• Living Desert Zoo & Gardens, 47-900 Portola Ave., 760 346-5694, [3]. For close-up encounters with spectacular desert plants and animals. People of all ages will have fun.
• Palm Desert Civic Center, 73510 Fred Waring Drive, 760 346-0611. Nice park with occasional musical performances, basketball courts, and a nice atmosphere.

By plane

Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), [2]. is right in the heart of nearby Palm Springs. Scheduled daily flight connections to San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago (O'Hare), Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Denver, Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas, Calgary and Vancouver. Airlines serving Palm Springs (PSP) include Alaska, America West, American, American Eagle, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United. Ontario, CA airport, about 70 miles to the west of Palm Springs, has many more flight connections.

By car

From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 East towards Phoenix. Palm Desert is about a two hour drive if there is not much traffic. Beware, weekend getaway traffic can be very heavy.

By train

Amtrak has stations in nearby Palm Springs and Indio.

Palm Desert is a very car-oriented city. If you want to have a good time at all, you should rent a car at the airport. Otherwise you'd have to take the bus or walk. It's a lot easier getting around in Palm Desert and of all Coachella Valley if you have a car.

By car

The main drag through this area is Highway 111. It runs east/west along the mountain side and connects all the cities in the Coachella Valley. This road has lights and lots of traffic, so if you are going far, you should drive out and hop on the 10. The Rodeo Drive of the area is El Paseo. There are lots of art galleries, shops, and restaurants along El Paseo.

There are a lot of good places to shop with good stores. You could probably find just about anything.

• The Gardens, [5]. A very nice shopping area on El Paseo. There are lots of good stores.
• Westfield Shoppingtown, 72840 Highway 111 Ste 166, 760 346-2121, [6]. Nice mall right in the heart of Palm Desert.
• The River, [7]. At Bob Hope Drive and Highway 111 in the neighboring city of Rancho Mirage. Great shopping center with restaurants, shopping, movies, and more. There actually is a river there too.

• Armando's Dakota Bar & Grill, 73260 El Paseo, 760 346-0744. Great Mexican food with good fajitas.
• Tony Roma's, 73155 Highway 111, 760 568-9911. Boasts the best ribs in the country. Great place to go for an inexpensive dinner.
• Mamma Gina's Restaurant, 73705 El Paseo, 760 568-9898, [8]. A more expensive restaurant with great chop salad.
• Picanha Churrascaria, 73399 El Paseo, 760 674-3434. The Brazilian food is great and they bring the meat out to you and then you decide if you want it or not rather than ordering the meat first. Great salad bar for vegetarians too.
• Pacifica Seafood Restaurant, 760 674-8666, [9]. Seafood. Located at The Gardens on El Paseo
• Native Foods, 760 836-9396, 73-890 El Paseo, [10]. Vegan restauraunt, reasonable prices. The tempeh/vegetable/pesto pizza is very good.

• Beer Hunter Sports Pub & Grill, 78483 Highway 111, La Quinta, 760 564-7442. If there is a game on and you want a drink and some inexpensive food, this is the place to come. Complete with pool tables and shuffle board.