"Our guide, Amory, was exceptionally knowledgeable about the Valleys, but also the culture of the area. We went to so many special places it was hard to keep them all straight. It was truly an awe inspiring day in the Monument and Mystery Valleys in Navaho Country. Ask for Amory to guide you too!"
Mittens · John Ford Point · Mystery Valley
Monument Valley Tours
A full day with a Navajo guide in an open-air vehicle: the Valley Drive's famous buttes, the backcountry arches you cannot drive to on your own, then the cliff ruins and petroglyphs of Mystery Valley. Small groups, from $147 a person.
Certified by GetYourGuide
From
$147
per person · Oct 2026
Free cancellation
- 4.9 / 5 133+ Reviews
- Navajo Local Guides
- Backcountry Guide-Only Access
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Full-Day Tour Includes
A Navajo guide, the restricted backcountry of Monument Valley, a traditional hogan, and Mystery Valley's ruins in one day.
Highlights
- Visit Monument Valley and Mystery Valley in one day
- See all main sights and learn about the area from your Navajo local guide
- Learn about the culture, history, and traditions of Navajo Nation
- Feel the thrill of traveling in open-air safari-style vehicles
What's Included
- Local Navajo Guide
- Access to the restricted backcountry of Monument Valley
- Visit to a Navajo traditional home
- Traditional musical performance by your guide
Good to know: The tour is operated on Utah Time (Mountain Daylight Time), which is one hour ahead of Arizona from March to November. If you are traveling from Arizona please be sure to leave one hour earlier (March 8th to November 1st, 2026) · During peak season (May to October), there’s usually a line to enter the Tribal Park. It can take up to 25 minutes to get in. Please arrive early! · The tour is operated in an open-air safari-style vehicle with a maximum of 12 passengers in warm weather and in an enclosed SUV vehicle with a maximum of 7 people in cold or hot weather · It is recommended to bring a bandana and sunglasses to protect your face from dust and sand · This tour is not suitable for infants aged 1 year or younger or women who are more than 5 months pregnant due to rough terrain · The Tribal Park entry ticket ($10) is not included in the tour price and can be purchased upon entry to the park · Car seats are required for children 2 years and under. Please bring it on tour. · Not Included: Monument Valley Tribal Park entry pass ($10 per person), Lunch, Tips
How a Monument Valley Tour Works
Pick the length and the light, pay the park entry at the gate, and meet your Navajo guide in the valley.
Pick the Tour
A 1.5 to 3-hour tour covers the Valley Drive's buttes plus a stretch of backcountry. The full day adds Mystery Valley's cliff ruins and petroglyphs. Sunrise and sunset departures time the drive for the low light on the Mittens.
Set Your Clock
Tours run on the Navajo Nation's time, which follows daylight saving: from March to early November the valley is one hour ahead of the rest of Arizona. Coming from Page or Flagstaff in those months, leave an hour earlier than Arizona time suggests.
Pay the Park Entry
Entry to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is $10 a person, paid at the gate and not included in most tour prices. The America the Beautiful pass is not accepted. In peak season the gate line can take 25 minutes.
Ride With a Navajo Guide
Your guide drives an open-air or enclosed vehicle from the visitor center area by The View Hotel, past the stops you could reach yourself and into the backcountry you cannot, with stories, a hogan visit and often a song or a flute.
Photo Gallery
Monument Valley and Mystery Valley
Photos from the full-day tour listing: the Mittens, the backcountry arches and the ruins of Mystery Valley.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Instant confirmation — free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Full Day, Jeep Tour, Sunset or Horseback?
Four Monument Valley tours compared on price, time and what each adds to the self-drive loop. Prices as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026.
| Feature | THE MOST IN ONE DAY Full Day With Mystery Valley | Backcountry Jeep Tour | Sunset Tour | Horseback Adventure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From (October 2026) | $147 per person | $68 per person | $78 per person | $74 per person |
| Length | 7 hours | 2.5 hours | 3 hours | 30 minutes to 1 hour |
| Backcountry (guide only) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Its own trail toward Eagle Mesa |
| Mystery Valley | Yes, ruins and petroglyphs | No | No | No |
| Hogan visit | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Rating | 4.9 (133 reviews) | 4.8 (2,479 reviews) | 4.8 (1,956 reviews) | 4.4 (1,465 reviews) |
| Park entry ($10 a person) | Extra | Extra | Extra | Not needed at the stables |
| Check Availability | See Jeep Tours | See Sunset Tours | See Horseback Rides |
Other Monument Valley Tours
More Ways to Tour Monument Valley
The most booked backcountry jeep tour, sunset and sunrise departures, a horseback ride and a longer highlights tour for photographers.
MOST BOOKEDMonument Valley: Backcountry Jeep Tour with Navajo Guide
See all the sights of Monument Valley on a small group tour led by a local guide. Enjoy an exclusive visit to the valley’s backcountry, which is only accessible with a Navajo guide.
SUNSETMonument Valley: Sunset Tour with Navajo Guide
Embark on a tour of Monument Valley and discover the breathtaking monuments you’ve seen in photos and western movies.
ON HORSEBACKMonument Valley: Horseback Adventure Tour
Embark on a unique journey through the iconic Monument Valley. This adventure immerses you in the Navajo culture, where horses hold a revered and spiritual role.
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERSMonument Valley: Highlights Tour with Backcountry Access
Treat yourself to a 3.5 hour tour of Monument Valley with plenty of time at each stop to take the perfect picture and enjoy the views.
4.9 RATEDMonument Valley: Scenic 2.5-Hour Guided Tour
Enter the backcountry of Monument Valley to visit the popular arches and petroglyph sights made by the ancient Anasazi people.
SUNRISEMonument Valley: 3-Hour Sunrise Tour
Depart from loading area outside The View Hotel and see the glow of the sunrise over Mittens and Merrick Butte. See the Totem Pole as the sunrises before heading to your next location.
The Guide
Which Monument Valley Tour to Book, and What the Loop Road Leaves Out
You can drive part of the valley yourself. The arches, the ruins and the guide's stories are what a tour adds. Here is how the tours differ.
A Monument Valley tour is a drive through the Navajo Nation’s tribal park with a Navajo guide, and it is the only way into the parts of the valley that visitors cannot enter on their own. The 17-mile Valley Drive past the Mittens and John Ford Point is open to private cars. The arches, petroglyphs and cliff dwellings beyond it are reached only with a guide. The tour this page puts first is the Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Full-Day Tour: the famous buttes, the restricted backcountry, a traditional hogan, then the Ancestral Puebloan ruins of Mystery Valley next door. It is from $147 a person (checked October 2026) and rated 4.9 out of 5 from 133 reviews.
The full day suits anyone who has driven a long way to get here and wants more than the overlooks. Guests on recent tours write about guides who took them “to so many special places it was hard to keep them all straight”, and about Mystery Valley as “an unexpected highlight”. The vehicle is an open-air, safari-style truck in warm weather and an enclosed van in the cold, with up to 12 passengers.
Check dates for the full-day tour
Do you need a tour at all?
No, not for the Valley Drive. With a car that can handle a rough, sandy dirt road, you can pay the entry fee and drive the loop’s numbered stops yourself in two to three hours. Plenty of people do, and it is a fine way to see the Mittens, Elephant Butte, the Three Sisters and John Ford Point.
What you cannot do alone is leave the loop. Ear of the Wind, Sun’s Eye, the Big Hogan arch, Moccasin Arch, the petroglyph panels and all of Mystery Valley sit in areas the park opens only to Navajo-guided tours. A guide also brings what the overlooks cannot: the names the Navajo give the formations, family history in the valley, and in most tours a song or a flute under the Big Hogan. The self-drive guide has the loop, the vehicle rules and what each kind of tour adds.
Which tour fits your day
The tours differ mainly in length and in the light. Most leave from the visitor center area beside The View Hotel.
Pick the one that fits your trip:
The most in one day
Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Full Day
The buttes, the backcountry arches, a hogan visit, then Mystery Valley's ruins and petroglyphs.
Check dates →The most booked
Backcountry Jeep Tour
The Valley Drive's sights plus the restricted backcountry with a Navajo guide, in a small group.
See the jeep tours →For the light
Sunset Tour with Navajo Guide
The same backcountry route timed for the golden hour on the Mittens, with a hogan visit.
See sunset and sunrise tours →On horseback
Horseback Adventure Tour
Navajo guides and horses from a ranching family, matched to your riding level, toward Eagle Mesa.
See the horseback rides →Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote. They change with the date and the group size, and the park entry fee is paid separately.
Monument Valley tours compared
| Tour | From | Length | What it adds to the loop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenic 1.5-Hour Tour | $65 | 1.5 hours | The loop with a Navajo guide driving |
| Backcountry Jeep Tour with Navajo Guide | $68 | 2.5 hours | Backcountry arches, a song by the guide |
| Scenic 2.5-Hour Guided Tour | $70 | 2.5 hours | Ear of the Wind, Eye of the Sun, petroglyphs |
| Sunset Tour with Navajo Guide | $78 | 3 hours | Golden hour, a hogan, a rug-weaving demonstration when available |
| 3-Hour Sunrise Tour | $80 | 3 hours | Sunrise behind the Mittens, the backcountry |
| Highlights Tour with Backcountry Access | $83 | 3.5 hours | Longer photo stops, Ear of the Wind, Ancestral Puebloan ruins |
| Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Full Day | $147 | 7 hours | All of the above plus Mystery Valley |
Prices are per person, checked on GetYourGuide in October 2026. On most tours the $10 park entry is extra.
Three things that catch people out
The clock. The Navajo Nation keeps daylight saving time; the rest of Arizona does not. From March to early November the valley runs an hour ahead of Page, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, and the tours run on that time. If you are driving in from Arizona, leave an hour earlier.
The gate. Entry to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park costs $10 a person, and national park passes are not accepted. From May to October the line at the gate can take 25 minutes, so arrive well before your tour. The entrance fee guide has the hours by season.
The heat and the dust. Open-air vehicles are the point of these tours and they are dusty. Bring a hat, sunglasses, water and something to cover your mouth; the operators list a scarf or headscarf.
Getting to Monument Valley
The park sits on the Arizona-Utah line on the Navajo Nation, off US-163 between Kayenta, Arizona and Mexican Hat, Utah. Page is about two hours away by road, Flagstaff about three, and Las Vegas six or more, which is why many visitors stay a night nearby at The View Hotel, Goulding’s or in Kayenta. From Las Vegas without a car, the three-day tours from Las Vegas include a short Navajo-guided jeep tour of the valley. North of the park on US-163 is Forrest Gump Point, the stretch of road where Forrest stops running.
Coming from Page? lowerantelopecanyontour.com covers Antelope Canyon, the other Navajo-guided canyon most people pair with the valley on the same trip.
Guest Reviews
What Guests Say About the Full-Day Tour
4.9/5
from 133 verified guests
"A wonderful tour. Our guide Larry was fantastic – we couldn't have asked for anything better. He told us the history of Monument Valley in an engaging and exciting way, and it was very easy to understand. The visit to Mystery Valley was an unexpected highlight. Congratulations to Larry again!!!"
"Informative and very professional by a knowledgeable driver/guide."
"We enjoyed Tim's stories, as well as the care he took to show us new places in Monument Valley compared to what we had done the day before"
"A dive into the lands of the Navajo. An intense and comprehensive hike to discover Monument Valley and Mystery Valley. A bit tiring but worth it!"
"Our guide, Sandrea, was knowledgeable and personable and very in tune with her Navajo culture. Monument Valley and the backcountry tour were both breathtaking scenery coupled with her passion for the earth. It would have been helpful if the information in the tour had included more detail about appropriate attire as it was really windy and cold."
"Had a great time with Sandrea. She was super knowledgeable and a proud Navajo, sharing history and traditions with us."
"Better guide. More friendly. More comfortable transportation"
Read all 133 verified reviews
See All ReviewsSee the Valley the Loop Road Does Not Reach
The full-day tour takes you round Monument Valley's famous buttes and into the backcountry with a Navajo guide, then on to the ruins and petroglyphs of Mystery Valley, with a visit to a traditional hogan. Rated 4.9 from 133 reviews, from $147 a person as of October 2026 (park entry of $10 a person paid separately), with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Starting from $147 per person · Oct 2026.
Check Availability & BookCan't Make These Dates?
Browse More Available Options
Find a tour that fits your schedule. Check each listing's cancellation terms: some dates are non-refundable.
Monument Valley Tour FAQ
The questions people ask before booking a tour of Monument Valley, answered in the first sentence.
Not for the 17-mile Valley Drive, which you can drive yourself after paying the $10-a-person entry, but you do for everything beyond it. The backcountry arches, the rock art and Mystery Valley are open only to Navajo-guided tours. Many visitors drive the loop one day and take a tour the next. The self-drive guide explains what each option covers.
For the most in one day, the Monument Valley and Mystery Valley Full-Day Tour, rated 4.9; for a shorter visit, the Backcountry Jeep Tour, the most booked tour in the valley. The full day covers the buttes, the restricted backcountry, a hogan visit and Mystery Valley's ruins in seven hours. The jeep tour covers the loop and the backcountry in 2.5 hours. For the light, book a sunset tour.
From about $65 a person for a 1.5-hour tour to $147 for the full day with Mystery Valley, on GetYourGuide in October 2026. Most 2.5 to 3-hour tours, including the sunset and sunrise departures, cost $68 to $85. The $10-a-person park entry is paid separately at the gate on most tours, and tips are extra. Multi-day trips from Las Vegas start at $650.
$10 a person in 2026, paid at the gate or online through Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation. The fee is per person, not per car, and covers the visitor center and the Valley Drive. Fees rose at all Navajo tribal parks on 1 January 2026. The entrance fee guide has the hours by season.
No. Monument Valley is a Navajo Nation tribal park, not a national park, so the America the Beautiful pass and other federal passes are not accepted. Pass holders pay the tribal park entry of $10 a person like everyone else, and guided tours are priced on top.
Yes, on the Valley Drive, a 17-mile dirt road that most people drive in two to three hours. The park calls it very rough with deep sand, says you drive at your own risk, and bars RVs, camper vans, motorcycles, large SUVs and off-road vehicles. Ordinary cars manage slowly in dry weather. Leaving the road for the backcountry is not allowed without a Navajo guide.
Half a day for the Valley Drive and the visitor center, a full day if you add a tour. The drive takes two to three hours, a guided tour 1.5 to 3.5 hours, and the full day with Mystery Valley seven. Staying a night nearby lets you see both sunset and sunrise, the two best times of day here.
April and May, and late September to October: warm days, long opening hours and fewer storms. Summer is hot and busy, with afternoon thunderstorms from about July. Winter is cold and quiet, and the Valley Drive's last entry is 2:30 pm. The best time guide covers each season and time of day.
Navajo Nation time, which follows daylight saving: from March to early November the valley is one hour ahead of the rest of Arizona. Tours run on that clock. If you drive in from Page, Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon in those months, leave an hour earlier than Arizona time suggests, and allow time for the gate.
Yes, if you want more than the overlooks: a tour is the only way into the backcountry arches and Mystery Valley. You also get a Navajo guide's knowledge of the place and someone else driving the rough road. If the classic views are enough and your car can handle the dirt road, driving the loop yourself is a fine, cheaper visit.
Most start from the visitor center area beside The View Hotel, inside the tribal park. You pay the entry at the gate on the way in, then meet the operator in the parking area. The horseback ride is different: it starts from stables near the KOA campground, outside the visitor area. Check the meeting point on your ticket.
John Ford's Westerns, starting with Stagecoach in 1939 and including The Searchers, plus later films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Easy Rider, Back to the Future Part III and Forrest Gump. Ford made seven films here, and a viewpoint on the Valley Drive is named after him. The movies guide lists them with years.
Still have questions? Email us at info@monument-valley-tour.com