Scottsdale & Sedona - USA
Duration: 4 full days (excluding travel days)
Locations Visited: Old Town Scottsdale, Papago Park, Phoenix Zoo, Boynton Canyon area
How to Get There: Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). You can Uber to Scottsdale, but you'll need to rent a car to get to Sedona.
How to Get Around:
Scottsdale: Uber, Lyft, and Waymo
Sedona: Rental car
When to Go: Spring and fall offer the best weather. Winter typically brings warm days (though it may be too chilly to swim) and cold desert nights. Summer has extreme daytime heat.
Pace: Relaxing to moderate
Ideas for a Future Trip:
Golfing around Scottsdale and Phoenix
A Northern Arizona road trip to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend from Sedona
Scottsdale at Night
Day 1: Old Town Scottsdale
We spent much of our first day exploring Old Town Scottsdale, just a short drive from our hotel. It’s the historic heart of the city, where Wild West roots meet trendy shops, rooftop bars, and modern art galleries. Originally settled in the late 1800s and named after U.S. Army chaplain Winfield Scott, Scottsdale began as a small farming community and eventually grew into a hub for artists, cowboys, and winter visitors drawn to the sunshine. Today, Old Town is filled with restaurants, bars, boutique stores, and museums—all within walking distance.
We started our morning at the Old Town Farmers Market, which runs Saturday mornings from October through June. The market features local produce, spices, flowers, crafts, and wellness goods. Just across the street is the Old Adobe Mission, the oldest standing church in Scottsdale. Built in 1933 by Mexican Catholic settlers, it was constructed using more than 14,000 handmade adobe bricks.
From there, we wandered through the rest of Old Town. Most of the shops and restaurants are north of the Farmers Market, centered around N. Scottsdale Road and N. Brown Avenue. We stopped at the Scottsdale Historical Museum, located in a restored one-room schoolhouse, and passed by other cultural stops like the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West.
We had lunch at Cien Agaves Tacos & Tequila, followed by ice cream at the retro-style Sugar Bowl. I’d recommend making reservations for popular restaurants—things can get busy, especially on weekends.
In the afternoon, we headed toward the waterfront area (you can use the Bronze Horse Fountain by Bob Parks as a landmark). On the way, we grabbed drinks from Three Beans Cafe, a hybrid coffee shop and bar known for espresso-based cocktails like espresso martinis. The boutique shopping continues in this direction, with plenty of stores selling crystals, jewelry, and souvenirs.
After spending some time by the waterfront, we went back to the resort to freshen up for the evening. On the way to dinner, we called a Waymo—a driverless rideshare service operating in Phoenix and a few other U.S. cities. If you haven’t tried one before, it’s definitely an experience worth having.
We started the night at Outrider Rooftop Lounge, located atop the Canopy by Hilton, where we enjoyed drinks and sunset views of Scottsdale and the surrounding desert. Dinner was at Uchi, a Japanese restaurant in Old Town that’s definitely worth the reservation. Afterward, we checked out one more rooftop spot—Cottontail Lounge—which had a more loungey, club-like vibe. If you’re looking for more nightlife, the area around E. Indian Plaza and N. Saddlebag Trail is where you’ll find many of Scottsdale’s most popular bars and clubs.
This wrapped up our first day in Scottsdale before heading back to the resort to rest up for the next day's adventure.
Day 2: Papago Park, Hole in the Rock, & Phoenix Zoo
We started the day with an Uber ride to Papago Park to visit the famous Hole in the Rock—a sandstone butte with a natural opening that offers panoramic views of the park and surrounding area. It’s a short and fairly easy 10-minute walk from the parking lot. The area also features multiple walking and hiking trails (the second most well-known being Governor Hunt’s Tomb), along with nearby golf courses.
Within walking distance, you’ll also find the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo. We had our hearts set on seeing the desert foliage at the botanical garden, but unfortunately, a private event had closed it for the weekend.
Instead, we opted to visit the Phoenix Zoo, which houses a wide range of animals including giraffes, rhinos, lions, hyenas, monkeys, tigers, and elephants. The zoo makes for a nice, low-key activity for a few hours. It’s not huge, but it includes shaded paths, food stalls, gift shops, and guided cart tours if you want to cover more ground.
After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel to relax by the pool and spa—something Scottsdale is known for, thanks to its strong wellness and resort culture.
For our final dinner in town, we ate at The Mission Old Town, a Latin American restaurant located in Old Town Scottsdale. This wrapped up our Scottsdale adventure.
Day 3 & 4: Sedona Wellness Retreat
From Phoenix, Sedona is about a 2–2.5 hour drive north into the Colorado Plateau. You’ll need to rent a car, as there’s no reliable public transportation to, from, or around Sedona, and getting an Uber there feels risky. The drive is scenic—Sedona and its surroundings are filled with vibrant red and orange rock formations, primarily composed of Schnebly Hill Formation, a type of sandstone deposited during the Permian period (around 280 million years ago). The rich red color comes from iron oxide in the rock.
We opted for a calmer, more relaxing pace for this leg of the trip and stayed at Enchantment Resort. The property includes multiple restaurants, pools, a gym, and a spa. In addition to paid experiences, the resort offers a wide range of complimentary wellness activities throughout the day, such as yoga, meditation, chakra introductions, grounding exercises, and stargazing—all of which we attended. The on-site Trail House can help plan hikes or rent mountain bikes. While we didn’t have time for it, there’s also a nearby golf course that winds through the canyons.
Although we mostly took it easy, we did fit in two hikes that begin right from the resort: the Boynton Pass Vortex Trail and the Boynton Canyon Trail. Neither was particularly long or difficult, though the final stretch of the canyon trail includes a steep incline. Beyond hiking and visiting a few restaurants and a brewery in town, we primarily spent our time enjoying the resort and spa before heading back to Phoenix.
Sedona is known for its Vortex Sites, which are believed to be swirling centers of spiritual energy. Some of the major vortexes—aside from Boynton Canyon—include:
Cathedral Rock
Bell Rock
Airport Mesa
If you’re looking to see more of the area’s iconic rock formations, be sure to check out:
Cathedral Rock
Bell Rock
Courthouse Butte
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Devil’s Bridge
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This trip was the perfect mix of wellness, nature, and easy exploring. Scottsdale gave us a taste of sunshine, rooftop views, and Southwest charm, while Sedona offered a peaceful reset surrounded by stunning red rock landscapes. Whether you're looking for spa time or scenic trails, it's a great long weekend escape.
