Albuquerque travel guide

Float over the Rio Grande at sunrise

The city’s famous “box” winds make it ideal for ballooning. On my Rainbow Ryders flight, the city was right there below the basket, the only sound the occasional roar of the burner. The basket touched down in a car park while locals waved, and the flight ended with a champagne toast. Flights run all year, weather permitting.

Ride the Sandia Peak Tramway at sunset

About 15 minutes from the desert to a 10,378-foot summit. I went up in February, tried a short walk in the snow at the top (I wasn’t quite prepared) and stayed for a freezing but epic sunset. A round trip is $35 for adults.

Spot petroglyphs in Rinconada Canyon

My favourite walk in Albuquerque: a free 2.2-mile trail past about 300 carvings pecked into black basalt. Bring binoculars and allow about an hour and a half.

Wander Old Town

Adobe lanes around a leafy plaza, laid out in 1706, with San Felipe de Neri Church on its north side. It was very, very quiet when I visited in February, and all the more charming for it.

Visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Run by New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos themselves, with dances in the courtyard at weekends. Entry is $12 for adults.

Eat your way round Sawmill Market

A food hall in an old lumber warehouse near Old Town, with 28 vendors under one roof. This is where I fell in love with the city.

One day in Albuquerque

One day

Sunrise balloon flight, then Old Town, Sawmill Market and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, then sunset on Sandia Peak

My one-day itinerary packs the highlights into a single sunrise-to-sunset day.

Albuquerque in three days

Three days

The one-day route, then Rinconada Canyon and the West Side, then a day trip to Santa Fe, Acoma Pueblo or Madrid

Time for the petroglyphs, a slower meal at Campo and one of the best day trips.

A New Mexico road trip

A week

Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos, then south to White Sands

See the New Mexico road trip itinerary.

Piedras Marcadas Canyon

The quietest of the petroglyph areas: around 400 carvings along an easy 1.5-mile walk at the foot of the escarpment.

The Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe

A tiny adobe shrine tucked down a lane just off Old Town Plaza.

The chainsaw sculptures at Pueblo Montaño

Cottonwoods burned in a 2003 bosque fire, carved into sculptures beside the trailhead on the west bank of the river.

Dishes to try

• Red or green chile: you’ll be asked “red or green?” everywhere; say “Christmas” for both.
• Braised lamb birria: I don’t think I’ll ever have a better one than at Campo at Los Poblanos.
• A breakfast burrito smothered in chile: Frontier, opposite the university, has been serving them since 1971.
• Blue corn and Pueblo dishes: at the Indian Pueblo Kitchen in the cultural center.

Drinks to try

• Local craft beer: the city has around 30 breweries; Bow & Arrow’s is pretty bang.
• A Sawmill margarita: Flora’s are huge.
• New Mexican sparkling wine: from Gruet, founded by a family from Champagne, with a tasting room in the city.

Campo at Los Poblanos, Los Ranchos

Rio Grande Valley cooking made with produce from the inn’s own organic farm, and the best lamb birria I’ve had. Dinner daily from 5pm and brunch Thursday to Sunday; reservations strongly advised.

Sawmill Market, Bellamah Avenue

The city’s food hall, near Old Town: Notorious P.O.K.E was my favourite, Flora pours the giant margaritas and Paxton’s Taproom does local beer. Open daily from 8am.

Bow & Arrow Brewing Co, McKnight Avenue

Opened in 2016 as the state’s first brewery owned by Native women, and brewing with Southwestern ingredients. Food trucks and pop-ups regularly park up outside.

Blackbird Coffee House, San Felipe Street

Fantastic coffee in a courtyard just off Old Town Plaza; try the Blackbird, espresso with dark chocolate and red chile.

Albuquerque is good value by US city standards, and some of its best sights are free.

• Rainbow Ryders sunrise flight: about $189 per adult and up on booking sites
• Sandia Peak Tramway: $35 round trip for adults, plus tax (a $3.75 grounds fee is added online)
• Petroglyph National Monument: free
• Indian Pueblo Cultural Center: $12 for adults
• ABQ BioPark (zoo, aquarium and botanic garden): $29 for non-residents

Safety

At the petroglyph trailheads, lock your car and keep valuables out of sight, carry water and watch for rattlesnakes in the warmer months. San Felipe de Neri is still an active parish, so keep quiet during Mass.

Health

The city sits over 5,000 feet up and the top of the tram at 10,378 feet, so drink plenty of water, take it slowly at first and wear sunscreen even in winter. Dress for snow on Sandia Peak from late autumn to spring.

Tipping

Tip 18% to 22% at sit-down restaurants, US$1 to US$2 a drink at bars and 15% to 20% for guides and balloon crews.

Tips for travelling

• Book the balloon flight for your first morning, so there’s time to rebook if the wind grounds it.
• Reserve dinner at TEN 3, at the top of the tram, as early as you can: every table was taken when I went up, so I watched the sunset from the bar instead.
• Rent a car: the petroglyphs, the tram, the balloon base and Los Poblanos are spread out.
• The petroglyph car parks are gated, so check closing times before you set off on a trail.
• The tram shuts for annual maintenance between 3 and 11 November 2026.

How to see the best for free

Petroglyph National Monument is free, and Rinconada Canyon, the best of its trails, costs nothing to walk. Exploring Old Town’s plaza and its 18th-century church costs nothing, and the city’s murals, more than 150 of them, are mapped on the Muros ABQ website.

The paved Paseo del Bosque Trail follows the Rio Grande for 16 miles through the cottonwoods, and city buses are free, the ART buses on Central Avenue included.

Packing

Packing for Albuquerque? Don’t forget…

• Warm layers, a hat and gloves: pre-dawn balloon launches and the summit of Sandia Peak are bitterly cold in winter, however sunny the city is.
• Binoculars: some of the Rinconada petroglyphs sit high on the boulders.
• A big water bottle: there’s no water on the petroglyph trails, and the city sits over 5,000 feet up.
• Sunscreen and sunglasses: the sun is strong at altitude all year.
• Shoes with grip: for the sandy, uneven trails on the West Mesa and the snowy paths on Sandia Peak.

Travel insurance

Medical care in the US is expensive, so take out a policy with generous medical cover for the USA, and check it includes hot air balloon flights and hiking at altitude. Compare policies with AXA Travel Insurance.

Suggested guidebooks

• Moon New Mexico
• Lonely Planet Southwest USA

Interesting facts

• No balloon festival on earth is bigger than the Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of balloons launch together.
• At 2.7 miles, the Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest aerial tram in the Americas.
• Around 25,000 carvings cover the basalt boulders of Petroglyph National Monument.
• Central Avenue is the city’s stretch of Route 66, which turned 100 in 2026.

Time zone

Mountain Time, with daylight saving: UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 in summer, seven hours behind the UK for most of the year.

Electricity and adapters

Type A and B plugs, at 120V and 60Hz.