Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend both are part of Glen Canyon National Park which is a neighbouring area to Grand Canyon. They both have been formed from the same Colorado River.
Why Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend? For unique landscape and natural beauty.
Top Things to see - Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.
Best time to visit - Spring and Autumn.
Safety - Reasonably safe.
Costs - Reasonable.
The closest town to both of these landmarks is Page in Arizona which is similar distance from either Las Vegas or Phoenix - approximately 4 hour car drive. Most people visit Page from Vegas, however I went there for a day trip from Phoenix. And yes, it turns out to be a long day, but in my opinion well worth it.
We first rented a car from Phoenix Airport which was a short Uber ride away from downtown and cost approximately $20 for Uber one way and $60 for SUV type car for the day. I believe car rental is 24 hours in PHX airport. We picked up car at 7:30am and started our drive heading north towards Flagstaff. Drive is very straight forward and simple. It is also very scenic especially around Flagstaff area. Scenery changed from desert type landscape around Phoenix filled with gigantic cactuses to mountainous landscape filled with trees and snow around Flagstaff. Once we started driving towards canyon-land, scenery again changed to the one similar around Grand Canyon, which Is just an hour away from where we were. First stop for us was Horseshoe Bend which was on the way to Antelope Canyon. There is visitor parking and cost is $10 per vehicle. Walk then takes around 15-20 min to see famous Horseshoe Bend. It was truly beautiful and reminded me of the parts of Grand Canyon.
Antelope Canyon is located about 10min drive away from Horseshoe Bend. A guided tour with local Navajo guide is mandatory visiting this canyon. We had pre-booked a tour for 14:00. Tour takes an hour and costs £70 per person. I believe I only saw 2 companies doing the tour and it is well signposted where to drive and park. Local guide took us through Antelope Canyon showing us interesting spots for photos and it was absolutely beautiful seeing sun peaking through and creating amazing lighting effect too. There are parts with steep steps to get down to the canyon, but nothing extreme. And then it was time to head back to Phoenix which took 4 hours. It is definitely a tiring and long day but very worth it.
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