Monument Valley - Navajo Guided Tours

Hi Don and Carolyn,

We Love Monument Valley! Been there 2 times-the second April of 2013. Stay at Gouldings at www.gouldings.com It is right across from Monument Valley Navajo Nation Tribal Park and is a very nice place. You really don't need to buy a tour if you have your own truck you can drive the route yourself it is 13 miles of rough rocky or sandy road. The nice thing about using your own truck is no dust and you have air conditioning. The tour vehicles are open sided. Visit the interesting free exhibits downstairs in the visitor building. There is a restaurant and very nice hotel on the Tribal Land too. http://navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalleycamp.htm
If you drive going East past the road to Monument Valley you can see many of the beautiful rock formations from the main highway asphalt road. Also see Valley of the Gods (you drive this yourself), also near here is the Goosenecks State Park it is a long asphalt entrance road but worth driving in. Nothing but a fabulous view here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEFJ-Tz3QSQ

In Kayenta at the Burger King is a very interesting exhibit about the Navajo Code Talkers and outside the building to the left is a hogan with a World War II museum inside, well worth a visit and it is free. Get your gas in Kayenta as it is less expensive than Gouldings gas. Also Kayenta has a Basha's grocery store.

Enjoy your trip, we want to go back again and again.

The guided tours from Gouldings take you to places you won't see on the 13 mile drive. Yes it's dusty, especially if the wind is blowing. Put your camera in a zip lock bag, bring some water and go on a tour! You will love it.

We stayed at Gouldings 3 years ago, loved it. The entire experience there was great. We did take the tour, it was very informative and they do take you places you can't go on your own. That being said we both thought it was well worth the extra money, it will be a little dusty but that's part of the adventure!

I hope we can get back there, it's an awesome place! Enjoy.

Dan

DW and I took the full day tour while staying at Gouldings. We both enjoyed it very much.....especially the "cowboy coffee" at lunch. There is nothing fancy about the tour "vehicle" it's a large pickup truck with seats in the bed for folks to ride in but still, worth the trip.

Just outside Kayenta, there is another park with a short trail to view additional cliff dwellings as well as other exhibits. I was surprised how cool it was inside the Hogan there.

I especially liked the code talkers exhibit in Kayenta but I wish it had a more respectful home than the local MickeyDs :R

Overall, Monument Valley is a humbling, impressive site !!

Being so close we have been to Monument Valley several times and one of my favorite places to photograph. (See www.LaurenBarbara.com click the Wanderings link and the M V link under AZ). I also recommend Gouldings and make reservations for sure (ask for site 39).

We have done the tour only once - it is an open sided truck and you ride on benches / bench seats. Yes, you do get places not open to the "public" but we found these were not that much of value. Like anything else, depends on the "guide". And then stop at all the places that sell wares - some good, some just ok. But authentic to be sure. They also had a stop where about 5 young Indian girls danced - kinda just ok - but, of course, they wanted to be tipped.

My photo work gets me there very early in the morning and later into dusk. If you go to the website and link above you will see what I mean. (The very first image won awards - high acclaim on the other sunrise ones as well.

It has been $5 a head to get in and they now collect before you even get to the hotel they built a few years ago. But we could use that for both morning and afternoon shoots on the same day.

Adventure mention Valley of the Gods. This is north of Monument Valley a few miles. Well worth the trip!! And good road. Do not recommend the Moki Dugway (Hwy 261) going north from the west end of Valley of the Gods if you are not fearless mountain driver - and NOT, REPEAT NOT, for RV's. But beautiful.

Enjoy this wonderful area! Be safe.

Apparently there are no road graders in the area because the tour we went on was VERY bumpy from ruts in the road and the Guides like to drive fast! One of the passengers with a sore back BEFORE the trip was complaining.
It may be my ignorance but I'd feel a little funny driving my car around in some of the areas that the natives believe are sacred. Of course, they can drive there!

We love Monument Valley and have been there twice. Both times we stayed at Gouldings and both times we took the all day tour. The guides will tell you about the formations and the lifestyle of the Navajo, depending on the guide. The last trip we took our guide (I believe her name was Carol) took us to visit her Grandmother who was living in a traditional Hogan.
The tours depart from Gouldings so you just go to the office to sign up. The people there are extremely poor so we try to buy a few trinkets and spend a little money while we are there.
Not all of the Navajo you meet will be friendly but just try to remember how we have treated these people in the past and I am sure you will understand why they feel as they do.

Stay at Gouldings RV park, we had space 34 I had a super view. We took the private tour out of Gouldings it was about 3 to 4 hours being it was private we were in a van. It was very reasonable. Every one we came in contact was friendly and fun to be around.

we used Simpson's Monument Valley tours and they asked us if we wanted an open jeep or a van. We chose the van and really enjoyed ourselves. The "off limits" areas are well worth the price. Plus it is very rough on your own private vehicle. I'd prefer to let the commercial vehicle's suspension absorb all the abuse :)

www.trailhandlertours.com

If you don't mind boondocking there is a campground (use that term loosely, actually more a parking lot designated for camping) within the Tribal Park that overlooks the mittens. The only facility it has is a port-a-jon, and I think it's $10 a night to stay there. It's very doable for a night or two and worth the inconvenience just for the privilege of waking up to that view!