My surprise 48-hour trip with Air Canada Rouge has been one of my favourite spontaneous adventures yet. It started at the airport check in, with no idea where my flight was headed, I soon discovered I was off to beautiful Phoenix, Arizona! With only the flight down to get organized, I was able to book my accommodation, a rental car and a number of exciting excursions all from the air using Rouge’s on-board satellite Wi-Fi. It was such a convenience. I’ve never been on a surprise destination experience like this before, but having Rouge’s inflight Wi-Fi to plan my entire trip provided some definite peace of mind for when I arrived.
“I have never done a surprise destination like this so it was quite the experience to book all my activities on route using the Rouge Wi-Fi on-board.”
Connecting with friends and family and plan an entire trip at 30,000ft in the air is so interesting. It didn’t take long before I had two full days planned, further adding to my excitement. I was able to post stories, check in with my followers, and even ask for recommendations on where to go and what to see during my trip down south. As soon as I arrived, my rental car was waiting for me. All I had to do was grab the keys, and head to my hip hotel in downtown Phoenix. What a lively and eventful place. There’s always something to do, with a sports team playing or just walking around checking out the great places to shop.
As soon as I was done investigating the city I headed to Sedona to capture some landscapes. During my flight I had so many messages from followers telling me Sedona was the hot spot near Phoenix. I had several hikes written down and was excited to start exploring.
Only an hour and a bit away, it is a must-see place! The landscape reminded me much of Zion or other areas of Utah but not nearly as busy. We started our first hike that day up to Devil’s Bridge, which is a short hike to a pretty exceptional land bridge formation. It is quite popular and once you see it you can understand why. Such stunning colors in the area! We came down to have lunch at Whole Foods. The best salad bar ever! I really wish we had a Whole Foods at home.
Many of my followers recommended Cathedral Rock as a sunset hike, and after doing some research during my flight over it looked like quite a stunning area. We went out to the Secret Slickrock Trail to get a great view of Cathedral for sunset. It was stunning, but sadly the clouds were so thick that the sun disappeared and we had no color for the sunset. Better luck next time. We hiked down to the river and all along the ridge. Sedona has endless hiking and biking trails.
Time was flying but I really wanted to see as much as possible before heading back to Phoenix. I opted for a horseback ride to see more of the area. I went to sign up for the adventure when I saw a brochure for helicopter rides on special. Wow what a treat it would be to see Sedona from the air! The cost was similar so I quickly changed my mind and got the heli.
What a fun ride! The landscapes were brilliant but I never thought I would have so much fun
as the pilot weaved in and out of narrow canyons and squeezed through narrow rocks. There
were times I thought I could reach out and touch the rock walls! It was a short 35 minute ride
but still incredibly fun, with great shots too.
I headed back to Phoenix after this in hopes of making it to the Superstition Mountains for sunset, another remarkable area from recommendations I received on route. I made it to Lost Dutchman State Park for sunset. This place is less than an hour from Phoenix and full of biking and hiking trails, not to mention it is a outstanding desert landscape. It reminded me of the old west movies and had me picturing a time where you rode your horse everywhere.
Sadly, sunset didn’t look like it would happen again, but lucky for us a break in the horizon allowed the sun to peak through for less than a minute but lit up the cactus and beautiful rock formations, a great way to end my trip.
I’m back home now and I can’t imagine staying away from this area for long. There is so much to see and do. I would love to do another surprise destination like this again. The whole experience was simply amazing, especially with Air Canada Rouge. I really don’t think it would have worked out so well without Rouge’s in-flight Wi-Fi. It was the perfect amount of time to plan and prepare for the trip. I couldn’t have hoped for a better destination to ‘surprise’ fly to with Air Canada Rouge!
This article was written in partnership with Air Canada Rouge.