The distance from Phoenix to Santa Fe by car is 480 miles, with a 7h41m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Phoenix to Santa Fe drive are Petrified Forest National Park, El Malpais National Monument and Albuquerque.
Planning a Phoenix to Santa Fe road trip itinerary
The Phoenix to Santa Fe drive connects the capitals of Arizona and New Mexico.
5 great Phoenix experiences to book
- 🎈 Float above the Sonoran desert on a morning hot air balloon ride.
- 🚴 On a guided ebike adventure, see the most spectacular desert scenery.
- 🏜️ Enjoy the thrills on a guided desert ATV tour.p
- 🍽️ Take a food tour along Roosevelt Row – with 7 tastings.
- 🥾 Let a local show you the trails on a guided sunrise or sunset hike.
Highlights of Phoenix include Hole in the Rock, Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanic Garden in Papago Park, plus the Arizona Science Center and the Heard Museum.
However, a stay in Phoenix is at its best when you explore the surrounding Sonoran Desert. That might be in a hot air balloon flight, on an ATV tour or on a guided sunset hiking adventure. You can also do day tours along the Apache Trail.
For other Phoenix experiences, try a downtown food tour, a street art tour or a spooky nighttime ghost walk.
Attractions that you might wish to buy advance include cell phone-friendly tickets for include Phoenix Zoo, the Sea Life aquarium or a drunk Shakespeare performance.
For Phoenix accommodation options with a bit of character, try the art-splashed Foundre or the resort-like Raintree at Phoenix South Mountain Preserve.
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.
Phoenix to Santa Fe distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Phoenix to Santa Fe is 480 miles. You can expect a driving time of around seven hours and 41 minutes.
The best stops to add to a Phoenix to Santa Fe road trip itinerary are Petrified Forest National Park, El Malpais National Monument and Albuquerque.
Best stops between Phoenix and Santa Fe: Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona gets its name from the vast fossil deposits of petrified wood. Most come from the Late Triassic period, and the short walk to the Giant Logs is arguably the best place to see what it’s all about.
But this national park has much more to it than the petrified wood. It is part of the Painted Desert, and several walking trails show off the multi-coloured Badlands. Try the one mile Blue Mesa Loop or 1.2-mile Tawa Trail from Tawa Point to the Painted Desert Visitor Center for particularly impressive, yet accessible, scenery.
Phoenix to Santa Fe road trip attractions: El Malpais National Monument
A short diversion to the south from San Rafael, El Malpais National Monument covers a landscape formed by volcanoes. Get a special permit, and you can go caving in the lava tubes. Otherwise, there are several satisfying hiking trails. The 4.8 mile return hike to the top of cinder cone El Calderon is arguably the highlight.
The most popular sight is the Ice Cave by the Bandera Volcano. This is privately owned, and there’s a small charge to enter.
Phoenix to Santa Fe drive: Albuquerque
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.
More Arizona and New Mexico travel
- Getting to Phoenix: The best stops on the Las Cruces to Phoenix drive and Albuquerque to Phoenix drive.
- Arizona road trips from Phoenix: Where to stop on the Phoenix to Sedona drive and Phoenix to Tucson drive.
- Getting to Santa Fe: The best stops on the Albuquerque to Santa Fe drive, Las Cruces to Santa Fe drive, Sedona to Santa Fe and Flagstaff to Santa Fe drive.
- Getting to Santa Fe from Texas: The best stops on the El Paso to Santa Fe drive and Amarillo to Santa Fe drive.
- Road trips from Santa Fe: Where to stop on the Santa Fe to Tucson drive.
