THINGS TO DO IN SANTA FE
Southwest Tours from Santa Fe, NM
Our Multi-stop Day Tours of New Mexico from Santa Fe are perfect for experiencing our splendid cultural and scenic wonders without driving, lunch included. Go on a Scenic tour, take part in the culture, learn about the unexpected history of NM, while visiting: movie locations, National Monuments, Ghost Ranch, hot springs, and much, much more!
CURRENT TOURS LEAVING FROM SANTA FE
SEE WHAT WE OFFER
- Relaxed small group van tour. Max 12 guests
- Remarkable scenic and photographic opportunities
- A sampler of unique famous and less-visited locations and history
- Visit Ghost Ranch & Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort
- Included Lunch with vegetarian options
– Experience the scenery Georgia O’Keeffe choose to spend the rest of her life exploring with your visit to Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu, New Mexico.
-See various movie locations, including those used in City Slickers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, etc.
– Visit the untouched ruins of a Spanish colonial church and ghost town abandoned in 1747 due to Indian raids.
– Bask in the famous healing waters of Ojo Caliente, one of North America’s oldest health resorts.
Enjoy this guided full-day, small-group van tour with us, it is a perfect getaway!
Current Available Dates for this Tour:
October 26, 2019
- Relaxed small group van tour. Max 12 guests
- Remarkable scenic and photographic opportunities
- A sampler of unique famous and less-visited locations and history
- Visit Pecos National Historical Park & Fort Union National Monument
- Included Lunch with vegetarian options
– Explore the lovely ruins of an ancient Pueblo where the Spanish headquartered in their quest to discover the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.
– Enjoy a spot of lunch in a historic Western hotel near to where Doc Holliday drilled his last tooth, discarded dentistry for games of chance.
– See various movie locations, including key scenes in Easy Rider. Turns out you also just ate where they shot No Country for Old Men.
– Time travel to the rarely explored ruins of Manifest Destiny, a massive adobe Fort complex majestically melting back into the prairie blooms.
– Stop at an untouched church photographed by Ansel Adams.
– And if that were all, you’d still spend a lifetime in the enjoyment of sorting it all out. The Land of Enchantment will haunt you, in a good way, if you allow it.
Enjoy this guided full-day, small-group van tour (lunch included) with us, it is a perfect getaway!
Current Available Dates for this Tour:
- September 14, 2019
- September 28, 2019
- October 12, 2019
- October 20, 2019
- Roundtrip transportation from near Santa Fe Plaza
- Local guides will be with you every step
- Discover New Mexico cultures affordably
- Enjoy carefully selected highlights
- Lunch is included
First, enjoy a private tour of the Puye Cliff Dwellings, this National Historic Landmark is the ancestral home of the present-day inhabitants of the Santa Clara Pueblo who will lead you through the history. You will also see original Fred Harvey buildings, which helped birth Southwest Tourism in the time of the Santa Fe Railroad.
We will then travel to Chimayo, NM and visit the famous church, Santuario de Chimayo, known for its miraculous healing and large pilgrimages by the devoted. You will participate in tours of the church and Museum of Chimayo by local guides (based on availability).
We will visit Ortega’s weaving, where eight generations of this family have continued to carry on their own traditions of Chimayo weaving. See the iconic Chimayo vests and blankets.
Lunch is included at a local restaurant known for its New Mexican cuisine.
Enjoy this guided full-day, small-group van tour with us, it is a perfect getaway!
- October 10, 2019
- October 17, 2019
- October 24, 2019
- Roundtrip shuttle service to and from location
- Horseback ride through pretty NM landscapes
- 360-degree famous NM Sunset views
- Great guide who has done extra work in film and television
- Quintessential Western experience
Enjoy the sunset from a beautiful butte with 360-degree views overlooking the Santa Fe and Torquise Trail areas after this horseback ride and a short hike to the top of a picturesque butte.
You will be picked up and shuttled from near the Santa Fe Plaza to a private family-owned ranch. Here you and a small group of up to seven will mount your horses and be guided to a nearby butte for the sunset. Afterword we will deliver you back to the Plaza.
This activity can be booked on its own or booked in conjunction with a related tour and lunch which drops off when this tour departs.
Please note there are fewer horses available (7) than seats on the earlier tour (12) and some may choose to book the ride without participating in the tour. Because of the welfare of the horses, there may also be a cancellation due to the weather or variability in start or end times of this activity.
Helmets are available.
- October 19, 2019
- October 25, 2019
Please note, due to current movie productions our ‘movie ranch’ tours are currently on hold. Other tours we offer still visit various movie locations when noted.
We will be adding new tours and dates shortly, and generally, we run at least one full day tour each weekend.
For your planning, our prescheduled multi-stop tours occur on the weekend, mostly on Saturdays. Weekday tours or some weekend dates are set aside for custom group tours.
On our booking system, please note individual tours will only show available dates for that specific tour on the accompanying calendar. Please navigate to the tour you desire to book to see the correct dates.
If you have any issues, questions, or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us for a callback or email response from our staff.
Thanks very much for your interest in our New Mexico tours!
SCENIC & PHOTOGRAPHIC
Each tour is a handpicked Southwest Photography tour and itinerary of sublime beauty if you choose it.
HISTORIC & CULTURAL
Unexpectedly familiar History, your history, mingles with the strange and fantastic in New Mexico.
MOVIE SET & LOCATIONS
Easily more than 100 Hollywood movies have been shot at these locations — discover the reason!
SCHEDULED OR CUSTOM TOURS
SCHEDULED MULTI-STOP TOURS
CURATED ITINERARIES
Historic Santa Fe, New Mexico is perfectly situated for tours of the surrounding cultural and scenic wonders. We’ve carefully selected regional routes composing the highlights of the Southwest.
Looking for what-to-do in Santa Fe? Consider visiting more than one destination in one day without driving. Our guided bus tours are a good way to discover both what is famous and little known in this enchanted region of the United States. Meet delightful couples and independent travelers!
CUSTOM GUIDED TOURS
TAILORED ITINERARIES
Group discounts and custom itineraries are available for your next small-group getaway. Share your experience and make memories with a group.
Custom tours for Wedding parties, Business conferences, Family events, or other small groups, provide engaging activities and sightseeing opportunities for everyone to share!
Provide us with your CUSTOM TOUR details!
TourShield is an industry-leading insurance coverage developed by FanShield, LLC, technology company. For a small fee as a percentage of your ticket order, you will be reimbursed for the entire amount paid, aside from the cost of the policy, if you’re unable to attend the tour for a qualified reason. The most impressive aspect of TourShield is the scope of coverage.
Optional Third-Party Coverage Inclusions
- Work travel conflicts
- Injuries
- Family emergencies
- Unexpected illness
- Car accidents
- And other common issues
OLD SANTA FE TOURS
Background
See, Do, and Taste New Mexico
Begin your exploration in the city of Santa Fe (or “holy faith”), the oldest capital in the United States (Palace of the Governors), known worldwide for its distinctive Santa Fe style, where you can journey in time while being inspired by the fresh and novel. Discover the Southwest from Santa Fe!
From forward-looking contemporary art (Meow Wolf: The House of Eternal Return or SITE Santa Fe) to ancient living cultures (Santa Fe Indian Market or Gathering of Nations PowWow) — there is a lot to see, do, and taste in New Mexico.
The Desert Destills
The naked beauty of the landscapes (Ghost Ranch or Abiquiu) which inspired Georgia O’Keeffe (Georgia O’Keeffe Museum) and Western filmmakers (Santa Fe Movie Ranches) still inspires artists and contemporary storytellers (Netflix or George R. R. Martin). Somewhere between Canyon Road and Meow Wolf is an ongoing conversation with the landscape.
The story began sometime before the end of the last ice age (Clovis and Folsom cultures), continued with the ancestors of the Tanoan or Pueblo people (Chaco Culture National Historical Park or Bandelier National Monument), and evolved within communities which turned simplicity and sincerity in to act of spiritual purification (Taos Pueblo or Acoma Pueblo). This distilling of the desert (White Sands National Monument or badlands), or even the essentials, influenced the diverse groups which followed (Earthship or Alternative Communities). It wasn’t always peaceful (Acoma Massacre or Pueblo Revolt or Manhattan Project), but it has been an honest struggle for the identity you will witness.
Up the Camino Real (or “royal road”) from Mexico City, the last of the conquistadors sought their fortunes in the Cities of Gold. Again, they were enchanted and somehow purified by the land (Penitente Brotherhood). Like so many following the Old Santa Fe Trail, and all these intersecting routes (later the Santa Fe railroad or Route 66), each traveler was changed with the journey, transformed.
Team
Craig Moreschini
Tour Organizer / PhotographerCraig worked in the field for the Smithsonian doing archeology and led tours at the Denver Museum of Natural History before becoming involved in commercial photography and filmmaking. A great interest in the stories of our western and regional history mingles with his cinematographic inclinations in designing these itineraries.
Jack Caffrey
Movie Ranch Tour Guide / SAG-AFTRA ActorThis former Marine has 40 years experience in the entertainment industry. Jack has appeared in such diverse roles as Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers to Lonesome Dove, along with such projects as Silverado and Desperado to name just a few. His passion for Santa Fe is an old and storied romance.
OUR COMMITMENT TO NEW MEXICO
We’re respectful about sharing what we love!
— We believe strongly in preserving the historical, cultural, spiritual, physical and biological integrity of the sites we visit for future generations.
— We are committed to working with the stewards of these sites to support their efforts at preservation and the continuation of living culture by careful integration of their policies and best practices into our tours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common tour questions
HISTORICAL + PARKS & MONUMENTS
OUTLAWS + NATURAL WONDERS + O’KEEFFE
SOVIET SPIES + ROUTE 66 + CHURCHES
HOT SPRINGS + CHILIES + SPANISH GOLD
EASY RIDER + PETROGLYPHS + PUEBLOS
D. H. LAWRENCE + MOVIE RANCH + ETC