From here, you’ll take AZ-260 north through the pleasant city of Cottonwood and then head north on AZ-89A toward Sedona. One alternative is to take I-17 north but exit at AZ-260 by the city of Camp Verde. Going this way may add another 30 minutes to an hour of drive time, so if you want to come this way, plan to leave early to avoid traffic. Therefore, traffic can really back up for miles as people from Phoenix try to sneak into town for a day or weekend trip. This is the most beautiful way to enter Sedona, but everyone knows this. This road becomes the Red Rock Scenic Byway as it snakes north into Sedona. The most direct route to Sedona is taking I-17, a wide, well-maintained interstate highway, all the way to AZ-179. And it’s about the same distance and travel time from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which is where most people fly in to when they visit Arizona. With normal traffic, it takes about two hours to travel the 117 miles between Downtown Phoenix and the center of Sedona. The journey from Phoenix to Sedona is not very long. How Long is the Trip From Phoenix to Sedona?ĭPPed, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons A two hour drive through drastically changing desert landscape, Sedona is a perfect day or weekend trip from Phoenix and easily doable on any budget. The Phoenix to Sedona drive is truly an epic road trip.

Distance from sedona to phoenix