Travel Budget for Milwaukee Visit Milwaukee on a Budget or Travel in Style

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America

How much does it cost to travel to Milwaukee?

You should plan to spend around $176 per day on your vacation in Milwaukee. This is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors.

Past travelers have spent, on average for one day:

  • $52 on meals
  • $38 on local transportation
  • $197 on hotels

A one week trip to Milwaukee for two people costs, on average, $2,463. This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

All of these average travel prices have been collected from other travelers to help you plan your own travel budget.

  • Average Daily Cost Per person, per day
    $176
  • One Week Per person
    $1,231
  • 2 Weeks Per person
    $2,463
  • One Month Per person
    $5,277
  • One Week For a couple
    $2,463
  • 2 Weeks For a couple
    $4,926
  • One Month For a couple
    $10,555
This data comes from the travel budgets of real travelers - How it works. Put these numbers on your website.


How much does a one week, two week, or one month trip to Milwaukee cost?

A one week trip to Milwaukee usually costs around $1,231 for one person and $2,463 for two people. This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

A two week trip to Milwaukee on average costs around $2,463 for one person and $4,926 for two people. This cost includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

Please note, prices can vary based on your travel style, speed, and other variables. If you're traveling as a family of three or four people, the price per person often goes down because kid's tickets are cheaper and hotel rooms can be shared. If you travel slower over a longer period of time then your daily budget will also go down. Two people traveling together for one month in Milwaukee will often have a lower daily budget per person than one person traveling alone for one week.

A one month trip to Milwaukee on average costs around $5,277 for one person and $10,555 for two people. The more places you visit, the higher the daily price will become due to increased transportation costs.




Independent Travel

Traveling Independently to Milwaukee has many benefits including affordabilty, freedom, flexibility, and the opportunity to control your own experiences.

All of the travel costs below are based on the experiences of other independent travelers.

Is Milwaukee expensive to visit?

Prices in Milwaukee are reasonable and comparable to your average travel destination. Hotels, food, and sightseeing are generally within normal price ranges.

Within North America, which is known to be an expensive region, Milwaukee is a moderately priced destination compared to other places. The overall cost of travel here is fair for the region and comparable to Pocono Mountains or Saint Simons.

For more details, and to find out if it's within your travel budget, see Is Milwaukee Expensive?

How much money do I need for a trip to Milwaukee?

The average Milwaukee trip cost is broken down by category here for independent travelers. All of these Milwaukee travel prices are calculated from the budgets of real travelers.


Category Cost
Accommodation 1 (Double Occupancy) $197
Local Transportation 1 $38
Food 2 $52
Entertainment 1 $26
Alcohol 2 $16 - 49
Accommodation Budget in Milwaukee
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

The average price paid for one person for accommodation in Milwaukee is $99. For two people sharing a typical double-occupancy hotel room, the average price paid for a hotel room in Milwaukee is $197. This cost is from the reported spending of actual travelers.


  • Accommodation1 Hotel or hostel for one person
    $99
  • Accommodation1 Typical double-occupancy room
    $197

Hotel Prices in Milwaukee

Looking for a hotel in Milwaukee? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options.

Find the best hotel for your travel style.

 

Actual Hotel Prices
The average hotel room price in Milwaukee based on data provided by Kayak for actual hotel rooms is $139. (Prices in U.S. Dollars, before taxes & fees.)

Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world.


Recommended Properties


Transportation Budget in Milwaukee
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The cost of a taxi ride in Milwaukee is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent $38 per person, per day, on local transportation in Milwaukee.


  • Transportation1 Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    $38

Recommended Services


Flights to Milwaukee
How much does it cost to go to Milwaukee? Naturally, it depends on the dates. We recommend Kayak because they can find the best deals across all airlines.

Rental Cars in Milwaukee
The price of renting a car in Milwaukee will depends on dates, the type of car, the location, and your age. We recommend Kayak because they can find the best deals across all car rental companies.



Food Budget in Milwaukee
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • While meal prices in Milwaukee can vary, the average cost of food in Milwaukee is $52 per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Milwaukee should cost around $21 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. The price of food in sit-down restaurants in Milwaukee is often higher than fast food prices or street food prices.


  • Food2 Meals for one day
    $52

Recommended


Entertainment Budget in Milwaukee
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • Entertainment and activities in Milwaukee typically cost an average of $26 per person, per day based on the spending of previous travelers. This includes fees paid for admission tickets to museums and attractions, day tours, and other sightseeing expenses.


  • Entertainment1 Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    $26

Recommended Activities


Alcohol Budget in Milwaukee
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The average person spends about $33 on alcoholic beverages in Milwaukee per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.


  • Alcohol2 Drinks for one day
    $33

Recommended


Milwaukee On a Budget
Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on Lake Michigan's western shore. It's known for its breweries, many of which offer tours chronicling its role in the beer industry. Overlooking the Menomonee River, the Harley-Davidson Museum displays classic motorcycles, including one of Elvis Presley's. Nearby is the Milwaukee Public Museum, with its large-scale European Village and a recreation of old Milwaukee. In summertime, festivals let loose by the lake almost every weekend. These attractions along with stylish eating and shopping areas have turned Wisconsin's largest city into an interesting and attractive destination.
Sights
The Harley Davidson Museum, where hundreds of motorcycles show the styles through the decades, including the flashy rides of Elvis and Evel Knievel. You can sit in the saddle of various bikes and take unique photos. Even non-bikers will enjoy the interactive exhibits and tough, leather-clad crowds.

The lakeside Milwaukee Art Museum, which features a stunning winglike addition by Santiago Calatrava. It soars open and closed every day at 10am, noon and 5pm (8pm on Thursday), which is fun to watch; head to the suspension bridge outside for the best view. There are fabulous folk and outsider art galleries, and a sizeable collection of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings. A 2015 renovation added photography and new media galleries to the trove.

Take a look at the Harley Davidson Plant, where engines are built, in suburban Menomonee Falls. The factory offers two options for tours: a free, 30-minute jaunt where you see a video and take a quick walk onto the factory floor, and a two-hour paid tour where you don safety glasses and check out the assembly line, powder-coat process and other in-depth engine-making activities.

The Hoan Bridge is one of the most recognizable Milwaukee landmarks. It is a tied arch bridge suspended over the port of Milwaukee on the Milwaukee River. It's part of I-794 that leads into downtown.
Neighborhoods
Downtown Milwaukee consists of two neighborhoods which sit across the Milwaukee River from each other: Juneautown and Kilbourntown.

Juneautown
Between the lake and the river is the financial heart of the city, as well as the place where Milwaukee was born. The city's tallest building, the 601-foot USBank Tower, is located here along the lake, as are a number of the other architecturally significant buildings, including the Cathedral of St. John and Milwaukee's City Hall. There are a number of coffee shops and restaurants, but except for around Cathedral Square and Milwaukee Street area mostly closes down after business hours.

Kilbourntown (or Westown)
Across the river, Kilbourntown serves as the city's entertainment center. Here you will find attractions such as the Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee's primary convention center. Nearby are the Grand Avenue Mall, the Milwaukee Theater, and the Bradley Center. Many of the city's hotels are located here as well, as are a number of excellent restaurants and clubs. Further to the west is Milwaukee's gigantic neo-classical Courthouse, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the ornate Milwaukee Central Library. While none of the city's tall buildings have public observatories, you can get a fantastic view from Polaris, the revolving restaurant perched atop the Hyatt Regency in the heart of Kilbourntown.

Historic Third Ward
This small district, located directly to the south of Juneautown, is Milwaukee's version of the trendy urban "warehouse district." The streets of the Third Ward are lined with 19th and early 20th-century warehouse buildings which have been converted into lofts and offices. At street level, chic shops and restaurants are commonplace. The area is also an entertainment hub. The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design, the Broadway Theater Center, and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design can be found here.

Activities
The well-loved Lakefront Brewery, across the river from Brady St, has afternoon tours, but the best time to visit is on Friday nights when there's a fish fry, 16 beers to try and a polka band letting loose.

Go for a tour of the Miller Brewing Company. Founded in 1855, the historic Miller facility preserves Milwaukee's beer legacy. Join the legions lined up for the free, hour-long tours. Though the mass-produced beer may not be your favorite, the factory impresses with its sheer scale: you'll visit the packaging plant where 2000 cans are filled each minute, and the warehouse where a half-million cases await shipment. And then there's the generous tasting session at the tour's end, where you can down three full-size samples.

Experience Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin. The city's lakefront science and technology museum is primarily a kid-pleaser, with freshwater and saltwater aquariums (where you can touch sharks and sturgeon) and a dockside, triple-masted Great Lakes schooner to ogle, and sailing tours are also available. Adults will appreciate the Les Paul exhibit, showcasing the Wisconsin native's pioneering guitars and sound equipment.

Milwaukee County Zoo, one of the best zoos in the US, features 2,500 animals representing 300 species on 200 acres. Besides animal showcases, the zoo also features train tours, sea lion shows, and a dairy farm. Check with zoo schedules for fun special events like sleepovers at the zoo or trick-or-treating at the zoo on Halloween.

The parkland edging Lake Michigan is prime for walking, cycling and inline skating. Also here is Bradford Beach, which is good for swimming and lounging.
Food and Dining
With its immigrant heritage, Milwaukee is a major restaurant city. Good local restaurants serve almost every kind of food imaginable, usually quite inexpensively. Different neighborhoods have different specialties when it comes to food. Old World Third St along (and just west of) the Milwaukee River provides a richer variety of restaurants and also many of the more upscale restaurants and clubs in town. Traditional Germanic and Mediterranean foods are the highlights.

Milwaukee St, between Wisconsin and Wells Streets, offers many trendy and top rated restaurants in the city as well as an upscale nightlife for the after dinner drink.

The east side also has many nice restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. Most places are clustered on Farwell, North, or Brady Streets. The Fifth Ward and South Side contain many different authentic and cheap Mexican and Latin American restaurants.

Bay View has a variety of different kinds of places, especially with regards to "hip" comfort food.

Transportation
There is an array of almost every transportation mode thinkable to get to Milwaukee. The cheapest way is by bus, but many travelers prefer the comfort and convenience of air, boat, car, or train travel. Chicago, a massive transportation hub, is less than 100 miles away. Milwaukee is served by General Mitchell International Airport. Milwaukee County Transit System buses run frequent airport service from roughly 4AM to 2AM. Amtrak serves downtown and an airport station. The newly remodeled Milwaukee Intermodal station offers connectivity to inter-city bus services and is located downtown a short distance from many attractions and hotels. Starting service at May 1st, and ending service at November 1st, it is possible to take the ferry from Muskegon MI to Milwaukee Harbor. The trip takes 2 1/2 hours and takes you over majestic Lake Michigan. Milwaukee is served by several interstate bus lines daily, there is competition on most routes as well as onward connections. Milwaukee is also easily reached by road, if you prefer to drive. Getting around in Milwaukee is easy. Milwaukee's bus system, MCTS, has an extensive coverage area and core routes with very frequent service. There is also a free tourist trolley available seasonally that loops through some of the more popular tourist areas, and, of course, driving is another way of getting around.

We've been gathering travel costs from tens of thousands of actual travelers since 2010, and we use the data to calculate average daily travel costs for destinations around the world. We also systematically analyze the prices of hotels, hostels, and tours from travel providers such as Kayak, HostelWorld, TourRadar, Viator, and others. This combination of expenses from actual travelers, combined with pricing data from major travel companies, gives us a uniqe insight into the overall cost of travel for thousands of cities in countries around the world. You can see more here: How it Works.



1 Categories averaged on a per-item basis.
2 Categories averaged on a per-day basis.
For example, the Food2 daily average is for all meals for an entire day, while Entertainment1 is for each individual purchase. Thus, the overall daily average cost is not a summation of the individual categories.