Vacation suggestions southwestern USA...

IrisSenior

IrisSenior

Senior Member
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hubby and I are thinking of going to Arizona or Colorado or New Mexico for a week vacation in late Feb. or early Mar. We want someplace that is warm but not humid all the time (Not Florida or Las Vegas (been there) or California (next year). Hubby is 64 and I am 72. No strenuous adventures and I don't want to drive so places to visit and things to do need to be walking distance. We could take a bus somewhere. Any suggestions?
 

Well there is a bunch of touristy stuff along Route 66 including Meteor Crater in AZ. If you go that far west (AZ-CA border) and can handle mildly dodgy roads (paved) don't miss Oatman, AZ. Tourist trap but some history as well. And the wild donkeys come right into town, you can buy carrots there to feed them.
 
Since you don’t want California this year, I’d suggest Scottsdale (part of Phoenix). Also consider Texas. I loved San Antonio.
 

Agree with @Jules. Scottsdale/Phoenix is lovely. If you and/or your husband enjoy baseball, the Phoenix area's major leagues start Spring Training Feb 22nd (Cactus League). Tickets are reasonably priced, especially compared to in-season games. Ditto the food. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the ball parks are beautiful.

If you go to AZ or NM, take a bus trip to the Grand Canyon if you haven't already been there. It's absolutely breathtaking.

I also love San Antonio, but don't know about spending a full week there. The Riverwalk is spectacular, particularly for those with good mobility. It's a great place to visit.

Generally speaking, the American Southwest is a bunch of freeway-connected towns and cities with a whole lot of desert in between.
 
You're going to need to be south of St George UT and at low elevations. Lots of incredible places to visit like Death Valley, Joshua Tree National Park and many, many others. National Parks tend to attract the hordes, but National Monuments much less so.

I have a trip lined up in the middle of the month to Organ Pipe National Monument down to Puerto Penasco, MX, subject to current border closures.

Bear in mind my travel advice always favors empty space, and works of nature vs crowding into man made spaces and attractions. YMMV.
 
For the time of year you are going you will probably avoid the heat. And, you may find a bit of snow in the highest elevations, still. As for cities that are senior friendly I would suggest Flagstaff or Prescott AZ; if in New Mexico you might like Silver City which is also a retirement destination. The weather will be good this time of year there, as well. Enjoy. :D
 
For just a week I would suggest Scottsdale, AZ.
Stay in the Old Town area, very walkable, lots to do, tons of restaurants, markets, live music, etc.
Easy uber ride from the airport. Pretty much all accommodations will have nice pools for some downtime.
 
I would recommend Santa Fe, NM or Sedona, AZ. They are both beautiful and scenic places to visit. The weather may be very cold in CO in February. I also agree with @Jules that San Antonio Riverwalk is great but it may be cold at that time of year and you could maybe get 3 days out of it.
 
I can tell you that anything north of I-40 in NM is a bit cold for tourists, unless you plan to ski. Lows in the 20's, high in the 40's, and it can get windy. Albuquerque is on Rt66, but is at 5,000' above sea level, a big weather factor.
 
Jules said:
Also consider Texas
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San Antone canals are a nice walk (a tad risky these days)

I helped clean up Corpus Christi after a hurricane a few decades ago
Aside from having to sleep on the beach, and yarding boats outa the downtown area, it was a gorgeous town

If I ever visited Texas again, I would sure stop there a few days

Not like yer typical Texas town
 
Iris says they don’t want to drive any where so I think Scottsdale is ideal. If they want to move to another city, they could catch a bus and fly home from there if it’s a big city.
 
If one is going to the desert Southwest without automobile transportation and instead will awkwardly rely on public transportation, then one will want to fly into a large city where that is possible. Also if one is going to the Southwest, one ought to at least do so where one can experience some of its natural desert environments that normally would require private automobile travel to reach beyond urban areas.

Average highs late February in Phoenix is 75F and low 51, so ideal late winter temperatures with mostly sunny conditions. February is also the ideal period for desert vegetation when Arizona is nicely spring green with wildflowers. And Phoenix has its Desert Botanical Garden that is the very best urban garden expanse in the Southwest.

It is also just west of N Scottsdale Road, the prime lodging, retail, and restaurant boulevard in that urban region with considerable bus transportation including to all its tourist features as well as more distant tours to places like the Grand Canyon.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Hotels/@33.4614763,-111.9573019,14z?entry=ttu

010324a.jpg
 
JeeperDon said:
I can tell you that anything north of I-40 in NM is a bit cold for tourists, unless you plan to ski. Lows in the 20's, high in the 40's, and it can get windy. Albuquerque is on Rt66, but is at 5,000' above sea level, a big weather factor.
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Las Cruces NM is also very charming, but don't know if it's a week's worth of charming unless you know someone there.
 
dilettante said:
Well there is a bunch of touristy stuff along Route 66 including Meteor Crater in AZ. If you go that far west (AZ-CA border) and can handle mildly dodgy roads (paved) don't miss Oatman, AZ. Tourist trap but some history as well. And the wild donkeys come right into town, you can buy carrots there to feed them.
Click to expand...
We lived in AZ for 9 years and Oatman was close by so I took some pictures. Yes, the donkey's walk the street. They know they're going to get a handout even though there are signs posted to not feed them...:ROFLMAO:001.JPG010.JPG
 
This is a beautiful part of the country. Most all the good places are mentioned above, so I will not repeat it, except one!

Do not miss the Grand Canyon. Although, you may have to find a tour, or drive a rental car, it is well worth the effort. I found it breathless, and one of the most beautiful places in our country. I am originally from Colorado, and it is as good as the mountains as far a natural beauty in my opinion.
 
Jules said:
Scottsdale is ideal.
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Scottsdale, AZ is ideal IF, and it is a BIG if, price is no object. Scottsdale is an expensive town and if you have money and are used to that sort of exclusive environment you will be comfy and secure. But, if you don't have the big bucks then you might feel out of place or overwhelmed by the prices. Prescott, AZ is somewhat similar but more of a senior citizens' town up in the mountains where you may find more outdoors interests. Scottsdale being more a suburb of Phoenix is wall to wall urban, big city with lots of big city things to do. But, if you want something more then more can be found elsewhere.
 
Timewise 60+ said:
Do not miss the Grand Canyon.
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Absolutely agree. I had a great adventure seeing the Canyon's full length. Back in the late 1970's a tour flew out of the Las Vegas, NV airport in a small plane. The tour flew down into the Canyon and followed above the river below. It was wild. Lots of people got airsick because it was bumpy as the cold air welling up from the canyon met the hot air above the canyon. Then those of us who wanted lunch ate lunch at the hotels on the Rim where we landed.

The trip back to Vegas did not include deep dives into the canyon once more because the pilot knew we had all eaten before we left the Rim. As I recall it was a whole day's experience lasting about eight hours. It was a very memorable experience.
 
Gary O' said:
San Antone canals are a nice walk (a tad risky these days)

I helped clean up Corpus Christi after a hurricane a few decades ago
Aside from having to sleep on the beach, and yarding boats outa the downtown area, it was a gorgeous town

If I ever visited Texas again, I would sure stop there a few days

Not like yer typical Texas town
Click to expand...
:unsure:
 

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