Direct Flights from Chicago to Santa Fe
Santa Fe · New Mexico
Nonstop service from ORD to SAF on American. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
How rare is this nonstop?
Only 5 cities have a nonstop to Santa Fe, so this is a route worth knowing about — most travelers connect to get there.
How long to go to Santa Fe for, from Chicago
2h 40m in the air, 1,070 miles. That is a long weekend without much friction, though three nights beats two once you add the airport time at both ends.
Santa Fe is 5,668 ft higher than Chicago, at 6,348 ft. Enough that a first-day hike or a hard workout will feel harder than it does at home, and enough that alcohol goes further.
About Santa Fe
Santa Fe, founded in 1607, is the capital of the state of New Mexico and its principal tourist destination, renowned for its confluence of scenic beauty, long history, cultural diversity, and extraordinary concentration of arts, music and fine dining. With an elevation of 7,000 ft (2,100 m), it is not only the United States' oldest state capital but its highest, sitting at the foot of the spectacular Sangre de Cristo Mountains. And with a population of about 85,000 (2019), it's not the most populous capital, but that's part of its charm. This is not a capital that bustles with politicians but one that bustles with tourists, who flood the narrow streets around the town's plaza in the summer months to take in the beautiful adobe architecture, the unique cultural heritage, and the spectacular art that make Santa Fe one of the world's top travel destinations.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Santa Fe
- Bandelier National Monument is a 33,677-acre (136 km2) United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico.
- The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
- The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O'Keeffe, her life, American modernism, and public engagement. It opened on July 17, 1997, eleven years after the artist's death.
- Sandia Cave, also called the Sandia Man Cave, is an archaeological site near Bernalillo, New Mexico, within Cibola National Forest.
- The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico.
- The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The college focuses on Native American art.
- El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a historic rancho and now a living history museum, is strategically located on what was once the Camino Real, the Royal Road that extended from Mexico City to Santa Fe.
- The Bradbury Science Museum is the chief public facility of Los Alamos National Laboratory, located at 1350 Central Avenue in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in the United States.
- The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
- The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities.
- Coronado Historic Site is the Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua and a historic site that is part of the State-governed Museum of New Mexico system. It is located along U.S.
- The Poeh Museum is a museum in Pojoaque, New Mexico, U.S.A. The museum is located off U.S. Route 84. It is devoted to the arts and culture of the Puebloan peoples, especially the Tewas in the northern part of the state.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Santa Fe weather, compared with Chicago
7° warmer than Chicago on average across the year, on daytime highs:
- January
- Santa Fe 44°F · Chicago 31°F · 12° warmer
- April
- Santa Fe 66°F · Chicago 59°F · 7° warmer
- July
- Santa Fe 88°F · Chicago 84°F · 4° warmer
- October
- Santa Fe 69°F · Chicago 62°F · 6° warmer
January bottoms out near 44°F — a real coat, not a layer.
Average daily highs, 1991–2020 station normals from Meteostat (CC BY 4.0), measured at each city's airport.
Planning a trip to Santa Fe
- Best time to visit
- The best time to visit Santa Fe is April–May and September–October, when daytime highs are a comfortable 66–79°F.
- How long to stay
- Santa Fe rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from Bandelier National Monument, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Santa Fe), and Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Chicago to Santa Fe?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Chicago (ORD) to Santa Fe (SAF) on American.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Chicago to Santa Fe?
- American flies nonstop between Chicago (ORD) and Santa Fe (SAF).
- How far is Santa Fe from Chicago?
- Santa Fe is about 1,070 miles from Chicago by air.
- What is there to do in Santa Fe?
- Popular things to do include Bandelier National Monument, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Santa Fe), Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Sandia Cave, and more.
More nonstop destinations from Chicago near Santa Fe
Airports near Chicago
The closest other departure airports to Chicago — each opens up more nonstop destinations.