Monument Valey Guided Tour Suggestions?

We chose to take one of the independant operator Jeep tours. Took almost all day. We are both handicapped so walking far at all is out. Guide was great, and individual attention made it much nicer we thought. Don't know if they still do that, but if they do I recommend it. Guide was an indian of course. Real seats were a big plus for us. He even had a stool to help us get in and out. Ask Gouldings.

Agreed...one week is much too long for Monument Valley. All the tours go to the same places. One day of touring is all you need unless you want to drive your car on your own, which is perfectly o.k. We've never taken a tour - always on our own. You car would have to problem. It's small enough to negotiate the occasional ruts in the road. The tour vehicles are very bumpy, dusty and they drive a lot faster. The whole circle road is about 25 mi. at most, if I remember correctly. If you want another good tour, move on down to Canyon de Chelly. If, during your one week, you want to tour other areas, why not just move to those areas rather than driving back and forth? That makes for an exhausting day. Again...rethink the one week stay. There is nothing else close by.

You might want to stay a night or two right on the rim at the Tribal Park although there are no hookups. Nothing compares to walking a few feet from your RV to watch the sunrise/sunset at the edge of Monument Valley. It's a view you can't get from Gouldings.

Are you really staying for a week in Monument Valley? You only need one full day to see and do everything.

Seems like the older we get, the slower we see. :) We've been places 2-3 weeks and on the last day, somebody tells us about something we didn't know about and would love to have seen. We'd rather hang around a little longer, just in case.

We've been to Mesa Verde - 3-4 days there isn't really enough. Four Corners is a must, even though it's supposed to be pretty tacky.

Gouldings lists a few tours on their website; the Navajo nation website lists about 15 other tour operators. Maybe they all go the same places, but we're looking for any experiences with any of the non-Gouldings tours before we make a commitment.

Thanks for the comments so far. Keep 'em coming!

al

Thunder Mountain wrote:

aslakson wrote:
We'll be in Monument Valley for a week over Memorial Day - staying at Gouldings. We know that to see the "good stuff" you need a Navajo guide. Any experiences or suggestions for which of the guided tour operators we should look at? We'd like to see some ruins, and we're not physically able to handle much hiking.

Seems like everybody but us has been there. Suggestions?

Thanks

al

Are you really staying for a week in Monument Valley? You only need one full day to see and do everything. That is way too long to stay there. Gouldings is dusty and windy. Read RVparkreviews.com for acccurate information on Gouldings.

Yes, you should take the guided tour. Otherwise you can't see many areas up close.

I personally would stay in Bluff and use it as a base to explore the area. From Bluff you can see Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, etc.

there is a lot to do and see in that area . would include mesa verde, and 4 corners to the list. perhaps a night at cortez and you could see the durango silverton railroad.

i alway enjoy a trio to that area. you won't run out of places to go . sorry getting off topic

aslakson wrote:
We'll be in Monument Valley for a week over Memorial Day - staying at Gouldings. We know that to see the "good stuff" you need a Navajo guide. Any experiences or suggestions for which of the guided tour operators we should look at? We'd like to see some ruins, and we're not physically able to handle much hiking.

Seems like everybody but us has been there. Suggestions?

Thanks

al

Are you really staying for a week in Monument Valley? You only need one full day to see and do everything. That is way too long to stay there. Gouldings is dusty and windy. Read RVparkreviews.com for acccurate information on Gouldings.

Yes, you should take the guided tour. Otherwise you can't see many areas up close.

I personally would stay in Bluff and use it as a base to explore the area. From Bluff you can see Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, etc.

We were there a few years ago. Ask the folks when you check in at Gouldings about the tours, and sign up there. We "splurged" and did the all-day tour. Very worthwhile!! We loved it! Our Navajo guide was great, and we saw so many beautiful areas that most folks never see. Enjoy!

We were there in mid-August of 2011, so this info is fairly recent but prices may be higher, of course. We took the 3.5 hour tour (see below*) at 3:45 in the afternoon, which I recommend because it ended around sunset - gave great color on the rocks in photos.

When you check in at Goulding's, the campground office will give you a pamphlet that includes their tour choices. You can then book in advance with the office (same place you check in for RV park, easy walk from campsites),and it will depart from there.

The Gouldings tours are given in open truck vans with bench seats. We were the only English speaking people I believe - everyone else spoke French or Italian. The guide made a few comments on a microphone, was hard to understand, and didn't impart much information... I am guessing that some are better than others.

For me, it was less of a tour, more of a way to get down into the valley without using my own RV - the roads were quite rough in places. And the guide does drive into places not on the regular 17 mile loop road open to drivers on the longer tours.

Basic Hour Tour $40 - departs 1:15 (2.5 hours long, covers the 17 mile loop)
*Deluxe Hour Tour $50 - Dparts 8:45 or 3:45 (3.5 hours long, does the loop plus some back country)
All Day Tour $90 - departs 8:45 (8 hours long)
Mystery Valley Tour $70 - Departs 8:45 (5.5 hours long)
Full Moon Tour $50 - departure times vary
Hiking Tours - $50 - Departs 9 and 4 (3.5 hours)

No senior discounts. Custom tours for a minimum of four people.
All tours include the entry fee to the Tribal Park, Navajo Guide and in theory water, though I don't think that was provided in reality - so bring your own.

The guide did stop fairly often for good photo opportunities in all the key places, but there was minimal walking involved. They all stop at a Navajo Hogan, to sell crafts. Be warned - there are no restrooms out in that valley except for some dismal portapotties near the end.

I'm glad I did it, and it was certainly worth $50 to me, but 3.5 hours was long enough. That full moon tour sounds like fun, though.

There are non-Gouldings tour guides too, perhaps better? - and maybe other people will weigh in with their info. We saw some tourists on horseback with a guide.

The RV Park was not bad, exceeded my expectations actually. You might ask for a site with a view - the best ones were the area of #9, 10, 11, 12.