How to Time Your Trip to Phoenix

The country's sixth-largest city, Phoenix is also one of its top year-round vacation destinations.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Travel Clothes
• Local Guidebooks To Arizona
• Maps
• Airline Tickets To Arizona
• Travel Services
• Cameras
• Film
• Maps
• Cameras

Attractions and Seasonal Events

1. Come to Phoenix in March and watch your baseball team in spring training - if your team is the Anaheim Angels, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners or San Diego Padres. In nearby Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox have spring training camps.

2. Watch the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in February.

3. Celebrate the new year with the Fiesta Bowl college football game every January 1.

4. Keep an eye on the skies in November for the Thunderbird Balloon Classic.

5. Bid on your favorite set of vintage wheels in the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in January.

6. Visit South Mountain Park. At 16,500 acres, it's the world's largest municipal park.

7. Learn about wildlife at the Phoenix Zoo, where displays feature 1,300 animals - including 200 endangered species - from all over the world.

8. Check out The Old West at the Rawhide 1880s Western Town.

9. Appreciate the region's plants at the Desert Botanical Garden. Guides describe the 20,000 desert plants on display.

10. See major works of art at the Phoenix Art Museum, the region's largest visual arts museum.

General Considerations

11. Decide when to visit. Phoenix is sunny year-round, making it an especially popular destination in winter. Peak season is mid-January through April; low season is July and August.

12. Avoid Phoenix in late October unless you're going there for the annual NASCAR race. Despite a recent hotel-building boom, finding a room can be challenging.

13. Check out what's going on when you'll be in town. See "Attractions and Seasonal Events" below.

14. Take care of travel details. Served by most major airlines and located on Interstate 10, Phoenix isn't hard to reach.

15. Check the weather forecast just before you go and pack accordingly. Take along a jacket or sweater for evenings most of the year.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare for hot days in June, July and August. The temperature can top 100 degrees F, but humidity is always low except in August, which typically brings about an inch of rain.
• Expect to pay more to stay in a Phoenix hotel during the high season. The most expensive month is February, when the average guest pays $130 a night, according to the local Convention & Visitors Bureau. August is the cheapest, with an average room tab of $63.
• Pack sunscreen no matter what time of year you visit.

on 11/22/2005 A trip to both rims of the Canyon is best between April and October. Snow limits visitation after October. The fee to visit the Canyon is good for 7 days so you can always visit more than once during your trip.

on 11/22/2005 It's every year on the first weekend in March. There's fabulous Native American art and native foods galore. Go to http://www.heard.org/ for information.