So, you want to know how to spend a week near Sedona, Arizona! That’s awesome, and I’d highly recommend! My husband and I just spent an exciting week exploring the town and beyond. I put together an itinerary with a good variety of activities for the area in and around Sedona. As Massachusetts natives, we had never been out West before and wanted to experience as much as possible! If that’s not really your speed, there really is so much to do and see in the Sedona area as well. Feel free to make your own itinerary using my free Canva template!
We visited the last week of February, and we felt that was the perfect time. The weather was great, if not a little chillier than expected, and at the time when some of Arizona’s more… unfavorable critters (snakes and scorpions) were hibernating. We also found that there were not as many tourists around at this time, but definitely a good amount. According to Sedona’s tourism website, the most popular tourist seasons are March through May and September through mid-December. Arizona can get very, very hot in the summer, which makes some activities like hiking dangerous. So, I’d personally recommend the end of the winter season!
Should I Rent a Car?
If you want to follow this itinerary, no question, yes. Arizona is a big place, and you will definitely want a car to have the freedom to explore the area. You don’t need to rent a jeep or off-roading vehicle, but it goes without question you will want one. Regardless, just the drive from Phoenix will be difficult to make without a rental car.
Where Should I Stay?
We opted for this Airbnb with stunning, 360-degree views. The owners were very kind, the place was small but perfect for a couple or single person. The location was beautiful, quiet, and the location was great, and walking distance from the Broken Arrow Trailhead. We even saw some local javelinas! My good friend who lives in Arizona and visits Sedona frequently recommends Oak Creek Terrace and Los Abrigados for family stays.
7-Day Sedona, Arizona Itinerary
Without further ado, here was our itinerary for 7 days in and around Sedona, AZ!
Day 1: Arrival and Exploration
If you arrived at the Phoenix Airport, you will need to make the trek up to Sedona, which is about a two-hour drive. Depending on what time you get in and where you are staying, you might want to unpack, unwind, go to a grocery store for necessities, and take it easy for a nice dinner at Javelina Cantina. If you’re up for it, there are lots of easy, and even paved hikes around the area. Sedona is also known for its many spas, so consider booking a massage if you have time!
Day 2: Explore Downtown Sedona
You might be feeling a bit jet-lagged on your second day, so it’s totally okay to take a slow day to meander around Sedona! Filled with neat restaurants, shops, tours, and coffee spots, you can easily spend the day just exploring. In addition to the main Sedona strip, there is a neat shopping center called Tlaquepaque Village, a cool place to check out with fine jewelry, art, shops, and more. I’d especially recommend checking out The Chai Spot – a traditional chai tea shop with a recipe all the way from Pakistan!
Sedona is known for its spiritual side, with several wellness retreats, spas, tours, and psychic services. If this piques your interest, consider adding these experiences to your itinerary and exploring the unique crystal shops. However, if you’re a bit skeptical like me, you can still appreciate Sedona’s charm and eclectic shops without delving into the spiritual aspects.
If you are feeling up for more than a walk up and down town, there are TONS of hikes around with varying degrees of difficulty. You could also stop and view the famous and beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Catholic Church built into the red Sedona rocks. Parking can get a bit tricky, so I’d recommend going around 4 pm or getting a shuttle tour from downtown and having them drop you off.
Day 3: Grand Canyon National Park
If you love nature, parks, or just cool things in general, the Grand Canyon should definitely be on your list of places to visit! Only about a two-hour drive from Sedona, you can easily make a day trip to the South Rim. I’d recommend getting there as early as you can so you have plenty of time. We arrived at 1 pm and felt that we didn’t have enough time when we left at 5.
The Grand Canyon Visitor Center has different suggested itineraries based on your time limit, and the National Park Service offers this great Trip Planner. We started at the visitor center and walked the two-mile Rim Trail, stopping for pictures along the way. We reached the South Rim Village, visited all the different shops and got a late lunch before catching the free shuttle back to our car. There was a lot we didn’t get to see- you could definitely spend a few days hiking, shopping, museums, and more.
On your way there from Sedona in the morning, stop at Indian Gardens for some breakfast in a cool location!
Day 4: Jerome, AZ
If you like paranormal activity, history, and neat places, you have to add Jerome, AZ, to your list of things to do near Sedona, AZ! Jerome is considered one of the most haunted areas in Arizona, and if you take the time to learn the history, you will know why. An old mining town with fascinating history, Jerome is literally, uh, paved with the ashes of the miners who once worked there. Back in its heyday, Jerome had quite the reputation for violence and debauchery. I’d highly recommend visiting the Jerome State Historic Park, as the museum is actually inside a mansion that was lived in by one of the town’s original mine sponsors, James S. Douglas. We came just in time to hear a retelling of some of the history from a local who had lived there almost his whole life.
At some point in the town’s history, events caused a mass evacuation of this once bustling town. The population went from over 15,000 to around 50 people, hence its reputation for being a “Ghost Town”. Today, it is far from that, as tourism and opportunity have put this place back on the map!
If you love paranormal activity or ghost stories, you need to take a ghost tour with Jerome Ghost Tours. We took the Wild West Walking Tour and got a close-up view of the history hiding in plain sight. Our tour was an hour and a half long, and by the end, we were in disbelief at the story of Jerome. For its braver customers (sorry, not me!!), Jerome Ghost Tours offers many ghost hunting tours, complete with spirit boxes and EMF readers.
For lunch, we had a great meal at the Clinkscale. Check out the Kaleidoscope shop, Nellie Bly – such a unique place! Either before or after your time in Jerome, you could stop by nearby Cottonwood for more shopping or wine tasting downtown. Not a huge place, but you could easily spend an hour or two there. Visit Old Town Copper, a neat copper shop- there is one on the way to Jerome as well.
Day 5: Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona is just filled with all kinds of interesting landscapes. Petrified Forest National Park is one of those places you need to see to believe. It’s another long ride from Sedona, two and a half hours, so this is definitely an all-day thing. What’s neat about this park is that you can mostly stay in the car and stop at one of 12 different points of interest. You can spend as much or as little time at each one. Like the Grand Canyon, definitely get here early so you can spend as much time as you want and be aware of when the park closes (seasonal hours).
Our favorite places along this path were the petroglyphs at multiple spots, but especially Newspaper Rock. We also enjoyed hiking around the Blue Hills Mesa. It really felt like you were on another planet! I’d recommend stopping at the visitor’s center to grab a map and talk to a local ranger about what you should see and do. This park also has a great trip planner with suggestions based on your time restrictions.
There are lots of great shops at this park- in fact, we did most of our souvenir shopping here! There are also many museums and dining establishments. We opted for our own picnic lunch, but it was pretty cold and windy, so we ate in the car.
Day 6: Exploring the Red Rocks
For your last full day in Sedona, you might want to soak in those gorgeous red rocks everywhere. Many people recommended that we take a Pink Jeep Tour, which did look fun! We opted for a very long hike on the Mesa Trail near the Boynton Canyon Trailhead (11 miles there and back). This took up our entire day, but we got such a cool close-up of those red rocks. The Pink Jeep Tours has 16 different tours, ranging from rugged rock tours to more relaxed tours on the paved roads of Sedona. They definitely have something for everyone, and I was drawn to their Ancient Ruins tour, although we decided to save some money and declined.
You could also go and try to find Sedona’s famous “vortexes”, which are “enhanced energy sights” scattered throughout the land. People travel from all over the world to experience these allegedly healing and meditative energy sights. We never made it to one, and they can be tricky to find. Pink Jeep Tours offers a tour to one in their “Touch the Earth” tour. To learn more about vortices, visit Sedona’s website.
In the morning, we also did a quick 9-hole golf at Canyon Mesa Public Golf Course. It was a short par-3, and we got through it under 2 hours, but the location was clean, beautiful, and well-kept. We brought our own shoes, gloves, and balls, and rented clubs at $25 a person. If you love to golf, definitely add this to your list of things to do!
Day 7: Departure and Phoenix, AZ
On your last day, you’ll most likely need to head down to Phoenix, which, as you will remember, is a good 2-hour drive. You can use this site called Wanderlog to see things to stop and do along the way if you want to.
We had a ton of time to kill, so we decided to spend the day in Phoenix. We headed to the Arizona Museum of Natural History, which was a really fun and diverse museum! We then went over to the OdySea Aquarium, which is in the Arizona Boardwalk surrounded by other family-friendly experiences, such as a UFO Museum, a Butterfly Garden, the Museum of Illusions, and more.
Conclusion
That was how we spent a week in and around Sedona, AZ! We felt that we got plenty of time in Sedona and got to experience what it had to offer, while also getting to see some of what the Southwest was like. We had a fabulous trip, and I hope you do too! Let me know what experience was your favorite in the comments!
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This blog is freaking awesome & I cannot wait to visit Sedona next year!! I’m in… and I’m doing the ghost hunter tours!
Thanks for your comment! Can’t wait to hear all about it! 🙂