Santa Fe will always be one of our most anticipated trips. We didn’t just count the days until we arrived, we counted down the hours until each experience we had planned – immersive museums, winter sports, cave dwellings, chile. We were excited about every single thing we were going to see and do.
Santa Fe had been on our radar ever since our friends had said it was a magical city for families, and it got an even bigger boost once we heard about MeowWolf. We finally booked our flights after discovering Ski Santa Fe. That was the tipping point.
The city seemed like the perfect family trip, a place with an outdoor focus and accessibility but also home to a wide range of cultural and experiential activities – that’s really the golden ticket. When traveling as a family, we’re always looking for destinations that offer variety – something active, something for kids (kid-forward activities, not just kid-friendly), something for adults. It’s hard to find a place that really satisfies each of these needs.
Santa Fe seemed like the hard-to-find sweet spot for travel, home to tons of completely different experiences that would make every day completely unique. I feel like this idea gets over used, but check out our highlights and you’ll see that Santa Fe delivers.
So, we found a long weekend (5 Days) and booked tickets to explore.
Here’s everything you need to know to plan your own trip & why you need to make the trip this year.
Planning Your Trip
When to Visit
Everyone familiar with Santa Fe knows that weather can play a big part in your enjoyment of the City Different. Most people recommend visiting in the Fall or Spring (September – November & April – June) to take advantage of moderate weather while leaning a bit towards Fall in order to enjoy the many seasonal festivals.
I would highly recommend traveling in winter. This is not only as an alternative to the high season but Santa Fe has great local skiing and winter hiking.
How Long to Visit
To really do Santa Fe – you’re gonna wanna plan for a week. Our trip was 4.5 days – so weekend getaways are good for getting a taste of the city, but to really settle in and savor the experience, give yourself those few extra days that round out a full week.
Getting to Santa Fe:
By Air:
The closest and most accessible airport to Santa Fe is the Santa Fe Regional Airport (SAF). It’s a very small airport, which makes getting in and out super easy, and it’s about 20-30 mins from Santa Fe’s Historic Downtown. If you’re flying into SAF – book your rental car in advance. There’s a limited selection and, while we were there, several counter walk-ups got turned away.
However, we also recommend flying into nearby Albuquerque Airport (ABQ). Flight flexibility is much greater and you’ll more likely to find non-stops that land here. The easy drive from ABQ to Historic Santa Fe is about an hour.
By Car:
Santa Fe is very accessible via car. In fact, all our friends that have visited Santa Fe have done so by Road Trip. It’s a great spot especially if you’re coming from Arizona, North Texas, Colorado, or East Utah. Keep in mind, Santa Fe is a destination all its own. Don’t try and pack it into a day or two between other stops, you’ll end up missing too much.
Getting Around:
You’ll need a car to get around Santa Fe. While much of the Historic Downtown is walk-able from any nearby hotel, the greater part of the city and all of the regional experiences require driving. Ride share is available as an alternative, but is not a great way to get out to the National Sites or more distant activities.
How Expensive is Santa Fe:
Santa Fe is an affordable destination. Often the food and experiences were moderately priced compared to equivalent dining and activities in other cities. That being said, Santa Fe is an experience destination, so each visitor’s individual budget is completely customizable to their unique schedule.
Where to Stay:
Being able to walk to Historic Downtown Santa Fe is a vacation must. The district is really pedestrian friendly, which means on the positive there are numerous hotels covering a wide range of price points surrounding the area and on the negative parking can be hard to find – or at least hard to find quickly.
We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel, which included breakfast and a wind down hour with mixed drinks. Also, the valet staff here was super knowledgeable and able to help us discover more about the city and where to visit.
Must See Sites for Families
Historic Santa Fe
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum – Of all the grown-up-centric museums we’ve visited, this museum was very adaptable for kids. Upon arrival, the museum staff selected an age appropriate workbook for Augustine, which gave her a way to view, understand, and interact with the art. This was huge, and really connected Auggie with the exhibits. Also, this museum is not overwhelming in size, making the duration manageable for families without having to make any shortcuts. This sells out, so book your tickets in advance.
*If Georgia O’Keeffe is of specific interest – consider a day trip out to Ghost Ranch, the ranch where O’Keeffe found inspiration for some of her more lasting work.
Museum of Contemporary Native Arts – One of the most striking buildings in Historic Downtown, the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts is a true, heavily curated and well thought out dive into modern Native American art. I never expected a gallery- in such a highly traffic tourist area – to lean so hard into showcasing thought provoking and striking art. This is a great gallery, especially for older kids, to take time viewing and let the art sink in.
* For museum visits, The New Mexico Culture Pass is great, especially for families. While the museum of Contemporary Native Arts are not part of the Culture Pass, there are 4 museums within Santa Fe that honor the pass. Visiting with the pass means that you can find museums that best resonate with your family and quickly move along from ones that don’t totally jive.
Shopping – I have to throw in a bit a hard-worn-wisdom here. Like most culturally historic destinations, Historic Santa Fe is home to a few key mementos that reflect the culture of the areas – figurines, arrows, ponchos and ladders just to name a few. With many shops selling similar products, I have the tendency to shop-around to find the best deal…don’t be like me. If you or your kids want one of these sorts of souvenirs – go ahead and buy the one you see and like instead of walking from shop to shop.
Santa Fe
Meow Wolf, House of Eternal Return – If you’ve never heard of this, it’s a sort of indoor immersive wonderland. Created by a collection of artists in an old bowling alley, visiting here is a lot of things: it’s a chance to explore, it’s a series of rooms and installations unlike anything you’ve been through before, it is eye opening, maybe it’s frightening or funny. But, whatever you expect, drop your expectations – it’s gonna just be different than you think. The best advice I got came sideways from a friend a few days before our visit “you have to remember it’s an art installation”. Buy your tickets in advance, skip springing for the eye-glasses, and make sure to visit the bar afterwards for the cotton candy margarita that is a part of the Santa Fe Margarita Trail.
Ski Santa Fe – I just can’t say enough about this spot…I loved it, skiing both as a Dad and solo, and I still can’t believe that it’s only 30 minutes away from Historic Downtown. While I want to gush about so many different parts of Ski Santa Fe, I’ll limit myself to my top three highlights.
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- So Much Space – As we picked up our tickets, we were told that we were visiting on the busiest day of the year. We skied for 3 hours and waited in line less than 10 mins total, and I never felt crowded on the runs – in fact, many times we found ourselves all alone in sections.
- Long Greens – which any kid or timid skier will tell you they love!
- Trees for Days – After I left my daughter, I went up to the top of the mountain for some independent skiing and went straight into the trees. While there were worn paths in nearly every direction, I skied at a moderate pace for about 15 minutes through the trees along the boundary line.
White Water Rafting – Our trip to Santa Fe was a bit early for Rafting Season (typically Mid-March through October), so it is on the top of our list for our return trip. With scenic and white water experiences reaching class III for kids as young as 5 & class IV for kids starting at age 12, rafting is one of the most popular excursions in Santa Fe. There’s even a multi-day rafting trip to experience the Rio Chama.
Nearby Santa Fe
Bandelier National Monument – This is one of those sites that you and your family will probably remember forever. It’s an up-close and hands-on exploration of the Ancestral Puebloans cliff dwelling homes. Visitors get the chance to climb up and into some of the remaining caves and alcoves. One of the most unique views actually comes early on, peering out the entryway and down onto what once was the concentric circles of the town. Also, keep an eye out for petroglyphs.
Manhattan Project National Historic Park – Heading out towards Bandelier through Los Alamos takes you past the birth of the Atomic Bomb. The Manhattan Project National Historic Park in Los Alamos is only one part of the three phase park which has sister locations in Oak Ridge, TN & Hanford, WA. Here this is a visitor’s center and memorial park, and the Bradbury Science Center which focuses on the science behind the bomb.
Dining
On the second day of our stay, I came to realize that Santa Fe is a bit like visiting Louisiana – pretty much anywhere you go, the food is going to be awesome. Every spot we stopped at offered a wide range of New Mexican style dishes and each one proved to be surprising, full of flavor, and overall delicious. Don’t overthink your dining, go everywhere.
Dining in or around Downtown Santa Fe is not something to be done on a whim – especially during busy weekends and high season. You’re going to want to plan your dining in advance. Keep in mind, many places don’t take reservations for breakfast or lunch – so either arrive early and/or plan on waiting an hour-plus to get your table. We would put our name in and then shop around until they called us to come in.
Breakfast – If you’re headed to Santa Fe, you probably have a short list of Best Chile Breakfast Burritos, but this is not the only breakfast delicacy you have to sample. The best dining discovery we made during our visit was blue corn pancakes. Somehow sweeter and fluffier than standard pancakes, these are a real local gem. We recommend the stack at Tia Sophia’s.
New Mexican Food – Two places really stuck out to us as having truly remarkable New Mexican Food.
- El Parasol – We pulled into this roadside hut on our way back from Bandelier National Monument, and didn’t know what to expect…was this good food or was this the only food? To keep it short, it was amazing; fresh juicy asada, flavorful guac, and burgers that even our daughter couldn’t get enough of.
- Cafe Pasqual’s – This came highly recommended from a friend. Once we learned about its popularity, we decided to arrive early to get on the lunch waitlist – spending our wait time at their upstairs gallery and nearby shops. When we finally got our meals – everything was too good to believe. The Cafe’s salsa alone is worth the stop, it was maybe the best I’d ever eaten.
Margaritas – With five days in town, we decided to sample the Margarita Trail during our visit. Following the $3 guidebook, we explored several out of the way and hidden nook bars throughout the historic district as well as the city itself. What I really loved is that many of the stops had chosen a signature margarita for people following the guide, which gave me a wide sample of flavors and mixes.
*Using the book, we got $1 off each margarita and eventually collected enough stamps for a shirt.
My three favorite margaritas were : Meowgarita at Float by Meow Wolf, Black Dragon at The Dragon Room (rated one of the world’s top bars) and Paparita at Thunderbird Bar & Grill.
Planning a return visit: You’re going to want to plan a return visit before you even leave. Knowing that in advance can take off some stress of trying to fit it all in on one trip.
