Antelope Canyon tours compared

How to choose the tour

The canyons sit on Navajo Nation land in the Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park, and no part of them can be entered without a Navajo guide, so the real decision is which guided format fits your base, your schedule and your budget. Three things usually settle it: where you sleep the night before, how much walking you want, and whether you prefer the canyon on foot or from the water.

If you sleep in Page or LeChee

Short walks starting minutes from town make the most sense. The Lower Antelope Canyon hike lasts one hour over about 1.1 miles and includes five flights of stairs, while the Upper Antelope Canyon walk runs 1 hour 20 minutes with roughly 80 minutes inside on flat sand, which suits anyone who would rather avoid ladders. For a quieter half day, the Secret Antelope Canyon trip takes 3 hours in groups of up to 12, and the Lower Antelope and Horseshoe Bend half day gives 120 minutes in the canyon and 75 minutes at the overlook in 3 hours 35 minutes. On the water, the kayak and hike trips last about four hours from Antelope Point and the photo boat excursion takes 2 hours from the Wahweap launch ramp.

If you sleep in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Scottsdale or Sedona

Pick a day trip with transport built in and expect a long day. From Las Vegas, the Lower Antelope and Horseshoe Bend coach day runs 14 to 15 hours with about 4.5 hours of driving each way, and the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend tour stretches to 17 to 19 hours with lunch included. From Arizona, the Scottsdale and Phoenix day adventure collects you at your hotel between 6am and 9am for 13 to 14 hours, and the Sedona day tour is 11.5 hours door to door with a pick-up around 6 to 6:30 a.m.

Language, group size and comfort

All twelve options are guided in English. Group size varies widely and changes how the visit feels: up to 12 people on the Secret Antelope Canyon trip, up to 14 on the Navajo-owned half day, up to 15 at Lower Antelope Canyon, up to 30 on the Upper Antelope Canyon walk and up to 57 on the Las Vegas coach day. The smallest group of all is the photo boat excursion, with up to six passengers and a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain.

Budget

The timed guided entries are the lowest fares on this site, from $75 per adult across the six options set out on the tickets comparison, with Antelope Canyon X from $82 and Upper Antelope from $115. Guided walks begin at $94, half days from Page at $159, and the kayak trips at $116. Day tours with long-distance transport cost more because the driving is included, from $160 out of Las Vegas up to $390 from Scottsdale or Phoenix. If you want to see the whole range before deciding, the tour options page lines up six of them side by side from $82.

All tours compared