US News Best Vacation 2023 list shouts out these Arizona places

Two of the best places in the country to take a vacation are in Arizona, according to a new ranking.
US 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 US
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 US destinations for 2023.
You can see the entire US News 2023 Best Vacation rankings here.
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What Arizona places are on the US News list of best vacations?
The Grand Canyon ranks at No. 3 on the 30 best US places list, while Sedona comes in at No. 23.
And Sedona is No. 8 on the list of the best US 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 US News rankings:
- Best Cheap Vacations in the US: Grand Canyon, No. 10; Flagstaff, No. 17.
- Best National Parks in the World: Grand Canyon, No. 4.
- Best National Parks in the US: Grand Canyon, No. 2.
- World’s Best Places to Visit: Grand Canyon, No. 28.
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How did the Grand Canyon and Sedona rank last year?
The Grand Canyon’s rank on the 2023-24 best US vacations survey is a two-spot dip from its rank in the US 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 US News Best Vacations list determined?
US 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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @salerno_phx.
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