- Everything you need to know to visit Phoenix in Arizona.
All right, let's go.
The first thing to know,
just a little bit of background information about Phoenix.
It is the capital of the US state of Arizona.
1.6 million people call this city home,
making it the sixth largest city
in the United States of America.
4 million people live in the metropolitan area.
Phoenix is probably best known
for its warm weather, sunny, warm weather in fact,
because 85% of all of the daytime hours in Phoenix
are sunny making it the sunniest
big city in the United States.
Now, Phoenix has more than just sun.
There's a lot of great natural beauty here,
mountains, hiking trail, cactuses.
Sorry, cacti, that's the plural of cactus.
Now whether you are here to experience
the heat, the sun, the desert,
hang out by your hotel swimming pool,
there's a lot to see in Phoenix.
So pack your bags, definitely pack your sunscreen,
and let me tell you how to get yourself
oriented to this city.
So that brings us right on to number two, getting oriented.
And one of the great parts about getting oriented to Phoenix
is it's really easy to navigate
because the entire city is laid out on a grid system.
It's divided into four quadrants,
northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.
The city center is at the intersection
of Central Avenue and Washington Street,
and street numbers increase as you move
further away from this point.
Now right at that center spot is downtown Arizona.
Home to three out of five
of the tallest skyscrapers in Arizona.
It's a pretty good downtown,
with lots of pretty tall buildings,
lots of great food to eat down here,
and it's also home to Chase Field.
So if you're looking to pick up a baseball game,
this is where you're gonna find
Arizona's major league baseball team.
In addition to city streets,
Phoenix has a lot of very well-developed modern highways.
There are two major interstates.
Interstate 10 is the major east west highway
that runs through the city,
although it does take a sharp turn
to the south right around Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Interstate 17 is the primary north to south interstate.
It'll take you up to Flagstaff in the north.
By the way, pro tip in the US, if you see a freeway
that has an even number like 10,
it always runs east to west.
And if you see one with an odd number, 17,
it always runs north to south.
Now just to the northeast of Phoenix
is the city of Scottsdale,
and actually that's where I'm filming
this portion of this video right now.
Scottsdale is home to many of the region's high-end resorts.
It's also home to a really neat old town
that we're gonna explore a little bit later.
South of Scottsdale is the city of Tempe,
home to Arizona State University.
And if you're here to see an NFL football game,
you'll find State Farm Stadium,
home to the Arizona Cardinals,
in the city of Glendale just to the east.
The third thing to know is about getting into Phoenix.
And if you're flying into Phoenix,
there are two major airports.
The first is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
This is the big airport in Phoenix.
It has been named one of the best airports
in the United States year over year,
I think because the sunny weather
leads to a lot of on-time flights.
It's located three miles from downtown
so really convenient if you're going to downtown Phoenix.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines
are the major carriers that serve this airport.
Now the best way to get into the city
from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is to take the light rail.
You can take it in for $2 a ride into downtown Phoenix,
or Tempe, or Mesa.
A taxi will cost you about 20 bucks.
The second airport is Phoenix Mesa Airport.
This one is the discount or budget carrier airport.
You'll find flights on Allegiant, and Spirit, West Jet,
and a surprising number of flights from Canada
go into Mesa Airport as well.
It's definitely not as conveniently located.
It is 20 miles southeast of downtown in the city of Mesa.
If you're looking to take the train to Phoenix, no luck.
Amtrak does not run to Phoenix.
And if you're driving from Las Vegas, it's about five hours,
and if you're coming from points west
like Los Angeles or San Diego,
it's about five and a half hours from those two cities.
The fourth thing to know is about getting around Phoenix,
and really the best way to get around Phoenix is to drive.
And so if you didn't drive your car into Phoenix,
then you'll probably be renting a car from the airport.
At Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport,
there's a ton of rental cars that operate there.
They operate out of the new consolidated
rental car facility.
How new is it?
Well, new-ish, but the way you get there
you take the air train to get there from the airport.
No need to get on a shuttle bus.
You get on this train.
It's about a 10 minute haul
out from the airport to get to it,
but you'll find tons of rental cars available there.
One point though, the surcharges,
the fees to rent your car at the airport,
they're really quite high.
So if you're looking to save a little money,
then take an Uber or taxi
out to a rental car facility in town and rent it from there.
It's not gonna be as convenient, but it will save you
about 30% on the price of your rentals
because that's how much of a surcharge
that rental car facility.
Now due to the oppressive heat in Phoenix in the summer,
you won't find that many people walking
too far distances in the summer.
You'll find a few neighborhoods that people walk in.
One notably being Old Town Scottsdale right here.
They've even got some nice covered roofs
to keep you out of the sun.
So what to do if you don't walk
and you need to take public transit?
There's the light rail I mentioned
that'll take you from Mesa Tempe, to the airport,
to downtown and a few points north.
Or you can take Uber and Lyft.
Ride share is plentiful here in Phoenix.
There is a bus system, but it's not gonna be
that useful to you as a tourist.
Now one part of this grid system
that is really important to pay attention to,
particularly when you're using your GPS,
is the quadrant that the street is in.
So all of the streets here have a north, south,
east, or west in front of them on the major streets,
and so you need to put that in there
and some of them can actually have both.
So the address of the rental car facility
at Sky Harbor Airport is 1805 East Sky Harbor Circle South.
That's right.
East and south, so make sure you get those correct.
Otherwise, you'll be going to a completely different spot.
Oh, there's also this area called Central Phoenix,
which if you thought Central Phoenix was downtown,
you would be wrong.
It's actually the neighborhoods north of downtown
along Central Avenue.
The fifth thing to know is about food,
and Phoenix has a lot of really great food
in a lot of different cuisines,
but Phoenix is most well known
for its southwestern cuisine being here in the southwest.
What is Southwestern cuisine?
It's a mix of Spanish, Mexican,
and Native American influences.
So think like chorizo quesadillas,
tacos that are made with Indian flatbread,
and empanadas that have a little bit
of Mexican twist to them.
Definitely check out some of the southwestern restaurants
while you're in Phoenix.
For the best barbecue in Phoenix,
Head over to Rudy's Country Store.
They've got a few locations and actually they're a chain,
but don't let that stop you from eating here.
This is legit Texas style barbecue that they serve
by weight, by the pound.
Lots of different meats.
My favorite is the beef brisket moist.
What's that mean?
It's the fatty part of the brisket,
and it actually costs more to get that
'cause it's really juicy, delicious, and tender.
They're cooking up the barbecue all day.
Do be prepared for a wait when you come here
because it can get quite busy.
For the sides, I really enjoy the baked beans
and the creamed corn.
And legit, it doesn't come to you on a plate.
It comes to you in like a soda basket
that then you get some butcher paper
to put it down on your table to eat.
And definitely make sure you get the original Rudy's sauce,
or if you can't handle spicy,
then the sissy sauce is for you.
The next thing to know is about shopping.
What should you buy while you're here in Phoenix,
particularly in souvenirs?
Native American art in Arizona.
Home to the Navajo, home to the Hopi people,
plus many more tribes.
But you will find a lot of great Native American art.
Pick up some buffalo leather attire,
buffalo leather shoes, buffalo leather jackets
is a thriving art form out here.
If you're looking for some candy to bring back,
bring back some cactus candy.
Originally developed in the '80s here,
it is actually candy made from the juice
of the prickly pear.
You'll find it in most
of the convenient stores in the region.
And if you're looking for some high-end shopping,
check out Scottsdale Fashion Square
for a whole bunch of luxury brands
all under one nicely air conditioned roof.
And, you know, people often say
malls are dying within the US,
but it looks like this one's doing quite well
and they're in process of doing
a pretty significant remodel.
And if you're looking for things to eat,
they've got a pretty big food court here
down in the center of the mall,
and a lot of restaurants on the outside too.
Oh, and if you're looking for something to do
after all the souvenir shops and shopping malls close,
you'll find a decent amount of nightlife
tucked away in Old Town Scottsdale too.
The seventh thing to know
is about when to go and the weather.
And Phoenix, in addition to being really sunny,
it's really hot.
It is actually the hottest big city in the US,
having the record for the average high temperature
in the summer between May and September.
Daytime highs are almost always
above a hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
And the record here is 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
Really hot.
And then in the summer,
it doesn't even really cool off at night.
The nighttime lows in the summer
are often above 80 degrees Fahrenheit
just because everything gets so hot
and the heat gets trapped in the concrete,
and the roads, and it just keeps it hot all day.
Now the winters are pretty mild.
In the winter like in January,
the daytime highs can often be 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Though at night it can get pretty chilly,
and you will definitely want to bring some jackets
for the nighttime if you're here in the winter.
Actually, the nighttime lows sometimes
can get below freezing in Phoenix.
Yes, it's true.
Now the good news is that even though
it does get cold in the winter,
you don't have to worry about rain.
There is less than an inch of rain
in any given month here in Phoenix.
So with all that in mind, when should you visit Phoenix?
Well, if you are looking for the best weather,
arguably most people visit Phoenix
during the wintertime in Phoenix,
'cause it's the winter time in Canada
or it's the winter time in New York
on the east coast of the US.
And so that's when you're gonna find
the hotel prices are the most expensive,
and that's when it's the busiest.
If you want the best deals on hotels,
then come in the summer
because many of the big resorts
actually offer like a hundred dollar a night specials
because it's just so hot,
and you won't even wanna leave your hotel room
or the hotel swimming pool.
Actually, it's so hot,
the W Hotel here in Phoenix has a cooled pool.
That's right, it gets so hot that they actually need
to cool the swimming pool water down.
Next up, you should know about where to stay,
and Phoenix has a lot of hotels
for every budget, price, and taste.
If you're looking for the highest end hotels,
the big resorts that Phoenix is famous for
that you're gonna lounge by the pool,
maybe go to the golf course, you're gonna find those
in Paradise Valley and in North Scottsdale.
The JW Marriott Desert Ridge is a great example
of one of these big luxury resorts.
You're gonna pay outta the nose
to stay at these in the high season,
which is, you know, January, February, March
when it's cool and not oppressively hot.
Think upwards of $600 a night
to stay in some of these fancy hotels.
If you want a little cheaper,
you can consider staying around the airport,
around Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
You can consider staying in Tempe
around Arizona State University,
but my favorite place to stay
is right around Old Town Scottsdale.
The hotels here are a little bit cheaper.
They're still nice hotels and resorts,
but they're not gonna be exorbitantly expensive,
and because they're in Old Town Scottsdale,
you can walk from a lot of them
like this Marriott to the old town right over there
and with cool views of the mountains here in the city.
And the ninth thing to know
is about some of the best day trips out of Phoenix.
Oh, and by the way,
if you're wondering where I'm standing right now
with this neat Instagrammable object in the back,
this is in Scottsdale in the Civic Center.
That's where you can find this piece of love art.
But OC girl, my wife's favorite day trip outta Phoenix
is to Sedona.
Sedona is just 120 miles to the north
along that Interstate 17 that I talked to you about earlier.
Sedona is famous for its red rocks, hiking, natural beauty
also a hub for rejuvenation.
There's a ton of spas and wellness centers,
and over a hundred art galleries in Sedona.
Now just a little bit to the north of Sedona
is the town of Flagstaff.
Flagstaff is actually in a forest,
and so if you're in Phoenix in the summer
and you're trying to get outta the heat,
head up to Flagstaff.
The temperatures can often be 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler
in Flagstaff than they are in Phoenix.
And you know what?
If you're here in the winter, you'll actually find
some ski and snowboard resorts up there in Flagstaff too.
What about the Grand Canyon?
It's too far.
It's like four hours from Phoenix
to get to the Grand Canyon.
I mean, you could do it in a really aggressive day trip,
but I'd really recommend
if you are looking to do the Grand Canyon
with a Phoenix trip, to like come to Phoenix,
spend a couple nights here,
spend a night or two in Sedona,
spend a night or two in Flagstaff, hit the Grand Canyon,
and then maybe end up in Las Vegas at the end,
and then fly out of Vegas.
Now speaking of Vegas,
if you're gonna be connecting Phoenix with Vegas,
or some of the other cities in the area like Los Angeles,
then you might enjoy checking out my travel guides
for those two cities here on the screen.
You'll also find links in the description below.
And as usual, I won't say goodbye
'cause I'm gonna see you right over here.