Northern Arizona Adventure
Arizona Travel Itinerary & Guide
5 Days in Arizona, USA
Explore Northern Arizona including Antelope Canyon, Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Cameron, Flagstaff, Sedona, Tempe, and more!
Day 1:
Arrive into Arizona, flying into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and pick up a rental car.
Stay in a traditional Navajo Hogan in Cameron
This was one of the coolest experiences or places I’ve ever stayed. We found this on AirBnB (link provided), and it’s the perfect central location to get to Antelope Canyon/Horseshoe Bend (1-hour drive) and the Grand Canyon (45-minute drive). This is a traditional Navajo Male Hogan located on Najavo land. There is no running water or electricity…that threw me off at first, and for someone who has never been camping I was a little nervous, but it turned out to be so amazing! Walking out of the Hogan and seeing the beautiful endless stars at night, cuddling for warmth by the fire crackling at night, or waking up to beautiful sunrises; I can’t recommend this place enough. There is no shower, but guests are given 5-gallons of water for drinking, bathing and doing dishes. Instead of showering, you heat some water in a basin over the stove then lightly wash your body. It’s a unique opportunity. There are outhouses a few yards away as well. I know this might sound hard to do, but it’s so worth it to get out of your comfort zone. Even the grandmother will come out and explain things about Najavo culture, and she gives you a traditional Navajo necklace and bracelet she made.
Day 2:
Head north just south of the Utah border to Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.
Blue Canyon Grill
Grab a delicious breakfast burrito from the Blue Canyon Grill. I have to say I am a self-proclaimed breakfast burrito expert and this is one of the best ones I’ve ever had! The tortilla is perfect and the basic ingredients you get to choose from-and if you take the locals advice you’ll end up with perfection. It might sound a little strange but the locals recommend a breakfast burrito with egg, hash browns, sausage, and this is where it gets interesting: spam and gravy! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! Burritos are under $7. They also have good bathrooms if you’re staying in the Hogan and avoiding the outhouse.
Horseshoe Bend
Drive around an hour north-following signs for Page to reach Horseshoe Bend. It’s a really beautiful drive and enjoyable. There is a small parking lot that I’m sure gets crowded in the high season, but in low season around mid-February, it was easy to find parking. Horseshoe bend is less than a 3/4 mile hike that’s easy. Horseshoe Bend is beautiful, but if you’re afraid of heights it might be intimidating, but you can enjoy away from the ledge.
Birdhouse
A brand new outdoor restaurant (it’s literally in an old Sonic building) that serves fried chicken with different flavors! It’s excellent while still in its soft opening phase. We visited during the winter menu, but it looks like the summer menu will have a lot more diverse options.
Upper Antelope Canyon
One of our favorite experiences in Arizona was walking through the Antelope Canyon. We chose the Upper Canyon just off of various reviews and for the time of year. There is also the Lower Canyon if you’re interested. We booked a tour ahead of time, during low season (Winter) I hear you can usually walk up to a tour company and hop on without any reservations, but we didn’t want to take any chances. We booked our tour with https://www.navajoantelopecanyon.com/ and enjoyed our guide and the tour experience. We were very lucky though that we visited during the low season because the canyon was practically empty. Our tour guide said that normally, especially during spring and summer high seasons, that the place is packed wall-to-wall and you’re rushed in and out…doesn’t sound too enjoyable. For us though, we had a wonderful time. There were a lot of photo opportunities without other tour groups or visitors in the way. Our tour guide was great and took lots of photos for us. (We did a normal tour, not the photographer tour). Even though we weren’t on the photographer’s tour, she even gave us great tips on how to take the best photos.
Cameron Trading Post & Restaurant
The Cameron Trading Post is a truly interesting market place with a large restaurant that serves local favorites. The menu is quite massive and has a lot of options but the local people recommended two favorites the Navajo Taco (a platter-sized portion of Navajo Fry Bread, topped with ground beef, chili beans, lettuce, cheese, tomato and mild green chile) and the Navajo Hot Beef (Thin-sliced roast beef served on a platter-sized Fry Bread topped with beef gravy and sautéed onions. Served with a whole roasted green chile). The portions are large, so if you don’t have a large appetite, you might want to split an entree. The restaurant is great for families as well.
Day 3:
Explore the Grand Canyon, then drive through Flagstaff, down to Sedona.
The Grand Canyon
We visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (North Rim is closed during winter time) and really enjoyed it. Since it was winter time a lot of the trails were covered in ice so we didn’t hike. We started at the Desert View entrance and went to the beautiful lookout at Desert View Tower, then hopped to different lookout points until we made it to the Grand Canyon Village. The Grand Canyon is beautiful, but to be honest, unless you have an activity planned there, it’s nice to check out at the different viewpoints for around two hours, then I know this sounds bad but it’s the same.
Drive to Flagstaff
Exit the south gate of the Grand Canyon (the one closest to the Grand Canyon Village). This is a very beautiful drive and an experience in itself. There are a few places we pulled off to play in the snow.
Diablo Burger
Yum Yum Yum! Stop for a late lunch at the trendy Diablo burger! Complete with local beers, local wine (the Diablo Red and Diablo White), a wonderful burger and french fries. We ordered the señor smoke and the Big Daddy Kane. Both were delicious! The Diablo burgers come served on an English muffin…yes this seemed a bit strange for us, but the burgers were rich and packed a lot of flavors. If you love medium rare burgers, this is your place! It’s very casual, with most of the seating outdoors, so don’t worry if you don’t look your best from trecking around the Grand Canyon, but hope for good weather when sitting outside. I imagine the lines would get quite long during peak times, so a late lunch here is perfect!
Explore Flagstaff
Walk around Flagstaff. Stop inside the Old Town Mall, right next to Diablo Burger for some after lunch ice cream. They also have tons of delicious sweets and treats like caramel apples! Flagstaff is a hippy mountain town with tons of fascinating murals to take photos of. There are a few parking lots, especially on the other side of the train track for $1 per hour.
Drive to Sedona
The drive from Flagstaff to Sedona is even more beautiful than the drive to Flagstaff. Every turn you go around (and yes there are a lot of sharp turns) your breath is taken away by the natural beauty of the rock formations. This drive is truly an experience in itself.
We stayed at a great AirBnB (link in this section) that was in the heart of Sedona. Less than 15 minutes from any of the major restaurants (5 minutes without traffic…unfortunately the traffic is pretty bad there). It’s also less than 20-30 minutes for some of the best hikes in the area. It’s a large studio apartment attached to the host’s main house, but with lots of privacy. Very comfortable and thoughtful host. Would recommend staying here in a heart beat.
Elote Cafe
Elote Cafe is the highest rated restaurant in Sedona, and that’s because it’s incredibly delicious. Unfortunately, with the popularity, it does result in a long wait, normally around two to two and a half hours. I wish they had a newer reservation system where they could take your phone number and text you when your table was ready, but unfortunately, they still use traditional buzzers. We arrived at 8 pm and we were quoted with a 2-hour wait. We took our buzzer and drove down the street, grabbed a few drinks at the bar at 89Agave. If you want to wait at the restaurant, there is a small bar in the waiting area to grab a drink from. Also, there was cornhole on the patio, but everywhere was a bit crowded, so it was enjoyable to escape for a few minutes while we waited.
Day 4:
Today you’ll explore Sedona and some really cool hikes!
Red Rock Cafe
Red Rock Cafe, is located about 15-minutes from central Sedona area, and of course, like every drive in Sedona, that 15-minutes is beautiful. We even stopped on the way back at a few pullouts to take pictures.
Red Rock Cafe is a delicious restaurant specializing in breakfast and lunch items. On the weekends it is a very popular spot with the wait being around 30-45 minutes. I think this restaurant is worth the wait, and there is a grocery store next door if you need to kill time doing any shopping.
We ordered the Signature Skillet, of course with chicken fried steak (is there any other way?). The skillet was cooked perfectly with a great blend of flavors. The portion was quite big, so come hungry. We also ordered the Southwest Chicken Fried Steak, which just like the Signature Skillet was large portions. It was really good as well!
To top this off we ordered a side of biscuits and gravy, probably overdid it here, but was delicious. Something I didn’t get to try, because there is only so much room in my stomach, was the Giant Cinamon Roll! I saw this over and over again on Yelp. Service was great as well.
Devil's Bridge Trail
Start at the Mescal Trailhead (Coordinates are 34.9018° N, 111.8267° W) parking lot. It doesn’t require a parking pass, so you can save a bit of money while also offering a beautiful and extended hike to the Devil’s Bridge Trail. It’s not that long of a hike, maybe 30-45 minutes to Devil’s Bridge Trail and it’s quite mild of a trail. The entire time you are looking at the beautiful Sedona rock formations, while hopefully enjoying the beautiful sun. Follow signs on the trail for Devil’s Bridge Trail (the trail does split at one point). Also at the beginning, it was a little hard to find the exact trail to start on as the markers aren’t clear and it’s not very well defined, but check the map at the start. Devil’s Bridge Trail is an incredible rock formation, that looks like a natural bridge formation. You can walk on it and take a picture. There is a line for it though. When we were there the wait was 15-20 minutes. I think it’s worth the wait, especially if you can find someone to take your picture! I have a fear of heights, and even though it did make me feel slightly uncomfortable, it wasn’t that bad at all. There are also tons of other fantastic photo opportunities on the trail too!
Enchantment Resort
The Enchantment Resort is a beautiful property just a quick 20-minutes drive from the trailhead. It is both a resort and gated community, so when you arrive just let the security staff know that you would like to visit the restaurant and bar. We parked and then went through the resort lobby to the bar and restaurant. It’s a little more higher-end so I wouldn’t recommend a tank top or being too underdressed from hiking, but I was in a t-shirt, shorts, and athletic shoes and was perfectly fine. We were still full from breakfast so we just grabbed drinks. They offer beer flights featuring local beers. I have to say I’m not the biggest beer drinker but I actually loved all of the six beers except for one. There is an outside area with open seating and let’s be honest you want to be outside to enjoy the beautiful views anyway. You’ll be surrounded by the beautiful Sedona rock formations. My friends have also recommended this place to enjoy the sunset and drinks as well.
Boynton Spire Vortex
Sedona is known to be famous for its spiritual energy including those that come from a vortex, so what is a vortex anyway? From LoveSedona.com:
What is a Vortex?
A vortex is the funnel shape created by a whirling fluid or by the motion of spiraling energy. Familiar examples of vortex shapes are whirlwinds, tornadoes, and water going down a drain. A vortex can be made up of anything that flows, such as wind, water, or electricity.
Sedona has long been known as a spiritual power center because of the vortexes of subtle energy located in the area. These vortexes are swirling centers of subtle energy coming out from the surface of the earth. This energy is not exactly electricity or magnetism, although it does leave a slight measurable residual magnetism in the places where it is strongest.“
Luckily, there is a vortex just around 15-minutes by hiking from the Enchantment Resort. We asked the concierge desk that was located outside by the parking lot and even though we weren’t guest they were extremely helpful and even gave us access keys to get to the hike quicker! There are ways to access the vortex without going through the resort but since you’re here already, why not? The hike to the vortex is very easy and I don’t know if it was just the beer flight I had moments before but I felt something at the vortex. Also, if you time it just right there is a man named Robert who comes to the vortex every day (sometimes twice a day) and climbs to the top of the spire then plays the flute. He does this to help others feel the power of the vortex. He even hands out rocks that are in the shape of hearts to everyone. I saw someone try to offer him money and he said no, he just had a message from the creator six years ago to come out there and help others feel the positivity and since then he comes out every day.
The Hudson
Check out Happy Hour at the Hudson for cheap drinks and eats! (3pm-6pm) Happy Hour is served at the bar, and there is plenty of seating. We ordered a mix of the varietal bruschetta which were all so good!!! Also, I thought they would just be small baguette pieces, but they were huge! We tried the house smoked salmon, fungi, warm artichoke spread, and the prosciutto di Parma. I would recommend them all with their unique flavors, but my favorite was the smoked salmon. I’ve also uploaded the Happy Hour menu because they have other great happy hour deals including hot wings, which looked good. We were told to come here to watch the sunset but actually couldn’t see it because of the hill where the airport is.
Sunset at Sedona Airport
Head up to the Sedona Airport which is on top of a hill to see the sunset. It can get pretty crowded up there and traffic can be a little crazy since it’s a slightly windy road so make sure you give yourself plenty of time so you don’t miss the sunset. There is a fee to park.
Gerardo's Italian Kitchen
After enjoying the sunset head down to Gerardo’s Italian Restaurant for some delicious pizza. We kicked off our meal with the Antipasto salad which was filled with delicious cold cuts and cheeses. There was a lot of great flavors. We then rounded out the meal with the Meat Lover’s Pizza. The Meat Lover’s was fantastic! Overloaded with sausage, pepperoni, Italian ham, and salami. The best part was the thick cut pepperoni slices! The night we were there they almost seemed understaffed, and it was a bit hectic to get a table. I would recommend calling ahead of time to see if you can make a reservation. Also, if you end up staying at the same AirBnB that we recommended in Sedona, they will have a 10% coupon for you.
Day 5:
This day we had our flight back home at 6:00pm out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport so we spent the morning in Sedona then grabbed lunch before our flight in Tempe.
Creekside Coffee
This was my favorite breakfast in Arizona because of the wonderful food and cozy atmosphere. You order from the counter and then take a seat at one of their unique tables. The food was great. We had the meat quiche, a banana and Nutella crepe, and eggs Benedict. Their cappuccino was a perfect complement to everything. The staff is nice and gave us recommendations for the rest of our time in Sedona.
Hike the Wind Caves
Hike to the wind caves which are as they sound, caves formed by the wind. This is a very short hike on the way out of Sedona but still really cool and a bit hidden. Put in the following coordinates 34.841933, -111.776423 on Google Maps to find the small pullout parking lot. It’s around a 10-15 minute hike to the caves. We were told to bring a flashlight as there are rattlesnakes in the cave, but luckily we didn’t come across any.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Make a quick pitstop to see the beautiful Chapel of the Cross built into the natural rock formations. We just drove by and took pictures out front.
Montezuma's Castle
The Montezuma Castle is a collection of Native American dwellings built into the side of a mountain. It’s a bit ironic as the dwellings have nothing to do with Montezuma and aren’t a castle, but this place is cool! It’s a great pitstop from Sedona down to Phoenix and not too far off the main row. The parking lot is a little small, but we were able to get parking after waiting for around 10 minutes. It’s a short walk from the NPS center, gift shop and museum to the ruins on a well paved concrete path. There are plenty of signs to accompany the path giving great information on the dwellings. You probably need only 30-minutes here.
El Hefe Mexican Restaurant
We then drove down to Tempe before our flight to grab happy hour drinks and food at El Jefe (starting at 3:00 pm). We were craving fajitas, which aren’t on the happy hour menu but we’re very delicious and hit the spot. From the happy hour, menu be sure to grab the fried avocado taco! Their margaritas are delicious too.
Tips and Tricks:
You’ll need to rent a car to get around most places. We used autoslasher.com to find an incredible deal.
If you do stay in the traditional Navajo Hogan be sure to buy some extra water bottles, face wipes and clothes that accompany the weather. We also left our bags in the car when we had the fire going to avoid our clothes from smelling like smoke.
We brought a portable charger since the Hogan doesn’t have electricity but we were still able to charge our devices in the car.