The perfect western cowboy set at Monument Valley

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
9
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
4
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
3
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
8
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
62 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
260th/454
Top 60%
continent
North America
country
USA
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$20 (typically $10 - $20)
Time of year visited
May
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
All Tags
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Driving through this part of the Navajo Nation really is like something from a movie set.  The strong reds of the desert and mountains, and the looming giants of the buttes make you feel like at any moment you’re going to bump into John Wayne doing the rounds with the US cavalry, or try to avoid an awkward conversation with Tom Cruise following his rock climbing.

The highlight is Monument Valley, which doesn’t have a familiar name but is a view everyone will recognise.  You can see the 3 giant buttes (isolated hills with impossibly steep sides and flat tops) as you drive anywhere near them, with some of the simplest and best views from the View Hotel. 

One thing I wish we’d done was to head into the Monument Valley Tribal Park to be driven by some of the locals to see some of the buttes up close (something you can’t do on your own).

Highlights

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#1 That world-famous view of the buttes from the View Hotel. Like something from an old western movie

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#2 The drive through the area immediately around Monument Valley. Fells like you're in a different world and just so cool to see it all drifting by you

Travel Tips

Checking out Monument Valley was all part of a whirlwind road trip around the Western US states.  See the itinerary and tips for this adventure here – Rapid 2 week roadtrip around the US West Coast States

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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