Western fans and history buffs, you have to do this day trip to Tombstone! What a great way to spend the day. Todd from Historic Arizona Tours was excellent--gracious, knowledgeable, and friendly. He guided us the entire day from hotel pick up to airport drop off. His truck is modern, large, and comfortable and he supplied us with plenty of water and guidebooks at our disposal. He handled everything we needed and wanted to do in town and remained flexible for whatever we wanted to do. Definitely recommend him!
As for the town, well, you just have to experience it to understand. Walking the same streets as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday is pretty epic. The saloons, the dusty main street, the OK Corral ... it's really something. We went on a Sunday in early June and there were plenty of people in period costumes, shootout and hangings in the street (re-enactments ofc) and plenty of souvenir shopping. The main re-enactment of the OK shootout really put us in the mood. I recommend doing that first thing when you arrive to set the tone. The historama show is worth seeing too--vintage projection from the 1960s, but that just gave it more flavor. Honestly, we could've spent all day there just moseying along the boardwalk sidewalks, talking to the locals, perusing the original architecture. We ate at the Longhorn and it was affordable and delicious.
We also stopped at the San Xavier church on the way to Tombstone and it's worth seeing if you're a history buff or like cathedrals.
We made it back to the airport in Phoenix by 5PM for an evening flight so a day trip like this is totally doable. Todd is a Phoenix local so if you're looking for a reliable and comfortable tour from Phoenix, this is the tour for you.
It does get dusty in Tombstone (it's the desert after all) so bring sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, and you may even want an umbrella--but Todd supplies those also, as well as hand sanitizer accessible during the ride.
This was a mother/son trip and it was such a unique and memorable experience for us both.