Organized Tours in Phoenix
If you don’t want to spend your time driving, a guided tour is a good option. As the Valley grows, wackier options—from serene balloon rides to the decidedly less serene Hummer treks in the desert—abound.
Bus Tours
Open Road Tours (www.openroadtoursusa.com; tel. 855/563-8830 or 602-997-6474) will pick you up at most Valley hotels for a long but lively day up through Sedona to the Grand Canyon for $180, $120 for kids. There’s also a half-day tour of the Valley’s highlights, including some mountain views and an hour for shopping in Old Town Scottsdale ($65 adults, $45 kids). Honesty compels me to say that some may find the ratio of “time spent driving around” to “actual things to see” a little out of whack. For an only-in-Arizona excursion, try the company’s run up into the Superstition Mountains for a boat cruise on one of the Salt River lakes ($125 adults, $65 kids). Among other more elaborate tours, Detours (www.detoursofthewest.com; tel. 866/438-6877) boasts of its buses’ comfy reclining “individual leather captain’s chairs”; the company offers half-day tours of the Valley ($89 adults/$69 kids), Superstitions excursions ($139/$109), and even a day run to Antelope Canyon, the spectacular crimson canyon in the north of the state ($370/$300).
The Valley’s calm winds were made for rides like this. Arizona Soaring, 22548 N. Sailport Way, Maricopa (www.azsoaring.com; tel. 520/568-2318), operating since 1986, offers four options, ranging from a 20-minute, 3,000-foot-high gentle sail over the Estrella Mountains southwest of the Valley to a 40-minute, mile-high acrobatics run for daredevils. Prices range from $160 to $350—one person per ride—and there’s not much red tape. To reach the airstrip, take I-10 E to exit 164 (Queen Creek Rd.), go 15 miles west on Queen Creek Rd. (which becomes Maricopa Rd./Ariz. 347), turn right on Ariz. 238, and continue 6 1/2 miles. On the north side of the Valley, there’s NWSkySports, 51623 W. Alvin Rd., Aguila (www.nwskysports.com; tel. 602/284-9977), an hour northwest of central Phoenix and west of Wickenburg. You can ride two to a glider here, with views of the Valley’s rugged northwest terrain. Prices range from $150 for a 15- to 30-minute one-passenger flight to $300 for an hour-long two-passenger flight.
Hot-Air Balloon Rides
The Phoenix climate is great for ballooning, and there are lots of operators to choose from, and a variety of experiences. Aerogelic Ballooning (www.aerogelicballooning.com; tel. 866/359-8329) offers everything from a sunrise flight for $169 per person to an $899-per-couple full-moon night cruise from four different sites around the Valley. And everyone gets champagne and hors d’oeuvres on landing. Float Balloon Tours (floatballoontours.com; tel. 480/256-8695) start at $235 per adult; they make the trip an event, with a professional photographer on hand and a gourmet champagne breakfast or dinner at the end of each sunrise or sunset flight. Rainbow Ryders (www.rainbowryders.com; tel. 877/771-0776) offer sunrise and sunset rides, $179 adults, $99 kids. The sunset rides sell out weeks in advance, so book early.
Jeep Tours
After spending a few days in Scottsdale, you’ll likely start wondering where the desert is. Well, it’s out there, and the easiest way to explore it is to book a jeep tour. Most will pick you up at your hotel, take you off through the desert, and maybe let you pan for gold or shoot a six-gun. Depending on how many people are in your party and where you’re staying, expect to pay $65 to $100 per person for a 3-hour tour. Companies include 360 Adventures (www.360-adventures.com; tel. 481/418-3866), Apache Trail Tours (www.apachetrailtours.com; tel. 480/982-7661), and Wild West Jeep Tours (www.wildwestjeeptours.com; tel. 480/922-0144).
Or how about a Hummer tour? Arizona Hummer Tours (www.azhummertours.com; tel. 602/692-7124) and Stellar Adventures (stellaradventures.com; tel. 602/402-0584) can take care of you; they run from $100 to $165 per person, less for kids.
If rumbling through the desert on a Hummer isn’t rugged enough for you, then you might be a candidate for a Tomcar—little open-sided buggies that you drive yourself and let you get covered with desert dust as you four-wheel past cactus and creosote bushes. If this sounds like your kind of outing, contact Desert Wolf Tours (www.desertwolftours.com; tel. 877/613-9653), which charges $165 for a half-day tour and, among other variations, will even include some machine-gun shooting starting at $314 per person. There’s also Green Zebra Adventures (www.gogreenzebra.com; tel. 480/214-4435), which charges $99 for a 1-hour ride ($59 ages 12 and under) and $149 for a 2-hour ride ($89 ages 12 and under).
Scenic Flights
360 Adventures’ helicopter tours (www.360-adventures.com; tel. 481/418-3866) start at $250 for one person, $150 per person for two or more, for a 15-minute ride. The folks at Westwind Scenic Air Tours, 732 W. Deer Valley Rd., Phoenix (www.westwindairservice.com; tel. 480/991-5557) do air tours that range from a 7-hour journey to the Grand Canyon ($559) to 45-minute jaunts over the Valley ($229 per person).
Walking Tours
Phoenix Rising (www.phxtours.com; tel. 480/710-1006) does history tours, mural tours, even ghost tours, based in downtown.
