Santa Fe Travel Guide For Two
This is coming up a little late, but we couldn’t resist posting a FULL Santa Fe travel guide for anyone who is anticipating a trip. Brandon and I both agree that Santa Fe is one of those cities that could be a great weekend destination, or lengthened to five or six days. We’ve rounded up the best restaurants, Instagram spots, and fun activities for you to do during your stay. Enjoy!
Where To Stay
We stayed at two spots, Hotel Santa Fe and Hotel St. Francis. Overall, Brandon and I agreed that we liked Hotel Santa Fe better. You can read all about our review here but the free transportation and adobe aesthetic sold us and made for a very memorable experience.
Where To Eat
Ahh the food is incredible! You’ll have a tough time finding a bad restaurant because everything we ate was wonderful! New Mexican food is definitely different from the Tex-Mex that we were used to. Their sauces are quite spicy and I was surprised to learn that their “verde” sauce (green) is sometimes spicier than the red sauce. Take caution with this! Additionally, we felt the need to space out our Mexican food. I don’t know about you, but we can get really bloated if we eat Mexican food every single day. That being said, we found a few other spots with different cuisine that were great to shake things up.
Tia Sophia
SUCH a great, traditional spot. The blue corn pancakes were to die for and the juevos rancheros was also excellent. Go for breakfast!
La Plazuela at La Fonda on the Plaza
A fancier Mexican spot with a pretty skylight and twinkling lights inside. Great spot for dinner. In addition to the traditional food like enchiladas, they also have healthier options like salmon and chicken.
Andiamo!
A great neighborhood Italian place with homemade everything. Their sauces are to die for!
Chez Mamou
A French restaurant with very traditional French dishes. Such a quaint and quiet spot. We went for dinner and absolutely loved it. You could easily dart in just for pastries though!
Cafe Pasqual
SO. DANG. GOOD. The majority of the menu is organic and you can genuinely taste it with the delicious flavors. We went for breakfast but they serve lunch as well. We had the best avocado toast on gluten free seed bread!
Rooftop Pizza
We stopped here for lunch one afternoon and the pizza was so good! Brandon and I joked because I think that we get pizza on every trip at some point…but it was totally worth it!
Where To Grab A Drink
Vanessie
Ya’ll. We cannot rave about this place enough. Be sure to check before you go, but most nights (Friday-Tuesday, I believe) this spot has the most amazing piano player. It’s essentially a piano bar and you can request any song. Not kidding, the man can do anything and he plays by memory or by ear. We saw a little sheet music for a few songs but overall, it’s by memory because he’s been playing there for the past thirty-something years! The staff was so friendly and Brandon and I loved it so much that we went back a second night for cocktails.
Secreto
We talked about this bar in our Hotel St. Francis post, but it is worth mentioning again! Hand crafted cocktails made with real fruits are a given here and it’s got such a great vibe for pre-dinner drinks. We loved their margaritas!
Where To Shop
We talked about shopping a lot with Santa Fe! There’s so much to see with art and we’d highly recommend setting aside a few hours to explore Canyon Road. Additionally, the main plaza or square has so much shopping. A lot of it is stereotypical New Mexico items, but we also found a few really cool boutiques. Our favorite shop to visit was Shiprock Santa Fe (as seen in this post).
Where To Instagram
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
- Shiprock Santa Fe
- Canyon Road art galleries
- The turquoise sold downtown
- The chile peppers in the square
- Any one of the adobe buildings in the area
- Tent rocks
- The Georgia O’Keefe museum (we did not get to this but wanted to!)
- Any spot with a view of the mountains
The Surrounding Area
Santa Fe is relatively small but there’s so much to explore in the surrounding area with nature! Take a hike and explore Tent Rocks, Hyde Park, or the hot springs nearby. We drove up to the mountains one day and there was still snow on the ground. The scenery is so unique and was unlike anything we’d see back in Texas.
FAQ
Do you need a car?
Although we did road trip from Texas, you don’t absolutely need a car in Santa Fe. The downtown is extremely walkable and you could easily Uber if you needed to go a bit further.
Is it overpriced?
The shopping is. I didn’t buy any turquoise or anything because the stereotypical “souvenirs” were overpriced, in my opinion. However, the food was relatively budget friendly, except for a few nicer places that we went to.
What’s the weather like?
We went during mid-March and it was still the winter season. Mornings and evenings were very chilly (temperatures in the 40s and 50s) but the afternoons got a little warmer (50s and 60s). We traveled with coats and were grateful, ALTHOUGH we did get one afternoon that reached 75 degrees. During most times of the year there’s lots of sunshine and because of the altitude, it usually feels warmer than it actually is!
Is it romantic? Or kid-friendly?
Santa Fe is filled with romance! Twinkling lights, fantastic food, intimate settings, and exploring a new culture are just a few of the things that we loved. I wouldn’t say it’s the best city to bring your kids to, simply because there aren’t a whole lot of “kid friendly” activities. Everything pretty much revolves around food, art, shopping, and sight seeing. We were definitely okay with this, but a young family may not find that ideal.
We hoped you enjoyed this little Santa Fe travel guide for two! Be sure to check out the rest of our Santa Fe posts: