6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: Vibrant Views + Things To Do
Let me help you plan your visit to The Land of Enchantment with my 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary! We packed in a lot of amazing things to do that gave us a little taste of the cities and nature around the entire state. (14 hours of driving to be precise!). From incredible views, pop culture, history, delicious eats, and more, you get to see so much of what New Mexico has to offer. Get ready to plan an incredible trip!
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Day 1 of Our 6-Day New Mexico Adventure: Indian Fry Bread, ‘Christmas Style,’ and Culture
The start of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary is mostly a day full of travel with some gems.
7:45 am
We hop on our Southwest flight to Albuquerque, we only had one short layover at Midway in Chicago then we were on our way. As usual, I had a window seat, which I always prefer. Also, I just love looking down on the earth, watching it change as we fly by. Without a doubt, flying is one of the most amazing experiences to me, no matter how many times I fly.
11:00 am
Rental car secured and it’s a Santa Fe, which happens to be one of this trips destinations! We really liked this car; it felt great driving through both the city and National Park land.
Lunch at The Pueblo Indian Kitchen
Noon:
Afterward, we headed to The Indian Pueblo Kitchen in Albuquerque, we were starving! I ordered an Indian Taco, while Nathan chose the Blue Corn Enchiladas. Additionally, my dish came with Fry Bread, which I was really excited to try. This was also my first experience with what New Mexicans call “Christmas Style”, yum!
What is Christmas Style? New Mexico is known for their red and green chiles, especially using them in a lot of their cuisine. When eating out as a tourist, you might be asked “red, green, or Christmas style”. ‘Christmas Style’ means they will give you half red and half green chili sauces on your dish of choice.
Visiting The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
1:00 pm
Time to explore the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Here, we learned there are 19 Pueblo communities across the state of New Mexico. This museum celebrates Pueblo Culture through creative and cultural experiences. In addition, the center also provides economic opportunities to Pueblo and local communities. We could tell this center had a lot to offer from our short visit. I love learning more about the places we travel and its history so this was a great first stop.
Hotels We Love: El Rey in Santa Fe
3:45 pm
After an hours drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe we arrive at our hotel The El Rey Court. A unique gem, this vintage motor court style motel with lovely Adobe-style architecture has been fully renovated to its stylish Southwestern decor charm.
Want to learn more? Check out my Hotels We Love feature on the El Ray in Santa Fe here
Dinner at The Shed
6:00 pm
After relaxing from all the travel, we get ready to head out for dinner. We went to The Shed, a Mexican restaurant I found to be highly recommended and a local favorite. The restaurant is inside a hacienda style building from the late 1600s complete with a cantina-style bar. It was in such a cute area of town full of local shops and lovely architecture. We had a short 20 minute wait in which we strolled around this charming area while waiting.
After some chips and salsa, I had the Tacos Plate, Christmas style and smothered while Nathan ordered the Enchilada Plate. Something I noticed about New Mexican cuisine is that many places we ate gave us garlic bread with our orders. I’m not complaining! It was just an unexpected thing to get. We also tried hominy for the first time… I don’t remember liking it very much, though. Hominy was defined as “gluten free nixtamal corn (hominy like) stewed with lean pork, garlic, coarse red chile & oregano.“
7:30 pm
Back to the hotel, we are ready for some rest! Nathan falls asleep pretty easily, while I stayed up getting some Instagram stories prepped from the day. I remember having the MTV Video awards on and seeing N’Sync reunite, random!
Day 1 Wrap Up of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: Travel day, flying into New Mexico. Lunch at The Indian Pueblo Kitchen in Albuquerque, Dinner at The Shed in Santa Fe. Visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Stayed at Santa Fe’s The El Rey Court.
Day 2: Exploring Santa Fe and a Stunning National Park on a 6-Day New Mexico Road Trip
During day 2 of our 6-Days in New Mexico is one of my favorite itinerary stops. Plus, we spend some more time exploring the beautiful city of Santa Fe.
Breakfast at Cafe Pasqual’s
9:00 am
Today’s breakfast is at a James Beard Award winning restaurant in the heart of Santa Fe called Cafe Pasqual’s. Nestled inside a charming, historic Adobe and eclectically decorated and I wanted to love it, but I didn’t fully enjoy what I ordered. The restaurant was packed, and my husband enjoyed his dish. So I think this one was more of a me problem rather a problem with the food. The atmosphere was great, and I truly think I just picked the wrong item for me. I’d still check it out if the menu appeals to you, it felt like a charming and well-loved spot overall.
After breakfast exploring
10:00 am
After breakfast we strolled around the Downtown Santa Fe area. We admired the adobe architecture and visited several charming shops.
11:00 am
We drove over to the SF Railyard to check out this area. Walked by Sky Coffee which had a huge crashed UFO on the side of the building (random but cool!). An interesting plant shop cafe called Opuntia (which sadly has closed since our visit), and several art galleries. Seems like a fun space – it also has a movie theatre, performance center, and a farmers market.
11:25 am
Time for a sweet treat! We visited Kakáwa Chocolate House and grabbed a few pieces of chocolate to go and had ice cream. It was all very good.
Noon
After a quick rest at the hotel, we head to the first National Park of this trip, Bandelier National Monument. It was only about an hour long drive from our hotel in Santa Fe.
Hiking Bandelier National Monument
1:40 pm
Along the way to Bandelier National Monument we stopped at the shuttle station first to use the bathroom. We decided to drive as that was an option while we were there. After we entered the park and paid our fee, the skies got really dark and the rain started coming down. I was so bummed out, not on our hiking day!
2:20 pm
We finally find the visitor center and gift shop area, it was a little tricky based on the map as a road we thought we needed to take was a dead end. We decided to hang out in the gift shop for a little bit and hopefully wait out the rain. I got our National Parks Passport stamped (this is so much fun!) and we looked through the gift shop and bought some little souvenirs. Then we made our way over to the visitor center and I wish we had more time to check it out – it was packed full with visuals and displays full of the history of the place. We always forget to consider time for the visitor centers.
2:30 pm
The rain stopped! We finally got to start our journey and we had the most beautiful sparkling blue skies after that dismal gray rainfall. Perfect hiking weather. We decided to hike the 1.2 mile Pueblo Loop Trail (formerly the Main Loop Trail) going through Frijoles Canyon.
Exploring Cliff Dwellings
3:45 pm
We’re about halfway through the hike and we got to see and climb into cliff dwellings like the Talus Houses and the Long House, homes to the ancestral Pueblo people. At this point in the hike we transform from being in a desert looking climate with cliff dwellings to what looks like a lush, verdant forest.
4:00 pm
We finish the hike around 4 pm, taking about 30 mins longer than the hour suggested to complete this trail as we stopped often and climbed into some of the dwellings that had ladders. (Don’t worry, this is allowed and definitely adds to the experience!)
4:30 pm
Driving back to the hotel I noticed a huge double-rainbow! It was so close to the road that I could see where it ended and at times the full half circle of it. Such a lovely surprise for our drive home.
Camel Rock
5:00 pm
Along our drive we came across Camel Rock and decided to stop and check it out. It was a strange fenced in rock formation. It was pretty cool to look at, and the dramatic evening sky made a perfect backdrop. Unfortunately it’s fenced in so you can’t get too close – I’m assuming this is due to people vandalizing or that it’s just unsafe to climb.
6:00 pm
Once we arrived back to Santa Fe, we cleaned up at the hotel and headed out for dinner at La Choza. This was one of those restaurants high on several lists. I had a Stuffed Sopapilla Christmas Style and the obligatory garlic toast on the side, delicious.
7:00 pm
We’re back at the hotel and we walked over to La Reina, the hotel bar, but noticed it was full so we decided to just go to bed as we had a lot of driving ahead of us for tomorrows adventurous day!
We really enjoyed Santa Fe, I wish we had more time to explore and I look forward to returning again some day.
Day 2 Wrap Up of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: Our day in Santa Fe started with breakfast at Cafe Pasqual’s, strolling downtown Santa Fe, a visit to the SF Railyard, a treat at Kakáwa Chocolate House and ended the day at Bandelier National Monument. On the drive home we viewed Camel Rock and had dinner at La Choza.
Day 3: Roswell and the Alien Experience – A Key Stop on Our New Mexico Journey
7:20 am
We checked out of the The El Rey Court and drove down the street to grab breakfast at The Pantry. We had some breakfast basics and hit the road to Roswell. I’ve always found the topic of UFOs and aliens to be such an interesting one and am a huge fan of The X-Files so this visit is one of the key stops on our New Mexico road trip, a bucket list destination even.
When I say a key stop, I mean for me, my husband doesn’t care about aliens, but I appreciate that he humored my long-time interest in the subject allowing a full day to explore!
What’s with all the alien stuff in Roswell? In case you don’t know, the Roswell Incident is one of the most famous UFO stories in US history. It all started when a rancher discovered strange debris on their land and drove into Roswell to report it.
The rumor was that it was an alleged UFO crash, the military claimed it was a weather balloon, and all sorts of conspiracies and lore came from that. I highly recommend adding a stop at the UFO museum to learn more, or looking up the story.
Cool Roadside Attraction
8:00 am
We made our way from Santa Fe to Roswell. We specifically chose this time so we’d arrive in Roswell early enough to experience whatever we wanted to do as many businesses closed around 5 pm. The drive mostly looked like the photo above, lots of flat, vast land. Somewhere around Corona, New Mexico on US-285 we drove past these two cowboy cut outs I remember seeing on Instagram a while back, but didn’t realize were in New Mexico.
These giant 18 foot tall plywood cut outs are called “Cowboy Ruckus” and have an interesting story. I wish I realized we were coming up to them as I would have had my husband pull over to get better photos. So, if you’re heading to Roswell from Santa Fe, keep this fun photo-op in mind!
Want to learn more about some of our favorite stops in New Mexico? Check out my post New Mexico Road Trip: Weird & Wondrous Itinerary Stops
“Aliens!” – Giorgio Tsoukalos
10:45 am
We arrive in Roswell, New Mexico and all I see are aliens, everywhere. It’s pretty awesome. Dunkin Donuts? Alien holding a sign. Street light poles? Alien heads. Random business? UFO mural on the side of their building. McDonalds? Shaped as a UFO with aliens around it. I love that the whole city seems to have fun with the alien theme and embracing its history and involvement in the Roswell Incident. All I could think of is that guy from Ancient Aliens meme where he just says “ALIENS!” hehe.
Aliens, UFOs, and Pop Culture
11:05 am
The first stop on our to-do in Roswell list was to visit the International UFO Museum and Research Center. I was so excited for this! It’s not a huge museum, it’s mostly in one large open space with some dividers and displays. You walk through the history of UFO reports in the US, pop culture references, to ancient evidence. I loved seeing nods to some of my favorite UFO-related tv and movies – the TV shows The X-Files and Roswell and the movie Fire in the Sky about Travis Walton’s abduction experience. There are some interactive areas, photo ops, and gift shop full of all things alien and UFO. You don’t want to miss the HUGE library resource if you’re really into this and doing research.
Noon
It didn’t take us long to get through the museum. After, we took a stroll around the area we were in and decided to do the Roswell UFO Spacewalk next. We found a cool Roswell mural and got some pictures before heading over to the experience.
12:10 pm
We made our way over to the UFO Spacewalk, paid for our entrance and made our way through. It was a short experience, however, you can tell they put a lot of thought into the art throughout the walk. We were allowed to walk through one more time so we did. It was fun to walk through and be silly for a little bit.
Aliens, everywhere
12:25 pm
After the black light experience we strolled around some more. Saw cute alien-face street lights, an adorable cafe’s rocket sign, and stopped in a couple tourist shops. We went into UFO Fizz Candy Shop to see the alien candy they had. We also visited Hangar 209 which I think was one of the better gift shops in town. It felt different from most of them and the items they sold didn’t feel as tacky as some places.
1:00 pm
It’s time for lunch so we drive down to the UFO Mc Donalds and it was so cheesy but awesome at the same time. The front of the building is shaped like a giant UFO and they have a couple aliens surrounding the building. Inside there are some space-y elements, too. It was definitely fun for the novelty of it.
1:30 pm
We decided to get a photo with the Welcome to Roswell sign and took a moment to decide which one. There are a few entrances into town and each have their own sign. Driving back into town we came across a random UFO cut out that felt like a photo op. If you want to find this, it’s called “Roswell Welcome Sign and Spaceship” on Google Maps and can be found at US Highway 285, Roswell, NM 88203 across from the Roswell Air Center.
2:30 pm
We head to our hotel and found out we can check in an hour or so early, awesome! We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Roswell. It was nothing fancy, but it was clean and a decent room. We decided to rest a bit before heading back out for the evening.
4:00 pm
After a rest, we decide to check out one more gift shop before driving to Bottomless Lakes State Park to explore and see the sunset. There are 9 “lakes” within the park which I learned later are actually sink holes or cenotes from limestone caves that collapsed due to erosion from the Pecos River. The “bottomless” title came from Vaqueros (Cowboys) back in the day trying to see if they can reach the bottom with some tied together rope and gave up, claiming it bottomless. There are 9 bodies of water in the park with the deepest being about 90 feet. There are some curious local legends about swimmers disappearing, a giant turtle monster, and objects that have fallen into the lake being swept up into Carlsbad Caverns.
Overall it was a pretty park and a great sunset spot, however, the mosquitos were INSANE. I’ve never experienced so many at once. We didn’t have bug spray on us and we both suffered numerous bites. We did, however, get one incredible sunset before we left.
On the drive home we experienced some of the New Mexico monsoon season we didn’t realize we were within. That was definitely crazy to see. The roads flooded so quickly, and you can see where storms started and stopped.
7:30 pm
At this point it was stormy and dark outside and we didn’t have a lot of options for dinner. Normally we like to visit local spots, but the chain Texas Roadhouse was convenient at the time so we did that.
Day 3 Wrap Up of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: Roswell highlights include a visit to the International UFO Museum and Research Center and Roswell UFO Spacewalk and shopping at Hangar 209 and UFO Fizz Candy Shop. Checked into the Holiday Inn Roswell. We also ate at the UFO Mc Donalds and visited Bottomless Lakes State Park.
Day 4: Carlsbad Caverns and 2 More National Parks – A Highlight of Our New Mexico Itinerary
We enjoyed a free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Roswell before heading down to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
After breakfast we say goodbye to Roswell and start our 1 hour and 30 minute drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to make it on time for our timed ticket entry at 11:30am.
11:30 pm
We chose the Natural Entrance Trail, a 1.25-mile steep path that winds through the famous switchbacks into the caves. Before starting, we stopped at the visitor center to pay the entrance fee, grab a map, and meet a ranger for a brief orientation.
The trail is no joke! Of all the parks we visited, this was the only one that left my legs feeling like jelly! It takes about an hour unless you stop frequently or walk slowly. This trail isn’t suitable for those with mobility challenges or medical issues. For an easier option, the Big Room Trail offers a relatively flat, wheelchair-accessible path, with an optional shortcut to halve the 1.5-hour route.
The Natural Entrance is dark, damp, and often wet from dripping water. It’s chilly, but the exertion helps warm you up. Dress in layers you can easily pack or tie around your waist. Photography is tricky due to low light, tripods and monopods aren’t allowed, though flash is permitted (but can be disruptive). I recommend steadying your camera against railings for long exposures. Finally, keep voices low as sound carries far and disrupts the experience for others.
lET’S GO TO… TEXAS?
4:30 pm
After exploring Carlsbad Caverns, we decided to extend our journey to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, located near the New Mexico-Texas border. It was only an additional 45-minute drive, so we thought, why not? While we didn’t have time for any hikes, we made a quick stop at the Pine Springs Visitor Center and paused at a few scenic pullouts to take in the breathtaking mountain views. Notable stops included the Guadalupe Peak Viewpoint and El Capitan Viewpoint. If we’d had more time, I would have loved to hike the Pinery Trail near the visitor center or visit the Salt Basin Dunes. However, we were on a mission to catch the sunset at White Sands, which meant tackling the 3-hour and 50-minute drive ahead!
6:41 pm
We make it to White Sands National Park just in time to catch an incredible sunset! We have time to fit in one mini hike on the Interdune Boardwalk before heading further down Dunes Drive to find a spot in the sand to observe the sun set which is around 7:11 pm.
8:20 pm
After the sun set, we made our way to Alamogordo, the city we would stay in for the night and stayed at another Holiday Inn in Alamagordo. We had pizza for dinner at a spot called Pizza Nine and grabbed a treat at Caliche’s Frozen Custard, a cool, vintage looking shop before crashing for the night.
Day 4 Wrap Up of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: We spent the day exploring 3 national parks: Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, and White Sands before grabbing dinner at Pizza Nine and frozen custard at Caliche’s in Alamogordo before crashing at our Holiday Inn room.
Day 5 of Our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: Billy the Kid Country, Lava Fields, Elevated Views, and Speaking Easy
9:30 am
We wake up early to get ready to go and have some of the free breakfast the Holiday Inn Alamogordo offers. Normally we like to get out there and check out the local spots, but sometimes we stick with what’s quickest and focus our budget on other parts of the trip. After breakfast, we check out and make our way to White Sands National Park to check it out during the daytime.
10:32 am
We make it to White Sands National Park and after visiting the visitor center we drive all the way into the park to the loop near Alkali Flats. We didn’t really do any strenuous hikes on this visit, most of our adventure was driving along Dunes Drive and admiring the views.
The sand isn’t sand but something called gypsum covering 275 square miles of desert creating the worlds largest gypsum dune field. This is one of very few places on earth you can see gypsum in a sand form like this so you can understand why this is a national protected area. One thing about the gypsum sand you will notice is that it does not feel hot like normal beach sand does in the direct sunlight. It actually is at 90% humidity has a very cool feeling to it – that’s because of the water just a few inches below the surface. It’s definitely a unique experience. I highly recommend checking out the National Park website linked above to learn more.
We did go on one short hike along the Playa Trail, but overall we just enjoyed catching a sunset the night before, playing in a big open space, and driving along Dunes Drive and admiring the views. After we got our fill, we took off to head back to Albuquerque.
FYI: Nearby White Sands Missile Range regularly conducts military tests, and for visitor safety the only road into the dune field, Dunes Drive, may be closed for a few hours. Keep this in mind when planning – park staff is usually made aware well in advance but sometimes the notice can come only 24 hours in advance. When staff is made aware, the schedule is updated on this page.
Carrizozo a Cute Small Town
1:10 pm
We make it to this small town we found when searching for a good place to stop for lunch. It has an interesting name, Carrizozo, and had a lot of eclectic charm to it. We ate at this lovely spot called Honey Girls Cafe which unfortunately closed down and is potentially moving locations. (Check out their website to follow the journey) This small town had so many unique buildings and random pops of art – a photographers dream! I wish we had more time to dilly dally and look around, but alas we needed to get back to Albuquerque to have some time left to spend time there.
1:55 pm
Before we left town, I convinced my husband to drive back to the entrance of town where I saw a sign suggesting the route to take to get to Billy the Kid country on Highway 54 leading into town. I was such a nerd about Billy the Kid when younger so that was exciting to see. I wish visiting his burial site and memorial was something we had time for but it was a bit too out of the way of our trip. Next time! (I can’t tell you how many times I watched the Young Guns movies growing up, and that I even read Pat Garret’s book The ‘Authentic Life of Billy the Kid’ . I even made Billy the Kid-inspired art in middle school, haha)
2:05 pm
Just shortly after leaving town, we pass the Carrizozo Volcanic Field Scenic Area and stop to take a look. Such a unique space! It was crazy to see all the greenery growing out of lava. We only stopped for a brief moment at a pull out before continuing on our journey to ABQ.
Popsicle Welcome at Hotel Zazz
4:19 pm
We roll into Albuquerque for the last leg of our epic New Mexico trip and check into Hotel Zazz. We have a soft spot for renovated motels, they have so much character! Hotel Zazz was not an exception. We were greeted with welcome banana popsicles for their ‘Popsicle Happy Hour’ and some coins to gain entry to their hidden speakeasy Z Lounge. We’ll definitely use those later. Such a cute hotel space!
5:11 pm
After freshening up and unloading in our hotel room, we decided to head out to our evenings destination, but first we decided to drive by the house that Walter White and family from the popular tv show Breaking Bad lived in. We heard a woman who lives there yells at you for even driving by so we were nervous. We did a quick drive by and she was sitting out there! Yikes. I snapped some shots and tried to be inconspicuous. Silly, but we didn’t want to cause any problems, just see the iconic house.
5:30 pm
We pulled into the lot for Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway and got in line. This aerial tramway will take us to the top of the peak where we’ll also have dinner at their restaurant Ten3. I did get a touch of altitude sickness, sigh. Not as bad as I had when we went to Denver, but we were about ten thousand feet above sea level so it made me feel a little nauseous and headache-y. Thankfully, after getting some water and food I felt a lot better.
Dinner with a view
7:15 pm
After a wait that felt like forever, we were seated and got our orders in. We caught the start of sunset outside before coming in and we could catch glimpses of it through the windows. Stunning! We could see the expanse of Albuquerque with all the city lights on. After dinner we had to take a scary ride down the mountain in pitch black.
We did pass on seeing our favorite band play at a rodeo this same night to experience the tram, and while it would have been cool to see them in a unique arena like that, I’m glad we did the tram.
10:15 pm
We get back to the hotel and decide to use those speakeasy chips to get in to their Z Lounge. It was a cute space hidden behind their lobby and I actually got a NA drink with strawberry that was SO good! It was called a Pink Flamingo and was made with lemon lime soda, pink lemonade and strawberries. Delightful. We hung out for a bit but were tired and eventually went to bed. I stayed up to get everything I had packed away so we could be ready to go in the AM. Still had a little more adventure left to squeeze in!
Day 5 Wrap Up of our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary: We visited White Sands National Park during the day. Ate lunch at now closed Honey Girls Cafe in Carrizozo and stopped to look at the Carrizozo Volcanic Field Scenic Area. Made it back to Albuquerque and checked into the Hotel Zazz. Ate dinner 10,000 feet in the air at Ten3 taking the Sandia Peak Tramway up. Ended the evening at our hotel’s cute Speakeasy Z Lounge before bed.
Day 6: Finishing Our 6-Day New Mexico Itinerary in Albuquerque and Heading Home
10:30 am
Breakfast Central Grill and Coffee House
11:00 am
We did some last-minute shopping and strolled around Old Town Plaza. We also got to check out the Breaking Bad Store which is part museum and part store. A cool experience for any fan of the show! Soon it was time to wrap up and head to the airport. I debated buying some local art and didn’t, I wish I had!
1:11 pm
We make it to the airport and wait for our flights home, what an incredible trip! I hope we can return, so much more to see.
How Much You Might Spend on 6 Days in New Mexico
When I share our multi-day travel itineraries, I like to include a cost breakdown to help you estimate how much a similar trip might cost. Everyone travels differently, so your expenses may vary, but this should give you a good starting point.
Overall Trip Cost: $3,234
We used $60 in IHG reward points, earned about $65 in travel reward points with our Capital One Venture card, and received $4.72 in Rakuten cash back. Plus, we saved roughly $40–$60 by getting free breakfasts on two mornings. All in all, we saved and earned around $340 in points, cash back, and perks—bringing our actual out-of-pocket cost to more like $2,895.
For context, we’re a married, child-free couple with minimal debt, which affects how we travel and spend. While we aim to save where we can, we’re not strict budget travelers and don’t mind splurging occasionally. If you’re looking to cut costs, there are definitely ways to make this trip more affordable!
Airport Costs: $687.69
This includes two round-trip flights on Southwest Airlines, parking fees at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, and any drinks or snacks we picked up while traveling.
Transportation: $486.96
We rented a Hyundai Santa Fe, which was a great road trip vehicle! Over 900+ miles of driving, we only needed three fill-ups, spending around $160 on gas—not bad for such a long route.
Lodging and Resort Fees: $1144.56
We split our stays between:
- Holiday Inn Roswell & Holiday Inn Alamogordo – More budget-friendly at around $150 per night, and we redeemed 12,000 IHG points to lower the cost.
- The El Rey Court Santa Fe – Our most expensive stay at $663 before fees, plus a $20 nightly amenity fee.
- Hotel Zazz Albuquerque – A fun, artsy boutique hotel.
Food and Drink: $568.79
Our eating habits on the road tend to be breakfast + dinner, with a snack in between, especially on National Park days. We got two free breakfasts at the Holiday Inn Roswell & Holiday Inn Alamogordo, and free drinks at one hotel (though we technically paid for them via amenity fees, so “free” is debatable, lol).
- Cheapest meal: McDonald’s (Roswell) – $11.15
- Most expensive meal: La Choza (Santa Fe) – $68
Entertainment: $98.05
This covers entrance fees for the various attractions we visited throughout the trip.
National Parks: $83
We paid entrance and reservation fees for three National Parks.
Shopping: $128.76
We don’t usually shop much on trips, but we picked up:
- Travel ornaments (our favorite souvenir tradition!)
- Christmas gifts for my dad at the Breaking Bad Store—he was a huge fan.
Misc. Spending: $36.27
This includes random convenience store runs for road trip snacks and drinks.
Hopefully, this breakdown helps you plan your own adventure with a better idea of what to expect!
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