Cost of 10-Day Trip to Wyoming
December 6, 2023 by Laura
Our 10-Day Trip to Wyoming
We are currently on a mission to visit all 50 states before we turn 50 years old. If you want to read more about our 50 States by 50 Challenge, check out our 50 States Bucket List blog post where we talk about all the details of our travels plans!
For each state we visit, we are going to spend at least four days. For a state as pretty as Wyoming, we had to spend ten! I love crunching numbers and budgeting, so I keep up with every cost of our trip no matter how small. I hope that this breakdown of our travel expenses helps you plan out your own trip to Wyoming.
If you want more Wyoming fun check out our other Wyoming travel blogs: Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Cheyenne Itinerary, Best Wyoming Food, Hot Springs State Park, and 10-Day Wyoming Itinerary.
Please keep the following notes about our trip in mind when planning out your own budget for your Wyoming trip:
☼ There is just two of us- my husband and I. No kids.
☼ The cost of your trip will depend on the time of year you travel. Our trip was in September 2023.
☼ We visited Wyoming during September (Sept 9-18) to avoid the summer crowds.
☼ We live in Texas so we flew out of Austin and landed in Salt Lake City. We then drove across the state, and flew out of Denver back to Austin.
☼ We spent one night in Afton, one night inside of Grand Teton National Park, two nights in a cabin beside Yellowstone National Park, one night in Cody, one night in Casper, two nights in Cheyenne, and one night in Denver.
☼ We landed in Salt Lake City at 1:30PM on a Saturday, and flew out of Denver at 1:00PM on a Monday meaning we were away nine nights for this trip.
☼ We had some airline points saved up that we were able to use making our flight to Salt Lake City very cheap.
☼ Lastly, we consider ourselves in-the-middle spenders. We definitely don't spend a crazy amount, but we also do let loose a bit when on vacation, especially when it comes to good food!
Flights
We flew out of Austin International Airport to Salt Lake City International Airport. We had some airline points saved up so we were able to purchase this flight for very cheap! For our trip home, we flew out of Denver International Airport back to Austin International Airport.
Cost of flights: $149.10
We flew basic economy, and paid extra money so that we could check into the flight early. We flew Southwest who offers two free checked luggages.
Cost of add-ons: $90
We drove our own car to the airport so we had to pay for parking in the airport lot while we were on the trip.
Cost of airport parking: $120
Total Cost of Flying Expenses: $359.10
Rental Car/Fuel
Upon arriving to Salt Lake City, we picked up our rental car from Avis. We bought the cheapest package and got the roadside help package. We were given a Honda HR-V which got about 30 miles per gallon. We dropped the rental car off at the Denver airport 10 days later.
Cost of rental car: $1177.27
Unfortunately, fuel prices in Wyoming are pretty high especially in the national parks. Fuel stations also can be pretty spread apart so our motto was 'if you see a gas station, stop'. We drove a lot during this trip. From Salt Lake City, to the national parks (and all over the national parks for four days), to Cody, to Thermopolis, to Casper, to Cheyenne, and finally to Denver, we drove a total of 1727 miles!
Cost of fuel: $159.74
Total Cost of Driving Expenses: $1337.01
Lodging
Like I mentioned earlier, we spent nine nights in Wyoming so lodging was the highest expense. Plus, Wyoming hotels were overall more expensive than other states we have visited.
☼ Night 1: Town Homes on the Green, 50 Star Valley View Drive, Afton, WY 83110
This town home was really cute. It had a full kitchen and living room. I just wish we could have stayed a little longer.
Cost: $178.08
☼ Night 2: Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton National Park
We stayed inside of Grand Teton National Park one night. This was a lot of fun, and the cabin was cute. It is a pretty basic cabin that you pay a pretty penny for, but the whole point is being close to nature after all.
Cost: $310.58
☼ Nights 3 & 4: Absaroka Mountain Lodge, 1231 North Fork Highway, Cody, WY 82414
We booked our lodging pretty late so everything in Yellowstone was already booked up. Don't be like us, book early. We did, however, find this cute cabin about 15 minutes east of the Yellowstone entrance. We did have quite the drive every morning and evening, but we didn't really mind. The drive is beautiful, and it allowed us the opportunity to see more wildlife.
Cost: $410.70
☼ Night 5: Comfort Inn at Buffalo Bill Village Resort, 1601 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414
We were just in Cody for a night so we really just needed a simple hotel with a place to sleep, and that's exactly what this hotel was. I will say that they had one of the better complimentary breakfast buffets in the morning!
Cost: $215.75
☼ Night 6: Hampton Inn & Suites, 1100 North Poplar Street, Casper, WY 82601
We also were only in Casper for a night. This was a nice hotel, and it is located next to Racca's Pizzeria- a delicious pizza place!
Cost: $189.53
☼ Nights 7 & 8: Airbnb in Cheyenne, WY
Check out Airbnb when staying in Cheyenne. We were able to stay at a cute house that was located next to the capitol, and it was cheaper than the surrounding hotels!
Cost: $291.44
☼ Night 9: Fairfield Inn & Suites, 6851 Tower Road, Denver, CO 80249
For our last night, we actually stayed in Denver at a hotel that was located right next to the airport.
Cost: $174.78
Total Cost of Lodging: $1770.86
Entertainment / Activities
☼ Day 1
Our first day was mostly full of traveling. We did stop at a Walmart though to pick up groceries. While there, we also picked up some bear spray which I strongly suggest you buy before heading to the national parks. Since the bear spray is something we needed to hike, I'll count it this activities category.
Cost: $42
☼ Day 2
Our entire second day was spent at Grand Teton National Park. Since we like to hike and visit parks, we decided it was worth buying America the Beautiful Annual Pass which gets you into many parks around America ($85). Because we had this pass, we didn't need to pay an entry fee.
That morning we hiked around Jenny Lake and decided to take the ferry back to save some time. We bought two one-way tickets ($24).
Another thing we spent money on is a camera lens rental. The wildlife is pretty far away in the parks so having a lens that can zoom quite is bit is needed if you want to get close-up pictures. We rented a zoom lens from LensRental.com. It was a fantastic experience. We were able to pick the lens up at a FedEx store in Salt Lake City after we landed. We then dropped it off at a FedEx store in Laramie a few days later. It was nice not having to fly with a big bulky lens! ($107.25)
Cost: $216.25
☼ Days 3-4
The third and fourth days were spent all in Yellowstone National Park. Because we had already paid for the America the Beautiful Pass, we didn't have to pay anything extra to get into the park.
Cost: $0
☼ Day 5
Most of day 5 was spent inside of Yellowstone. We also visited the Buffalo Bill Dam Center that is located right outside of Cody, WY. It is free to visit the dam and the small museum and visitor's center next to the dam.
Cost: $0
☼ Day 6
On the sixth day, we headed to Thermopolis, WY. On our way we stopped at Legend Rock Petroglyph Site. It is free to visit. We then went to the Hot Springs State Park Bath House which allows you to soak for free in the hot springs. We also spent a few hours exploring Hot Springs State Park. It is also free to enter.
Afterwards, we went to The Wyoming Dinosaur Museum which houses many artifacts and dinosaur bones from the past. It was $12 per adult to enter ($24).
Cost: $24
☼ Day 7
On day 7, we spent the morning driving through Medicine Bow National Forest ($0). Once in Cheyenne, we walked through the Wyoming State Museum which is free to visit! We did put $5 cash into the donation box on our way out ($5). We also saw the State Capitol Building which is also free.
Cost: $5
☼ Day 8
On Day 8, we visited the Cheyenne Farmer's Market, Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, and the Historic Governor's Mansion which were all free! The rest of this day was spent visiting with some of Brian's family who lives in Cheyenne.
Cost: $0
☼ Day 9
On day 9, we spent some time at Holliday Park and saw Big Boy Steam Engine 4004. We also went to see the Cheyenne Depot Plaza and walked around all the cool shops in downtown Cheyenne. Lastly, we went on a 90-minute Cheyenne Trolley Tour ($30 for the both of us), and tipped the tour guide $6.
Cost: $36
☼ Day 10
Our last day was actually spent in Denver since we had to fly back home. Before our flight, we did the wildlife drive at Rocky Mountain Arsenal which was free!
Cost: $0
Total Cost of Entertainment/Activities: $323.25
Food
We both love food and trying new things so it's hard to say 'no' when on vacation!
You can read all about each food we tried in Wyoming on our Wyoming Food trip blog post. I'll briefly summarize here what we ate. These totals include tips.
☼ First Day:
On the first day, we ate lunch at the airport ($41.39). We then stopped at a Walmart in Evanston to stock up on food, drinks, and snacks for our time at the national parks ($152.94). We also went to a Broulim's grocery store in Afton to pick up bagels and locally made huckleberry jam ($14.98). For dinner, we ate at Agave Mexican Restaurant in Afton ($34.90).
Cost: $244.21
☼ Second Day:
During our Grand Teton day, we ate breakfast and lunch from our grocery food haul. For dinner, we ate at Ranch House Restaurant which is inside the park ($88).
Cost: $88
☼ Third & Fourth Day:
These were the days we spent inside of Yellowstone. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we only ate the groceries that we had bought on day 1.
Cost: $0
☼ Fifth Day:
For breakfast and lunch, we ate the groceries that we had brought with us into the park. For dinner, we ate at Trailhead Restaurant in Cody ($81.74).
Cost: $81.74
☼ Sixth Day:
For breakfast, we ate complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel. We then got our bison burgers and Rocky Mountain Oysters at One Eyed Buffalo Brewing in Thermopolis ($60.82). For dinner, we ate Racca's Pizza in Casper ($34.35).
Cost: $95.17
☼ Seventh Day:
We again grabbed some complimentary breakfast in the morning, ate a huge burrito at J's Prairie Rose Cafe in Laramie ($33.53), ate prime rib at The Albany for dinner ($43.55), and finished the day with some huckleberry ice cream from Choo Choo Moo ($6.57).
Cost: $83.65
☼ Eighth Day:
On the day 8, we ate a huge breakfast at R&B Breakfast Club ($37.70) and a philly cheesesteak with fries for dinner at 2 Doors Down ($26.26).
Cost: $63.96
☼ Ninth Day:
In the morning we drove to Chugwater for chili, homemade sodas, and ice cream ($32.90), ate some leftover groceries for lunch, and ordered tacos from Taco John's for dinner ($7.83).
Cost: $40.73
☼ Tenth Day:
On the last day we ate complimentary breakfast from the hotel and lunch at the airport ($36.44).
Cost: $36.44
Total Cost of Food: $733.90
Souvenirs
For every trip, we get the same souvenirs. We always buy a patch, pin, postcard, magnet, and sticker. For this trip, we also bought souvenirs for each of the national parks.
Total Cost of Souvenirs: $80.55
Total Cost of our 10-Day (9-Night) Trip to Wyoming in September 2023 for Two Adults
☼ Flights: $359.10
☼ Rental Car/Fuel: $1337.01
☼ Hotels/Airbnb: $1770.86
☼ Entertainment/Activities: $323.25
☼ Food/Drink: $733.90
☼ Souvenirs: $80.55
Total Cost of Trip: $4,604.67
50 States by 50
Wyoming was our third state for our 50 states by 50 challenge. My husband, Brian, and I are planning to visit all the states in the United States by the time we turn 50 years old. To choose which state we travel to next, we will draw it randomly!
For each state, we will plan at least a 4 day trip that consists of visiting the state capitol and state museum, exploring a state park, and eating whatever food that state is most known for. I will be documenting all of our travels here on my blog and making vlogs as well which will be posted on YouTube. Read more about our 50 States by 50 Bucket List.
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I hope that this budget breakdown of our Wyoming trip is helpful in planning your vacation. We had such a great time! Wyoming is such a beautiful state and is worth every penny. If you have any questions or just want to share your Wyoming experiences, please leave a comment down below.
Category: Wyoming, Trip Budgets
Keywords: wyoming travel tips, how much does a trip to wyoming cost, wyoming trip budget breakdown, how much does a trip to yellowstone cost
Discover More:
☼ Hot Springs State Park (soaking in hot springs, seeing bison, & more)
☼ Best Food in Wyoming (bison burgers, rocky mountain oysters, huge breakfast burritos, & more)
☼ Yellowstone National Park (old faithful, grand pristmatic, mammoth springs, & more)
Bon Voyage!
December 6, 2023 by Laura Ehlers
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