Travel Guide Sedona AZ
Overall vibe of Sedona, Arizona:
Sedona is a very unique, magical small desert town surrounded by beautiful, red rock mountains. There’s lots of great hiking, food, spiritual and wellness activities and shops. It’s only 2 hours north of Phoenix which is a perfect place to start for a few days before heading to Sedona.
Quick Guide to Sedona:
Overall vibe: desert, spiritual, hiking, wellness
How long to stay: 3-4 nights
Where to stay: Uptown Sedona to walk to shops/restaurants or anywhere within a 20ish minute radius of the main part of town if you want something quieter in nature
Getting around: rent a car
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How long to stay in Sedona:
3-4 nights is a good amount of time to experience a lot without staying too long and getting tired of the crowds. It’s one of my favorite places ever but it does get very busy with tourists. If you can, go during the week and avoid holiday weekends; it’s SO much better!!
Where to stay in Sedona:
Uptown Sedona is a great place to stay if you want to be able to walk to shops/restaurants, while being central to most of the hiking.
If you care more about getting a nature fix or being a little more remote, there’s a lot of great places to stay within a 20ish minute radius of the main part of town.
Book as far in advance as you can because there are a lot more good options to choose from!
For luxury resort vibes, I’d stay at the Enchantment Resort.
For the most walkable location, I’d stay at this Airbnb:
Luna Suite Modern Luxury Uptown w/Private Entry
For other Airbnb options, I’d stay at one of these:
Beautiful Home with Stunning Views + Next to Trail
*5 Star Luxury Villa with Panoramic Red Rock Views
Walking distance to Cathedral Rock trail
Getting around:
Rent a car! You’ll definitely want/need it for hiking and exploring more than just the shops/restaurants in the main part of town.
Where to eat and drink:
Sedona gets really busy so I’d make all of your dinner reservations in advance!
Hideaway House (Instagram: @sedonahideawayhouse): one of my favorite restaurants of all time! They have amazing wine, pizza, pasta and views!
Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen (Instagram: @picazzositalian): good lunch spot - I love the Mother Earth Salad!
Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen
Local Juicery (Instagram: @localjuicery): best spot for smoothies/juice!
Local Juicery
Creekside Bistro (Instagram: @creeksidesedona): good restaurant for new American food.
Creekside Bistro
Javelina Cantina: great spot for casual Mexican food.
Enchantment Resort (Instagram: @enchantment_resort): stunning resort with amazing views. Go for dinner or a drink (or stay here if you want to splurge).
Coffee:
We’ve had Creekside Coffee; it’s decent and very conveniently located in the heart of Sedona. Next time, I want to try Firecreek Coffee. It’s 13 min from the heart of town and looks like a quality coffee shop.
Other places I want to try but haven’t yet:
Mariposa (Instagram: @mariposa_sedona): This is one of the most booked restaurants in Sedona. We tried to go last minute once and couldn’t get in but have heard it’s amazing! It’s latin inspired fine dining with beautiful views.
The Hudson (Instagram: @thehudsonsedona): looks good for new American/seafood and has a patio with beautiful views.
Sedona Beer Company (Instagram: @sedonabeer): looks good for beer and bar food.
Don’t go:
Wildflower: it’s very popular for lunch but we didn’t think the food was good. Skip it!
Best Hikes In Sedona:
Bear Mountain Trail: This is one of my favorite hikes of all time. The 360 degree views from the top are breathtaking!! It was also one of the most difficult hikes I’ve ever done. It’s 4.9 miles with 2,024 elevation gain so you are climbing on a steep incline almost the whole way up.
Cathedral Rock Hike: This is a must do hike in Sedona!! It’s short at 1.2 miles but it’s definitely a good workout to get up the 741ft of elevation. The views are amazing and it’s like you’re in the middle of all of the red rock mountains.
Cathedral Rock Hike
Bell Trail: A longer 6.9 mile hike along a creek with a swimming hole at the end. It’s only 587 ft of elevation so it’s not very strenuous.
Bell Trail
Devils Bridge Hike: This is one of the most popular hikes in Sedona. It’s cool and worth seeing if you have extra time but it’s not the best in my opinion. It also gets VERY crowded so I’d go on a weekday at an off time.
Devil’s Bridge
Airport Loop: Easier, 3.2 mile hike with views pretty much the whole loop! I think this was the one we got lost on so I’d download the maps on AllTrails!
Best Things to Do In Sedona:
Sunset at the Sedona Airport Scenic Outlook: This is a MUST!! The views are absolutely magical!
Sedona Airport Scenic Outlook
Shop/walk around Uptown Sedona: There are tons of shops in the main part of town. It’s definitely worth walking around and exploring. You will find some gems like the oracle deck I got from Flower of Life but you will also find a lot of touristy souvenirs.
Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village: Cool art and shopping village with very pretty architecture. You can find shops, coffee, restaurants and a brewery here too. It’s not too far from the main part of town and it’s definitely worth checking out.
Go to A Crystal Shop: There are crystals in most of the stores in Sedona but these 2 were my favorite stores! They’re a little ways down the road from the main part of Sedona by car so they seem less touristy/authentic.
Crystal Magic (Instagram: @crystalmagicsedona): This was my favorite store. It’s a spiritual lover’s paradise…crystals, incense, oracle decks, spiritual books, etc!
Mystical Bazaar: Great store for unique crystals!
If you’re on a spiritual journey and want to go deeper, you will probably love my intuitive healing and coaching website and podcast, Magnetically You.
Go to a Swimming Hole:
Grasshopper Point: beautiful swimming hole where you can jump off the cliffs into the water! You need cash to get in so make sure to bring some.
Get a massage at Gateway Cottage Wellness
Do Yoga at Sedona Hot Yoga
Page Springs Cellars Winery: it’s about 20 minutes from town and it’s along a peaceful, beautiful creek!
Page Springs Cellar Winery
Google Map of All Sedona Recommendations
I saved all of my recommendations for you in the map below to make it super easy to get around! Here’s the full link so you can save it: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1AEvoTa-3lMk5-QiHMhF9LfhcJtfhJ34&usp=sharing.
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