Day Trip to Phoenix

If you want to get away from Tucson for a day, exploring the Phoenix area always makes for a fun trip! It’s about a 2 hour drive and there are so many awesome restaurants and adventures waiting for you. I have been to Phoenix and Scottsdale several times. I have put together a list of some of my favorite day trip adventures.

1. The Farm at South Mountain: My favorite place in Phoenix! I have been there for my birthday a couple times. Walking around the farm is a nice way to spend the morning. If you are planning on stopping by, check their calendar of events. I know they have yoga occasionally and a farmer’s market. There are two restaurants on site and a store. I have been to the café for dessert and iced tea. Make sure you go a day that the store is open. I know it’s closed at least one day during the week. The store is super cute. They have all sorts of knick-knacks.

2. The Vig: There are a couple locations, but I have only been to the Filmore one. The nachos and the burgers are delicious. At the Filmore location there are always decks of trivial pursuit on each table. The location at McDowell Mountain looks like fun. I believe they have outdoor games, which is always fun.

3. Hand Cut: My go-to restaurant in Scottsdale. It is a fox concepts restaurant. Other fox concepts include Sauce, Blanco and Zinburger. All of their restaurants are delicious. At Hand Cut I usually order the chopped salad and sweet potato fries. Their iced tea is delicious as well. That’s a big deal for me. I judge restaurants pretty heavily on how good their iced tea is.

4. Olive and Ivy: Another Scottsdale staple. You can either dine in the sit-down restaurant or order at the counter. They refer to the counter of the market. If you order from the market there are a couple tables to sit at, so it’s not necessarily just to-go. I am not sure if the menus are different. I have only ordered from the counter before. The ice cream is delicious! I ordered the thin mints ice cream and it was amazing.

5. Downtown Scottsdale: Exploring downtown Scottsdale is always a fun way to spend time. There are several restaurants and boutiques. It’s a great place to walk around.

6. Half Price Books: Pretty similar to Bookmans. I love walking around this bookstore. I’ve bought a couple gifts here before.

7. Café Zupas: I have only been here once, but it was delicious! They have a great selection and soups and you can build your own salad.

8. Dutch Bros. Coffee: A drive-through or walk-up coffee shop. They have several locations in Phoenix. The iced chai tea latte is always delicious. I have also tried the Cocomo. It’s a Mocha with Coconut. It was really good! I am so excited because they just opened a location in Tucson and it is within walking distance from my house.

9. Sip Coffee & Beer House: I approve of the iced chai tea latte! We spent a little bit of time here playing games. The outdoor patio is really nice.

10. Exploring Downtown Tempe: There are some really cute shops, delicious dessert spots and good restaurants to try. There is also a movie theater in downtown Tempe. If you arrive with some time before your movie, you will find plenty of things to do before the movie starts. There’s a park close by with plenty of parking. There is also a parking garage by the movie theater. If you see movie you can have the theater validate your parking ticket.

11. Corner Bakery Café: We now have a location in Tucson as well. When I went here for the first time in Phoenix it was for breakfast. I had one of the scrambles and it was a hit.