visiting Phoenix in July for a couple of weeks,now were wondering where it is best to stay when it comes tom pricing,safety and so on.

Chandler,Mesa,Scottsdale,there are a few to choose from,so opinions please :-)

[observer53]

If you have a car, there are LOTS of safe places to stay, a lot depends on what your plans are in terms of what you want to see, where you want to go. July will have good prices, I don't know what your budget is. If you're actually going to be here a few weeks, you could pick a couple of places, depending on what your plans are. This is way too broad a question to answer without a little more info about your plans, etc.

[rex67]

Ok,than...we will not have a car,and we will book one hotel for the whole duration of our trip,to have as a base of activity so to speak :-) As I understand the Phoenix area has good poblic transportation,is that correct?

Thanks for your input so far/Rex67

[Finger Laker]

it may not work for the full two weeks but I would definitely not discount staying at a nice resort .... you can get very nice rates in the summer .... especially during the week ...... it's not uncommon for locals to go and stay as a retreat

or maybe look at an exteded stay kind of place as well

there is also VRBO ..... you may find a house to rent for a couple of weeks at a good rate in the summer - maybe get one with a pool and use the kitchen to cut down on meal expenses

the metro is very large in land mass so it may not be a bad idea to set up quadrants or some such idea where you can use one as a base point for a section and then move on to another part of the metro

maybe get outside of phoenix a little as well (sedona, jerome, prescott, flagstaff, etc)

public transportation here is fairly lousy IMO .... if you are going to be here for a longer period of time and aren't focusing in on one or two specific areas where you'll spend your time you will severely limit yourself without a car

[rex67]

Oh yes,I forgot,why is July more affordable? Is the heat unbearable?

[rex67]

We were thinking about Tempe?

[Finger Laker]

in july the average high is 42C - the average low is 27C .... but chances are you won't feel that average low as it's in the middle of the night ....... I'd say be prepared for most of your time to be spent between 35C and 45C with a lot of sun

the high season out here is right about now ...... in the summers things slow down as the heat picks up .... many tourists are enjoying their nice summers coming off cold winters (which they come down here to escape in the winter months)

also, if you are coming from sweden and have a couple weeks I'd definitely recommend a trip up north

hit the cities I previously mentioned along with the grand canyon and maybe even some other attractions like monument valley ..... it would eat up a few days, but it would provide a break from the heat (temperatures cool as you get into northern AZ due to changes in elevation) and give you a different set of eyes for a few days as well

tempe is a pretty good location in that you can get to most places from there, it has some good restaurants & bars and is on the light rail line so getting to/from downtown is easy .... plus their orbit bus is one of the better city option for transport

[observer53]

July is off season here, due to the heat. It's not "unbearable", you just have to use common sense. If you have to rely on public transit, then Tempe makes the most sense, you can easily get from there to downtown Phoenix, and then up Central Ave, but it will be less effective getting you to Scottsdale or the west and northwest sides of the Valley. Again, a lot depends on what you want to do.

[rjrcm]

As noted, you will be limited as to what you can do for 2 weeks without a car. There is public transportation, but it will be time consuming to travel to most destinations within the Phoenix metro area. Staying in Tempe near the light rail will at least give you some flexibility for taking trips into downtown Phoenix.

You could also contact some tour companies so that you could take tours outside of Phoenix such as Sedona, Grand Canyon, etc. Plus those areas will be cooler than Phoenix. Check out the AZ Office of Tourism website:

Arizona Tour & Transportation Specials | Arizona Office of Tourism

[Kimballette]

I'd like to add, using public transportation in the middle of summer here will not only be time-consuming, but unpleasant due to the heat. I think rjrcm's suggestion of utilizing tour companies is an excellent one, as is observer53's and Finger Laker's suggestions of making Tempe your "home base" during your stay.