NewMexico
5
Day Itinerary •
USA
Five days in New Mexico lets you explore the full extraordinary breadth of the Land of Enchantment, from the adobe art capital of Santa Fe to the magnificent Taos Pueblo, the extraordinary O'Keeffe country of Ghost Ranch, the white gypsum dunes of White Sands and the remarkable Carlsbad Caverns bat flight. This route covers the complete New Mexico experience. The extraordinary Santa Fe Plaza and Canyon Road galleries, the magnificent Taos Pueblo and Rio Grande Gorge, the extraordinary Bisti Badlands hoodoos, White Sands at sunrise and sunset, the remarkable Carlsbad Caverns and the extraordinary Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta country.
Best Time To Visit
April to June or September to November
Getting There
Fly into Albuquerque (ABQ)
Getting Around
Rental car essential. New Mexico is vast.
Budget Per Day
Approx $110 to $180 per person per day
Difficulity
Easy to moderate, some high desert and cave hiking
DAY 1
SANTA FE
MORNING
SANTA FE PLAZA, CANYON ROAD AND THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS
Santa Fe is the most extraordinary small city in the American Southwest, its extraordinary 400-year-old adobe Plaza, the Palace of the Governors dating from 1610 and the finest mile of art galleries in America along Canyon Road giving a cultural experience unlike any other in the West. The Native American artisans selling jewelry under the Palace portal give the most extraordinary direct craft market experience in New Mexico. Palace entry approx $12. Canyon Road free. Drive: 1 hr drive
MIDDAY
MEOW WOLF HOUSE OF ETERNAL RETURN
Meow Wolf House of Eternal Return is the most extraordinary immersive art installation in America, its extraordinary narrative art experience inside a Victorian house where every surface conceals a portal to another dimension in a collective art project that transformed the contemporary art landscape of the Southwest. The 70-plus artist rooms each tell a fragment of the mystery story through extraordinary artistic environments. Entry approx $35. Drive: 15 min drive
AFTERNOON
BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT AND ANCESTRAL PUEBLO CLIFF DWELLINGS
Bandelier National Monument contains the most extraordinary ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings near Santa Fe, its extraordinary Frijoles Canyon giving access to the Alcove House, a kiva carved 140 feet up a volcanic tuff cliff and reached by four wooden ladders, and the Main Loop Trail past extraordinary cave rooms and kiva ruins inhabited from 1150 to 1550 AD. Entry $25 per vehicle. Drive: 45 min drive
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Ten Thousand Waves Japanese mountain spa near Santa Fe is the finest hidden retreat in New Mexico, its extraordinary Japanese hot spring baths on a forested hillside above the Rio Grande giving the most extraordinary spa experience in the American Southwest. Entry from approx $35. The most extraordinary hidden gem near Santa Fe.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Pasqual's, Santa Fe The most legendary breakfast in Santa Fe. Extraordinary New Mexico green chile and local eggs. | Lunch: The Shed, Santa Fe The most legendary New Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe since 1953. Extraordinary red chile. | Dinner: Joseph's, Santa Fe The finest restaurant in Santa Fe. Extraordinary local New Mexico produce and outstanding wine.
DAY 2
TAOS AND RIO GRANDE
MORNING
TAOS PUEBLO, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Taos Pueblo is the most extraordinary Native American heritage site in North America, its extraordinary multi-storey adobe complex continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years and the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. The extraordinary north and south house buildings, the San Geronimo Chapel ruins and the Taos Creek running through the plaza give the finest Pueblo experience in the Southwest. Entry approx $25 including photography. Drive: 1.5 hr drive
MIDDAY
RIO GRANDE GORGE AND THE ENCHANTED MESA
The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos is the most extraordinary free viewpoint in New Mexico, its extraordinary 650-foot view straight down to the Rio Grande in the most dramatic gorge landscape in the state. The Enchanted Mesa beyond Taos Pueblo gives the finest view of the entire Taos Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rising behind the town. The extraordinary Taos Society of Artists legacy at the Harwood Museum gives the finest art museum in Taos. Bridge free. Drive: 20 min drive
AFTERNOON
EARTHSHIP BIOTECTURE COMMUNITY NEAR TAOS
The Earthship community west of Taos is the most extraordinary sustainable architecture community in America, its extraordinary off-grid homes built from recycled tires, aluminum cans and glass bottles set into the earth of the high desert mesa giving the most extraordinary example of radical sustainable building in the United States. The visitor center tour gives the finest introduction to Earthship design philosophy. Tour approx $8.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Santuario de Chimayo near Santa Fe is the finest hidden pilgrimage church in America, its extraordinary 1816 adobe chapel known as the Lourdes of America for the miraculous healing dirt in its anteroom giving the most extraordinary religious folk heritage experience in the Southwest. Free. 30 minutes from Santa Fe.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Michael's Kitchen, Taos The most legendary breakfast in Taos. Extraordinary New Mexican green chile and strong coffee. | Lunch: Taos Diner The finest New Mexican lunch in Taos. Extraordinary green chile stew and local NM ingredients. | Dinner: El Pinto, Albuquerque The finest New Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque. Extraordinary green and red chile cuisine.
DAY 3
O'KEEFFE COUNTRY AND CHACO
MORNING
GHOST RANCH AND GEORGIA O'KEEFFE COUNTRY
Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu is the most extraordinary landscape in New Mexico, its extraordinary painted cliffs of red, ochre and purple Triassic mudstone above the Rio Chama valley being the landscape that inspired Georgia O'Keeffe's most celebrated paintings. The Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio in Abiquiu gives the finest artist's home experience in America. The extraordinary Plaza Blanca white gypsum cliffs nearby are unmissable. Ranch entry approx $5, O'Keeffe home tour approx $40. Drive: 1.5 hr drive
MIDDAY
BISTI-DE-NA-ZIN WILDERNESS HOODOOS
The Bisti Badlands is the most extraordinary hoodoo landscape in New Mexico, its extraordinary field of alien sandstone formations, hoodoos, petrified wood and cracked-egg formations rising from the Cretaceous fossil beds of the San Juan Basin in a landscape entirely unlike any other in the Southwest. The extraordinary hoodoo formations glow orange and purple at sunrise and sunset. Entry entirely free. Bring GPS as trails are unmarked. Drive: 2 hr drive
AFTERNOON
CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is the most extraordinary ancient ruin complex in North America, its extraordinary Great Houses including Pueblo Bonito, the largest prehistoric building in North America at 800 rooms, giving the finest Ancestral Puebloan heritage experience in the United States. The extraordinary Casa Rinconada great kiva and the Chacoan road system visible from the air are unmissable. Entry $25 per vehicle. High clearance vehicle required.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Aztec Ruins National Monument near Farmington is the finest hidden ancient ruin in New Mexico, its extraordinary reconstructed great kiva, the only fully restored great kiva in the world, giving the most extraordinary Ancestral Puebloan ceremonial experience in the Southwest. Entry approx $10.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Ghost Ranch dining hall Extraordinary high desert breakfast at O'Keeffe's ranch. Local NM ingredients. | Lunch: Abiquiu Inn Outstanding O'Keeffe country lunch. Extraordinary local New Mexico produce on the Rio Chama. | Dinner: Kokopelli's Cave B and B, Farmington The most extraordinary dinner in New Mexico. Local NM produce 70 feet underground.
DAY 4
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK
MORNING
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK SUNRISE DUNE WALK
White Sands at sunrise is the most extraordinary natural spectacle in New Mexico, the rising sun transforming the pure white gypsum crystals through extraordinary shades of rose, orange and gold in the largest gypsum dune field on earth. The Alkali Flat Trail at 4.6 miles round trip gives the finest immersion in the white dune landscape. The interdune boardwalk gives the finest geological introduction. Entry $25 per vehicle. Drive: 3 hr drive
MIDDAY
WHITE SANDS DUNE LIFE NATURE TRAIL AND BACKCOUNTRY
The Dune Life Nature Trail at 1 mile gives the finest introduction to the extraordinary flora and fauna of White Sands, its extraordinary plants that have evolved white coloring to match the gypsum dunes and the remarkable bleached lizards and mice found nowhere else on earth. The Lake Lucero dry lakebed tour, the source of the gypsum crystals that form the dunes, gives the most extraordinary geological tour in the park. Lake Lucero tours approx $10 additional. Drive: 20 min drive
AFTERNOON
WHITE SANDS SUNSET DRIVE
The White Sands sunset drive gives the most extraordinary natural light show in New Mexico, the setting sun illuminating the pure white gypsum dunes in successive waves of rose, orange, crimson and purple as the Sacramento Mountains turn deep blue on the horizon. The park stays open one hour after sunset for the most extraordinary twilight experience in the Southwest. The extraordinary star gazing above White Sands after dark is the finest in New Mexico. Entry included.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Three Rivers Petroglyph Site north of Alamogordo is the finest hidden rock art site in southern New Mexico, its extraordinary 21,000 Jornada Mogollon petroglyphs on a basalt ridge giving the most extraordinary concentration of ancient rock art in the Chihuahuan Desert. Entry $3. The most extraordinary hidden gem near White Sands.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: White Sands Hotel cafe Extraordinary desert breakfast. Local NM produce before the sunrise dune walk. | Lunch: White Sands visitor center cafe Outstanding park cafe lunch with extraordinary dune field views. | Dinner: Pepper's Grill, Alamogordo The finest restaurant near White Sands. Extraordinary local New Mexico green chile cuisine.
DAY 5
CARLSBAD CAVERNS
MORNING
CARLSBAD CAVERNS BIG ROOM AND NATURAL ENTRANCE
Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains the most extraordinary cave system in the American Southwest, its extraordinary Big Room at 8.2 acres the largest natural cave chamber in North America, decorated with the finest stalactites, stalagmites, cave pearls and draperies in the United States. The natural entrance trail spiraling 750 feet down through the cavern entrance gives the most extraordinary cave descent in America. Entry approx $15. Drive: 1.5 hr drive
MIDDAY
GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK AND EL CAPITAN
Guadalupe Mountains National Park gives the most extraordinary desert mountain landscape in Texas and New Mexico, its extraordinary El Capitan at 8,085 feet rising as a sheer limestone reef above the Chihuahuan Desert and the remarkable McKittrick Canyon giving the finest fall color display in the entire Southwest in October and November. The Permian Reef Trail gives the finest geological hike in the region. Entry $15 per vehicle. Drive: 45 min drive
AFTERNOON
CARLSBAD CAVERNS BAT FLIGHT AT DUSK
The Carlsbad Caverns evening bat flight is the most extraordinary free wildlife spectacle in New Mexico, its extraordinary colony of over 400,000 Brazilian free-tailed bats emerging from the cave entrance in a spiraling column each evening from May through October. The ranger-led bat talk in the cave amphitheater gives the finest introduction to the phenomenon. The bats consume up to three tons of insects each night in the most extraordinary natural pest control in America. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Sitting Bull Falls in the Lincoln National Forest near Carlsbad is the finest hidden waterfall in southern New Mexico, its extraordinary 150-foot cascade through a limestone canyon giving the most extraordinary desert oasis landscape in the Chihuahuan Desert. Entry $5. Almost entirely unknown to visitors at Carlsbad Caverns.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Trinity Hotel, Carlsbad The finest breakfast in Carlsbad. Extraordinary local New Mexico produce in a historic bank. | Lunch: Blue House Bakery, Carlsbad Outstanding local Carlsbad lunch. Extraordinary New Mexico ingredients and strong coffee. | Dinner: Trinity Hotel restaurant The finest restaurant in Carlsbad. Extraordinary local New Mexico produce and outstanding wine.
Where To Stay
Santa Fe and Taos, Nights 1 to 2 La Fonda on the Plaza or El Monte Sagrado Taos. Approx $140 to $300. Farmington or Aztec, Night 3 Hampton Inn Farmington or Step Back Inn. Approx $80 to $140 per night. Alamogordo and Carlsbad, Nights 4 to 5 White Sands Hotel or Trinity Hotel Carlsbad. Approx $90 to $160.
Top Tips
1. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October is the most extraordinary free spectacle in New Mexico.
2. White Sands sunset: book the last entry slot. The park stays open 1 hour after sunset for the finest light.
3. Taos Pueblo entry requires respect. No photography inside the buildings or of residents without permission.
4. Bisti Badlands: bring a compass or GPS. The hoodoo landscape is disorienting and trails are unmarked.
5. Green chile cheeseburger at the Owl Bar in San Antonio NM is the finest burger in the Southwest. Extraordinary.
6. Chaco Culture National Historical Park requires a high-clearance vehicle. The finest ancient ruins in America.
Total Budget
$110 to $180/day