Monument Valley Tours: Navajo-Guided Jeep, Horseback & Sunset Trips
The self-drive loop shows you the postcard. The Navajo-guided Monument Valley tours below take you past the gate into the backcountry the road never reaches: arches, hogans, hidden petroglyphs, and the light that made this valley famous. Here is how the nine bookable trips compare, with real ratings and live dates.
Picked and checked with Daniel Begay, Monument Valley guide & Navajo cultural specialist
Navajo-guided operators rated up to ★ 5.0, across 7,277 GetYourGuide & Viator reviews. Free cancellation on most tours.
Navajo-guided operators7,277 real GetYourGuide & Viator reviewsRatings 4.0 to 5.0Free cancellation on most tours
Which Monument Valley tour is best?
For a first visit, the Navajo-guided scenic tour is the best all-round Monument Valley tour: about three hours, a small group, and backcountry access beyond the 17-mile loop. Want to drive the arches yourself? Take a jeep tour. Want the quiet version? Ride horseback. Chasing the light? Book a sunrise or sunset tour. Every option below is Navajo-guided except the self-drive audio route, and each books on the operator's official listing.
The best Monument Valley tours, by what you want to see
Two tours suit almost everyone arriving at the park: a guided small-group loop, or a self-drive of the same 17 miles at your own pace. Start here, then jump to a category below for jeep, horseback, backcountry or golden-hour trips.
Badge of Excellence on Viator · Likely to sell out
Best for a first visit: a Navajo-guided small-group loop with restricted backcountry access the self-drive road never reaches
Monument Valley Scenic Tour with a Navajo Guide (about 3 hours)
5.0across 709 Viator reviews
Small group (up to 12) with a local Navajo guide, open-air 4x4 in the warm months, traditional Navajo music along the way
Reaches restricted backcountry beyond the 17-mile loop: arches, amphitheatres and Anasazi petroglyphs most visitors never see
Meets at the Navajo Welcome Center in Oljato; free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Tribal Park admission (about $10pp) is paid separately at the gate
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
The buttes turn from gold to blood-red in the last hour of light. Sunrise and sunset trips, timed to the Navajo Nation clock (which runs on daylight saving).
Every backcountry trip here is run by a Navajo-owned operator. This is the cultural side: hogans, weaving, music and the stories behind the rock.
How to choose your Monument Valley tour
The honest way to pick: decide how far off the paved viewpoints you want to get, and how you want to move. This table is the whole decision on one screen.
Monument Valley tours: prices, permits and park facts
A few facts change how every Monument Valley tour works. The park sits on Navajo Nation land, so a National Park pass does not cover it, and the entrance fee is usually separate from the tour price.
Where
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, on the Arizona-Utah state line, on the Navajo Nation
Tribal Park entrance
About $10 per person per day (roughly $15 per vehicle for the Scenic Drive), paid at the gate, usually not included in tour prices. Subject to change.
Park hours
Summer (Apr–Sep) roughly 8am–7pm, last entry ~4:30pm; winter (Oct–Mar) roughly 8am–5pm, last entry ~2:30pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
The 17-mile loop
A rough dirt scenic road, ~2–3 hours to drive; motorcycles and RVs are not allowed and low cars struggle, which is why many visitors take a guided tour.
Backcountry
Beyond the loop (Ear of the Wind, Mystery Valley, the arches and hogans) you can only go with a Navajo guide.
Clock
The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time; most of Arizona does not, so in summer the valley runs an hour ahead of Phoenix and Page. Check your sunrise and sunset tour times against that.
Verified against the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation information; fees and hours can change, so confirm on your booking. See the Monument Valley guides for the full detail.
Where Monument Valley tours go on the map
Tours meet at the Navajo Welcome Center in Oljato, outside The View Hotel, or at operators near the KOA, all within the park boundary on the Utah-Arizona line.
Monument Valley tours: common questions
What is the best tour in Monument Valley?
For most first visits, the Navajo-guided scenic tour is the best Monument Valley tour: about three hours, a small group, and access to backcountry the self-drive loop cannot reach, with a 5.0 rating across 709 Viator reviews. If you specifically want to drive the arches, a jeep tour is the pick; for golden-hour light, a sunset tour.
Do I need a tour for Monument Valley, or can I drive it myself?
You can drive the 17-mile Valley Drive loop yourself in your own vehicle without a guide, and many people do. But the backcountry, the arches, Mystery Valley and the hogans are closed to self-drivers: those you can only reach on a Navajo-guided tour. So the honest answer is that you need a tour only if you want to see past the public loop.
How much does a Monument Valley tour cost?
Guided Monument Valley tours are typically booked per person and vary by length and season, so we do not print a fixed figure: the live price shows on each operator's GetYourGuide or Viator listing for your date. Budget separately for the Tribal Park entrance fee, about $10 per person, which most tours do not include.
How much time do you need at Monument Valley?
Plan at least half a day. The 17-mile loop alone takes two to three hours, and a guided backcountry tour runs about two and a half to three and a half hours on top of arriving, parking and paying the fee. To catch both sunset and sunrise light, many visitors stay overnight at The View or in Kayenta.
Are Monument Valley tours Navajo-guided?
The guided tours here are, yes. Every jeep, horseback, backcountry, sunrise and sunset trip we list is run by a Navajo-owned operator with a local guide, which is also what grants access to the restricted backcountry. The only non-guided option is the self-drive GPS audio route on the public loop.
Why trust these Monument Valley tour picks
These picks come from Daniel Begay, a Monument Valley guide and Navajo cultural specialist who has led visitors through the park since 2022. Every rating, duration and inclusion here is checked against the operator's own current GetYourGuide or Viator listing, not copied from other blogs. We are an independent guide, not the operator, and we earn a disclosed commission if you book through our links, which never changes what you pay.
Ready to pick your Monument Valley tour?
Start with the Navajo-guided scenic loop, or jump to jeep, horseback, backcountry or golden-hour trips. Live dates and prices are on each operator's official listing.
