National Park Express Upper Antelope Canyon Tour: What to Know Before You Book

What to expect on the Upper Antelope Canyon tour

The Upper Antelope Canyon tour is the Upper Antelope listing we feature most on this site. It started from $90 per person when we checked on October 16, 2026, and includes canyon entry, a Navajo guide and the ride from a base in Page to the canyon and back. The $15 Navajo Parks fee, $16 with tax, is paid on top.

The calendar below shows which tour times still have space on your dates. The listing currently offers free cancellation up to five days before.

Upper Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon on Navajo land a few miles east of Page, Arizona. Its Navajo name, Tsé Bíghanílíní, is usually translated as "the place where water runs through rocks". The floor is flat sand, so you walk through at ground level with no ladders. From April to September, around midday, sunlight comes straight down through the opening overhead and lands on the floor as a narrow beam. Those light beams are one of the main reasons people choose Upper over Lower.

You can't visit on your own. The canyon is inside a Navajo tribal park, and every visitor goes in with an authorized Navajo guide. Several Navajo companies run the same walk, and booking sites resell each of them under different names and prices. This listing is sold by National Park Express, and its booking notes say the ticket comes from a third-party supplier. Depending on the option you pick, you are placed with one of four companies: Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours, Antelope Slot Canyon Tours, Adventurous Antelope Canyon or Antelope Hogan Canyon Tours.

We have not taken this tour ourselves. For this page we checked recent traveler reports, especially the lower-rated ones about timing, fees and the pace inside the slot, and compared them with the listing and the Navajo companies' own websites.

Four points stand out before you book:

• The $90 price does not include the $16 Navajo Parks fee or a tip for the guide.
• The walk through the canyon is short and runs in a steady line, with other groups close in front and behind.
• Guides spend much of the walk setting up and taking photos, and many reviewers wanted more history.
• The time on your booking may be the check-in time, with the tour leaving around 50 minutes later.

The fee and the check-in arrangement are both set out in the listing and booking notes. The pace follows from how the canyon is run, since every company sends its groups into the same narrow slot one after another. The tour still holds a 4.5 average from more than 3,000 reviews, and most of the lower-rated reviews still describe the canyon itself as beautiful.

Upper Antelope or another slot canyon?

Upper is the one with the midday light beams and a flat walk. Three other listings near Page suit different priorities, each checked on October 16, 2026:

• The Lower Antelope Canyon Entry and Navajo Guided Tour lists a 60-minute walk and started from $75 per person with the Navajo Parks fee included. You go down steep metal stairs and ladders, and it is rated 4.7 from more than 9,600 reviews.
• The Antelope Canyon X Guided Tour started from $82 per person, lasts about an hour and is rated 4.7 from more than 4,500 reviews. Canyon X is deeper, the walk in and out is steep, and you drive yourself to the meeting point.
• The Upper Antelope Deer Canyon Two-Level Tour goes into Deer Canyon, a separate slot in Antelope Valley that its operator runs in small groups or privately. It started from $110 per person plus the $15 Navajo Parks fee, starts down a 135-foot stairway and is rated 4.7 from more than 160 reviews. Despite the name, it is not Upper Antelope Canyon.

Our Upper vs Lower Antelope Canyon guide compares the two main canyons in more detail.

Five tips before you book

• Book a midday slot between April and September if you want the light beams. The listing says the beams appear around midday in those months. Early slots can be dark inside the canyon.
• Read the option name before you pay. When we checked the options in September 2026, one was a "Guided 2-mile Hiking Tour, No Transport to Canyon". On that option you walk to the canyon and back over sand, which recent travelers enjoyed in mild weather and found a little difficult in August heat.
• Budget about $106 per person, plus a tip. The listing adds the $16 Navajo Parks fee and suggests a tip of $2 to $5 per person. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours, one of the four companies, listed its own sightseeing tour at $92 plus the $15 fee and booking charges when we checked, and its midday departure costs more. People who later saw a lower walk-up price at the office felt they had overpaid, so compare both before you book.
• Check your confirmation for whether your time is check-in or departure. Several reviewers found the time they booked was the check-in time and the tour left 50 minutes to an hour later, which pushed some of them past the best light. Tour times run on Phoenix time. The Navajo Nation changes its clocks in summer and Arizona doesn't, so from March to November your phone can show an hour later near the canyon.
• Leave your bag in the car. The listing says no bags are allowed on the walk. Bring a phone or a small camera, water and closed shoes. Tripods, monopods, selfie sticks and flash are not allowed.

Light beams, seasons and winter tours

The listing describes the beams as a midday sight from April to September, with deeper color in the morning and afternoon. One reviewer who went in mid-September 2026 was told by their guide that the beams are only visible from April to August, so a late-September booking may miss them.

Tours run all year. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours runs seven days a week, drops its 4 p.m. departure after September 30 and offers lower prices in late fall and winter, so from October to March there are fewer time slots to choose from. Our best time to visit guide has the month-by-month detail.

Other Page, Arizona canyon and boat tours

Page has plenty to fill the rest of the day. The overlook at Horseshoe Bend is a few minutes from town, Lake Powell has boat trips into the lower end of Antelope Canyon, and Lower Antelope Canyon fits before or after a midday Upper tour. Day trips from Las Vegas and Sedona combine several of these stops. Live availability for tours around Page and Antelope Canyon is below.

How an Upper Antelope Canyon tour runs

The listing gives a total of 75 to 160 minutes. Its itinerary shows a 40-minute guided tour of the canyon, while the inclusions list says about 50 minutes. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours says its tour takes about 100 minutes in total. A midday booking usually runs like this:

• Check-in at the company's base in Page. The listing has four possible starting points, set by the option you choose.
• The ride out, which the listing puts at about 10 minutes on a paved road and 10 minutes along the dry wash.
• The guided walk through the canyon.
• The way back over the top of the canyon on stairs and a sandy path, then the ride back to base.

Closures for weather or safety are decided by the canyon operators and Navajo Parks, and the booking notes say the reseller has no control over them.

Stop 1: Check-in in Page

Several reviewers describe a long wait at check-in. Some groups found no staff at the meeting point at the stated time, and one recent reviewer said the restroom queue nearly made their group late for departure. Arrive with time to spare and use the restroom before the line builds.

The bag rule is enforced before you board, so decide what you will carry before you leave the car. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours allows clear bags with everything visible, and the booking notes say policies vary by company, with final instructions given on site. Children aged 8 and under need a car seat or booster for the ride, and the listing says you bring your own.

Stop 2: The ride out

Half of the ride runs along a sandy wash, and it can be bumpy and dusty. Depending on the company, you ride in an open truck or an enclosed van. Antelope Slot Canyon Tours, for example, describes climate-controlled 4x4 vans. You don't choose the vehicle, because it comes with the company your option places you with. Some travelers who rode in an open truck in summer heat said it spoiled this part of the trip. Transportation scores 4.4 out of 5 on the listing.

The listing marks the tour as not suitable for wheelchair users, people with mobility impairments, heart problems or other medical conditions, or pregnant travelers.

Stop 3: Upper Antelope Canyon

The listing says your guide explains the canyon's geology, cultural history and modern issues. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours says groups spend 30 to 40 minutes inside on average, and travelers report a walk of about that length, with a photo stop every few steps.

Guides score 4.6 out of 5, the listing's highest category. They know the photo positions, set up your phone camera for the low light and take pictures of your group at each stop, and some finish with a few notes on a flute.

Most of the criticism focuses on the pace. Groups follow one another closely through the slot, and if you stop for a photo, the guide of the group behind may ask you to move on. With several guides talking at once, some reviewers found it hard to hear their own. Many said there was little history or explanation, and people who expected a cultural tour were disappointed by how much of it was about photos.

The canyon can also look different from the photos. Part of the deep orange in many photos comes from the phone settings the guide gives you, and part from the time of day. People whose slot was moved earlier in the morning described the canyon as dark and gray.

If you expect a short walk with frequent photo stops and other groups in view, the tour matches that. The experience is noticeably weaker if you want time to stand still or a long explanation from your guide.

Stop 4: The way back

The listing doesn't describe the return. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours says groups climb out and come back over the top on outdoor stairs, ramps and soft sand, with a 200-foot elevation change, and that this section must be completed in 20 minutes. Several reviewers mention the climb out. In summer it is the part of the tour spent in full sun.

On the hiking option this is also where you walk back to base, so carry water.

Other practical things to know

• Tour times can be changed. Two travelers in May 2026 had their tour moved earlier, one from 10:20 to 10:00, and lost the best light. If your time changes, ask whether a slot closer to midday is still open.
• The company can change too. Some travelers were moved to a different company and meeting point after booking. The phone number on your confirmation reaches the people who can sort it out.
• Tips are expected. The listing suggests $2 to $5 per person, and there are isolated reports of guides asking for tips during the tour.
• The listing gives a full refund only if you cancel at least five days before the tour.

Is the Upper Antelope Canyon tour worth it?

Yes, if this is your first visit to Page and you can book a midday slot between April and September. For about $106 per person with the Navajo Parks fee, you get the Upper canyon and its light beams, the ride out, and a guide who takes care of your photos. Value for money is the listing's lowest score, at 3.9 out of 5. In the reviews, that score comes with comments about price and a short, busy walk.

Lower Antelope Canyon makes more sense if you want a longer walk for less money and don't mind ladders, at $75 per person with the fee included. Deer Canyon suits you better if a small group matters more than seeing Upper Antelope itself.

If you book, save the phone number from your confirmation email. It is the quickest way to reach the company on the day if your time or meeting point changes.

Check midday tour times

How we put this together

This page is not written from a trip of our own. It is based on traveler reports for this listing, including the lower-rated ones, the GetYourGuide listing and booking notes, the Navajo companies' own websites, and the Navajo Parks and Recreation fee page. Rating, price and category scores were checked on October 16, 2026, and the option list in September 2026. All of them can change, so check the listing when you book. We earn a commission if you book through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.