Have you seen the towering red rocks of the southwest in photos? Did they stun you? Well, you were probably looking at the red rocks of Sedona. This popular vacation destination has so many fun things to do for the outdoor lover, including lots of hiking! We’ve put together a 2 day Sedona itinerary that is perfect for those of you who like to spend your days outside.
There are plenty of ways to spend your weekend in Sedona. Wineries, shopping, and aligning your auras all make the list of top things to do in Sedona. However, our favorite things to do in Sedona are all outdoors. So we’ve put together this itinerary for the nature lover in all of us. And don’t worry, no technical outdoorsy skills required to complete this Sedona itinerary. You can spend all day outside, and still stay in a resort at night if that’s your ideal.
How Long to Spend in Sedona
If you don’t like being outside in the desert climate, you’ll only need one day to see all that Sedona has to offer for the indoor enthusiast.
However, if you like the outdoors but aren’t into doing a ton of hiking, two days is perfect. This is the itinerary we liked the best. This is also the itinerary that we think would be best for a family as it’s filled with short and easy hikes that won’t wear out the kiddos.
If you are a hiking enthusiast and want to take in longer more challenging hikes, you’ll want 3-4 days. Sedona has some amazing hikes to offer its visitors and if that is something you enjoy, you’ll be glad you spent extra days exploring them.
Sedona Itinerary
Day 1 – Verde Valley and Cathedral Rock
First, visit the area south of Sedona to see historic remains of the ancient farming life in the area. Start at Montezuma Castle National Monument. Here, you’ll find a short paved walk to a cliff dwelling.
Next, drive to Montezuma Well. This lake is surrounded by limestone cliffs. This park has a short walk to the lake and then through the area including the nearby Beaver Creek.
Finish off your tour of the Verde Valley with a visit to one of the wineries. Grab lunch there or pack a picnic to eat at the winery of your choice.
In the afternoon, drive the Red Rock Loop road. Stop at Crescent Moon park to play in the Oak Creek to cool off. Then take a short walk through the park to see the great views of Cathedral Rock from afar.
Next, head straight through town and out again as you make your way to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This short stop will allow you to take in the cool architecture of this church and the beautiful views of the surrounding red rocks.
Finally, make your way to the Cathedral Rock trailhead to scramble around Cathedral Rock. This quick hike will be great in the fading afternoon sun.
After your hike, head back into town for dinner and then rest your head at your accommodations.
Day 2 – Sedona Hiking and Slide Rock State Park
Start your morning with the Devils Bridge hike. You’ll want to start this hike early as it’s one of the most popular things to do in Sedona and the parking areas fill up quickly. This is THE must-hike in Sedona in our opinion and should be in every Sedona itinerary.
Next, hike either to the Birthing Cave or the Soldier Pass Trail. Both are great hikes. The Soldier Pass trail has more to see but is also longer so you can choose between these two hikes based on your energy level.
Have lunch in Sedona.
After lunch, head to Slide Rock State Park to play in the “waterslides” to cool off. Only visit Slide Rock State Park in warm weather. The natural waterslides are the best part of this park and the best reason to visit here. If you’re visiting Sedona in cooler weather, consider doing another Sedona hike instead of visiting this State Park.
Next, head back into town for some shopping before dinner. Eat diner in Sedona and then leave town, moving on to your next stop.
Want to Adjust This Sedona Itinerary?
With less time, we’d recommend sticking in Sedona and removing activities in the Verde Valley and Slide Rock State Park. This will help to save on driving time and there is plenty to do in Sedona for one day.
If you have more time, consider filling it with some extra hiking. We’ve put together a full list of the best hikes in Sedona for you to choose from. Also, one thing we wish we would have done was a Jeep tour. These is a really popular thing to do in Sedona and if you have extra time we think it would be fun.
Where to Stay In Sedona
Sedona is pricy and we are cheap. As such, we’re always looking for a deal. We found several steals at home rentals in town. And by “in town”, we mean the residential part of town, like West Sedona – not the touristy parts of town with fancy hotels and unique home rentals. We’d also recommend this residential location to avoid traffic. Staying in Uptown Sedona or along Highway 179 will lead to traffic issues coming and going from your accommodations. Some choose to stay in towns outside of Sedona to save money, however, your travel time will increase.
I have never been more frustrated in traffic as I was in Sedona. There seemed to be traffic all the time. So really consider what you’ll be doing on your Sedona itinerary and choose your accommodations to be as close as possible to those activities to eliminate driving time.
Also, when booking your accommodations, you’ll want to make sure you book it ahead of time as it’s a popular destination year-round and doesn’t seem to have the infrastructure to handle the traffic or the tourists. And lastly, don’t buy into any advertised “best view in Sedona” places to stay. Sedona is surrounded by beautiful red rocks. Almost every window in Sedona has a view.
What To Budget For Your Sedona Itinerary
To do everything on this Sedona itinerary, we recommend buying an American the Beautiful Parks Pass for $80. This gets you into most of the parks in this Sedona itinerary. The Parks Pass will also get you into any other National Parks for a full year. If this is not something you want to invest in, you can pay for individual park admissions. Additionally, Crescent Moon Park is $10/vehicle and Slide Rock State Park which is $20/vehicle. These park admission fees are the only costs for all the things to do in this Sedona itinerary.
However, just know that additional excursions in Sedona can be expensive. So if you choose to add additional things to your Sedona itinerary, just be aware of prices as it relates to your travel budget. Group tours, like Jeep tours, are a particularly expensive activity in Sedona.
Transportation To Sedona
Getting to Sedona comes at a pretty standard price. Flights to Phoenix are frequent and tend to be pretty inexpensive. Renting a car is around $60-120/day depending on car type and company. And gas in Arizona trends pretty close to the national US average. the drive from Phoenix to Sedona is pretty short but the traffic can be bad on the weekends.
Accommodations In Sedona
Accommodations in Sedona are where the high price tag of this tourist town comes into play. It is very unlikely that you’ll be able to find budget level accommodations. Our “cheap” home rental was $120/night. There really isn’t any way around this price tag. Home rentals are the best budget friendly option in the area as they will provide you with the flexibility of preparing your own food rather than eating out. The average home rental in Sedona is $300/night.
If you want to splurge, you could definitely splurge in Sedona. There are plenty of resorts in this vacation town. There are also some nice centrally located hotels. The average price of hotels in Sedona is also around $300/night.
There are a few campgrounds in the area as well, including some publicly and privately owned. Prices for sites range from $20-50 but are farther outside of town than hotels and home rentals. We once camped in Arches National Park in July (poor choice) and have since discontinued our desert camping days. However, it is definitely a way to save on the budget.
Food In Sedona
Food in Sedona is also higher than the average U.S. destination. An average lunch meal will cost around $16/person. For those of you who’ve travelled in the U.S., we think the pricing here compares with Jackson, WY, Lake Tahoe and other popular resort towns. If you’d like to save on food costs, we are always a fan of packing picnic lunches and cooking dinner in home rentals.
And that’s all the information we think you’ll need to plan you own Sedona itinerary for a great Southwest vacation. Sedona has so many fun things to do and is a really action packed vacation destination. If you have any questions as you’re planning your own Sedona vacation, please leave them in the comments section below.
