We were unsure if this was the correct tour for us. We had booked multiple tours on our vacation from Denver to Las Vegas, and this was the last one we chose.
Let's face it, you can pay and drive the 17 mile of Monument Valley in your car for considerably less than the cost of the tour. WE were very surprised at how this tour was one of the best, most informative of the entire vacation.
As you enter the Navajo Nation, you get a sense of how desolate it is out there. Monument Valley is huge and only takes up a small portion of the Nation, which we were interested to learn on our tour is about the size of West Virginia.
As you drive through you can see just how beautiful the countryside is, and the best part of not driving, is you get to take a lot of pictures. Our guide was Navajo. He talked at length about the Valley, the people who lived there, the Navajo people, the traditions, and made many stops to point out the monuments, thier names and their importance.
I was very surprised to hear him say we were going off the main road, something only the Navajo can do, and take us to multiple arches through the valley. We took about 500 pictures in the valley and almost all were perfect. Especially when he told us where to walk, what to see and how to shoot.
I would absolutely recommend this trip to anyone. The small amount we paid for the experience was paid back 10 fold in the information we gained as a result of having someone who has lived their entire life in the area telling you about it.
The ride was on the back of a brand new Ford F250 in an open air seating. Easy to get up and down, even for my wife who has issues. We went in Late October, and the weather was cool in the morning, but the light was perfect for photography. 2 hours in, it did warm up a bit, and we were able to shed our coats.
No need to bring water or anything, he had that available to us also. Do yourself a favour, do not wait until this one is sold out. It is worth every penny to see this area from the preservative of someone who knows it, and you can enjoy it without having to worry about the driving.