One night stopover - Santa Fe or Taos

I'd choose Santa Fe over Taos but that's just me.

Santa Fe has more to do in terms of walking around the Plaza, restaurants and bars and the food is better in SF. Taos is pretty small and oddly doesnt have good New Mexican mexican food. Both will be packed with tourists in the summer and to get into restaurants is a long wait. One trick if there are just 2 of you is to skip the line and walk into that bar area. We can usually snag a seat at the bar and eat there. Tomasitas in SF is our favorite New Mex place but The Shed is the iconic and most popular New Mex place and the long wait for a table attests to that. The Shed has a sister restaurant called La Choza that is the same food and slightly less crowded but still a long wait. Cafe de Artiste has a great courtyard in the back that is a good stop in for a drink and a snack

ETA: Our favorite bar in SF is Fire & Hops. Its just off the Plaza but far enough a lot of tourists don't wander over there. The staff is super friendly and the bartenders will chat with you while if its slow. The food is an asian fusion type that is really good. One night we started talking with this guy at the bar who had a deep bass voice and turns out he was in SF for the summer singing at the Opera, which is a big deal in SF.

Possibly worst take ever.

Santa Fe - we did this a couple of years ago and the kids actually really enjoyed Santa Fe. Hif Meow Wolf

I've always loved Santa Fe.

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Possibly worst take ever.

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to each his own. if you'd rather spend a day in New Mexico instead of Colorado, then good for you. If you find enjoyment in that, then great. I personally don't want to do that.

i have no issue stopping to go hiking and experiencing nature, but i have no desire to interact with new mexicans. The majority give off this miserable existence feeling. Doesn't matter where i've gone, i've experienced it everywhere. Gas stations, starbucks, hiltons, restaurants, that god awful casino north of Santa Fe, the tiny arse airport. Just feels like no one there enjoys life, and i don't like being around people like that.
Maybe i just haven't been to the right areas, but i've stopped in Santa Fe on my way to CO for 6 years in a row now, and it's the same thing every time.

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Santa Fe has more to do in terms of walking around the Plaza, restaurants and bars and the food is better in SF. Taos is pretty small and oddly doesnt have good New Mexican mexican food. Both will be packed with tourists in the summer and to get into restaurants is a long wait. One trick if there are just 2 of you is to skip the line and walk into that bar area. We can usually snag a seat at the bar and eat there. Tomasitas in SF is our favorite New Mex place but The Shed is the iconic and most popular New Mex place and the long wait for a table attests to that. The Shed has a sister restaurant called La Choza that is the same food and slightly less crowded but still a long wait. Cafe de Artiste has a great courtyard in the back that is a good stop in for a drink and a snack

ETA: Our favorite bar in SF is Fire & Hops. Its just off the Plaza but far enough a lot of tourists don't wander over there. The staff is super friendly and the bartenders will chat with you while if its slow. The food is an asian fusion type that is really good. One night we started talking with this guy at the bar who had a deep bass voice and turns out he was in SF for the summer singing at the Opera, which is a big deal in SF.

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Tia Sophias, La Boca, and Cafe Pasqual's are our go to spots.

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More importantly, why on earth are you basing your view of gas station attendants, hilton employees, a casino (which, outside of LV and a few select ones are always depressing), and starbucks? Why are you even going to starbucks? They've got great coffee shops there.

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b/c that's where i've stopped. To be fair, i encounter similar people in CO as well sometimes. It's like they don't care about living. We literally sat down at a restaurant in Pagoso, waited a few minutes to be seated for some reason even though there were tables open everywhere, had to ask someone to come over to take our drink order, had to ask someone where the waitress went b/c we didn't have our drinks 10 minutes later, so we just got up and left. Miserable looking people working at this nice brewery/restaurant.
Was talking to a hippie at the much friendlier restaurant we ended up going to about this and he said the same thing, and had said that's why he moved to Pagoso and out of Santa Fe. He said there's too much meth in New Mexico and it's why people all seem so dull and miserable. I mean i doubt everyone is doing drugs that i encounter, but it sure does seem that way.

we stay in Santa Fe after driving from BR to go hunting in CO. Santa Fe is at 7,000' so we like staying one night in a hotel at high altitude before we go live in the woods for 6 straight nights and hike 10-15 miles a day.


we aren't going to stop stopping in Santa Fe for that night, so i'd love to know where i can go and grab a beer and eat good food, b/c i've yet to find that place in Santa Fe. We stayed at the DoubleTree and there was a brewery/restaurant right next to us. Walked there to go eat and it was closed. it was 830 and it said they closed at 9 for some reason, and this was a friday night. Every other restaurant i've seen along the main road was your typical chain joint, olive garden, red lobster, outback, chilis, etc.
I would love to know where's a good place to enjoy a beer and good food.


the only person in New Mexico i've enjoyed my interaction with was a guy at a tire shop that patched a tire for me, for free, even though i insisted i pay him for it. He was very friendly, and we talked a good bit.

Daughters and I visited and stayed in both last summer. I'd say Santa Fe for sure. Taos is much smaller and not as much to do in-town; all of the best attractions were actually outside of town (Taos Ski Valley, Rio Grande Gorge, high road to Taos, etc.).

Santa Fe has lots more to see and do, including the Palace of the Governors and town plaza, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Loretto Chapel, Cross of the Martyrs overlook, a cool completely round state capitol, and a really nice/neat compact walkable downtown that is just a pleasure to wander around. Just outside of town are some good trails and such for hiking; we did the Glorieta Battlefield Trail (one of the few Civil War battles out west).

Santa Fe has a lot more options for hotels and restaurants. Have breakfast at Boul-Tawn's bagels before you leave. Take a bag home with you.