6 Best Tips to Visit Sedona Arizona on a Budget

Do you want to visit Sedona, Arizona with your family but not break the bank while doing so?  As with most cities, there are ways to cut down on expenses when traveling to another city.  Sedona is no exception.  Traveling to Sedona on a budget is possible, and worth it in order to visit one of the most beautiful cities in Arizona. Keep reading for my best tips to visit Sedona Arizona on a budget!

Best Tips to Visit Sedona Arizona on a Budget

Sedona is a beautiful city in Arizona, and it is approximately a two-hour drive from Phoenix.  It’s well known for its amazing red rocks and formations.  However, it’s generally an expensive city to visit, especially when you are traveling with children.  There are at least six reasons why you and your family can still visit Sedona Arizona on a budget and experience all that Sedona has to offer.

Stay at a Budget Hotel

When traveling to Sedona on a budget, search for reasonably priced hotels that include complimentary breakfast and free parking.  A search online reveals that hotels in Sedona average between $100 and $350.   Because we travel a lot, we are platinum members of different hotel brands, like the Holiday Inn. We like Holiday Inn because you can usually find a Holiday Inn in most cities, including Sedona.

For our trip to Sedona, we used our points and booked a night at the Holiday Inn Express. Our hotel stay included complimentary breakfast and free parking.  It is also located near many of the major sights, like Bell Rock.

If you aren’t using points, though, a night at the Holiday Inn costs a little over $100.  That’s reasonable compared to other alternatives, especially since it is located near many of the sights and includes a complimentary breakfast.

Staying at a hotel that includes a complimentary breakfast is one way to stay within a budget when traveling to Sedona.

Bring Your Own Food

We carry an insulated tote bag with us whenever we drive anywhere. I learned this trick from my parents. When I was growing up, my parents would pack up sandwiches and drinks in a cooler and off we’d go. Now that I have a family of my own, we fill our tote bag with drinks, water, snacks and other foods. This has saved us a lot of money in the long run, and helps us stay within our budget.

As an added bonus, when booking a hotel room, request both a refrigerator and a microwave. If you do go out to eat, you can always take your leftovers back to the hotel and heat it up in the microwave to eat at a later time. With a younger child, we inevitably end up with leftovers.

Drive the Red Rock Scenic Byway

The Red Rock Scenic Byway is one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever taken, and it ranks up there with a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway.  If you want photographs of some of the amazing rock formations that can be seen at Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Chapel of the Holy Cross, you can pull over and take photographs.  We were even able to get pictures of our son in front of some of the formations.  If you want to walk the trails, however, you will need to pay for a parking permit.

Drive Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon is near Sedona and has several pullout areas where you can park and take pictures. My son enjoyed looking out the car window during the drive. He especially enjoyed it when we drove over Midgley Bridge.  We were also able to see the creek at certain vantage points.

You can stop near Midgley Bridge and take pictures, but use extreme caution. It’s very steep, so my husband stayed in our car with our son, while I took pictures.

Walk Around Downtown Sedona

There are several restaurants and shops in downtown Sedona and parking is free. It can be difficult to find a place to park but once you park your car, you can walk around and people watch. We did just that and treated ourselves with ice cream from Black Cow Cafe.

Choose from several fun excursions available like the Pink Jeep Tour.  We opted for a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad instead. My son was still able to get a picture in front of the Pink Jeep, and he was excited to see a fire truck driving down the street.  Luckily, the firetruck was not responding to a call.

Drive, Instead of Fly

We love road trips because we end up saving money by avoiding airfare costs.  Airfare can be expensive, especially once your child turns 2 years old.  If you do decide to fly to Sedona, the closest major airport is Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, which is about a 2 hour drive to Sedona.