Southwest Adventures

New Mexico Travel and Arizona Tours

Experience the Wild West on a small group tour – from native, cowboy to southwest culture this guided tour offers an in-depth view of Arizona and New Mexico.

Travel Dream West’s New Mexico and Arizona tours visit many famous highlights including some unknown treasures we explore on less traveled roads. Please review the detailed itinerary below that describes the daily itinerary. By clicking on one of the images you can learn more about each of the places visited. This general guide is meant to give you a better overview of the route and introduce you to some of the main highlights. We will be traveling through the states of New Mexico and Arizona and some driving distances are necessary as part of this route, however we will not drive longer than two hours at a time and then break up the drive with an interesting activity. Expect to be in our comfortable, air-conditioned tour van provided with free snacks and water for your well-being. A knowledgeable tour guide will share interesting facts about the places you visit, the history and geology while a professional driver cares about your safety. All our tours are lead by two professionals. Whenever possible, we stay more than one night at the same hotel. You will receive a detailed, finalized schedule four weeks before your tour start date. Our Arizona and New Mexico travel tours combine culture, nature and history to provide you with an in-depth view of this unique region of the American Southwest.

For an overview of this tour visit Southwest Adventures


Native American rock art in Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park

 


Top Attractions on our Southwest Vacations - Travel through Arizona and New Mexico

Day 1: Phoenix, Arizona – Desert Botanical Garden

Meet at in the lobby of our base hotel in downtown Phoenix, Arizona in the later afternoon for our “meet and greet”. We tour one of the most beautiful botanical gardens of America, the Desert Botanical Garden with its many acres of rare desert plants, some in bloom, a display of flowering cacti. Discover wild animals living within the gardens and learn about native plants and people while walking on one of the many scenic trails. In the evening we get to know each other at dinner, appetizer and drinks offered by Travel Dream West.

Please click on images for background info!

Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden

Day 2: Pioneer Arizona Living History Museum – Casa Grande Ruins National Monument – Ajo

Depart for an experience of real Western frontier life in an 1800’s town at Pioneer Arizona Living History Museum with its many historic buildings (weather permitting). Next, visit Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and learn about ancient Sonoran Desert people’s lives and the Hohokam culture. Our journey leads us through fascinating Sonoran Desert National Monument, covered by Saguaro cactus forests and one of the most biologically diverse deserts of North America. We stop in Gila Bend and then arrive in the small sleepy town of Ajo, once a blooming copper mining town. We take a look at the quiet large open pit mine. Evening and night in Ajo.

Ajo

Ajo

Casa Grande

Casa Grande

Day 3: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument – Mission San Xavier del Bac – Tucson

This morning’s highlight is the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We stop by the Visitor Center with interesting displays explaining the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Then we go for an easy hike to see first hand the rare Organ Pipe Cacti and enjoy the huge variety of other desert plants and cactus. After lunch picnic in the midst of these heavenly desert gardens, we drive on to visit Mission San Xavier del Bac, a wonderfully preserved Spanish Catholic mission offering the charisma and spirit of mission history. In the evening we’ll enjoy dinner and shopping at Tucson Mall. 2 nights in Tuscon.

Organ Pipe N.M.

Organ Pipe N.M.

San Xavier Mission, Tucson

San Xavier Mission, Tucson

Day 4: Biosphere-2 – Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – Saguaro National Park – Tucson

First thing in the morning we drive to Oracle and take a tour of Biosphere 2, a scientific research center studying climate change among other projects. Then we explore the desert fauna and flora at famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Last, we walk and wonder about the unique landscape at Saguaro National Park West, inhabited by incredibly large Saguaro Cacti, each one with its own personality. Evening in Tucson.

Biosphere-2

Biosphere-2

Saguaro-Sonora Desert

Saguaro-Sonora Desert

Day 5: Tombstone – Chiricahua National Monument – Willcox

Leaving the the city of Tucson we go back in time to rural Western life while visiting historic Tombstone, original site of the O.K. Corral fight. In the afternoon we arrive at Chiricahua National Monument with its volcanic and historic Apache legacy. Descriptive names include “Island in the Sky” and “Wonderland of the Rocks” in the middle of the desert. We will take a scenic drive and an easy hike among unique rock formations. Night in Willcox.

Tombstone

Tombstone

Chiricahua N.M.

Chiricahua N.M.

Day 6: Amerind Foundation – Silver City – City of Rocks State Park – Old Mesilla – Las Cruces, New Mexico

Today is we have a late start, relaxing at the nice hotel and swimming pool before leaving to Amerind Foundation, an informative research facility dedicated to the preservation of Native American cultures. They are located in a scenic location near the Dragoon Mountains, the famous Stronghold of Apache chief Cochise. Then we drive to Silver City, New Mexico, once the home of notorious Billy the Kid, later a silver and copper mining boomtown, today a quiet, clean community known as one of the best towns for retirement with Victorian small town charm. Our afternoon hike will be at the City of Rocks State Park famous for its mysterious huge boulders in the middle of a flat plain. We spend the evening in historic old Mesilla. 2 nights in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Amerind Foundation

Amerind Foundation

City of Rocks State Park

City of Rocks State Park

Day 7: White Sands Missile Range Museum – New Mexico Museum of Space History – White Sands National Monument – Las Cruces

This morning we explore two fascinating technology outdoor and indoor museums, the White Sands Missile Range museum and the New Mexico Museum of Space History. The afternoon we spend picnicking, hiking and time permitting at a ranger led tour in the beautiful White Sands National Monument. Second night in Las Cruces.

White Sands N.M.

White Sands N.M.

Space Hall of Fame

Space Hall of Fame

Page 2 of Southwest Vacations, Arizona and New Mexico : Days 8 through 15

If you have any questions about our Arizona and New Mexico Travel please feel free to contact us at info@traveldreamwest.com. Our Southwest Adventure tours can be reserved for a group as custom adventure travel tour as well.