Santa Fe

What To Bring On Your Vacation to Santa Fe

By Dr Katherine Aaron

 

This is the question most often asked of my friends when they come for a visit. I always tell them to leave their fancy duds behind and use the space in their suitcases for casual clothes for any kind of weather. Even for dinner on the Plaza or an evening at the Santa Fe Opera, you won’t feel out of place in casual clothes here.

Although the weather here is sunny most of the year, the weather changes quickly so dressing in layers is your best bet. Wearing a sweater over a tee shirt with a jacket or coat is perfect for cooler weather. In the summer bring along a lightweight waterproof jacket. Rain or hail one minute and sunshine the next isn’t uncommon. As they say in The City Different, ‘if you don’t like the weather we’re having, stick around for 15 minutes.” It’ll change. And you’ll need to change out of your wet clothes if you didn’t bring along that jacket.

In the summer, a medium jacket is needed for evening and early morning. There is about a 20-30 degree temperature drop at night year round. So even on the hottest days, toss a jacket in your car or wrap a sweater around your waist if you plan on staying out until evening. It gets cold quickly after the sun sets. Throughout winter, late fall, and early spring be sure to bring a warm coat, as the nights can be quite cold.

Most of Santa Fe is enjoyed the best on foot and there’s several Walking Tours and books available as well as an article here. Bring several pairs of comfortable shoes so you can change shoes during the day; you’ll find that you won’t get fatigued as quickly. Hiking boots are a must for our rugged rocky trails if you plan on enjoying our outback.

There’s good public transportation provided by our environmentally correct city buses. Taxis are hard to come by so be prepared to call and reserve them beforehand. Car rentals are available and if you plan on visiting some of the remote country around Santa Fe you may need a four-wheel drive SUV or truck, which are also available. If you’re staying on or near the Plaza and don’t plan on any out of the city excursions, you’ll do just fine with walking or taking the bus.

Always bring a bottle of water with you. Keep an extra bottle in the car. Staying well hydrated can keep you from suffering altitude sickness. The air is very dry and sweat will evaporate immediately often times leaving the unsuspecting tourist dehydrated, tired and achy. All of the restaurants require patrons to ask for water before serving it, so be sure to ask. We aren ’t stingy with our water, we just conserve it whenever possible.

There’s plenty of good camera shops around Santa Fe, so if you didn’t bring your own you’ll have plenty of places to buy a new one, film, batteries or forgotten accessories. One-hour film developing from film and digital media is available within walking distance of most hotels and the Plaza.

If you’re the button down type, don’t forget to bring your open mind, after all Santa Fe isn’t called The City Different for nothing. We pride ourselves in having more artists per capita than anywhere else in the US and creativity is abundant everywhere. This creativity isn’t limited to the confines of the numerous galleries along Canyon Road and the Plaza. You’ll experience it from the mailbox sculptures to the artwork painted on our electrical junction boxes.

You may want to bring along and empty suitcase to fill with unique treasures found here. There are so many shops with amazing finds in Santa Fe. But, above all when you visit Santa Fe, be sure bring your smiles; you’ll be using them often.