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Travel guide
Yellowstone
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September
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Welcome
Yellowstone, in a few days
The world's first national park, created in 1872, spreads over some 9,000 km² of volcanic caldera, where about 500 geysers and 10,000 thermal features steam among the meadows. Bison, elk, wolves and grizzlies can be seen from the road, and Old Faithful erupts on schedule in front of wooden benches.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Old Faithful · about 1 h 30Not the tallest geyser but the most predictable, erupting roughly every 90 minutes, with boardwalks leading on through the Upper Geyser Basin.
- Afternoon · Grand Prismatic Spring · about 1 hAmerica's largest hot spring, over 100 metres across, deep blue in the centre and ringed with orange, yellow and green bacterial mats.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Kelly Inn West Yellowstone€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Yellowstone Lake · about 1 h 30North America's largest high-altitude lake, with the West Thumb Geyser Basin on its shore, where hot springs bubble at and below the waterline.
- Afternoon · Hayden Valley · half a dayWet meadows along the Yellowstone River between the lake and the canyon, with bison herds that block the road, plus coyotes, pelicans and trumpeter swans.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Gray Wolf Inn & Suites€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone · half a dayA 32 km gorge cut into yellow and pink rhyolite, with the 33-metre Upper Falls and the 94-metre Lower Falls, twice the height of Niagara.
- Afternoon · Norris Geyser Basin · about 1 h 30The hottest and most acidic basin in the park, home to Steamboat, the world's tallest active geyser, whose major eruptions come days or years apart.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Yellowstone Gateway Inn€150 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mammoth Hot Springs · about 1 hNear the north entrance, hot water lays down travertine as white and ochre terraces that change from year to year, along boardwalks from Liberty Cap.
- Afternoon · Lamar Valley · half a dayNicknamed America's Serengeti, the best place for large animals: bison herds, elk, pronghorn, and the wolves reintroduced in 1995, watched every morning through scopes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Stage Coach Inn€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €175 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/yellowstone
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.