Visit Tucson, Arizona: Your Exciting 6-Day Itinerary

Thinking of visiting Arizona in December for a magical get-away? Well, you may have to redefine “magical”. For me, I enjoy the winter wonderland landscape for December. I enjoy being cozy with layers for Winter. Something I did not experience when visiting Southern Arizona.

Day 1: Flight to Arizona

We scheduled our Lyft from home to the airport and got on our direct flight around 9 am. This was my first time taking a direct flight from home for a trip so I was excited! All other flights I’ve taken all required a stopover somewhere.

We landed in Tucson International airport and picked up our rental car from Hertz there at the airport. This was also the first time I had rented a car for a trip. After picking up our car, we set our GPS for a restaurant in Tucson. It was time for a much needed lunch break.

We drove about 15 minutes and had to pay for street parking before entering El Charro Cafe Downtown. I got some fish tacos and my partner ordered a burger for our outing. The atmosphere was calm and relaxing. The staff were friendly and quick with our food. Since we were visiting around 2 pm on a Thursday, there were only a couple other customers there.

Now that we were full from our lunch, we drove 25 minutes to check into our hotel at Holiday Inn in Tucson. The hotel was next to one other hotel and one other motel in the area. We were just a couple of minutes off the exit from a highway which made it easy to get around Tucson.

Day 2: Molino Canyon Vista

Our first full day in Tucson started with breakfast at the hotel then a coffee trip to Presta Coffee Roasters. After $15 on a latte and matcha, we took a 30 minute drive to Molina Canyon Vista. This trail head is located in Coronado National Forest.

Coronado National Forest

Some of the trail heads in the forest requires a National Forest pass. The pass can be purchased on site if needed. Thankfully, the Molina Canyon Vista trail head didn’t require one. This location isn’t so much a “trail head” as it is a place to park, get out, and stretch your legs. It offers a chance to either go left and traverse some rocks, or go right and overlook the area.

If you ever visit, I highly recommend to go before about 11 am in the Winter. The area is still cool with the landscape just waking up. The sun ridge has the sun to its back so the canyon is shaded, for the time being. As soon as there is enough sunlight for the shade to disappear, the warmth comes fast! Not only that, but since this is a desert landscape, the air is dry. Multiple factors to consider when visiting the area.

We only encountered a couple of other people at this location, which was nice to be able to explore. What you can’t see, or hear, from the photos above is there is a small creek running through the area. It was quite amazing to see this and the multiple trees around the creek with golden yellow leaves. Only a few feet outward from the creek does the vibrancy from the landscape gets reduced to cacti and scrubs.

An adventure in a National Forest, a relaxing mid-day at the hotel, all that was left was to get some food! We grabbed some late lunch/early dinner at Bianchi’s, only about a 5 minute drive from our hotel. Bianchi’s was pretty busy at the time of our visit but we were seated and served quickly. The staff were friendly and it was a calm atmosphere to enjoy a meal! We ended up ordering too much food and brought our leftovers back to the hotel (which thankfully fit in our hotel room’s mini fridge).

Day 3: Free Raptor Show, Lunch, and Shopping

First stop? You guessed it. Breakfast! After finishing up some delicious complimentary breakfast from the hotel, time for our second stop. You guessed it again! Coffee at Brewed Awakening. Funnily enough, the barista at this coffee stand has family in Central Oregon. Only about 30 minutes away from where we recently moved from!

Arizona – Sonora Desert Museum

Our main activity on the itinerary was to visit the Arizona – Sonora Desert Museum for the Free Raptor Show. This show is included in the cost of admissions to the Museum and only takes place on certain times and dates so be sure to plan accordingly! General admission is $29.95 (plus tax) per person.

The museum was about a 25 minute drive from our hotel. We arrived at about 10 am, 30 minutes prior to the show starting. We took our time, but we focused on making our way to the location of the show. If you decide to visit, make sure to bring your sunscreen and a hat! The museum is almost all outdoors and in Arizona, you could risk dehydration or sun sickness.

It was amazing to watch these incredibly birds fly around the landscape. They often got so close to flying overhead, you could feel the woosh of their wings. The instructors warned the viewers to keep hands below their heads for this very reason.

The whole show lasted about 45 minutes. One last thing about these birds before moving on. These raptors did not care at all about cactus spines. They would land right on top and take flight from these cacti.

Now that the show was over, it was time to explore more of this gorgeous museum. We sopped by and visited some mountain goats, frogs, and a river otter. Our last stop before leaving, was checking out the gift shop.

Lunch and Shopping

We drove from the museum to Tuk Tuk Thai, about a 50 minute drive. We were traveling to Oro Valley to do some shopping and Tuk Tuk Thai was on the way. The food was amazing and had too much for one sitting so more for me for leftovers!

Time to drive 30 minutes to head back to the hotel! A nap was next on the “to do list” and having some of our many leftovers for dinner.

Day 4: Donkey Sanctuary

Another day starting off with breakfast complimentary of our hotel. Now, time to visit some donkeys! Be warned, lots of photos of friendly and treat driven donkeys are coming. After grabbing some coffee, it was time to hit the road and drive an hour to Benson where Forever Home Donkey Rescue and Sanctuary is located.

Now, time for some pictures! Sorry (not sorry) in advance. We spent about an hour and a half visiting all the residents of the sanctuary. Did you know there are 5 different types of donkeys? I didn’t!

Another really cool thing about about this sanctuary is that the donkeys get let out of their pens after breakfast. There’s over 40 acres of land they get to hang out and explore around most of the day. They come back around 4 or 5 pm for dinner. After dinner, they get to roam around the landscape again. Not only that, they have an on-site medical center that the vet can treat the donkeys, when needed.

Now that we had met everyone and gave the donkeys some snacks (animal crackers), it was time for us to get some food! Benson doesn’t offer a lot of variety of restaurants to choose from. Before driving back to Tucson, we stopped by Horseshoe Cafe. Then, it was time to drive about an hour back to the hotel!

Back at the hotel, it was time for a nap. The sun exposure and the heat were getting to me. After waking up, I was needing some food. We drove about 10 minutes to Kung Fu Kitchen for dinner, which was also amazing. I don’t think I had one meal during this trip that I wouldn’t recommend.

Day 5: Biosphere 2

Would you leave everyone you know to seclude yourself for research? No instant coffee or microwavable meals?

Well, for two years and 20 minutes there was a team of people that lived and worked in a man-made facility. All to research and learn more about Earth’s ecosystem. This facility is the Biosphere 2. This was actually my second time being able to visit. The first time was 10 years ago during a school trip. This time around, I had the chance to take a LOT more photos.

The facility is open to the public to purchase self-guided tours. Tickets can be purchased online for $27/adult. We arrived right when they opened, at 10 am. The facility is located in Oracle, Arizona. Which was about a 50 minute drive from our hotel in Tucson.

You’ll check-in for your self-guided tour at the gift shop. They offer a tour add on, scheduled a couple times a day where you can climb 88 stairs to visit the library the team used during their research. About halfway through the tour, there is a room that has a video on repeat explaining to visitors their research. Since this is continually running, you can stop in and watch for as long as you wish.

Before checking in, make sure you’ve downloaded the app and the content has been downloaded prior to your visit. If you try and have the content downloading while you are checking in, it will take several minutes due to the internet connection.

After checking in, you’ll make your way outside and around to the first part of property. The app will describe the different buildings your looking at and the importance of each one. Once you’ve taken in your surroundings, you’ll make your way inside for one of the first buildings you’ll visit.

Thankfully, there are arrows along the way to make sure you aren’t getting lost in this massive facility. There are also check points throughout the tour where you’ll go in the app and listen to audio clips. This was an incredible way to have a self-paced tour while listening to the information.

Kitchen and Living Quarters

In this first main space, you get to walk through the dining room and view the kitchen the team used during their research. Craving handmade pizza tonight? Well, hopefully you planned ahead and accounted for all the ingredients you would need about 6 months ago. Otherwise, you may have to pivot to an alternative for dinner.

This building is also where there is a presentation room where the video I mentioned earlier is playing. This is a great spot to take a seat and learn more about the facility before moving on.

You’ll take a step into the garden that grew the food the team ate for two years before proceeding to your next stop. Take your time and enjoy the shade the buildings bring. The next few stops will be inside and it gets hot and humid at points.

Now that you’ve listened to a couple of informational clips, it’s time to head inside! Enjoy these pictures while you walk through.

Coastal Fog Desert, Mangroves, and Savanna

This is the largest section that you walk through. It’s quite expansive and impressive to witness. It didn’t hurt that the day we visited on was a bright and sunny day. It was often hard to remember that this is an entirely enclosed facility.

Rainforest

Once you feel you have taken in all the beauty of the space, it’s time to step into the indoor rainforest.

Here are some more photos to enjoy!

I definitely spent more time in this space. It was a nice reprieve from the mangrove wetlands I was just in. Plus, the soothing sounds of the waterfall in the area definitely helped.

This is the last official stop of the tour before exiting and heading back to the gift shop. The gift shop was probably the most underwhelming part of the entire experience. Most of the souvenirs are branded by the University of Arizona. Probably for the best though, definitely didn’t need to be buying more souvenirs I would have to pack for my flight home.

We ended up spending about an hour and a half with the tour. If I hadn’t overheated in parts, I could have spent more time here. Learn from me and come more prepared!

Time to drive back to the hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing and trying to eat our leftovers before our flight tomorrow. That, and doing some packing.

Day 6: Titan Missile Museum

Our last day in Tucson! We weren’t flying out until around 2 pm. So, after having breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we headed to the Titan Missile Museum.

Tip: purchase your tickets online in advance. These are guided tours that only operate at certain times throughout the day. They also have a max capacity for each time slot.

Just before 11 am, our tour guide showed us into a presentation room. This is where we watched a video on the history of the complex.

This part of the tour, aka: the control center, included a mock scenario where you could volunteer to participate. There is also limited seating space so keep this in mind if you plan to visit.

After the presentation, our tour guide led us down a hallway where we could view the missile. If you’re wondering if this is still an operational missile, the answer is no. Part of the agreement the US government had was that the missile launch sites could be preserved if the missile heads were removed. That and if the opening where the missiles would launch from, were sealed half open instead of fully open.

This was the final stop of the tour before returning above ground.

Time to drive to the airport, return the rental car, and go through TSA to fly home!

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I had a blast! We definitely packed our days with activities that we were excited to experience. The hotel we booked was absolutely amazing. The curtains in our room were truly blackout curtains, allowing for decent sleep each night. The breakfast that was offered was delicious. You could smell the pancake mix and bacon cooking as soon as you stepped on the elevator. There was fruit daily and yogurt offered. They had a coffee machine outside the breakfast area that the guests could use at any time of day.

I’ve visited Arizona before in December and honestly, it’s probably the only time of year I would consider visiting! I am not particularly fond of the heat and Arizona in the Summer sounds awful to me. Even visiting in mid-December, the weather was sunny and in the 80s the whole week. T-Shirt and shorts weather for me. Which was very odd when I enjoy a colder, cozier setting for the holiday season.

Cost Breakdown

• Flight: $693.92 for 2 adults
• Hotel: $484 for 5 nights
  • This rate was discounted by booking as a Travel Agent
    • Reach out if you’d like me to send you a quote for free!
• Car Rental: $478.98
  • This rate was discounted by booking as a Travel Agent
    • Reach out if you’d like me to send you a quote for free!