Lower Antelope Canyon Tour and Tickets Updated August 2024

Lower Antelope Canyon Tour and Tickets

On our recent trip to Arizona, we explored various Antelope Canyon tours, covering both the Upper and Lower Canyon sections. Here’s our comprehensive review of the Lower Antelope Canyon experience.

Antelope Canyon is a stunning slot canyon known for its narrow, winding passage and walls that showcase striking shades of orange and purple sandstone. Over time, the canyon was shaped by the forces of wind and water, creating the remarkable landscape we see today.

Antelope Canyon is on the Navajo reservation, which means visiting the canyon requires booking a tour with a local Navajo guide. Given its status as a popular bucket list destination, the tour system helps manage the large number of visitors.

In this review of Lower Antelope Canyon, I’ll detail my tour experiences and share photos, along with tips on the best times to visit and other essential information for your trip.

Best Lower Antelope Canyon Tours

We booked our tour of Lower Antelope Canyon through GetYourGuide and had a wonderful experience. The cost covered entry tickets, the Navajo permit fee, and the services of a local Navajo guide. Communication was clear via email, and they offer a refund policy for cancellations made in advance.

GetYourGuide also offers tours for Upper Antelope Canyon, Antelope X, and several lesser-known canyons in the area with fewer visitors than the main attractions.

Having used GetYourGuide for various tours and activities globally, we highly recommend their services!

Lower Antelope Canyon Tour Review: What to Anticipate

The Lower Antelope Canyon tour guides you through an underground slot canyon.

The adventure begins with a brief sandy walk to reach the slot, followed by descending metal stairs. You then proceed through the canyon in single file at a leisurely pace, eventually climbing upstairs to return to the starting point.

At the beginning of the tour, we were treated to a complimentary Navajo tribal dance performance, which was a pleasant surprise. While tips for the performers were optional, no payment was requested.

After the dance, we followed our guide on a short 10-minute walk through the desert to the slot entrance. Although the walk is brief, the heat can be quite intense, so it’s best to enter the cooler canyon as soon as possible.

Canyon

From above, Antelope Canyon appears as little more than a crack in the earth. However, once you step inside, you are immediately struck by the stunning, smooth, wavy walls and the vibrant colours of the sandstone.

The canyon’s beauty matches its images perfectly. Our Navajo guide highlighted various intriguing shapes in the canyon walls, such as a dragon, an eagle, and a tribal chief.

Photography inside the canyon is surprisingly straightforward, and even smartphones can capture great shots. A wide-angle lens is recommended to capture the detail of the landscape.

To be completely honest, Lower Antelope Canyon tours are often quite crowded—extremely crowded. This is a persistent issue unless you visit during the off-season, though even then, there are no guarantees.

Despite the crowds, we could still appreciate the beauty of the canyon and capture plenty of great photos without other visitors in the frame, which preserved the enjoyment of our experience.

We also visited Upper Antelope Canyon that same week and found it to be more rushed and chaotic, leaving us with fewer opportunities for photos. Overall, we found the Lower Canyon to be a much more enjoyable experience.

Best Time To Visit Lower Antelope Canyon

The ideal time to visit Lower Antelope Canyon depends on your preferences. To escape the crowds and heat, the best months are from November to March. However, if you’re aiming for the most dramatic lighting, the summer months are typically the best.

In contrast to Upper Antelope Canyon, Lower Antelope has a broader ceiling and receives more ambient sunlight, which can make it quite bright inside—potentially too bright for optimal photography.

The optimal times to visit Lower Antelope Canyon are in the morning or late afternoon when the light and contrast inside the canyon are more balanced.

That said, we visited Lower Antelope Canyon in the middle of the day, and many areas of the canyon were still quite impressive. If you’re not an expert photographer, a midday visit might still offer a great experience without noticeable drawbacks.

Is The Tour Worth It?

Lower Antelope Canyon is worth visiting for its stunning sights and scenery, despite the crowds slightly affecting the experience. It remains one of the most remarkable and beautiful slot canyons in the United States.

While the tour isn’t inexpensive, it is more budget-friendly compared to Upper Antelope Canyon, where prices can reach up to USD 150 per person during the summer months. Overall, Lower Antelope Canyon offers better value as the tours are less hurried.

Lower vs Upper Antelope Canyon: Which Is Best?

So, which Antelope Canyon is superior—Upper or Lower?

That’s a great question.

After experiencing all the Antelope Canyon tours over a week, we found that Upper Antelope Canyon was our least favourite, though it was still impressive.

Upper Antelope Canyon is renowned for its striking light beams, visible primarily during the summer months when the sun is high. If you’re not interested in these sunbeams, the Lower Canyon offers a better experience in most respects.

Compared to Upper Antelope Canyon, the tour of Lower Antelope Canyon is longer, more leisurely, and more enjoyable. It’s also more affordable and easier to book, as there are more tours available each day. The scenery in both canyons is quite similar.

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If you’re looking to avoid the crowds, Antelope Canyon X is your best bet. This newer section of the canyon, which has only been open to the public for a few years, is much less crowded and touristy compared to the main canyons.

For a detailed comparison of all the Antelope Canyon tours (Upper, Lower, and X) regarding photography, crowds, enjoyment, access, pricing, and availability, check out my full review linked below!

Guidelines for the Tour: What to Do and What to Avoid

What to Bring:

 bring a driver’s license or other form of identification, like a passport, for check-in. It’s a good idea to wear a hat and apply sunscreen. During the tour, you can carry a water bottle and a camera or smartphone for photos.

What Not to Bring:

 Pets, bags, backpacks, strollers, drones, canes, umbrellas, hiking sticks, selfie sticks, and tripods are not permitted. This includes any type of bag, even small camera bags or fanny packs, which must be left in your vehicle at the parking lot. These restrictions apply to all Navajo Nation slot canyons.

What Not to Do:

 Smoking, climbing, writing on the walls, using flash photography, and recording videos are prohibited on Lower Antelope Canyon tours. Non-flash photography is allowed, and you can take as many photos as you like, though picture-taking is not permitted on the stairways.

Frequently Asked Questions (Lower Antelope Canyon Review)

• What is the Lower Antelope Canyon?

This slot canyon, on Navajo tribal land near Page, Arizona, is part of the renowned Antelope Canyon complex. Alongside the Upper Canyon, which is explored through a different tour, it is one of the most well-known sections of the area.

• Why the name? Why is it called Lower Antelope Canyon?

The Upper Canyon is situated above ground, whereas the Lower Canyon is below the surface. Although the term ‘Lower’ might suggest it’s less impressive, it is just as remarkable. We found the Lower Canyon to be even more enjoyable than the Upper Canyon

• How distant is this from Upper Antelope Canyon?

The Lower and Upper Canyons are situated very close to each other. The offices for both are located directly across the highway, though reaching the Upper Canyon requires a roughly 3-mile (5 km) off-road drive in a company truck.

Combo tours are offered that cover both canyons in a single day. These tours tend to be more expensive as they include hotel pickup/drop-off and additional activities in the Page area. 

• Is the tour okay for kids?

Yes, the tour is family-friendly, and many children take part daily. If your kids are too young to climb the stairs, you can use a baby carrier in the canyon. However, it’s a good idea to confirm this with the tour operator after booking.

• Is the tour safe for pregnant women?

Tour companies advise against pregnant women visiting the Antelope Canyons, likely because of liability concerns. However, my wife visited during her second trimester with no issues, and I know others who have visited later in their pregnancies without problems.

While I’m not a medical professional, I believe the main concerns for pregnant women would be the heat, the rough roads, and the stairways in the Lower Canyon. The rough road was only bumpy for less than two minutes after leaving the highway before reaching the office.

Heat is a greater concern, but the walk is brief and the canyon itself is much cooler. Overall, our experience was quite manageable, but you should consider your health, and fitness, and consult with your doctor before deciding.