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Travel guide
Scottsdale
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: February to April and October to November
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Welcome
Scottsdale, in a few days
Pressed against the east side of Phoenix, Scottsdale has kept from its youth as a small ranching town an old centre with covered boardwalks, now the district of Western art galleries and cocktail bars. To the north, Frank Lloyd Wright built his winter studio in the desert, at the foot of mountains protected by a 12,000-hectare preserve where you walk among the saguaros.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Old Town Scottsdale free · half a dayThe historic heart of a town founded in 1888, with timber facades, covered boardwalks and an adobe mission, surrounded by dozens of Western, Native American and contemporary art galleries.
- Late afternoon · Western Spirit · about 2 hScottsdale's Museum of the West, opened in 2015 in Old Town, telling the story of the American West through painting, sculpture, saddles, Navajo weavings and Native American art.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Valley Ho ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€250 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cosanti free · about 1 hThe studio of architect Paolo Soleri, a former Wright apprentice, with earth-cast concrete vaults where the famous Soleri bronze and ceramic windbells are still poured on weekdays.
- Afternoon · Taliesin West · about 1 h 30Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home, studio and school of architecture, built from 1937 by his apprentices in desert stone and concrete, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019.
- Evening · SMoCA and Knight Rise · about 1 h 30The contemporary art museum set in a former cinema redesigned by Will Bruder, with Knight Rise, a James Turrell skyspace that frames a square of changing sky, best at dusk.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Valley Ho ↗€250 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · McDowell Sonoran Preserve free · 2 to 4 hMore than 12,300 hectares of protected Sonoran Desert with over 370 km of trails among saguaros, from the easy Gateway loops to Thompson Peak and the granite tower of Tom's Thumb.
- Late afternoon · Pinnacle Peak Park free · 2 h round tripA granite spire above the Troon golf communities, with a wide 3.2 km trail along its flank among century-old saguaros, offering views of the McDowells and the valley at sunset.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Valley Ho ↗€250 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Salt River and Saguaro Lake · half a dayIn Tonto National Forest, a river where wild horses drink at dawn and a lake between red cliffs explored by kayak or paddleboard, with tubing down the river in summer.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €215 a day, mid-range
Best seasonFebruary to April and October to November
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/scottsdale
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.