Cheap Flights To Phoenix

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Cheap Flights To Phoenix

Overview
When to Go
Airport Information
Weather
Things to Do
Local Attractions
Must See Sights
Insider Tips
Getting Around

Overview
There aren't many cities that roll out the welcome mat four-hundred feet in the air. You can take a good long look at Arizona's Valley of the Sun, with Phoenix glistening right in the middle of it, while soaring in a hot air balloon at the edge of the city. After you've gotten the lay of the land (a golf course here, swimming pools there) and flown over stunning desert vistas, here's a unique twist on dropping-in for breakfast: your balloon gently alights in the countryside allowing you to marvel at your journey over a piece of Quiche Lorraine washed down with a flute of champagne.

Phoenix Tours offers a sunrise hot air balloon tour that combines three things Phoenix is known for: good eating, beautiful scenery and a sense of adventure that's part and parcel of life in the Southwest. The Phoenix metropolitan area includes more than a dozen cities including ritzy Scottsdale, all nestled into a huge swath of the Sonoran Desert that's liberally dotted with urban mountains. Whether you want to don a Stetson and go horseback riding or hop in a sports car and go nightclubbing you'll have your chance in Phoenix.

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When to Go
Low Season
The peak and low seasons in Phoenix are dictated by weather. Forget what the calendar says; "summer" in Phoenix runs from May through September and this is the low season where cheap flights, cheap hotel rooms and discounted rates at even the finest of resorts can be had.

High Season
Prices are up from October through April and peak season is from November through February.

Best Time to Go
Unless saving money is your sole consideration, the best time to visit Phoenix is from November through February. Besides the mild weather (tan by the pool on Christmas day!) this is the time when the locals come out to play at countless festivals, parades, farmer's markets and concerts.

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Airport Information
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Distance: 5 miles from downtown Phoenix
Drive time: 15 minutes

Sky Harbor is the ninth-busiest airport in the nation and most national carriers fly here as do Aeromexico, Air Canada and British Airways. US Airways and Southwest Airlines have major hubs at Sky Harbor and offer the most frequent and cheapest flights to Phoenix. Ground transportation is abundant and eleven car rental agencies operate here. Free Wi-Fi is available in all terminals.

Airline tickets from Chicago and San Francisco can cost about $225 before taxes and fees, and about $275 from New York City. Cheap flights to Phoenix can be had, even during the peak November through April travel season, as can cheap hotel rooms and vacation packages.

Alternative Airports
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA)
Distance: 20 miles from downtown Phoenix
Drive time: 45 minutes - 1 hour

Allegiant Air provides cheap flights to Phoenix via this regional airport. Several shuttle services are available as are car rentals from Alamo, Enterprise and Hertz.

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Weather
Phoenix typically enjoys over three-hundred days of sunlight a year. From May through September there'll be about ninety days where the temperature reaches 100-degrees or more and on those evenings the overnight lows will stay in the 90's. The rest of the year is very mild and filled with just as many get-a-tan days as occasions that call for a sweater or light jacket. Phoenix gets very little rain and most of it comes during July and August.

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Things to Do
Hike or Bike - Phoenix is criss-crossed with canals that have adjacent paths for walking, running or biking while urban mountains offer dozens of trails for hikers and climbers of all skill levels. Recommended - A stretch of the Arizona Canal near 40th Street and Camelback is quiet and scenic; Piestewa Peak at 2701 Squaw Peak Drive is a climb suitable for everyone.

Golf and Spa - There are over 200 golf courses in the area and dozens of places to get pampered. Recommended - Dramatic elevation changes make the Desert Course the most-requested golf course of three at the Phoenician Resort, 6000 E. Camelback, Scottsdale. The Joya Spa at InterContinental's Montelucia Resort at 4949 E. Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley has an expansive menu to match its very modern facility.

Take in a Ballgame - Pro sports are always on tap in Phoenix no matter the season; basketball's Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team have facilities in downtown Phoenix while the Arizona Cardinals football team plays in Glendale. About half the teams of Major League Baseball hold their spring training camps (February and March) at facilities scattered throughout the area including the Chicago Cubs who train at Hohokam Stadium at 1235 N. Center Street in Mesa.

Shop - Yes there's a Tiffany's in Scottsdale along with hundreds of other places selling high quality and high fashion items but the entire Phoenix area is a shopper's paradise. Recommended - Scottsdale Fashion Square at Camelback and Scottsdale Roads in Scottsdale is home to over 250 stores including hip outlets FitChix, Buckle, Tous and Ilori.

Dine - You could literally eat somewhere different every day and not run out of places to try for decades. Recommended - The most-touted and hardest to get pizza in town is served at Pizzeria Bianco at 623 E. Adams Street, Phoenix; get there an hour or so before their 5:00 PM opening to snag a table. For a good reasonably-priced Mexican meal try Macayo's Mexican Kitchen at 4001 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix; President Obama and his family have eaten there.

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Local Attractions
Rawhide
Going to this re-creation of an 1880's western town has been an Arizona tradition for thirty-seven years. Located in the metropolitan Phoenix city of Chandler, Rawhide features gunfights and stunt shows, stagecoach rides, gold panning, burro rides, a desert train ride, live country music and plenty of food served up chuck wagon-style outdoors or inside at the Rawhide Steakhouse & Golden Belle Saloon.

Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
Located in suburban Litchfield Park, the zoo and aquarium has seventy-five indoor displays and outdoor activities like a giraffe-feeding station. The big draw here for years have been the absolutely adorable baby white tigers. There's also an Australian boat ride, a safari train and a log-flume ride, all integrated with the animal exhibits.

The Heard Museum
Located just minutes from downtown Phoenix, The Heard Museum is world-renowned for its collection of Native American ancestral artifacts as well as its display of contemporary American Indian art that encompasses everything from paintings to sculpture to jewelry. Interactive learning stations give visitors a chance to make their own Apache burden baskets or Yaqui paper flowers and an outdoor amphitheater accommodates music and dance programs including the jaw-dropping World Championship Hoop Dancing Contest that's held every February. The museum also has a satellite campus in north Scottsdale.

Desert Botanical Garden
The red buttes of Phoenix's Papago Park are the backdrop for this fifty-acre wonderland of desert flora including over 100 rare and endangered species from the world over. You'll see everything from tiny delicate succulents to a giant crested saguaro as you roam the garden's many paths, some of which are uphill far enough to offer panoramic views of the sprawling city. Special exhibits and events include the annual Monarch butterfly exhibit (Sept.-Nov.), the Biergarten beer-tasting night (September) and one of the locally most-beloved of holiday events, Las Noches de las Luminarias (select evenings in December.) Commonly referred to by Phoenicians as "Luminaria Night," Las Noches de las Luminarias brings the holiday season to light as thousand of luminarias (candles burning inside small open-topped paper bags) line the garden paths for an evening filled with live entertainment including a carol performance by bell-ringers.

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Must See Sights
Camelback Mountain
This Phoenix landmark, shaped like a resting camel, is large enough to be seen from almost anywhere in the Phoenix metropolitan area so you can literally "follow your nose" to it. If you want to drive all the way around it to take pictures and have a look at the resorts and mansions that hug its base start at 44th Street and Camelback. As you drive north on 44th the mountain will be on your right and the rock formation known as "The Praying Monk" will come into view; park on Cholla Street to get a good photo angle. Then it's very easy to find a route all the way around the mountain by just exploring and you can drive up into the tony residential area too if you wish; just make sure to stay off the roads marked "private drive." Camelback Mountain is popular with hikers and climbers but the trails here can be difficult and are not suitable for beginners. Parking for the trailhead is at 64th Street and Cholla.

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Insider Tips

Drink Water - Yes, it's a dry heat. Take plenty of drinking water with you everywhere. Sun block, lotion and lip balm are a good idea too.

Ride the Train - Phoenix only recently got a light rail line and its route is limited at this time but it's an easy way to get from downtown Phoenix to the downtowns of neighboring Tempe and Mesa.

Read the Paper - The free weekly (every Thursday) Phoenix New Times has the most comprehensive listings of things to do including nightclub listings, movie locations and times and concert and festival details. Find it in virtually every convenience store and thousands of other locations.

Ask Questions - And get the answers from the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau located at 400 E. Van Buren Street, Ste. 600. (602) 254-6500 www.visitphoenix.com

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Getting Around
Phoenix is a car city! There's good bus service and a nascent light rail system but it's advisable to just book a rental car for the duration of your stay.

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