Best vacation destinations for 2023 include these 3 Arizona favorites. Here's why

Michael Salerno, Arizona Republic
·3 min read
4

Two of the best places in the country to take a vacation are in Arizona, according to a new ranking.

U.S. News & World Report has issued its list of the best vacations for 2023-24, highlighting 16 categories of destinations worldwide.

Grand Canyon National Park and Sedona appeared on the publication's list of the 30 best places to visit in the U.S.

Their appearance in this year's ranking is just the latest accolade for both places, known for their scenic splendor and abundance of outdoor adventures. The Grand Canyon is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, while Sedona's red rocks, hiking and resort spas wowed TripAdvisor users, who named it one of the most popular U.S. destinations for 2023.

You can see the entire U.S. News 2023 Best Vacation rankings here.

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What Arizona places are on the U.S. News list of best vacations?

A moody weather day at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
A moody weather day at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

The Grand Canyon ranks at No. 3 on the 30 best U.S. places list, while Sedona comes in at No. 23.

And Sedona is No. 8 in the list of the best U.S. small towns to visit. Bar Harbor, Maine, ranked No. 1 on that list, maintaining the title for a second year.

Here are other Arizona representations in the latest U.S. News rankings:

  • Best Cheap Vacations in the U.S.: Grand Canyon, No. 10; Flagstaff, No. 17.

  • Best National Parks in the World: Grand Canyon, No. 4.

  • Best National Parks in the U.S.: Grand Canyon, No 2.

  • World's Best Places to Visit: Grand Canyon, No. 28.

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How did Grand Canyon and Sedona rank last year?

Grand Canyon's rank on the 2023-24 best U.S. vacations survey is a two-spot dip from its rank in the U.S. News 2022 best vacations list. It came in at No. 1 last year.

This year it was edged out by Glacier National Park in Montana at No. 1 and Maui, Hawaii at No. 2.

Sedona did the opposite, improving on last year by two spots. It ranked No. 25 in 2022.

How is the U.S. News Best Vacations list determined?

U.S. News bases its assessment on a variety of factors, including user and editor rankings, seasonality and affordability.

The users and editors scores are weighted 50-50. User scores are determined by travelers who respond "yes" to a prompt asking whether they believe a destination belongs on the list.

Editor scores are determined by three criteria:

  • A 0 to 5 ranking, with 5 meaning phenomenal, in categories such as sights, culture, people, food, family, nightlife, adventure, romance, value and accessibility.

  • Editor scores are then averaged together to calculate the average score for each category of the above characteristics.

  • Destinations' overall scores are a weighted average of the individual editors' averages, based on which factors travelers said were most important to them.

Reach the reporter at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salerno_phx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: U.S. News Best Vacation 2023 list shouts out these Arizona places