The Only Guide You Need for Visiting Upper Antelope Canyon

Hello everybody! As you can see, I’m still sifting through my recent Arizona vacation. I won’t lie – even though I just went on an epic-bucket-list-worthy trip this last September, my feet are already primed for another adventure! Despite my wanderlust I’m excited about this post because it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip!

Tucked away near the border of Utah in Page, AZ lies Antelope Canyon – one of the most photographed slot canyons in the world!! Some photographs of the Canyon have sold for over a million dollars (according to our tour guides), which in turn has exploded tourism in the tiny town of Page.

If you’re planning on visiting Antelope Canyon, there’s a lot you need to know in order to plan your trip. This definitely is a stop that needs almost as much advance planning as the Grand Canyon itself – so you definitely don’t want to “wing it”!

Upper Antelope Canyon tour, Page AZ — Caravan for the Navajo Tours

Planning Your Trip:

First things first you need to plan your trip 8 months to a year in advance if you’re planning to visit during peak times (April through September). I waited until 6 months prior and they were already sold out one of the three possible days I could go. This is mostly applicable if you are trying to go around noon during peak travel months.
Choose what touring company you want to tour through. Antelope Canyon can only be accessed via tours. Click here for a link of all the touring companies.
Choose your tour type. Between the Upper and Lower Canyon tours, the Upper is the only one where the photography tour might be worth the extra money – especially if you are wanting to get those stellar shots. The lighting is very, very poor in the Upper Canyon, as you will be able to tell from my pictures. Tripods are only allowed on photography tours, so you can decide if the extra money is worth it to you. The upside to paying more for the photography tour is that there are not as many people crowding the canyon. I was already shelling out a boatload of money for my excursions in Page, so we decided to choose the standard tour. We weren’t disappointed and we still got great pictures between our phones and my camera!
Choose a tour time closest to noon as you can. The Upper Canyon tour is known for its light beams, but only when the sun is highest in the sky…i.e., around noon. Our tour was at noon exactly, and we got to see 2 light beams while touring the canyon! Light beams are dependent on the season and are not as likely during off-season (late fall/winter).
Call to make sure you know the time at the reservation desk. Page is somewhat of a time warp, and the time will change three different times from one end of town to the next. You are on the line between time zones, so your phone won’t be the best form of keeping schedules. When we stopped by the desk to check in we synchronized the clock in our car to their time, and we had no problems!
Protect your camera equipment! This is a very dusty place. In order to best see the light beams, the tour guides throw dust into the light. You can only imagine what that can do to the in-and-out movement of your lens! My dad’s camera was ruined in the first ten minutes of the trip. Luckily I had read a tip on this, and I duck taped a plastic bag around the lens of my Nikon. It was pretty sad looking, but worth it to me to protect my beloved camera!
Be prepared for the heat. You have to check in early for your tour, and even though there is sun protection, you are still sitting outside in the Arizona heat. While it’s cooler in the canyon, we still saw a lady rushed out of there due to heat issues. Make sure you are protecting yourself from the sun (whether that’s hats, clothes, sunscreen, etc) and make sure you are drinking plenty of water!!
Ask your tour guides what the best phone settings are for pictures. Our tour guide was fantastic and would change people’s phone settings for the best pictures! He also pointed out interesting spots in the canyon for photos and would give each group within his group opportunities for group photos.
Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Tribal Land, so expect a fee to enter their land on top of the cost of your tour. At the time of my visit (9/2018), this was $8 per person.
Where to stay? You’ll want to stay at a hotel or Airbnb in Page, AZ. You could drive from Flagstaff, or even hit the canyon and head on your way to the North Rim, but there are tons of things to do in Page, so you might as well make a night or two of it!

What to expect & Tips:

There will be a wait between check-in and boarding your tour vehicle for transport to the Canyon. This will be an outdoor wait, so as previously stated be thinking about how you’re going to protect yourself from the heat.
You will be taking a dusty, bumpy ride from the parking lot to the canyon. I personally didn’t find it to be a scarring thing, but some people write reviews like they saw their lives flash before their eyes! The good news is it’s a short ride.
Depending on the month you visit and the time of your tour, expect large, large numbers of people while on your tour. To say it was very crowded would hardly be accurate! You can schedule your tour for later or earlier in the day, but you won’t be as likely to see light beams…however, this may be worth it to you!
If you’re claustrophobic, I would think twice about visiting. There are a few corners we turned that were a little on the tight side!
The Upper Canyon is very physically doable. The tour through the canyon is completely level, although sandy, and would be OK for elderly folks and kids alike. I think wheelchairs would be a little more challenging due to the sand and occasional tight spaces, but call the tour companies to find out what their policies are.
You will not be allowed to bring any bags, tripods, or rear-facing baby carriers into the canyon. Water bottles and camera are allowed.
The lighting in the Upper Canyon is very, very poor. Since I didn’t want to pay for the photography tour, I had to play around with the settings on my Nikon the best I could on the fly! In a lot of cases, my parents got better pictures on their phones, especially when people were in the shot.
Pay attention to the weather forecast close to your visit. If it’s raining then your tour will most likely be canceled for safety reasons due to flash flooding.
Some people don’t see the point in scheduling a tour during peak/noon times because there’s no guarantee it won’t be cloudy, ruining the opportunity to see light beams.
There are no bathrooms, only port-a-potties, so be mentally prepared!

Tips for Visiting with Kids:

When I started planning this trip I was still pregnant with my first child. This means I was still blissfully ignorant of how much extra planning and effort traveling with kids require! It really didn’t occur to me to check how the logistics of bringing a child would work with this excursion until a couple of months prior. Fortunately, I did my research, and I’m glad to report that this tour is kid friendly. Of course, there are certain rules and things to think about when bringing kiddos:

I really feel like a broken record, but you have to make sure and plan ahead for keeping your kid(s) safe from the heat!! Bring them lots to drink, protection from the sun, and pay attention to their urine output for signs of dehydration
Baby carriers: carriers that for the back are not allowed, but forward carriers are allowed.
The upper Canyon is level, so you don’t have to worry about stairs or railings
The trucks that transport tourists to the canyon do not have seat belts. We had our daughter in our lap, and the tour guide made sure we were in the seats right up against the cab of the truck. I never felt like her safety was compromised, but this is going to be a personal preference of the parents.
Sunglasses would be nice for kiddos to help keep the dust from the ride out of their eyes!

The Upper Canyon is very dimly lit as you can see!!

I recommend being toward the front of the tour group…we were able to chat with our tour guide a lot and he told us some very interesting things about the Canyon!!

Pic of my dad and our tour guide!! He was really great! (Don’t mind my poor attempt at a photo bomb!!)

I took the shot to give you an idea of how crowded it was!

The above picture is the “heart” of the canyon…make sure you ask your tour guide to point it out!

I apologize for the blurriness of the pic, but I really wanted to include this pinpoint light beam!! I’ve seen better pictures of this very light beam on the internet…you’ll need the photography tour for sure if you’re gonna catch this one at its best!

The tree trunk in the above picture was settled in its location from a bad flood!

The colors in the Canyon are pretty amazing!

Picture courtesy of our tour guide 😉

So is it worth the money? Answer: yes, I think it was worth the money, and I’m a cheapskate so that ought to count for something. It’s truly a unique experience, and even though the prices were in my opinion exorbitant, I was glad that I got to see and experience it. It truly is a once and a lifetime thing, so you might as well budget the money to see it!