Last Updated on: 16th October 2024, 07:25 pm
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ve surely seen photos of Antelope Canyon’s wavy sandstone walls at some point, be it a computer desktop background or digital ad campaign. Located just outside of Page, Arizona, it’s now one of the US Southwest’s most popular destinations. While, as we’ll cover shortly, the canyon is divided into multiple sections, the following guide compares two of them: Lower Antelope Canyon and Antelope Canyon X.
What is Antelope Canyon?

Antelope Canyon is a long slot canyon comprised of Navajo sandstone that’s been eroded by flash floods over the course of millennia. While there are plenty of slot canyons throughout the American Southwest, its orange and pink hues – along with its unique shapes – make Antelope Canyon truly one-of-a-kind.
The canyon is on Navajo land and can’t be visited independently. But one can’t just go ahead and reserve a tour for ‘Antelope Canyon.’ The canyon is divided up into multiple sections, with different areas managed by different tour companies.
For a long time, most visitors would decide between Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. And for years, Lower Antelope Canyon was considered the less-crowded and cheaper alternative. But while it remains cheaper than Upper Antelope Canyon, it too now attracts huge numbers and is anything but off the beaten path.
Recently, another section of the canyon has opened up called Antelope Canyon X, which is now being hailed by many as the best way to enjoy Antelope Canyon without the crowds.
During my time in Page, I managed to visit both Antelope Canyon X and Lower Antelope Canyon, and you’ll find a comparison between the two excursions below if you’re still deciding which one to choose.
Antelope Canyon: Essential Visiting Tips
As mentioned, different sections of Antelope Canyon are managed by different companies, but the following tips are relevant regardless of which section you visit.
Antelope Canyon lies within the Navajo Nation, which has its own time zone that’s usually an hour off from the rest of Arizona. But as a majority of visitors will be basing themselves in Page, all Antelope Canyon tours operate on standard Arizona time, so there’s no need to adjust your watch or cellphone.
The rules are quite strict for most Antelope Canyon tours. Basically, the only things you’re allowed to bring (that won’t fit in your pockets) are your camera and a water bottle. Bags are generally not allowed, though there may be some exceptions for transparent ones.
As it can be really hot down in the slot canyon, having enough water is important. But you’ll also want your hands free for photography, so consider buying a water bottle that you can attach to your waste when you’re not using it.
Whichever company you book with, they’ll send you an email with all the necessary details, so be sure to read it over carefully.
You may also have to bring a printed and signed safety waiver, though some companies may allow this to be done digitally. Again, be sure to carefully check the details upon confirmation.
As Antelope Canyon is a tall slot canyon with a narrow opening, the lighting is best when the sun is highest in the sky. To see the canyon at its most photogenic, try booking a tour for some time between around 10:30 in the morning to early afternoon.
This is also the best time to see light beams, which can usually only be seen from March-October. But while I visited in September, I didn’t see any. Supposedly, Upper Antelope Canyon is the best place to see them.
Whichever time you visit, be sure to arrive well in advance and sign in at the counter around twenty minutes before the start of your tour. During my visit to Lower Antelope Canyon, it was so crowded that it took me around twenty minutes just to wait in line to sign in!
It was flash floods that carved out the beautiful canyon in the first place, and they remain a serious danger. Even if nobody’s in the canyon at the time, flash floods can cause damage which may require cleanups that last for days.
As such, be aware that even if you arrive in Page to find clear, sunny weather, you may still get a notification that your tour is canceled if there was rain at some point within the last few days.
This is what happened to me. While I’d read reviews complaining of a lack of communication, I was indeed notified in advance of my Lower Antelope Canyon tour’s cancellation, along with instructions on how to either reschedule or get my refund.
Fortunately, I had no issues rescheduling my tour for the following day over the phone, and I quickly received a new confirmation email.
It would be wise to research alternatives and stay flexible during your time in Page. Fortunately, there are plenty of other scenic outdoor activities in the Page area, many of which are free.
As mentioned, each part of the canyon is managed by a different company or companies. You can learn specific details about booking tours at the end of each section below.
Lower Antelope Canyon
Each section of Antelope Canyon has its own designated parking and meetup area. And in the case of Lower Antelope Canyon, you can find the parking area and offices for both tour agencies (more below) just a ten-minute drive from central Page.

Arriving in advance and signing in, you’ll be assigned a group and a local guide. You’ll then be led down into the canyon, which requires walking down a big ladder.
This may be a challenge for those with mobility issues, and if this concerns you, note that no ladders are required at either Antelope Canyon X or Upper Antelope Canyon.



With so many people, the wait to get down is rather long, though you’ll already be able to enjoy Lower Antelope Canyon’s iconic views. Photography, however, is prohibited near the ladder, presumably to prevent those above from dropping their cameras or phones on the people below.


On the topic of photography, note that while taking photos is fine, video has been strictly prohibited for several years now. You may have noticed that a YouTube search of Lower Antelope Canyon won’t yield any recent results.
According to our guide, the rule change was in response to them seeing Lower Antelope Canyon appear again and again in commercials and other big-budget projects without getting any compensation.



But it’s immediately obvious why so many people would come here to film and take pictures. The unique combination of colors and shapes are mesmerizing. As cliche as it may sound, it really does feel like walking through a three-dimensional work of art.



Despite reading in advance how crowded Lower Antelope Canyon could get, the number of people still exceeded my expectations. I’ve seen many reviewers complain about the crowds here, and I normally find overcrowding to be a major source of frustration as well.
But there’s actually a silver lining to the crowd issue at Lower Antelope Canyon.

As you can see from these photos, most of your time spent at Lower Antelope Canyon will be looking up. The crowds, therefore, actually help slow things down, allowing you to take your time and enjoy the scenery.
While Lower Antelope Canyon tours are generally scheduled to last an hour, it was so packed on the day that I went that it took us 90 minutes to reach the exit. But I certainly wasn’t complaining.
It was likely even more crowded than usual on the day of my visit, as tours had been canceled the previous few days due to weather. And I suspect that the tour companies went a bit over their usual limit to allow those affected to reschedule.




As mentioned, each group is accompanied by a local guide, and my guide was very helpful when it came to pointing out interesting angles.
While it’s generally going to be very difficult to get pictures of yourself and travel companions without other people in the shot, there are certain sections of the canyon where the guide will offer to take your picture with nobody in the background.


Finally making it to the end, I could easily get what all the hype surrounding Antelope Canyon is about. But you may still be wondering which tour to choose.
Is Lower Antelope Canyon better than the lesser-known and less-crowded Antelope Canyon X? Keep reading to find out.



BOOKING THE TOUR: Visitors to Lower Antelope Canyon have the option between two tour companies: Ken’s Tours and Dixie’s Tours. While I went with the latter, apparently they are family and not competitors, so the experiences are likely identical.
The main difference is the schedule, with Ken’s Tours offering tours on the hour and half past the hour, and Dixie’s Tours beginning at fifteen and forty-five minutes past the hour.
At the time of writing, both companies are charging $55 per tour, which you can book through their websites. You also have the option of booking on platforms like GetYourGuide, but expect to pay a bit more.
Antelope Canyon X
In contrast to Lower Antelope Canyon, Antelope Canyon X is managed by a single tour company: Taadidiin Tours. Their office is slightly further east than Lower Antelope Canyon, but it’s still just a fifteen-minute drive from Page.
And in contrast to Lower Antelope Canyon, the starting point is some distance away from the office, so you’ll have to take a shuttle there. As such, anticipate your Antelope Canyon X tour to take around 90 minutes in total.


Instead of a ladder, visitors descend via a gentle slope covered with wooden boards. And shortly after entering the canyon, our guide told us to look up to see an ‘X’ formed by the canyon’s opening – the shape after which Antelope Canyon X was named.


As mentioned above, Antelope Canyon X is often touted as the section of the canyon to visit in order to avoid the crowds. And compared with Lower Antelope Canyon, there were only a fraction of the amount of people here.
As such, I was actually able to get some shots of the canyon floor with no people in them, which is just about impossible on the other tours.


With that being said, there were still more people in the canyon than I’d been expecting. While I’d seen videos online of small groups and visitors being able to have certain sections to themselves, that was far from the case during my visit.
While you will manage to get a few shots of an empty canyon, Antelope Canyon X has grown in popularity to the point that it’s now rather difficult to avoid other visitors.



Antelope Canyon X is unique for being divided up into a couple of separate parts, and at certain points of the tour, you’ll be led ‘outside,’ making for an interesting change of scenery.



As mentioned above, my visit to Page happened to take place just a couple of days after a heavy rain. Out here in the desert, with little on the ground to block the flow of water, rainwater can quickly gain momentum and cause a lot of damage.
While my Lower Antelope Canyon tour had to be rescheduled for the following day, my Canyon X tour was still on, but the damage caused by the storm was still evident.



According to our guide, the Taadidiin Tours team had spent the previous couple of days clearing out rocks and debris so that tours could resume as quickly as possible. Seeing how long the canyon is, this was surely no easy task.


In contrast to Lower Antelope Canyon, Canyon X felt narrower overall, which may also have to do with it appearing less colorful. With that being said, I visited this canyon at a less-than-ideal time, at around 2:30 PM.
While midday would likely be a bit brighter and thus more colorful, I’ve also heard others say that Canyon X is a bit less vivid overall.

One unique section of Antelope Canyon X is a small pool near the end, where we were given the opportunity to line up and take photos.
As with the other tour, our guide was helpful and friendly and often pointed out interesting angles to photograph.

Eventually, the tour came to an end, and it was time to take the shuttle back to the parking lot. While I certainly enjoyed the experience, is the less-crowded Antelope Canyon X worth doing over Lower Antelope Canyon? See below for my final thoughts.


BOOKING THE TOUR: As mentioned, Antelope Canyon X is managed by a single tour company: Taadidiin Tours. At the time of writing, tours are going for $50 per person, which is interesting because Canyon X was long touted as the cheapest way to see Antelope Canyon. Now the prices are basically the same.
Something that sets Antelope Canyon X apart is that, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only area where special photography tours with tripods are available. While the regular tours don’t allow tripods, visitors have the option of booking special photography tours like this one.
Antelope Canyon X vs. Lower Antelope Canyon:
Which One to Choose?
Based on my experiences with the two tours mentioned above, my vote goes to Lower Antelope Canyon. This has nothing to do with the companies – both of which were excellent – and everything to do with the scenery. I simply found Lower Antelope Canyon to be the more impressive of the two.
I actually visited Antelope Canyon X first. And while I enjoyed the experience, I didn’t quite get what all the hype surrounding Antelope Canyon was about when it was over.
In addition to there being a lot more people than expected, I wasn’t particularly blown away by the canyon itself. But as mentioned above, I didn’t visit at the most ideal time, with my tour taking place at 14:20 in the afternoon. The partially cloudy weather that day may have also been a factor.
Lower Antelope Canyon, of course, is still much more crowded than Canyon X. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to get shots of the canyon floor, but the huge crowds allowed us to take our time to admire and photograph the most interesting parts.
Additional Info
Now having visited Lower Antelope Canyon and not minding the fact that it was packed, I’d definitely be interested in visiting Upper Antelope Canyon sometime in the future.
While I’ve read from various sources that it’s often necessary to book months in advance, checking again at the time of writing, numerous last-minute time slots are indeed available.
Confusingly, there appear to be as many as four different companies offering tours to Upper Antelope Canyon. At the time of writing, tour costs range from $85 to a whopping $112, making it the most expensive option by far.
One difference that sets Upper Antelope Canyon apart from the others is that it has narrower openings at the top, which results in more light beams when the sun is in the right position.
Again, you can also book on the standard booking platforms, but expect to pay even more.
I stayed at the Lake Powell Canyon Inn, a basic motel in a convenient location. Everything regarding my stay was fine, and the price was among the most affordable in Page.
The only issue is that they only seem to have one person working at the desk, and nobody answered the phone when I tried calling. They will, however, respond via the Booking messaging system. You’ll have to let them know if you’re arriving after 8:00 PM so they can leave your key in an envelope on the office door.
Other highly-rated options include Travelodge by Wyndham Page, Super 8 by Wyndham, and Baymont (also by Wyndham!).
Those looking to splurge a bit more may want to consider the Courtyard Page at Lake Powell.
While Page does have a small local airport with flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix, most people are going to come by car.
If you’re coming from the east, Page is a couple of hours from the Monument Valley area. The nearest town to the west, meanwhile, in Kanab, Utah, which is just about 70 minutes away (but there are plenty of great stops on the way).
The nearest proper city would be Flagstaff, Arizona, which is just about two hours away.

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