Travel to Arizona

Plane, Train or Bus? Transportation to Arizona is a Snap

For your travel to Arizona, you most likely will either be flying or driving to the state.

Either way, Arizona is a fairly easy state to get to from many U.S. destinations and several international destinations.

If you will be driving to Arizona, check out our Arizona driving page for driving directions and maps from the five states that border Arizona.

There are some quirks to driving in Arizona that make it different from many other states in the U.S.

So you'll want to take a look at our Arizona driving tips page.

The San Francisco Peaks loom ahead of Interstate 17, south of Flagstaff, Arizona

Here you'll find out about Arizona highway speed limits, traffic cameras, flash floods, the open range law and how not to be a stupid motorist.

Unless you live in one of the state's that border Arizona, you will probably be flying into the state.

If you are flying to Arizona via commercial airlines during your travel to Arizona, you will be arriving at one of two major Arizona airports.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is the largest airport in Arizona.

Many Arizona travelers take flights to Phoenix as the city is centrally located in the state.

Downtown Phoenix as seen from Sky Harbor Airport

Therefore, Phoenix makes a good starting point for traveling to other areas of Arizona such as Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

If you plan to visit southern Arizona, however, you may want to fly to Tucson International Airport.

If you have your own plane, there are several smaller Arizona airports scattered around the state.

See our Flights to Arizona page for more details on air flights to Arizona and Arizona airports.

You can also take a train to Arizona.

Amtrak is the only national passenger train service in the United States.

They currently have stops in Yuma, Tucson, Benson, Kingman, Williams, Flagstaff, Winslow and Maricopa, Arizona, which is about 30 minutes southeast of Phoenix.

The Phoenix light rail system is currently under construction

If you’d like to take a bus to Arizona, Greyhound bus line travels to several Arizona cities including Phoenix, Glendale, Tucson and Flagstaff.

If you plan to do any exploring once you have reached your final Arizona destination, you will need to rent a car.

If you're staying at a hotel in downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale or Tucson, you could just take an airport shuttle or a taxi to your hotel and not rent a car.

Then you could get around on foot or take a bus around downtown.

However, if you want to explore out into the desert and your time is limited, you will probably need to rent a car.

Both Sky Harbor and Tucson International airports have rental car facilities.

Really good public transportation is woefully lacking in Arizona.

There are no commuter trains or subways systems such as you might find in Europe, or even in New York or San Francisco.

If you travel to Arizona during summer, you'll see monsoon thunderstorms like this one over Interstate 17 near Camp Verde, Arizona

Currently, the city of Phoenix is building a light rail system, which will eventually serve the downtown Phoenix area and a few outlying areas.

Arizona’s major cities do have public bus systems.

Depending upon where you will be going during your travel in Arizona, the bus may not be convenient or time efficient.

Your destination and budget will determine if the public bus will work for you.

Whichever way you travel to Arizona, you'll need to know what to pack, what to expect and when is the best time to go.

See our AZ travel tips page for insider tips on Arizona travel.

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