Three Good Stops

Phoenix to San Antonio: where to stop

980 miles, about 14 hr 2 min of driving. Here are the real towns worth stopping in between Phoenix, AZ and San Antonio, TX, and why each one earned it.

Your first stop

Tucson, AZStretch your legs in Tucson, AZ · mile 134

The other 6 stops on this drive

Named for your own departure time and driving style when you plan the trip — your first full plan is free.

L•••••, NMstretch, fuel, meal · mile 273
E•••••, TXstretch · mile 413
V•••••, TXstretch, fuel · mile 552
P•••••, TXovernight, meal · mile 605
O•••••, TXstretch · mile 750
K•••••, TXstretch, fuel, meal · mile 872

Name every stop — first trip free

No card for the first trip. After that it's 99¢ for three trips, or $2.99 a month.

How the days break up

DayMilesDrivingNight in
16058 hr 46 minPecos, TX
23755 hr 16 min—

How we picked these

Every stop is a real town on your actual route — not a chain billboard. We score towns on what a driver needs at that point in the drive: fuel and food for a stretch break, parks and grass when a pet is along, hotels and restaurants when it's an overnight. Detour distance counts against a town, so nothing here costs you a long side trip.

This page is planned for a 9-hour driving day leaving at 8:00 AM. Change any of that — your hours, your MPG, pets, small children, an EV's charging range — and the stops change with it. Plan Phoenix to San Antonio your way →

Questions

How far is Phoenix, AZ to San Antonio, TX?
About 980 miles, roughly 14 hr 2 min of driving before stops.

Can you drive Phoenix to San Antonio in one day?
Not comfortably. At a 9-hour driving day it splits into 2 days, with a night in Pecos, TX.

Where is a good place to stop between Phoenix and San Antonio?
Tucson, AZ is the first one on this route.