You are taken up on a bus, cannot take photos freely and must dress for either heat or cold and dusty wind.

If it is still the same, at Acoma, you must stay with the tour group for the 2 hour walking tour. The photo/camera permit is now included in your admission fee. We are photographers and can spend a lot of time exploring all the nooks and crannies of the pueblo, its architecture, friendly dogs etc. As you mentioned, Taos Pueblo is an easy drive from town and you do not need a tour to visit it. I like the foot of the mountains, river-running-through-it feel of the Taos Pueblo and the High/Low road drive getting to Taos. That being said the two are totally different from one another. If you are short on time, you will use up a huge chunk of one day on Acoma with not much in between to see. If the tours are booked you are out of luck, if they decide not to do a tour, you are out of luck, so call ahead.

For me Acoma is not a must do because of the distance and necessity of pre-booking a tour to the pueblo on top of the mesa.

Sandia casino arts and crafts fair