We booked a sunrise photography tour and sunset photography tour. Our sunrise photography tour was to start a 6 pm meeting in view hotel lobby (where we were staying). We came to lobby at 10 minutes before 6. At 6 am there was not guide and other tours left, so we called. They said would check on the guide but he should be there shortly. At 6:10 am, they said their guide accidentally picked up the wrong couple and took them on our private tour, but they had another guide on the way that would be their any minute. At 6:20 am, the blue hour skies where started to look spectacular, and I called again and asked when the guide would be here as we are missing blue hour (I could be shooting at the hotel rather than wait for the guide) and they said he should be there within the next few minutes. At 6:30 am, I called again, entirely frustrated, than they said our guide was walking up right then (he was). We good in the vehicle and left. The blue hour was about as beautiful as it can be. We stopped for 1 minuted near the hotel to take a few shots, then we drove for the next 20 minutes (fast - did not seem safe, but we made it safely) to the totem pole in the back of the park to get there just in time for sunrise, passing up the most beautify blue hour skies in panoramic views you can imagine. No photographer would have passed that up to get to a specific spot. We should have stopped and shot closer in rather than waste 20 minutes in a race to a specific spot. after that, the tour was fine, but we missed the money shots. The guide was good, and it was not his fault as a different guide picked up the wrong guests.
In our sunset tour, the guide arrived on time, but then asked if we where ready for our mystery valley tour. I said we booked a sunset photography tour. He replied since so should have seen everything on the sunrise tour, why would we want to do that again, to which I replied to shoot monument valley in different light. He replied, OK, if that is what you want to do (that is what I booked!). So we did the sunset tour, which was good, but got cloudy and was not as good leading up to sunset. The sunset spot was OK for sunset but we were dead in the valley shooting up (mostly of lower sky blocked by light). We where to stay there for blue hour and asked to move. We did. Went to 3 sisters and got some nice blue hour sky, but better looking sky was blocked. We finished up by the hotel (very nice there).
I was told by many that the was very unusual for Dineh Bekeyah Tours and they get very good reviews (I know that; that is why a booked with them). The wrong guests being picked up - come on; they don't even ask for names. And a guide shows up and doesn't even know what tour we booked. The did give use $100 off the $600 we paid for tours due to the screw up - otherwise I would have given 1 star (an maybe should have because I have been thinking about the mix up for days afterwards, while I should be completely enjoying the rest of my vacations. There are plenty of tour options in Monument Valley, so I would certainly recommend looking elsewhere for private photography tours (for standard valley tour, harder to screw that up)