The best road trips on the Albuquerque drive are the Sandia Peak Tramway, the Coronado Historic Site and El Rancho de las Golondrinas. By car, the distance from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is 64 miles, with a 1h4m driving time.
Planning your Albuquerque to Santa Fe road trip
The drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe connects New Mexico’s biggest city to its historic capital.
5 great Albuquerque experiences to book
- 🎈 Admire the sunrise on a hot air balloon ride across the desert.
- 🌅 Alternatively, take your balloon ride at sunset.
- 🎬 Get on the trail of Walter White with a Breaking Bad filming locations tour.
- 🚴 Take a bike tour – and see Albuquerque’s top natural sights.
- 👻 Listen to spooky historic tales on an Old Town ghost tour.
In Albuquerque, the must-dos are the Sandia Peak Tramway cable car and Petroglyph National Memorial. Explora and the ABQ BioPark are good bets with kids in tow, while the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum explores one of the greatest places in the world for hot air ballooning.
Fabulous Albuquerque experiences include a sunrise hot air balloon flight, old town ghost walks and nature tours by bike. You can also pay a visit to the castle-like Turquoise Museum and old town food tours focusing on New Mexican flavours.
Great Albuquerque accommodation choices include the historic, adobe-style Casas de Suenos and the old town’s art-filled Hotel Chaco.
Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the US, with the Palace of the Governors dating back to 1610, and has a huge arts scene. The glut of adobe architecture also makes the New Mexico capital highly photogenic. These buildings are best seen on an architecture walking tour.
Fab Santa Fe experiences include history walks covering the city’s past, on-the-move photography classes and New Mexican food tours through the evocative Santa Fe Plaza. You’ll find the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Loretto Chapel and New Mexico Museum of Art around here. Other key attractions, such as the Museum of International Folk Art, the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the Santa Fe Botanical Garden are a couple of miles away on Museum Hill
If you want memorable Santa Fe accommodation, try the Hacienda in the Railyard Arts District or the adobe-style La Fonda on the Plaza.
5 great experiences in Santa Fe to book today
- 🏛️ Santa Fe architecture walking tour – Discover Santa Fe’s distinctive architectural styles on an architecture-focused walking tour.
- 🎨 Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return – At Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return, experience a groundbreaking, huge scale, immersive art installation.
- 🚂 New Mexico scenic train ride – See New Mexico’s extraordinary landscapes on a scenic train ride.
- 🚴 Santa Fe e-bike tour – On a guided e-bike tour, see Santa Fe’s hidden highlights.
- 🎈 Hot air balloon flight – Float above the mesas, buttes and canyons in a hot air balloon.
Albuquerque to Santa Fe distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is 64 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and four minutes.
The drive is almost entirely along the I-25.
The best road trips stops along the Albuquerque to Santa Fe drive are the Sandia Peak Tramway, the Coronado Historic Site and El Rancho de las Golondrinas.
Attractions between Albuquerque to Santa Fe: Sandia Peak Tramway
Just to the north of Albuquerque, the Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest aerial tramway in the Americas. It stretches 2.7 miles with just two support towers, and the upper station on Sandia Peak is at 10,378ft.
Once at the top, you can visit the restaurant and tackle some of the hiking trails. Most are quite content to just take in the views, however.
Albuquerque to Santa Fe drive: Coronado Historic Site
The Coronado Historic Site is where Spanish Conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado entered the Rio Grande Valley in search of the fabled Cities of Gold. He didn’t find them, but he did find 12 Native American villages, which gave him and his men the food they needed to survive.
The main sights here are the remains of Kuaua Pueblo, one of the villages. A series of impressive murals have been salvaged, and are on display.
Albuquerque to Santa Fe road trip stops: El Rancho de las Golondrinas
El Rancho de las Golondrinas is a living museum that focuses on the Spanish colonial history and culture of New Mexico. It features some original 18th century adobe buildings, while other historic buildings from elsewhere in New Mexico have been reconstructed here.
Guided tours are available on request between April and October, and ‘villagers’ roam around in traditional dress.
More New Mexico travel
Other New Mexico travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Getting to Albuquerque: The best stops on the Amarillo to Albuquerque drive, Austin to Albuquerque drive, Houston to Albuquerque drive, Lubbock to Albuquerque drive and Tulsa to Albuquerque drive.
- Interstate road trips from Albuquerque: What to see on the Albuquerque to Flagstaff drive and Albuquerque to Tucson drive.
- Las Cruces road trip guides: The best stops on the Las Cruces to Albuquerque drive, Las Cruces to Phoenix drive and Las Cruces to Tucson drive.
- The best stops on the Gallup NM to Flagstaff AZ drive.
- Plan your visit to Valles Caldera National Preserve and Aztec Ruins National Monument in north-western New Mexico.
