Cost of 11 Day Road Trip to Wyoming
July 24, 2024 by Laura
Our 11 Day Road Trip to Tennessee
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 travel plans!
For each state we visit, we are going to spend at least four days. For a state as big and cool as Tennessee, we wanted to spend more! I love to crunch numbers and budget so I keep up wiht every single cost of our trips no matter how small. I hope that this detailed spending sheet of our travel expenses helps you plan out your own trip to Tennessee.
If you are looking for more detailed Tennessee content check out our other travel blogs: Nashville Itinerary, Memphis Itinerary, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Itinerary, Tennessee Food Guide, 9 Day Tennessee Itinerary, Slawburger Festival, David Crockett State Park.
Please keep the following notes about our trip in mind when planning out your own budget for your Tennessee 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 April 2024.
☼ We visited Tennnessee during April (April 12-22) to avoid the summer crowds.
☼ We live in Texas so started in Austin, drove through Arkansas, and started our Tennessee adventures in Memphis. Then we drove all around the state hitting Nashville, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Chattanooga, and then back to Memphis. We then drove through Mississippi, Louisiana, and East Texas to get back to Austin.
☼ We spent two nights in Memphis, three nights in Nashville, two nights by the Great Smoky Mountains, one night in Chattanooga, one night in small town Fayetteville, and one night in Mississippi.
☼ We left Austin early morning on a Friday (4/12/24) and drove back home on a Monday (4/22/24).
☼ 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 or cool stays!
Fuel/Parking
We drove a lot this trip! From Austin Texas, to Memphis, to Nashville, to the Great Smoky Mountains, to Chattanooga, back to Memphis, through Mississippi, through Louisiana, and then back to Austin. We drive a Volkswagen Jetta which gets good gas mileage and helps with our fuel costs.
Cost of fuel: $186.88
There was also a few places where we had to pay for parking. We had to pay for parking in a garage by Beale Street in Memphis ($12.25). I paid for this parking in advance on Spothero to make things easier. Our Memphis hotel also charged us a parking fee during our stay ($14 for two nights). In addition, we paid for our parking passes for Great Smoky Mountains National Park in advance online as well which I highly recommend ($10 for two days). Lastly, we paid to park on top of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga ($8.45).
Cost of parking: $44.70
Total Cost of Driving Expenses: $231.58
Lodging
We spent ten nights while on this road trip so lodging was our biggest expense. We also splurged just a bit to stay in some cool Airbnbs.
☼ Nights 1-2: Courtyard Memphis East/Park Avenue, 6015 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38119
This was just your average hotel. It was nice, clean, and we felt safe while staying here. It is not located in downtown Memphis so it was quite a bit cheaper because of that.
Cost: $316.18
☼ Nights 3-5: Muse Vacation Condos, 65 Lindsley Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210
We booked this condo on Airbnb. This was such a cool place to stay! It is located on Lindsley Street which means you are very close to 3rd & Lindsley where you can go to listen to live music. It was also about a 20 minute walk to Broadway Street. The condo itself was so cozy with a private balcony and a window garage door.
Cost: $660.60
☼ Nights 6-7: Snuggle Bear Cabin
We booked this cabin through Airbnb. It has a Sevierville address, but it located right next to Townsend. This made it perfect for waking up early and catching the sunrise in Great Smoky Mountains National Park both mornings. The cabin was decorated with so many black bears and was so cozy. The hot tub was perfect for soaking our tired muscles after a day of hiking!
Cost: $510.41
☼ Night 8: Hampton Inn & Suites Chattanooga/Hamilton Place, 2014 Hamilton Place Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37421
This was just your typical hotel which provided a breakfast buffet in the morning. It was in the perfect location for us traveling from the mountains towards west Tennessee.
Cost: $205.69
☼ Night 9: Airbnb Loft in Fayetteville, Tennessee
We enjoy going to small town festivals when visiting new states. We stopped by the Slawburger Festival going on Fayetteville. We found this airbnb which was a loft that overlooked the downtown square of Fayetteville. It was so cute inside and the perfect spot for us!
Cost: $168.70
☼ Night 10: Cotton House, 215 Cotton Row, Cleveland, MS 38732
We needed a hotel to stay at when travling from Memphis back to Austin, TX. There isn't much to choose from around these parts of Mississippi, but the Cotton House was a great place to stay. It was comfortable and felt very safe.
Cost: $180.94
Total Cost of Lodging: $2042.52
Entertainment / Activities
☼ Day 1
Our first day of this Tennessee road trip was spent driving from Austin to Memphis so we didn't spend any money on entertainment this day.
Cost: $0
☼ Day 2
Our entire second day of vacation was spent in Memphis. We first went to Graceland to see Elvis Presley's Meditation Garden. Since we did not have time to tour the house and we arrived between 7:30-8:30AM, we were able to enter the meditation garden for free ($0). We spent the rest of the morning at the National Civil Rights Museum. I bought our two tickets online beforehand ($41). We then walked around Beale Street. We went into B.B. Kings Blues Club which charged a cover to enter ($20). While there, I put a dollar into the band tip jar ($1). Lastly, we went to see Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. You can pay to ride up the elevator to see Memphis for the top of the pyramid ($17.56).
Cost: $79.56
☼ Day 3
On our third day, we drove to Wildersville to visit Natchez Trace State Park. All of Tennessee's state parks are free to enter ($0). After lunch, we went to The Carter House in Franklin. We bought our tickets when we showed up so we could go on a guided tour of the house ($40). We tipped our tour guide when the tour was done ($6). We spent the rest of our day in downtown Franklin. We learned about the history of Franklin thanks to all their statues and signs across the city and browsed through the local shops ($0).
Cost: $46
☼ Day 4
We started our fourth day by going to The Parthenon. We bought our tickets when we showed up to go on a self-guided tour and see the huge Athena statue ($20.46). After lunch, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I loved this musuem! I bought both of our tickets online beforehand ($59.90). We then headed to Broadway Street. All of Broadway's bars and restaurants are free to enter so you don't have to worry about cover charges ($0). I did tip the singer at Robert's Western World though ($3). To end our day, we went to 3rd & Lindsley to watch The Time Jumpers play. They are so good! I bought our tickets online beforehand to see this show ($51.51).
Cost: $134.87
☼ Day 5
On Day 5, we went to the state capitol. The capitol is free to visit, and you can even go inside to look around ($0). After the capitol, we went to the Tennessee State Museum. This huge museum is also free for all ($0). That evening had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. This is a must-see if you are visiting Nashville! I bought the tickets online before our trip. Our seats were pretty high up as the were some of the cheapest you could buy, but we didn't mind. Our view of the stage was still great ($118).
Cost: $118
☼ Day 6
We were then off to the Great Smoky Mountains! We drove down the Foothills Parkway and enjoyed all the views ($0). We also visited the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum. We followed the trail that ran with the river, and it was so pretty ($0).
Cost: $0
☼ Day 7
Our seventh day of vacation was spent in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This National Park is free to enter, you just have to pay for a parking pass ($0). We also saw the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum which is located in Gatlinburg ($6.70).
Cost: $6.70
☼ Day 8
We also spent all of day 8 inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park spotting black bears and hiking through wildflowers ($0).
Cost: $0
☼ Day 9
The next day we went up to Lookout Mountain. Unfortunately, we were too early to take the trolley up. On the mountain, we visited Point Park. This park is free to get in if you have an America the Beautiful Pass. We also just happened to be visiting on one of the National Park 'free days' ($0). We then went to Jack Daniel's Distillery for a tour. I bought both of our tickets online before our trip ($70). Next we attended the Slawburger Festival in Fayetteville. We spent the afternoon listening to live music and walking through shops in downtown Fayetteville ($0).
Cost: $70
☼ Day 10
On our last day in Tennessee, we went to David Crockett State Park. Like I mentioned previously, all state parks in Tennessee are free to enter ($0).
Cost: $0
☼ Day 11
The last day of vacation was spent mostly driving back home. However, if you are like me, you like to get the most of the entire vacation. While in Louisiana, we stopped at Poverty Point for about an hour ($8).
Cost: $8
Total Cost of Entertainment/Activities: $463.13
Food
We both love food and trying new things so it's hard to save a lot of money when it comes to eating food on vacation!
You can read all about each food we tried in Wyoming on our Tennessee Food trip blog post. I'll briefly summarize here what we ate. These totals include tips.
☼ First Day:
Since our first day was spent traveling, I packed us a lunch beforehand that we ate while on the road ($0). Brian stopped for a gas station coffee ($1.83). For dinner, we ate at Elwood's Shack in Memphis ($34.73).
Cost: $36.56
☼ Second Day:
We were in Memphis our entire second day of vacation. For breakfast, we had donuts from Gibson's Donuts ($5.63). For lunch, we had pulled pork sandwiches from Payne's Bar-B-Que ($22.20). While on Beale Street, we stopped at A. Schwab for a couple of homemade cream sodas ($6.54). We then went to B.B. King's Blues Club for some fried pickles and a couple of drinks ($40.15). For dinner, we ate ribs and BBQ spaghetti at The Bar-B-Q Shop ($48.12).
Cost: $122.64
☼ Third Day:
On this day, we ate delicious biscuit sandwiches at Sunrise Memphis for breakfast ($24.03). For lunch, we ate Southern food at The Log Cabin in Hurricane Mills ($60.14). For dinner, we went to Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe and ate lamb gyros ($28.42).
Cost: $112.95
☼ Fourth Day:
Our fourth day of vacation was spent in Nashville. We ate fruit, bagels, and granola that I had packed as snacks for breakfast ($0). For lunch we ate at Hattie B's Hot Chicken ($32.14). We also stopped by Goo Goo Chocolate Co. to make our own Goo Goo Cluster ($16.39). On Broadway Street, we went to Robert's Western World for a couple of beers and their famous Recession Special where you get a bologna sandwich, chips, a PBR beer, and a moon pie for $6 ($21). Lastly, while enjoying the show at 3rd & Lindsley we snacked on chips & salsa and had a mocktail ($32.24).
Cost: $101.77
☼ Fifth Day:
On the fifth day, we started our day right with an incredible breakfast from Big Al's Deli ($27.40). For a late lunch, we had bahn mi sandwiches from East Side Bahn Mi ($42.84). At the Grand Ole Opry, we got a couple of beers and waters to enjoy during the show ($33).
Cost: $103.24
☼ Sixth Day:
On our way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we snacked on bagels and granola in the car for breakfast ($0). We then stopped at Chapulines Street Tacos in Maryville for lunch ($27.84). Next we enjoyed some moonshine samples from Tennessee Shine Co. The samples are free, but we did tip the bartender ($5). While in Townsend, we went to the grocery store to pick up stuff to make dinner that night in our cabin and a few things for our picnic lunches in the park ($16.39).
Cost: $49.23
☼ Seventh Day:
We started our day in the mountains with some donuts from Donut Friar in Gatlinburg ($14.72). We then ate a picnic lunch in the national park ($0). For dinner, we picked up burgers from Burger Master Drive-In in Townsend ($30.26).
Cost: $44.98
☼ Eighth Day:
We spent this entire day inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Because we wanted to spend as much time as possible at the park, we ate on our picnic foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ($0).
Cost: $0
☼ Ninth Day:
This morning was ate at the free hotel buffet breakfast. We also went to the Slawburger Festival in Fayetteville this day. Of course, we had to buy some slawburgers! We ordered some from the VFW stand ($10.30) and also tried some from Honey's Restaurant ($23.08). We also got a couple of beers at the festival ($9). For dinner, we went to Volunteer Fry Co Food Truck which was at the festival. We ate delicious loaded french fries ($33.81).
Cost: $76.19
☼ Tenth Day:
We started our day by eating snacks in the car on the way to the state park, and ended our day with delicious fried chicken from Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken in Memphis ($17.65).
Cost: $17.65
☼ Eleventh Day:
Our last day was spent mostly driving. In addition to car snacks, we stopped at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats for some boudin balls ($40.98). We also stopped for coffee and waters at a gas station ($6.73).
Cost: $47.71
Total Cost of Food: $712.92
Souvenirs
For Tennessee, we got a few more souvenirs than we usually do. We got our usual state magnet plus a national park magnet, a state and national park postcard, two state and one national park patch, a state and national park sticker, a state and national park pin, a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, a bottle of Sweet Spicy Love from Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken, a Grand Ole Opry poster, a bottle of Tennessee Shine Co moonshine, and two Slawburger Festival T-shirts.
Total Cost of Souvenirs: $239.09
Total Cost of our 11-Day (10-Night) Trip to Tennessee in April 2024 for Two Adults
☼ Fuel/Parking: $231.58
☼ Hotels/Airbnb: $2042.52
☼ Entertainment/Activities: $463.13
☼ Food/Drink: $712.92
☼ Souvenirs: $239.09
Total Cost of Trip: $3,689.24
50 States by 50
Tennessee was our fourth 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 Tennessee trip is helpful in planning your vacation. We had such a great time! Tennessee is such a beautiful state and is worth every penny. If you have any questions or just want to share your Tennessee experiences, please leave a comment down below.
Category: Tennessee, Trip Budgets
Keywords: tennessee travel tips, how much does a trip to tennessee cost, tennessee trip budget breakdown
Discover More:
☼ David Crockett State Park (waterfalls, hiking, museum, & more)
☼ Best Food in Tennessee (pulled pork sandwiches, dry rub ribs, Nashville hot chicken, & more)
☼ Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Cades Cove, black bears, Clingman's Dome, & more)
Bon Voyage!
July 24, 2024 by Laura Ehlers
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