Phoenix

Introduction

Boulder scrambling, Camelback Mountain

© All Rights Reserved GregW

Phoenix, Arizona, is the heart of the Greater Phoenix area and includes Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler and Peoria. Phoenix is the state's capital and largest city, and includes fine dining, many museums and an active nightlife. Phoenix boasts a large number of golf courses, and has become a primary resort destination for those looking for dry weather and 18 holes. The Phoenix area is home to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, the Phoenix Suns NBA team and the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball team. Arizona State University is located in Tempe. In the heart of the desert region in the southwest of the state, the temperature is usually warm in the winter and downright hot in the summer with little rain.

Neighborhoods

• Downtown Phoenix is a major and modern area. The Phoenix Convention Center holds many events. Chase Field is home to baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. US Airways Center is home to the NBA Phoenix Suns. The Orpheum and Dodge Theatres as well as the Herberger Theatre Center and Symphony Hall can fulfill the art lovers needs. The State Capitol building is just to the west of Downtown.
• Glendale is sports-lovers paradise, home to the Arizona Cardinals NFL team, as well as the NHL Phoenix Coyotes. Sunday afternoons during the NFL season provide a chance to take part in the American football tradition of tail-gating, where football lovers get together to drink beer, barbeque food and watch the pre-game show on mobile TVs with satellite dishes.
• Tempe is home to the Arizona State University, with the associated bars, restaurants and clubs that come with any university town. Sun Devil Stadium is a venue for major concerts as well as the home to the ASU Sun Devil's football team.
• Downtown Scottsdale includes the Old Town, a collection of shops and restaurants with an old west theme. Next to Old Town is the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Sights and Activities

Phoenix is known as a destination to come golfing. There are a large number of golf courses, both public and private, in the Phoenix area.

Events and Festivals

• The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is held in every year in Glendale at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The game is held in early January and is one of many college football bowl games held every year to determine the national champion. In addition to the game, there is a large celebration that accompanies the game, including a parade that offers a delightful pageantry of floats, glorious helium balloons, marching bands and spirited specialty and equestrian units.
• "Cactus League" baseball is the name given to the spring training games for the Major League Baseball teams that occur in March and April. Spring training games held in the Phoenix and Tucson area include the Angels, Diamondbacks, Cubs, White Sox, Rockies, Royals, Brewers, Athletics, Giants, Padres, Mariners and Rangers. The games are usually much easier to get tickets to and are much less expensive that attending regular season games.
• The Festival of the West is held annually in March in North Scottsdale. The festival offers attendees a chance to see rodeo, cowboy poetry, country music and other wild west events and displays.
• October sees the Arizona State Fair, with hundreds of thousands of attendees coming to the fair to sample the new foods, exhibits, and entertainment offerings.

Weather

Catcus and Sun

© All Rights Reserved GregW

Phoenix gets little rain and has a high number of sunny days. There is low humidity, but even so temperatures in the summer months can be very hot. Summer temperatures can reach over 100 °F during the day (120 °F has been recorded!), with temperatures dropping not further than to 80 °F during the night. Sometimes nights drop just slightly below 100 °F! Winter temperatures only reach the high 60 °F s with night time temperatures dropping to the 40 °F s in general. Frost is uncommon.

Getting There

By Plane

The Phoenix area is served by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), which along with being one of the coolest named airports in America, also bills itself as America's friendliest airport. The airport is made up of 3 terminals, labelled terminals 2, 3 and 4. There is no terminal 1. Shuttle buses run between the terminals, and out to the Rental Car Center, which contains all the rental companies and is about a 15-minute ride from the airport. The airport is served by bus and light rail into Phoenix. To get to the light rail stop, take a free airport shuttle out to 44th street and Washington. Buses run into the airport. For any questions, look for volunteers at the airport dressed in purple jackets, or check out the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport website.

There are a number of smaller airports in the Phoenix area, but most of these not served by scheduled or charter airlines.

By Train

Phoenix is not served by passenger rail, however Amtrak does have service into Phoenix by offering a connecting bus service from their train stop in Flagstaff.

By Car

Phoenix is well connected to other parts of the USA via the interstate highway system. Major routes into Phoenix include:

• Interstate 10 which runs from Los Angeles, California to El Paso, Texas
• Interstate 17, running up to Flagstaff, Arizona
• Highway 60, running up towards the northwest of the state and onto Las Vegas via highway 93.

By Bus

Greyhound offers service from across the USA into the Phoenix Bus Station, at 2115 E. Buckeye Road, near the airport. TUFESA Bus Lines offers service from Mexico.

Getting Around

By Car

Roads in Phoenix are well maintained. Highway 10 runs through the southern part of town before heading south towards Tucson. Highway 101 rings Phoenix and Scottsdale on the north of highway 10. Highway 202 has a partial ring in the southern area of the greater Phoenix area, serving Tempe, Mesa and Chandler. Highway 17 and highway 51 provide north-south routes through Phoenix.

Right turn on red lights are allowed, unless there is a sign indicating otherwise. A number of streets in downtown are one-way, so look before turning at an intersection. Phoenix and all of Arizona does have unmanned speed cameras, so be careful about speeding.

If you are renting a car, consider not renting at the airport. The newly constructed airport car rental center has a 29% surcharge to pay for the building. Travellers can take public transit into town, and rent a car at an in-town rental area to save some money.
Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.

For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.

By Public Transport

Valley Metro Transit provides public buses and light-rail in Phoenix.

Buses can be boarded with a pass, or exact change. The farebox accepts exact change in $1 and $2 bills and all forms of US coins (except 50 cent pieces) in good condition.

The light-rail uses a proof-of-payment system. Pass cards or paper passes must be activated at station platforms before boarding a light-rail train, or when entering a bus.

Fares for adults are:

• 1 ride $1.25.
• All day pass $2.50 (passes expire at 2:59am on the following day).
• 3 day pass $7.50.
• 7 day pass $17.50.
• 31 day pass $45.

Reduced fares are available to children five years old and under, youths ages 6-18, seniors 65 and over, and persons with a disability. A system map can be found at the Valley Metro site. Routes 15, 13 and 40 serve the airport, along with a light-rail line.

By Foot

The downtown area of Phoenix is small enough to walk around, but in general the greater Phoenix area is very large and can get incredibly hot in the summer months. Not many people walk, unless they are taking advantage of one of the many hiking opportunities in Phoenix. Ironically, most people get into their cars and drive to the hiking areas to walk.
Those looking to hike should check out the listing of trails on the City of Phoenix website.

Sleep

Budget

HI has a hostel at 1026 N 9th St with beds for US$18.00 a day.

Upscale

Phoenix has a large number of very upscale resorts, specifically catering to the golf and spa crowd.

Learn

Phoenix is home to Arizona State University (ASU), one of the major schools in the USA, with an enrollment of over 67,000 students. ASU has 4 campuses across Greater Phoenix. It is one of the premier research schools in America.

In addition to ASU, Phoenix has a number of campuses for colleges and universities. The University of Phoenix is just one of the examples.

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

The US Postal Service is very good and well priced mail system. There are hundreds of big and small post offices in Phoenix. If wanting to send a letter or postcard it is best just to leave it in a blue mail box with the proper postage. There are also private postal services like FedEx, UPS and DHL.

External Links

• Official Phoenix Governmental Website