Antelope Canyon tours from Las Vegas

Does it work as a day trip?

It works if you accept that the canyon is a small part of the day. The drive from the middle of the Strip to Page is about 277 miles and about 4 hours 30 minutes with no stops, so the round trip is about 9 hours in a vehicle before you add fuel, food, the canyon tour (about an hour and a half on site) and Horseshoe Bend. The guided day tours price that in: the GetYourGuide listings run 13, 15, 16 and 17 hours, with pickups as early as 4:30am.

The winter clock makes it harder. From November 1, 2026 to March 14, 2027, Page is an hour ahead of Las Vegas, so if you leave the Strip at 6am you arrive at about 11:30am Page time, not 10:30. The Horseshoe Bend lot stops letting cars in at sunset.

From Las Vegas, I'd take a guided day tour over driving yourself: someone else handles 9 hours of road and the canyon booking. With two days, a night in Page is the better trip, with your pick of tour times, including the late-morning slots when Upper's beams fall.

Upper vs Lower Antelope Canyon

They are separate slot canyons with separate operators. Navajo Nation Parks describes Upper as A-shaped with a wider bottom and Lower as V-shaped, narrower and "on stairs, which is harder to walk through", adding that if you are claustrophobic Lower is not for you.

Choose Upper for the light beams or to avoid stairs and ladders; it also lets you carry a clear bag. Lower is cheaper, easier to book late and feels more like a climb. Antelope Canyon Tours takes all ages in Upper, and strollers don't work in the sand, so bring a carrier for a baby. Navajo Nation Parks has kept a two-hour limit inside Upper since 2011, and it issues no photography permits for either canyon; Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours has dropped its photography tour. Tripods are banned on both sides. Upper operators also ban monopods and selfie sticks, Ken's bans professional camera gear in Lower, and phones and handheld cameras are fine everywhere.

Some comparisons put the beam season at March to November and say bags are banned in Upper. The operators say April to September, and it is Lower, not Upper, that bans every bag. Prices in comparisons from 2020 are roughly half of today's: both Lower operators now charge $80.50.

Canyon X is a third slot, run by Taadidiin Tours and listed separately by Navajo Nation Parks. "Secret Antelope Canyon", which some resellers sell, is not on the Navajo Parks Antelope Canyon list under that name.

What each Las Vegas tour includes

The listings differ on which canyon you see and who pays the permit. The most-reviewed tour puts the Navajo permit on its list of exclusions and doesn't say which canyon you'll see. Another says you may go into Lower, Upper or Canyon X "depending on weather and crowd conditions".

For Upper, the only well-reviewed day tour from Las Vegas that names it is the Upper Antelope tour with lunch, at 4.7 stars from 68 reviews. It includes the permit, Horseshoe Bend and a boxed lunch, and it has 17 pickup points. During F1 Las Vegas (November 18 to 22) pickup is limited to Excalibur, Park MGM or Treasure Island. Professional cameras and video gear are banned in the canyon.

For Lower on a budget, the $160 Lower tour with lunch and Wi-Fi is the cheapest listing that includes the permit. Tips aren't included; the listing suggests 15 to 20%, plus a tip for the Navajo guide. Children up to 8 need a safety seat you supply.

The most-reviewed tour (Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell) looks cheaper than it is, because the $15 permit is paid to the guide on arrival. It also has the strictest kit list: no bags, hiking sticks, canes, walkers, GoPros or tripods in the canyon, and no skirts or dresses. The "Golden Hour" tour calls 10am to 3pm its golden hour, which is midday. It doesn't guarantee a canyon and leaves breakfast and lunch to you.

The private MaxTour van has the highest rating of the group and is priced per group, which suits a family; there is no hotel pickup, it takes 14 at most and isn't for children under 6. The Papillon flight from Boulder City is the only way to skip the drive, at a price to match. It is for ages 8 and up, and you can't take bags or cameras.

Longer trips that add the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon and Antelope combo (2,074 reviews, 4.8 stars) has the best rating of the two Antelope tours with more than 2,000 reviews. It goes to Lower Antelope, Horseshoe Bend and Grand Canyon National Park in one day, with lunch and the entry fees included, a Bellagio pickup at 4:30am and 12 people at most. The catch for overseas visitors: from 2026, non-U.S. residents aged 16 and over pay a $100 National Park Service nonresident fee at Grand Canyon, which the tour doesn't cover. Children under 5 have to book it as a private tour.

The 3-day tour adds Bryce and Zion, includes the Antelope entrance, and leaves meals to you; it starts from Luxor's North Entrance at 6:30am. The 2-day tour with the Grand Canyon and Zion is cheaper but does not include Lower Antelope: it is $105 per person extra (ages 3 and up). For more of the Grand Canyon side, see the Grand Canyon tours from Las Vegas guide.

Why your phone may show the wrong time

Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation does, and Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land, so many guides tell you the tours run an hour ahead of Page in summer. They don't. Antelope Canyon Tours, Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours and Dixie's all state that their tours run on Phoenix, Arizona time.

The real trap is your phone. It takes the time from the nearest cell tower, and around Page that tower can be on Navajo land or in Utah. From March to early November a phone can jump an hour ahead of the tour clock, Dixie's says, even while you are standing in its parking lot. Driving from Las Vegas on I-15 and US-89, you also pass through Utah, which is an hour ahead in summer. Set your phone to Phoenix time by hand before you leave.

Horseshoe Bend, the Glen Canyon Dam visitor center and Lake Powell Resort keep Arizona time too. Monument Valley keeps Navajo time.

Horseshoe Bend

Most of the day tours above add Horseshoe Bend, the overlook on the Colorado River about 5 miles south of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center on US-89. The overlook is in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, but the parking lot is on City of Page land, and the city charges $10 per car, truck, SUV or RV. National park and America the Beautiful passes don't apply, and the lot may be cash-only on major holidays. It is open sunrise to sunset; the gate stops admitting cars at sunset, but you can stay to hike out.

The trail is 1.5 miles round trip on a hardened path that meets federal accessibility standards. There are two shade structures on the way and none at the overlook, and no water or toilets anywhere on the trail. Carry water, even in October.

Flash floods and closures

Navajo Nation Parks says flash-flood danger in the slot canyons is greatest in the summer monsoon, July through September, and tours are cancelled when weather threatens. What happens to your money depends on who you booked with. Dixie's refunds in full if it cancels for weather, and Antelope Canyon Tours refunds if it cancels for extreme weather. On the "Golden Hour" day tour, refunds for weather closures are "at the discretion of the Navajo".

Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park also closes on four days a year: Thanksgiving, the day after (Navajo Nation Family Day), Christmas and New Year's Day.

Or stay a night in Page

If your trip has room, drive to Page, sleep there and book a tour directly with one of the Navajo operators. You choose the time slot, which is how you get Upper's late-morning beams, and Lower is a short drive with free parking. Lower costs $80.50 all-inclusive at Ken's Tours or Dixie's. Upper costs $100 with the permit at Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours, or $120 for its 11:40am slot, plus processing and tax; Antelope Canyon Tours starts at $85, depending on season.

Book ahead from March to October. Antelope Canyon Tours puts walk-in odds for Upper in season as low, and neither canyon keeps a waitlist. Cancellation terms differ: Antelope Canyon Tours refunds in full 48 hours or more ahead and nothing inside 48 hours; Dixie's refunds up to 24 hours ahead. Doing two canyons in one day? Dixie's refunds the $15 permit if you visited Upper, Canyon X or Waterhole the same business day, and Antelope Canyon Tours does the same with a same-day receipt from another Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park. Ken's also sells a longer Deluxe tour of Lower ($173.63, six people at most, with a meal).

Navajo Nation Parks' general fee page still lists an $8 permit. Its Lake Powell pages and the operators all say $15, and $15 is what to budget. Drones are prohibited on the Navajo Nation, and pets aren't allowed on Upper tours.

Page also works as one stop on a longer loop through Zion and Bryce; the day trips from Las Vegas guide has the drive times.