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

Montana, United States of America

How much does it cost to travel to Montana?

You should plan to spend around $133 per day on your vacation in Montana. This is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors.

Past travelers have spent, on average for one day:

  • $30 on meals
  • $65 on local transportation
  • $99 on hotels

A one week trip to Montana for two people costs, on average, $1,865. 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
    $133
  • One Week Per person
    $933
  • 2 Weeks Per person
    $1,865
  • One Month Per person
    $3,997
  • One Week For a couple
    $1,865
  • 2 Weeks For a couple
    $3,730
  • One Month For a couple
    $7,994
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 Montana cost?

A one week trip to Montana usually costs around $933 for one person and $1,865 for two people. This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing.

A two week trip to Montana on average costs around $1,865 for one person and $3,730 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 Montana will often have a lower daily budget per person than one person traveling alone for one week.

A one month trip to Montana on average costs around $3,997 for one person and $7,994 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 Montana 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 Montana expensive to visit?

Prices in Montana 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, Montana is a reasonably affordable destination compared to other places. It is in the top 25% of cities in North America for its affordability. You can find more affordable cities such as Vernon, but there are also more expensive cities, such as Key West.

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

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

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


Category Cost
Accommodation 1 (Double Occupancy) $99
Local Transportation 1 $65
Food 2 $30
Entertainment 1 $38
Alcohol 2 $6 - 17
Accommodation Budget in Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

The average price paid for one person for accommodation in Montana is $49. For two people sharing a typical double-occupancy hotel room, the average price paid for a hotel room in Montana is $99. This cost is from the reported spending of actual travelers.


  • Accommodation1 Hotel or hostel for one person
    $49
  • Accommodation1 Typical double-occupancy room
    $99

Hotel Prices in Montana

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

Find the best hotel for your travel style.

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



Transportation Budget in Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The cost of a taxi ride in Montana is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent $65 per person, per day, on local transportation in Montana.


  • Transportation1 Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    $65


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

Rental Cars in Montana
The price of renting a car in Montana 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 Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • While meal prices in Montana can vary, the average cost of food in Montana is $30 per day. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out an average meal in Montana should cost around $12 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. The price of food in sit-down restaurants in Montana is often higher than fast food prices or street food prices.


  • Food2 Meals for one day
    $30

Recommended


Entertainment Budget in Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • Entertainment and activities in Montana typically cost an average of $38 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.
    $38


Alcohol Budget in Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • The average person spends about $11 on alcoholic beverages in Montana per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.


  • Alcohol2 Drinks for one day
    $11


Water Budget in Montana
Average Daily Costs

Calculated from travelers like you

  • On average, people spend $9.38 on bottled water in Montana per day. The public water in Montana is considered safe to drink.


  • Water2 Bottled water for one day
    $9.38


Montana On a Budget
Montana Glacier National Park, Montana
Often called Big Sky Country for its vast blue skies, Montana is a state in the northwestern United States characterized by beautiful sweeping scenery from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the flatter prairie regions of the east. Some of the top attractions include Glacier National Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Yellowstone, and of course the Rocky Mountains.
Sights
Glacier National Park rests on the northern border of Montana, exhibiting a magnificent landscape shaped by glacial activity which began millions of years ago. Some of the features of the area include lakes, valleys, and glacier remnants in addition to a thriving population of plant and wildlife. Hiking the trails or driving the scenic roads will likely give you a glimpse into these habitats. The area's fauna includes critters like deer, elk, moose, buffalo, big horn sheep, mountain goats, black and grizzly bears, coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, bald eagles, and other birds of prey.

Little Bighorn National Monument is another popular site for visitors interested in the history of the area. The site marks the location of Custer's Last Stand with vast grassy fields and a number of memorials. Even the famous Yellowstone National Park is not too far; mostly located over the border in the state of Wyoming, it is home to wildlife like elk and bison as well as the world's largest collection of geysers. Two of the park's entrances are locating in Montana-North Entrance (Gardiner) and the Northeast Entrance (Cooke City and Silver Gate). And then there is the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail which follows the famous expedition route spanning over three thousand miles from Wood River, Illinois, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon.
Regions
The state of Montana is generally divided into two regions-Eastern and Western Montana, split by the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains. Western Montana is smaller and characterized by mountainous terrain and other scenic areas like Glacier National Park, while Eastern Montana is flatter with lower isolated mountains amidst prairielands. The Montana board of tourism further divides the state into 6 additional regions. Glacier Country is in the northwest and includes Glacier National Park plus the cities of Missoula, Whitefish, Kalispell, and Cut Bank. Gold West Country is in the southwest and is home to the cities of Butte and the state capital Helena. Russel Country, named after the western artist Charles M. Russel, is in the north-central area of the state and includes the cities of Lewistown and Great Falls. Yellowstone Country, gateway to Yellowstone National Park, is in the south-central part of the state. Missouri River Country sits in the far northeast of Montana, and Custer Country is in the far southeast-home to the cities of Billings, Miles City, Glendive and the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

Activities
Montana is a state that has outdoor recreational activities for every season. From skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling in the winter to boating, whitewater rafting, camping, horseback riding, hunting, and fishing in the summer-there is plenty to do year-round. Mountain biking is also popular, as is hiking which is great any time of year with plenty of trails mapped out in state and national park areas.
Food and Dining
Cuisine in Montana ranges from fast-food, cafes, diners, steakhouses, and international options in the cities to a limited hometown meat and potatoes selection in the more rural areas. Known for its cattle raising, the state offers beef that is fresh, most often locally raised, and cooked however you prefer. Some of the local eateries distinct to the area include places like the Staggering Ox and The Pickle Barrel, both serving tasty sandwiches with multiple locations across the state. Other Montana specialties include things like buffalo chili, cowboy beans, Indian fry-bread, and steak. During the summer months, huckleberries and flathead cherries are available at farmer's markets and several pick-your-own locations. Big Sky Country is full of options, and even has a brewing culture with a number of microbreweries in major cities like Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, and Billings.

Transportation
By plane, some major points of entry are located in the cities of Billings, Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, Bozeman, and Kalispell-all with international flights available, except for Helena which is regional.

Another popular way to travel is to take Amtrak's Empire Builder, a train which has twelve stops in Montana and also takes passengers west to Seattle and Portland, Oregon and east to Chicago. The Montana stops include Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, Browning (Oct-1 through May 1), East Glacier (May 1 through Oct. 1), Essex, West Glacier, Whitefish, and Libby.


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Looking for a party hostel in Las Vegas or San Diego? Traveling alone to NYC or LA? Want a budget hostel in San Francisco?

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.