The best road trip stops on the Tucson to Tombstone drive are the Pima Air and Space Museum, Colossal Cave Mountain Park and the Holy Trinity Monastery Center. The distance from Tucson to Tombstone by car is 74 miles, with a 1h14m driving time.
Finding things to do on the Tucson to Tombstone drive
The Tucson to Tombstone drive takes you from Arizona’s second largest city to a timewarp town where the Wild West lives on.
Five great things to do in Tucson
- 🌮 Taste authentic South-Western flavours – on a Tucson food tour.
- 🐎 Go cowboy on a 90 minute horseback ride – through Coronado National Forest and Catalina State Park.
- 🧗 Get adventurous – on a half-day canyoneering tour.
- 🎨 On a murals walking tour – discover Tucson’s incredible street art scene.
- 🎈 Float above the desert – on a morning hot air balloon ride, with bubbly and breakfast.
Tucson is often used as a base for exploring the Sonoran Desert. But it’s a proper city with an arty streak, a Spanish-tinged history and excellent Mexican food. Tourist highlights include Reid Park Zoo, the Flandrau Science Center and the San Xavier del Bac Mission, while the Titan Missile Museum and Colossal Cave Mountain Park are a short drive from the centre. .
Top Tucson experiences include exploring the city’s many murals, taking a self-guided audio tour through Saguaro National Park and canyoneering at Mt Lemmon.
There are also several good bike tours you can do in and around Tucson. Choose from a history-focused ride through the city, e-biking in Saguaro National Park and taco-tasting on two wheels.
For resort-style accommodation in Tucson, take a look at the impressive Casino Del Sol Resort. To stay downtown, within walking distance of several restaurants, try the Leo Kent Hotel.
Tombstone, Arizona, is a fabulously silly place that buys whole-heartedly into Wild West mythology. The Boot Hill graveyard has comic epitaphs, and the streets look as they would back in the days of the Earp Brothers. Costumed actors stage a gunfight show at the OK Corral, blacksmiths work the forge and there’s a bizarre collection of mini-museums and attractions
It’s also possible to do a series of themed walking tours that bring Tombstone even further to life. Choose from ghosts and gunslingers or bullets and bordellos.
Tucson to Tombstone distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Tucson to Tombstone is 74 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and 14 minutes. The quickest route is mainly along the I-10 then AZ-80.
The best stops to add to a Tucson to Tombstone road trip are the Pima Air and Space Museum, Colossal Cave Mountain Park and the Holy Trinity Monastery Center.
Tucson to Tombstone road trip attractions: Pima Air and Space Museum
The Pima Air and Space Museum offers a reverent trawl through aviation history. What started as a plane storage facility at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base has become a celebration of aircraft, ancient and modern.
The museum now covers 80 acres, and houses hundreds of planes from the Wright Flyer to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. There’s a heavy focus on World War II aircraft, however.
Tucson to Tombstone drive: Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Near the town of Vail, Arizona, Colossal Cave Mountain Park offers two rather different cave tours. The first is a 40 minute guided walk, which gives a family-friendly version of the cave’s history, albeit including ghosts and robbers. There are 363 steps to tackle, but the reward is flowstone, stalagmites and stalactites.
The more challenging take on Colossal Cave includes squeezing through narrow passages, clambering on rock bridges and ascending ladders.
Best stops between Tucson and Tombstone AZ: Holy Trinity Monastery Center
The Holy Trinity Monastery Center is just to the south of St David. It is no longer a working monastery, after being dissolved in 2017. What’s left behind, however, is fascinating.
The focal point is the Our Lady of Guadelupe Church, which is built in the adobe style and comes with a meditation garden. There’s also a 1.3 mile bird-viewing trail on the property.
More Arizona travel
Other Arizona travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Practical guide to visiting Lowell Observatory and Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff.
- Visitor guides to the national monuments around Flagstaff: Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater National Monument and Walnut Canyon National Monument.
- The best stops on the Las Cruces to Phoenix drive.
- What to know before visiting Coronado National Memorial in southern Arizona.
- How to get the best out of Hole in the Rock, Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix’s Papago Park.
