Monument Valley Tours
 

We will be visiting Monument Valley in mid-April. What tour operators do you recommend? Should we go through the View Hotel, Gouldings, or one of the Navajo-run operators?
Thank you.
Steve
P.S. This topic was discussed in 2009 so it's time for an update.

I see nobody is chiming in.

My experience with Gouldings predates 2009. We took a tour in an open vehicle, which was a big mistake because wind was blowing sand and I was wearing contact lenses. All I remember is that I couldn't see much and, when we got back to the hotel, I paid an exorbitant price for eye drops at the Goulding store.

Years later we stayed at The View and drove around on our own at dusk. That was very enjoyable.

HTtY

I expect that most tours will be very similar. And in most cases the differences in your tour will depend on which guide you get- which will be random. We used Gouldings and enjoyed it. We did have a small van as it was off season.

I agree with InSandy. From personal experience/research, I believe that all tours are Navajo run. Choose one that will be convenient to where you're staying. Tours vary mostly by vehicle type (April might be cold, so look for an enclosed vehicle) and length (scenic loop only; addition of some backcountry; addition of backcountry and some Indian performances).

Driving in your own car is a possibility, but the bumpy dirt road voids rental car contracts, and the road is sometimes impassable to low clearance or two wheel drive vehicles.

We just drove through in our own car. I didn't think the road was bad at all--its a dirt road.

As for the rental agreement--as the saying goes,
"What's the difference between a rent a car and an SUV in Salt Lake City?"

"The rent a car has actually been driven off road"

Take one that goes to part of the backcountry. You can drive yourself around the self drive loop but many tours will take you to places that you can't drive (at times you won't even want to drive the self driving road - we were there once after a torrential downpour and the road was bad). I like to take the tour to support the tribe and to hear their descriptions of things and their stories. I think it is well worth it.