If you are looking for the ultimate Arizona itinerary look no further. This post is the complete itinerary that we used for the most recent YouTube video. You can see the video above or at this link if you want to watch it. In the video, we spend about a week road tripping across Arizona, from the very top at Page, all the way down to the bottom at Bisbee. Hopefully the video and post help you to do your own road trip and to see this amazing state yourself. If you want all of the places we stopped at on a map, head over the Patreon. Lets jump into it and let me know what your favorite spot is in Arizona in the comments.
Where to Begin
Flying In
If you are wanting to fly in, the best bet is probably Phoenix. It is centrally located and easy to access the start and the end of the road trip. If you fly into Phoenix, the drive to Page to start what we did is about 4 hours though. Alternatively, you could fly into Las Vegas, but it is a much longer drive to get back to Las Vegas after the road trips is over. If you did fly into Las Vegas, it may be best to fly out of Phoenix to make the most of your time.
Driving In
If you live close enough to drive, then just head to Page first and drive down the state and leave from Tucson to head back. This is what we did, we drove in from Southern California to Page and then drove through the state and back out through Yuma to Southern California when the trip was over.
After deciding where to come in, here is the full itinerary for what we did in our road trip video.
Day 0
We drove from Southern California to Page, which is about 8.5 hours. We actually got in the day before and then did the Rainbow Bridge tour before starting our road trip. You can read more about that tour, if you have time to do it, in this post.
Day 1
- Start – Page, AZ
- End – Grand Canyon South Rim
- Drive time – 2.5 hours (130 Miles)
- Hotel in Page – Hyatt Place Page Lake Powell
- Hotel in Grand Canyon – El Tovar
- Main Stops – Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Cameron Trading Post, Grand Canyon South Rim
We started the day early by taking the first tour of Upper Antelope Canyon. While this did not have the light rays the canyon is known for, it was a small tour and an amazing way to experience the canyon. From there we headed to the Glen Canyon Overlook, Horseshoe Bend and then started driving to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped for lunch at Cameron Trading Post (get the Navajo Tacos).
We spent the rest of the day in the Grand Canyon. Be sure to stop at the Desert View Watchtower, and many of the other lookouts along the drive to Grand Canyon Village. In the village, you can walk the south rim, go on a few hikes or just enjoy the views from Mather Point.
We ended the night at the historic El Tovar Hotel, which was built in 1905 and is one of the most historic hotels in the national park system.
Day 2
- Start – Grand Canyon Village
- End – Camp Verde (could end in Jerome or Sedona though)
- Drive time – 3.5 hours (165 Miles)
- Hotel in Grand Canyon – El Tovar
- Hotel in Camp Verde – Cliff Castle
- Main Stops – Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome
We left the Grand Canyon early and headed south. On the way we stopped at Bedrock City to explore the fun Flintstones inspired park and then we headed past Flagstaff to Sedona. In Sedona, we hiked Cathedral Rock, went to the Chapel of Holy Cross, got lunch at Wildflower and then took in the views at Airport Mesa.
Leaving Sedona, we drove an hour to Jerome and toured the historic mining city on the hill. Some highlights here include the state park, the sliding jail and Haunted Burgers for dinner.
We ended the night at Camp Verde so we could be closer to our first location for day 3.
Day 3
- Start – Camp Verde (could end in Jerome or Sedona though)
- End – Tucson
- Drive time – 3.5 hours (214 Miles)
- Hotel in Camp Verde – Cliff Castle
- Hotel in Tucson – Hotel Congress
- Main Stops – Musical Instrument Museum, Hole in the Rock Hike, Casa Grande Ruins
Since we stayed in Camp Verde, we were right next to our first stop, Montezuma Castle National Monument. This beautiful cliff dwelling is something you do not want to miss! From there we headed south and stopped for pie at Rock Springs before heading into Phoenix. The original plan was to go to Taliesin West but it was closed for flooding, so we ended up going to a bunch of museums.
First up was the Musical Instrument Museum, one of the best I have ever been to. From there we got lunch at Spiritual Gangster and then did a short hike in Papago Park before heading over to the Hall of Flame Museum (the largest firefighting museum in the world).
We grabbed coffee at Cartel before heading south towards Tucson and getting off the freeway to go to Casa Grande National Monument. This building is almost 700 years old and is well worth seeing!
We ended the day at Tucson, staying at the historic Hotel Congress and getting dinner at El Charro Cafe, which is one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the USA.
Day 4
- Start – Tucson
- End – Tombstone
- Drive time – 2 hours (120 Miles)
- Hotel in Tucson – Hotel Congress
- Hotel in Tombstone – Tombstone Grand Hotel
- Main Stops – Copper Queen Mine, OK Corral, Birdcage Theater
Leaving Tucson early, we headed 1.5 hours down to the small town of Bisbee, close to the Mexican border. Here we did the Copper Queen Mine tour, which allowed you to ride a mine cart into the mine itself. From there we walked historic Bisbee, went to a few museums and then continued on to Tombstone.
We spent the rest of the day in Tombstone, walking the dirt streets and stopping to see the Oriental Saloon, OK Corral, Birdcage Theater, Good Enough Mine Tour, Rose Tree Museum and the Tombstone Courthouse. It was a blast exploring this fun town and we ended the night with dinner at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon (get the cowboy cheesesteak).
Day 5
- Start – Tombstone
- End – Yuma (or just back to Phoenix)
- Drive time – 4.5 hours to Yuma, 3 hours to Phoenix
- Hotel in Tombstone – Tombstone Grand Hotel
- Main Stops – The Thing, Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Gates Pass, Rooster Cogburns
On the way out of Tombstone, we stopped at the historic Boothill Cemetery, since we had missed it the previous day. From there, we drove 30 minutes back to Benson and took a 15 minute detour over to The Thing, a fun roadside attraction.
Next, we drove back to Tucson and visited Mission San Xavier Del Bac, before getting Sonoran Hot Dogs at El Guero Canelo and getting an Eegee’s slushy for the road. Leaving Tucson, we headed towards Saguaro National Park with a stop at Gates Pass (my favorite desert view in Tucson) and a visit to the Sonoran Desert Museum. The museum is easily a place you could spend a half day, and be sure to see the rare crested saguaro right near the entrance.
Leaving the museum, we drove through Saguaro National Park (find more stops in the park here) and then made it back to the freeway. Our next stop brought us to Rooster Cogburn, which is a silly roadside attraction where you can feed all sorts of animals, from goats to stingrays.
From there, you will probably want to head back to Phoenix, but for us we headed to Yuma on the way back to Southern Califronia.
Optional Day 6 in Yuma
If you go to Yuma, be sure to stop by Cafecito for breakfast, it was a great spot! Then go to the Yuma Territorial Prison and to the Colorado River State Historic Park. If you are up for another silly roadside attraction, head ten minutes over the California border and go to the Center of the World in Felicity.
So there you have it, our one week road trip through Arizona. This is only a small portion of what the state has to offer and be sure to let us know what we left off in the comments!
