For budget travelers, there is a hostel in Albuquerque and a hostel in Santa Fe. Santa Fe International Hostel is infamous for its insistence that guests do chores, which for $25-$35 seems a bit extreme. I might be willing to help clean for a $15 room, but then I have to wonder...how clean is it? It's also received bad reviews for its nasty owners, although I've seen good reviews as well.

The Route 66 Hostel in Albuquerque receives much better reviews and is quite a bit cheaper, but I didn't have a great experience. The only way to reserve rooms is to send in money orders, which I did because I wasn't sure if Labor Day weekend would be busy. Turned out I needn't have worried, but that wasn't the issue. The problem was I paid in advance, $29 for a single without bath plus key deposit, warned the staff I would arriving later than their office hours (which they were OK with), and then...they weren't there. Facing the horrible prospect of sleeping in my rental car my first night in a strange city, I pounded and pounded on the door until a resident came out and snuck me into the dorm. The dorm costs $18 and was totally fine because it was just the two of us in two separate rooms, but I requested a full refund. I've been promised it but we'll see.

For cheaper hotel options, I highly recommend Priceline. Even a 1-star hotel would be better than a hostel (as much as I love hostels in other countries), and can be had for similar price. My 2-star hotel was $38, barely more than a single at Santa Fe International Hostel.

Perhaps I wasn't ordering correctly, but I wasn't impressed with the food. Maybe it's best not to have high hopes. Claims that New Mexico green chiles are "fiery" should include a proviso that Chinese, Koreans, Thais, South Asians and Mexicans probably wouldn't notice. Food is quite hearty but a bit blander than I expected considering all the praise.

Together, Albuquerque, Taos and Santa Fe make up a popular tourist destination; there are several guidebooks that focus on just this section of New Mexico. I was pleased with Moon and want to point out that the author Zora O'Neill conscientiously posts updates to the book on her blog.

Best Way to get around

Driving. There's really no other good way in this part of the country. Rental cars are reasonable at around $30/day for an economy, although gas is certainly pricey. I saw a range from $2.89 to $3.19 depending on location.

For the most part, the roads I took were paved and well-maintained. However, some wind through the mountains, and for people unused to that, driving slower both for security and to allow for gaping at the gorgeous scenery will lead to being tailed by the impatient locals.

There are dirt and gravel roads in some parts, near pueblos or some national parks. Just use common sense, and if not in a 4x4, drive slowly.

In summer, be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms. Again, just use common sense and drive slowly if needed. Locals will tell stories of flash floods, and at any time you may spot hard storms that appear just a mile away the sunny dry patch of road you're driving.

<   previous      •      next   >