Another location that we visited during our road trip to Arizona was another popular place, Antelope Canyon. This area took a little research since one can’t just waltz into the canyons without a guide. According to the Navajo people and their ways, to protect the beauty, natural and pristine conditions of the canyons, you need someone who is familiar and careful with the area to take you there. That is where the tour guides come in for this part of the trip. I definitely recommend booking a spot early and ideally in the summer if you want to get good shots of the canyon. We went in the winter and late in the evening (last time slot of the day) so most the the canyon was actually in the dark already by the time we got there. There’s also two parts of the canyon, one is the upper canyons and another is the lower part (usually where longer photography tours are taken). I only booked the upper because it was the only area that had a slot open, but my friend thought our area looked much better than the lower canyons. So it’s up to your own research on which area you want to book, or you can do both if time permits!

It was either a spot or no spot at all. It was bad on my part that I booked the trip late so many if not all of the slots from all the tour businesses were full. I only narrowly managed a 3:00PM slot with Antelope Slot Canyon Tours by Chief Tsosie because they had a few remainder spots open for that time and I took it. It was pretty awesome that the meetup point was literally right down the street of where we were staying so it was convenient and easy. Also, early booking also allows you to find much cheaper places to go with. The one that I went with was definitely on the more expensive side. It was $65ish per person ($140 total after taxes and fees) when the original site I found was half the price (but sold out). All tours run on mountain time (MST) and doesn’t follow the Navajo daylight savings time (DST) even though Antelope Canyon is in their territory. Strange, I know.

Not only are the tours there to protect the location, but it’s also because it actually takes a decent while of off-roading to get to the entry way. They of course don’t want hooligan and careless tourists to desecrate their beautiful land. Most tours have modified trucks that has up to seating of 8-10 in the bedding area. I suggest you not to wear white, the ride is dirty and dusty, bring a scarf or mask also so you don’t breath in too much dust particles. I got REALLY lucky and was offered to sit inside the car. It’s about a 15 minute drive to the entry way. The entrance alone was pretty stunning already, it reminded me the opening of the Cave of Wonders from Aladdin. The rock colors and formation was absolutely stunning. With the remaining rays of light, we were able to witness some amazing sights and got to take some pretty pictures. If I ever go back, I’d definitely want to come see it at its full glory in the summer sunlight.