If you are visiting this webpage, it is likely that you have already heard of Antelope Canyon. Located in Page, AZ right on the Utah border, it is one of those places where photos speak louder than words. In order to tour this stunningly beautiful slot canyon, the Navajo Nation requires that you book a tour through a certified Native American tour company. To see Upper Antelope Canyon, I booked a tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon, and this blog post provides a recap and review of my tour experience.
Spoiler alert: I loved my tour. I truly felt like my guide put a lot of effort into making sure we not only learned about Antelope Canyon, but also about Native American traditions, customs, and ways of life.
Taking into consideration the transportation to the canyon, photo ops, scenery, facts and information, and the overall tour itself, I would say it was well worth the money. (For the record, it cost me roughly $150 to tour Upper Antelope Canyon.) Keep reading to see some of my favorite photos and recap my entire tour experience with Adventurous Antelope Canyon.
More Posts About Antelope Canyon
To read more about Antelope Canyon, including the differences between Upper & Lower Antelope Canyon as well as some of my top know-before-you-go travel tips, be sure to check out my other blog post:
How to Visit Antelope Canyon: A Complete Guide
Tours Offered Through Adventurous Antelope Canyon
The majority of Antelope Canyon is broken down into 2 main parts: Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. It is important to note that Adventurous Antelope Canyon ONLY offers tours for Upper Antelope Canyon (NOT Lower). To book a Lower Antelope Canyon tour, you would have to go through a different tour company.
- I originally had a Lower Antelope Canyon tour booked through Dixie’s Antelope Canyon Tours, but my tour got cancelled due to weather. Therefore, I can unfortunately not comment or write about my experience with Lower Antelope Canyon, or Dixie’s tour company.
In addition, you are also able to tour Rattlesnake Canyon and/or Owl Canyon through Adventurous Antelope Canyon as well.
- You are able to tour Rattlesnake Canyon on its own, or you can do a combo tour with Upper Antelope Canyon and Owl Canyon.
- You can NOT tour Owl Canyon on its own through Adventurous Antelope Canyon; this tour must be taken in combo with Upper Antelope & Rattlesnake Canyons.
Getting to Adventurous Antelope Canyon
Adventurous Antelope Canyon’s tour headquarters are located at Highway 98 Road & Milepost 302, Page, AZ 86040. Many people make this a day trip from Sedona, Flagstaff, or Phoenix, AZ.
- From Sedona, it takes about 3 hours to get to Page, AZ.
- From Flagstaff, it takes about 2 hours & 10 minutes to get to Page, AZ
- From Phoenix, it takes about 4 hours & 20 minutes to get to Page, AZ.
I have also heard people say they combine this into another National Park trip. If your goal is to see Bryce Canyon, Zion, or any of the other Southwestern Utah parks, you could plan to make Antelope Canyon a pit stop on your journey.
Helpful Tips When Booking Your Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tour
The following are tips and advice that will help make the most out of your Adventurous Antelope Canyon tour experience:
- Book your tour in advance, especially if it is during a busy time of year. Many people try and go between late March – early October, as these are the best months to see the light beams in Upper Antelope Canyon.
- If you are wanting to tour Upper Antelope Canyon and want to ensure you see the light beams, book your tour between 11:00am-1:30pm. This is the most popular time slot and will sell out the quickest!
- Avoid booking during a holiday weekend, as it gets super crowded! My tour guide said that both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons get a combined grand total of over 10,000 visitors during holidays!
What to Expect on Your Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tour
Website Disclaimer: I booked my tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon in April 2023. Although everything is accurate as of the publication of this post, keep in mind that prices, attractions, and information may change with time.
Tour Specifics: I did the Upper Antelope Canyon tour, so the following information will be based off of my experience with that canyon only. This information is NOT to be applied to Rattlesnake or Owl Canyon.
After Booking Your Tour
After booking your tour online with Adventurous Antelope Canyon, you will receive an email with detailed instructions going over when to arrive, what to bring, suggestions on what to wear, and how to get to the tour headquarters. The email also discusses how the location of the canyons can mess with your phone’s time zone, so make sure you follow these instructions in order to show up on time!
Know When To Arrive
You will be expected to arrive to your tour at least 30 minutes prior to the start time and check in. The start time of most tours are based off of when you enter the canyons, so you will be departing for the canyons earlier than your tour is scheduled to begin. This ensures you will have the maximum amount of time to walk through the canyons.
After Check-In/Before Your Tour Begins
After arriving and checking in to your tour, you and your group will be assigned a number. This is because there will be a large group of people signed up for the time-slot on your tour, and after everyone has checked in, they break the large group down into smaller groups. Each smaller group is then assigned a tour guide who will direct them to a company vehicle to depart for Upper Antelope Canyon.
There are plenty of porta-potties on site to use the restroom before your tour begins, but once you leave, there are no restrooms at the actual canyon.
During The Tour
The entrance to Upper Antelope Canyon is about 3 miles away from the tour headquarters. You will be driving on the main road, and once you turn off towards the canyon entrance, you will be driving through an area with sand. (Note: the sand is NOT deep, but it does blow around, especially if it’s a windy day!) From here, your tour guide will lead you inside. Upper Antelope Canyon is on ground level, so there are no ladders to climb up or down!
As soon as we walked into Upper Antelope Canyon, I saw the light beams! My tour guide, Roman, was fantastic at not only taking photos of us, but helping us know where to stand to get the best shots. He was also great at pointing out the best spots for photos throughout the entire tour.
Because of the layout of Upper Antelope Canyon as well as the amount of people inside, it was sometimes hard to hear the tour guides as they were leading groups through. I’m sure I missed some of the factual information about the canyon, as well as some of the Navajo traditions, beliefs, and customs. If you were deeply into the history of the canyon or Native American culture, this could be a downside for you.
I had also read on other Antelope Canyon tour websites that people felt “rushed” through their tour, and afterwards, I would have to say I agree with this statement. While it is understandable due to the popularity of Antelope Canyon and the amount of visitors, it would have been nice to be able to walk through it at a slower pace.
As previously mentioned, Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, meaning that it is deeper than it is wide. With its upside-down V shape, I found Upper Antelope Canyon easy to walk through. My biggest structural complaint was the sand that fell down from the rocks! The wind still blew the sand around, even inside the canyon.
I didn’t think to bring sunglasses inside, so I ended up feeling like I had sand in my eyes the rest of the day. To help you be a little more prepared (plus for suggestions on what to wear), I have covered everything you need to bring with you to tour Antelope Canyon in a separate blog post.
After The Tour
As you finish your tour, you will exit through the back of the canyon and have a bit of a walk to get back to your tour vehicle. It is not a strenuous walk, but you will need to walk up some steps, through a sandy path overtop of the canyon, and down another set of steps. This is the longest amount of time that you will be out in the sun.
During this walk, I encourage you to take a moment to really take in the landscape around you. The top of Antelope Canyon looks like desert rock mixed with some sand and a few desert plants here and there. It gives no indication to the wondrous canyon that lies beneath it. I like to think of this desert landscape as a metaphor for life in the sense that sometimes you stumble upon things you didn’t even know existed when you least expect it.
In terms of time, I felt that the tour went by rather quickly. Upper Antelope Canyon is so fascinating inside that I wouldn’t have minded if it was a mile long. It seemed like it didn’t take us long to walk through all of it. The amount of time allotted for each tour is an hour and 20 minutes.
After you get back to your vehicle, your tour guide will drive you back to Adventurous Antelope Canyon headquarters, where your tour will end. It is customary, but not required, to bring cash to tip your tour guide!
My Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tour Review
Pros of Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours
- Location was easy to find
- Tour was easy to book/website was easy to use
- Very clear instructions in the email
- I loved my tour guide (Roman)! He was very personable, knowledgable, and knew all the best spots for photos. He also made sure that everyone was able to get photos in exceptionally picturesque locations around the canyon. (In fact, he took all of the photos with me in them that I have posted on this page!)
- After I showed up and checked in, the whole process was hassle-free. Adventurous Antelope Canyon tours took care of everything from getting us to the canyon to showing us around to getting us back safely.
- They have a good cancellation policy as long as you cancel before 72 hours of the scheduled start of your tour.
Cons of Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours
- The only real con that I can think of about my tour from a company perspective is that I felt like we were rushed through the canyon a bit. However, please know that MANY people on MANY different tours have felt this way, and it does not appear to be specific to Adventurous Antelope Canyon or any one tour company. It is simply due to the fact that Upper Antelope Canyon is extremely popular, extremely beautiful, and therefore extremely crowded.
Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tour Summary
Overall, I loved my tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon. Getting to tour the canyon while also learning about Navajo customs and culture was such a rewarding experience. I really felt that my tour guide – along with the others that I observed – went out of their way to make this experience worthwhile and one to remember. I thought the location was easy to find, the check in process was simple, the email directions were very thorough, and the overall experience was well worth it for the money. Oh – and did I mention the canyon was beautiful??
Keep in mind that in order to accommodate the amount of people coming in, you are moved through the canyon quickly. So be sure to take a lot of photos, but also take it all in with your own eyes as much as you can. Antelope Canyon is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and is likely different than anything you will ever hike or walk through. I’ve even heard people refer to it as “the 8th wonder of the world,” and after touring it, I can’t say I would disagree.
