Originally Posted by
SeAAttle
Antelope Canyon appears to be at least a 2 hour drive from Monument Valley (will be staying at the View Hotel for 3 nights). The Antelope tour that seems the most appropriate is 11:30am-2pm. I could devote one of those days to Monument Valley and the other to Antelope Valley. The latter would be quite a lot of driving but I prefer to spend the nights at the View.
Does this make sense?
That sounds very doable.
I was last at Antelope Canyon in '96. As I remember you drive to the entrance, park [just an informal dirt area] and then wait for a truck and pay the driver to take you to the canyons. It appeared to me that the trucks were being driven just by random members of the Navajo Nation in their own vehicles, by which I mean there weren't any organized tour vans, etc. but I seem to remember a friend telling me a few years ago that the process had changed somewhat, was somehow more formal now.
Late morning to mid-afternoon is best for the light; too early or too late and the sun will be too low in the sky to reach into the canyons.
As for Monument Valley, you can have a meaningful experience in three hours or three days. You just sort of drive around and take it in.
I also don't think that one necessarily has a lesser experience by just paying the access fee to drive around yourself as opposed to paying the much higher guided tour fee and seeing Hunts Mesa - then again I have done both so...