Nov 10, 2024
Spectacular visit with Navajo singing! - Viewed from the inside, on board the 9-seater vans or next to the driver (as I did to not eat too much dust during the hike), it's a different matter. There is a way to see each pinnacle well, the "three sisters", the monumental "mesas" and finally, during the short stop, to accompany, clapping, the song of an elderly Navajo who escorted us to the bottom of the plateau made famous by the film by John Ford, starring John Wayne, "Red Shadows". The tour lasts half an hour during which you can enjoy the best of the surrounding environment, inevitably covered in the thin red dust of which the valley is composed, but it fits!!
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Nov 6, 2024
Only One Way to Visit the Valley via a Tour with Guide - Blackwater Fabulous - Did not book in advance as wanted to see whether my car would be able to drive round the valley. It was touch & go, but in the end we went with Blackwater Tours & we are so glad that we did - it was fabulous, enhanced by the tour guides fabulous local knowledge, it made the trip exceptional. We visited loads of places on the tour & of course the guides & tour vehicles are able top go to places that you cannot go to in your own vehicle. The views were stunning, the names of the formations descriptive but what made was the guide. So much history, so many stories about every part of the valley, it was captivating & delivered in a conversational matter of fact way which made it totally understandable. We could have made a mistake & driven ourselves, the Blackwater tour was the way to get the most out of the visit
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Sep 30, 2023
Navaho Cultural Experience - This was to be a group tour, but there were just the 2 of us. Our guide Willie was provided a great history lesson as we stopped at each formation. The Navaho culture was brought to life when Willie shared his story of growing up in a hogan in the Valley. This is a must do tour! Thank you for a great experience.
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Jul 8, 2022
Very good tour - Very good tour to have a great overview of Monument Valley. The guide was very friendly and gave us a lot of information.
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Jun 6, 2019
Excellent 2-1/2 hour tour of the Navajo Tribal Land - First off, Monument Valley is so scenic! And seeing it was even better with Larry as our Navajo guide. He was knowledgeable, friendly and humorous. We did the early 8 AM tour in an open tour truck with Larry driving. We could hear him very well with the speaker in front of us.
We had the opportunity to go to restricted areas to see arches, hieroglyphs, and visit a local family. Great morning.
Couple of suggestions...
Go early since the roads are rocky, uneven and much dust is kicked up by vehicles. We avoided some of the dust by being one of the first vehicles in the Valley. Also take sunglasses and a kerchief or something else to cover one's mouth & nose due to the dust. Might also have water to drink while in the truck and eye drops to use after the end of the tour.
We were also happy to tip Larry and the family we visited. Lastly, a thank you to the Navajo people for sharing their time and land with us!
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Aug 31, 2018
The only way to see Monument Valley - While they have a “public tour” of Monument Valley, the best way to see it is with a Navajo Guide. You’ll go into places the public generally doesn’t go and get some insight into the Navajo culture. Our guide Hope showed a remarkable amount of insight into her culture and its relationship to the modern culture.
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May 4, 2018
Beautiful experience - I did the Tour of Monument Valley with my family during Spring break. In the morning it was chilly so they used a close vehicle. The tour was very beautiful and the kind Navajo guide was very good in explaining us all the things we were admiring: ancient villages, movie sets, the changing of landscape with season, and the life in the valley. We have a 1 hour 1/2 tour, and it was enaugh exhaustive to understand the essence of this magical place. I advice who wants to see the valley to avoid to go with his own vehicle because the road is very dangerous if you do not have a real cross country vehicle. The tour is also limited if you use a personal car, because you must have permits to transpass some properties.
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Mar 20, 2018
Exactly What We Needed - My friends and I were extremely lucky on our vacation - everything seemed to work out perfectly in ways we didn't even know we needed until we got there. This tour is a great example of that.
The day before our tour we hiked the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon and then did a jeep tour of Horseshoe Bend Slot Canyon and Overlook. It was exhilarating and exhausting, and the early wake up for this tour was a little hard but we knew it would be worth it. We were expecting another open air jeep and came prepared with layers and hats/mittens/scarves but were very pleasantly surprised to find out we were the only ones scheduled that morning and were going in an enclosed SUV with heat and everything!
Our tour guide was a quiet but friendly lady who gave us history and personal stories as she drove us on roads I would never have been comfortable driving. She was very honest with us about the time we spent at each stop, letting us know where we could linger and when we should be more brief. We were never rushed but were aware of how to spend our time most wisely.
At several stops she gave us excellent advice on how to set up for the best pictures, and pointed out features of the landscape we might have otherwise missed. She answered questions honestly, and unlike some people was able to say "I don't know" instead of making things up. Some stops were for little more than taking a picture, and some allowed us to get out and actually explore the land a little. After our more rigorous outings the day before, this tour was the perfect balance of activity and rest for us.
We left this tour full of awe and respect for the history of the land and people who lived on it.
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Dec 18, 2017
Great Tour Company! Reliable, Friendly and Informative! - My husband and I were driving out from Sedona for a day trip/tour of Monument Valley. Since we had rented a Camero for our road trip, we had read this was not the ideal car and were hoping to contact a tour company to show us around, while being in a more reliable vehicle. We contacted a couple other companies and had called them throughout the morning on the day of, as their websites reported earlier business hours but continued to obtain voicemail messages saying that they were unable to get to their phones. We ended up calling BLACKWATER TOURS and right away, we had gotten in touch with someone on the phone and he was able to get us on a tour right away- 45 mins to be exact...when we had arrived to the Navajo Tribal Park. We were greeted by WILLIE, our tour guide who had taken my husband and I around in a Jeep Wrangler (in great shape!) and we had a private tour. Willie was informative and was able to answer our questions. (We had a private tour as it was the low travel season- mid December.) Would definitely recommend this company! I'm very surprised they didn't have many reviews and good ones at that...!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 18, 2017
Great Tour Company- Reliable, Friendly and Informative - My husband and I were driving out from Sedona for a day trip/tour of Monument Valley. Since we had rented a Camero for our road trip, we had read this was not the ideal car and were hoping to contact a tour company to show us around, while being in a more reliable vehicle. We contacted a couple other companies and had called them throughout the morning on the day of, as their websites reported earlier business hours but continued to obtain voicemail messages saying that they were unable to get to their phones. We ended up calling BLACKWATER TOURS and right away, we had gotten in touch with someone on the phone and he was able to get us on a tour right away- 45 mins to be exact...when we had arrived to the Navajo Tribal Park. We were greeted by WILLIE, our tour guide who had taken my husband and I around in a Jeep Wrangler (in great shape!) and we had a private tour. Willie was informative and was able to answer our questions. (We had a private tour as it was the low travel season- mid December.) Would definitely recommend this company! I'm very surprised they didn't have many reviews and good ones at that...!
Review provided by Tripadvisor