keya-hozhoni tours

I strongly recommend our native american tour guide Ray Begley, 928-429-0042. He is RELIABLE and one of Carl Phillips' guides. We totally enjoyed the 4 hour tour of Monument Valley, parts of it in the back country. Ray is knowledgeable and accommodating. He has taken several professional photographers and groups and has a loyal following. My wife and I recommend the morning tour, early as possible and try to limit it to 1 couple ideally, perhaps two. You travel in a Chevy Suburban. Bring a good camera. Bring water.

I made a long-planned photography trip to Northern Arizona and planned for two days at Monument Valley. Some research convinced me that Tom Phillips’ tour business, Keyah Hozhoni, was ideal for me. About a month in advance I confirmed with Carlos, one of the owners, that I could do a sunset tour on one day and a sunrise tour the next morning. A couple of days prior to my arrival I emailed and confirmed. (I would have been happy to have paid a deposit, but they did not request one.)I arrived at the View Hotel and met Ray Begaye, the late Tom Phillips' nephew and my guide at 1:00 PM. It was just me, and we set out for the sunset tour. (It being December, sunset comes early). Ray drove me around the 17-mile loop, but took me into restricted areas that only Navajo guides and local residents are allowed to access. Ray knows photography, so he not only gets you to places, he makes suggestions about composition and exposure without being pushy. He’s also very friendly and open and will educate you about the Navajo tribe, Monument Valley, and anything else you ask him. He was a great guide: patient, helpful and good at keeping us on schedule so we could make the most of the tour. The next morning, three others joined us at 5:45 AM and he drove us around the park for ideal shots of the sunrise and the morning sun lighting up the buttes and rocks. Don’t even think about driving the 17 mile loop in your vehicle unless it’s a high clearance 4WD vehicle and you’re willing to take the chance of damage. It’s physically demanding to drive, as you’re dealing with potholes, rocks, and very rough road, and it will take your full concentration, which means you can’t enjoy the scenery until you stop. One wrong move (especially in the dark) and you can have real problems. If you’re serious about photography I strongly recommend that you hire Ray. It will cost you more than driving the 17-mile loop on your own (which I do not recommend) and you’ll see areas you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. You’ll also learn about the people, the Navajo culture and the history of the Monument Valley, something you won’t get on your own. You’re also supporting the Navajo tribe. Altogether, it’s the full experience. And, if you break the cost down per hour ($250/8 hours + a well-deserved 20% tip), it's really not more expensive than most of the non-photography tours.Take a tripod and remote. You’ll be shooting some long exposures. A polarizer is also a good idea. I suggest one wide-angle lens and one mid-range zoom. I shot with a 12-24mm and 18-200mm (DX format).Dress warmly in winter. It will likely be in the teens before sunrise and it gets cold quickly after the sun goes down. Top and bottom thermals and heavy socks are a good idea. I also recommend good hiking boots. You'll be doing some climbing and hiking. The altitude will tax you a bit, but it's not that strenuous. Take a bottle of water and some snacks. You’re going to be burning the calories.

Actually, this tour deserves less than terrible as Carlos, the tour guide, never showed up. A phone call the day before to confirm was basically a voice mail for Carlos to get back to me. He never did. I waited in the lobby f the View for Carlos but he never came!With only two days in monument Valley on my schedule, I was quite upset with wasting time on this operation.Fortunately for me, another tour was picking up at the hotel and could fit me in. i will review Monument Valley Safari Tours in a separate review.

Waited and called from the View parking lot - no answer and theynever returned my calls. Go with someone else since they all probably take you to the same locations anyway. Very rude and not what I would expect of an operator that touts a Navajo title.

We called Carlos and arranged a photography tour for my husband. Carlos gave us the most amazing tour value. Ray was our knowledgeable guide. He really made our day helping my husband with the timing of sunlight, shadows and the various beautiful ways to appreciate the Monument Valley. Give them a call and you will experience Monument Valley at its best.

I took the Hunt's Mesa overnight tour through Keyah-Hozhoni Monument Valley Tours in late May 2013. I had heard a lot of good things about Tom Phillips and his photography tours, but I was sorry to learn that he passed away in the last year of two. Ray Begay was our guide, and he was excellent. I believe Tom Phillips was his uncle, and Ray knows his stuff, and knows the area very well. He's very steady, and demonstrated great expertise in knowing exactly how to drive his 4WD tour vehicle up the backside of the mesa, with a minimum of drama. He cooked great meals for supper and breakfast, and set up our tent, which was furnished with sleeping bags. The tour was a memorable experience. Hunt's Mesa provides an aerial-like view of Monument Valley, providing photographers the opportunity to capture images that bear a unique look and can only be captured from that location. I highly recommend Keyah Hozhoni and Ray Begay. Ray's a good man.

I had been to Monument Valley before but i wanted to return and take a tour for some better photo ops. Keya-Hozhoni was recommended and I was not disappointed. I took the overnight Hunt's Mesa tour with Donald as my guide. Normally they need at least 2 for this tour, but they took me alone at a very reasonable price. The large Suburban SUV made the 2+ hour trail ride more comfortable but the ride is not for the faint of heart. The service and food were outstanding. We had steak, potato, corn on the cob, all roasted on the fire. The breakfast was also a full meal. The view from Hunt's Mesa is breath taking. As the suns moves across the sky the entire scene takes on a new perspective. Amazingly, there is good phone service on top of Hunt's Mesa. Tip: I was traveling alone and the little 2 man tent they provided was barely large enough for me and my camera gear. With 2 people, it would have been unsat. If I go again I will take my own tent.

To have our customers enjoy what Monument Valley has to offer, all its beauty and specially scouted areas for photography, is what we strive for. Thank you for your time with us and enjoy your photos.

We thank you in return for touring with us and enjoy your pictures!

What a terrific day! Two parents in their late 50's & three teenage girls spent 8 hours touring Monument Valley & Mystery Valley with Keya Hozhoni Tours.We toured Monument Valley in an open vehicle in the morning & toured Mystery Valley in an SUV in the afternoon.Our guide, Tulley Begay, was phenomenal!! He could accomodate the desires of the parents & the teenagers. He stopped everywhere for photos. He took the teens rock climbing. He gave us all an insight into Navajo culture. He took us to meet Suzi Yazi, a Navajo elder. This was a touching experience for all of us. At the end of the day, EVERYONE was happy--you can't ask for more than that when travelling with teens!If you are travelling as a family, a private tour with Keya-Hozhoni Tours is worth the cost!! They know Monument Valley & they are family oriented! Tulley Begay is a phenomenal guide and a genuinely good & compassionate man!

Great web page, and for all I know they might have been a great tour company, but I call twice, left message and return phone number, and got nothing. For me, this tells me, they don't care, they have enough business. Pretty sad. If I only called once, maybe, but not twice.

We spent a day in Monument Valley. The fantastic tour we took with this company mitigated the horrible experience we had at Goulding's RV Park. While waiting for our planned guide to show up at the View (they never showed), we met Carla, one of the guides. She is fantastic, personable, knowledgable, and really knows how to give an interesting tour.Our tour group was only 4. Carla would stop the vehicle any time we tapped on the roof so that we could get out and take pictures (in addition to her normal planned stops). From what we could see, other tour groups who went with Goulding's tours were being herded en masse like cattle. It's better to go with a smaller company like this. At one of the stops, she bought fried Indian bread for herself, but gave everyone in the vehicle a piece to try! It's the little things that make an experience memorable.Carla did not rush us, and in fact she kept us out for 3 hours on the scheduled 2.5 hour tour. Nevertheless, Carla managed to get us back to the Mittens for some fantastic sunset photographs. I would highly recommend Carla as a guide, request her if you can. Do NOT book a tour with Goulding's.

We signed up for a 2.5 hour tour with this company on Sep 3, 2011. Our guide, Dan, was a polite and decent man, but just not suitable for the role as a guide. He did point out shapes of rocks, pointed out where to get good photos and offered to take some of ours. But we hoped to learn something more and he was not able to explain any of the history of the area and Indian culture or the meaning of some of the rocks. Infact when we questioned his information was incorrect, eg he said that the Ancestral Pueblo peoples petroglyphs was millions of years old, coming from Mesa Verde we knew that was not true. For some reason towards the end he did not stop at spots like Artists Point. I asked a couple of times, but then just gave up.Here are the positives of the experience:--My husband and I were the only ones on the tour, so we got to enjoy monument valley together. --Second since it was 2.5 hour tour we got to see some arches that we would not have seen if we had driven.Tip - remember the tours are usually in open air trucks, so it gets very dusty out on the road.Monument valley is beautiful, go with someone else and get value for the $65 that you will spend on a tour. Perhaps the tours with Tom himself would be a better experience.

Hi, We took the all day photographers tour of Monument Valley with this company. Our guide was Tom (owner) who leads most of the higher end tours geared specifically toward photographers. The all day tour is acatully built in two parts. You meet before dawn and go out for the morning hours. He then drops you off back at the hotel. Then around 4:00 pm you meet up again for the afternoon shoot culminating just as the sun sets back at the "Ansel Adams spot" (where he took one of his most famous Monument Valley shots) just at sunset. Tom (a native of the area) is very good at taking you to many different "off the beaten path" locations in the valley. Mostly they are not on the public loop drive so not accessible to anyone not on a tour. He is a very friendly guy with lots of knowledge of the area. While driving from spot to spot he offered historical and cultural information which was quite interesting. However, from time to time there were stretches where he was not saying anything. However, once we started prompting him with questions during these times he brought forth all kinds of information and stories that were quite interesting. Our tour (In an SUV) was just 2 couples. Since my wife is not a photographer, Tom gave her a $100 discount which was quite a good deal. As for shooting, as stated earlier, he had a good itinerary of places to stop with a wide variety of subjects (areches, butts, vistas, etc.). He offered good suggestions about framing and composition along with suggestions as to good use of foreground elements. Through no fault of Tom, on our particular day the weather was not cooperating. To shoot monument valley and get those rich red, orange colors and dramitic shadows of the monuments draped across the desert floor you need good light. Unfortunatly our shooting day was mostly overcast with periods of rain with only a few short periods where there were breaks in the clouds. Some of these breaks provided some good opportunities but they were few and far between. For the most part the light was very flat and the overcast sucked most of the color out of the scenery. Having said that I did come away with some keeppers - just not as many as I had hoped for. Other than those few moments when the sun peaked through, the best shots of the day where right at sunset when the sun broke through moments before it dipped below the horizon giving us great shots of the valley from the "Ansel Adams" spot (BTW you don't need to be on a tour to get to this spot, but do need to know when to be there) and how to frame it).Tom's pre tour communications were good. He clearly identified the meeting location and time (be aware of the time zone as "Navajo Time" is its own time zone which can be different than Arizona and/or Utah). He showed up on time and provided what he had advertised.All in all a good value for the serious photographer.

Took a sunrise/sunset tour in Monument and Mystery Valley with Tom Phillips in Aug 2010. Six in total on the tour, four of them in my party of which only I was taking photographs. Tom gave discounted rated for the non tripod members of my group.Amazing experience and fantastic tour. Photographs and memories will last a lifetime. Standing watching the sun rise between the Totem Pole and Dancing Sisters whilst the echos of Toms flute were sounding in the silence of the valley was amazing. The colours and light were changing by the minute and the range of photographs were staggering.Just after sunrise, a short walk around to the rippled sand dunes close to the totem to catch the sun lighting the Totem, cliffs, grass and the ripples on the dunes was spectacular. Put this with the petroglyphs, the cliff dwellings, the rock formations, the hot air balloon floating over the mittens, the arches and the Eye of the Sun and Ear of the Wind, a view of the valley through teardrop........what can I say amazing. Tom's narrative on the Navajo culture as we travelled around added a whole other level of meaning.Stayed at The View....and what a view it is. A storm that night, lightening over the Messa...caught on 'film'We'll be back. Dave