We are considering taking a couple of hours to visit Antelope Canyon next spring when we travel out west. What experience does anyone have with the various tour operators? I understand that you must tour the canyon with a Navajo-approved tour guide, but there are several to choose from.

Also, we will be coming from South Rim of GC. Is there a time of day that is best to plan our arrival and tour? I read that the light beams appear at certain times of the day.

Thanks!

I did a short boat tour into the Canyon, the experience was like we'd left the Earth and float on some strange planet! It was great.

Most of the tours offer the same things as all they can do is drive you to the entrance of Upper Antelope and let you walk in. Best time of day to see the rich colors and the sunbeams is from about 11am to 2pm. Plan on bringing a tripod as it is very dark inside and your exposures can be several seconds in length. Avoid getting the sunlight in the photo. A small flashlight will help you get around. Do not use a flash as it will wash out the reflected light off the upper walls.
You can go across the road to Lower Antelope. This is more difficult to access as you enter through a crack in the rock and will be squeezing though tight spots and going up and down metal ladders. When I was there several years ago there was no time limit on how long you could spend in the canyon as opposed to the Upper. There are far fewer people here.

We are just back from the west where we visited the Upper Antelope Canyon. The Lower is described below and is usually reached by boat I think. The Upper is supposed to be superior. We chose Navajo Tours http://navajotours.com/tours.shtml
and found the Etsitty family that runs the tours to be very nice people. They have the cheaper trip $20. plus the $6. Navajo admission charge (all add this) Other tours start in Page but we saved by driving out Hwy 98 East about three miles. The entrance is across from the entrance to the Power Plant. You ride up a dry river bed on seats constructed in the back of a truck. Others offer air conditioned vehicles, but you would miss an amusement park like ride up the sand filled river bottom. You do want to take the tour in the middle of the day i.e. 11:30 tour to catch the beams of sunlight that stream down through the sandstone. It is every bit is beautiful as the pictures. It will be a larger crowd at that time, but I can not imagine going when the beams are not in view. The guides will try to keep your groups together from chamber to chamber so that you can get photos without people in them and throw sand up into the beams for a unique effect. You must be able to disable your flash to get the pictures. It will be a great experience. By all means include it in your plans. I am posting our trip report under the Utah search if it can be of help to you. We call ourselves the Paupers.

No reason to book a tour in advance. I was there less than a month ago.

From Route 89 (the main road) turn East onto Route 98. After a couple of miles you pass a junction and the Big Lake Trading Post. Continue in the direction of the power plant about 1.5 miles and you'll see a sign for Upper Antelope Canyon.

Turn right into the parking lot, pay the $6. parking fee and then buy a $20. tour ticket.

The guide will drive you in an open truck for about 10 minutes to the Canyon. Our guide was a 23 year old Navajo student who I'm sure had all the standard stories. He pointed out various named locations as well as the good photo opportunities.

Also, less than a mile South off the Route 98 cutoff on Route 89 is a sign for Horseshoe Bend. Turn right into the parking lot (free) and walk the 3/4 mile hike to the edge of the cliff.

That Horseshoe Bend turnoff should have read "turn West" into the parking lot. It's directly off Route 89.

Left & right depends upon whether you're going North or South.

Just thought you might enjoy this thread from another forum I visit. (photography)
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=23903097

As mentioned before, a tripod with cable release is best for the long exposures required. However, for those of you with 'point & shoot' digital cameras, here is some advice. Use a higher ISO (400) and set your camera to 'Night Scenes'. Do disable your flash (Most cameras have a 'Never Flash" option). Lean against a wall to steady your camera and do not get bright sky/sunlight in your exposure. Was there on June 11th and got some very good shots this way without a tripod.

Thanks for all the good advice! Myer, I'll be taking my "Canon" Rebel with me! LOL!!! Your photos, and those of Panhandle, have really inspired me! I appreciate all the photo advice.

Paupers, thanks for the great trip report on your other thread! BTW - I also bumped into you on a Nags Head thread - we are going to the Outer Banks in August!