Monument Valley, Antelope Slot Canyon

at monument valley you can sign up for tour right at the parking lot

Don't know where you can arrange a visit to Antelope Canyon (it was pre-organized for us) but don't miss it. It is such a different and spectacular spot.

Lake Powell boat tour - although nice, was long and got quite boring in my opinion.
The hike to the arch at the stopover was enjoyable but in my opinion not worth all the travel time to get there.

We used Chief something for the Antelope Canyon. They were very good at what they did. We've done the guided tour of Monument Valley. You can take your own car but you won't see all the places. We did the Lake Powell thing to the Arch. It did get a bit long and boring, but the hike to the Arch was nice. The tour was over priced considering the lunch was baloney, American cheese on white bread plus a bag of chips.

We stayed at the Goulding Campground and used their tour.

There are a bazillion tour operators for Monument Valley (so it seems). We found this one via TripAdvisor, and took both the main tour and the Mystery Valley tour. Way beyond excellent! They made sure to vary the route a bit, so while we saw everything, we didn't have to deal with the "clumping" that happens as every other tour guide follows every other tour guide. Many times, we had an area all to ourselves for significant time, leaving as the rest of the herd showed up.
http://www.navajospirittours.com/

For Antelope Canyon, we used "Cheif Tsosie" http://antelopeslotcanyon.com/. For the normal tours, while you have enough time, all the companies put you through pretty fast. This one was pretty good, and although the guide has probably done it thousands of times, he still made it seem fresh for us. He even stuck by my wife's side to make sure she had her camera set optimally for the best pictures.

Regardless of which tour company you decide on, take one that puts you in the canyon about noon. You will get those "calendar" shots of the sun streaming into the slot during the noon time frame that you can't get at any other time of the day. It was wonderful when I did the tour.

Thunder Mountain wrote:
We used Chief something for the Antelope Canyon. They were very good at what they did. We've done the guided tour of Monument Valley. You can take your own car but you won't see all the places. We did the Lake Powell thing to the Arch. It did get a bit long and boring, but the hike to the Arch was nice. The tour was over priced considering the lunch was baloney, American cheese on white bread plus a bag of chips.

The Chief offered a photographer tour and a general tour. We went with the photographer tour which was a few bucks more but the Chief puts in in the best spots at the right time for pictures and the tour is a bit longer which made it very enjoyable...

Page, AZ: I would highly recommend the Colorado River Adventure flat water raft trip. The guides are very knowledgeable. They stop to view some pictographs along the way.
We did the upper Antelope slot canyon. It is at ground level. You have to climb down a ladder in to the other one. We just drove out there and purchased a ticket for the next tour. I second the advice of planning a tour around noon. They will cancel the tour if there is any rain in the area.

Marcia

Hi there, we have been to Antelope Canyon twice now and the tour we liked best was with the Tours on the West side of the hwy. There are two Tour Groups and we used the first one, closest to the Hwy. We used the one on the East side of the Hwy, I think it's Tsosie but liked the other one better.

Our then 14 year old DGS wasn't interested in taking photos until he got inside the Canyon. It was great to see the change in him as we took photos together.

Monument Valley we have always done on our own. Last spring it seemed that things had changed and some previously open areas were closed and some that were closed were open. I think the next time we're there we'll take a tour.

The Lake Powell seemed too expensive for our likes so we took the trip from the Dam to Lee's Ferry. No real white water but it was fun and there are some great sites along the way. We are both past the time for whitewater rafting an the DW wanted to raft the Colorado.

What ever you choose, you will have a great time and make sure your camera batteries are always charge and that you have pleanty of memory.

PS: The DW found the name and phone number of the tour group we prefer, Dixie Ellis Lower Antelope Canyon Tours, Phone # 928 640 1716. The reason we went with them to start with was, we weren't sure when we would be there and they didn't require reservations.

Goulding campground has excellent tours that you can book on arrival. If you have a high clearance vehicle you can drive the same route yourself for the cost of park admission, I think $20, not sure. We drove the route in our Saturn Vue without problem, however the dirt route is heavily pitted, lots of large rocks, deep holes, and ruts. We passed some low profile cars, like Corollas, trying the road, I have no idea if they made it, but I'm sure the wear was extensive. I loved Monument Valley, so reach in history and culture.
Enjoy.