Memphis in 3 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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3 days adds Stax, Overton Park and a free walk into Arkansas
A third day gives Memphis’s music history room to breathe: Stax Museum pairs geographically with Graceland (about 10 minutes apart), and a free walk across the Mississippi rounds out the trip without costing a dollar. Expect roughly $85-135 a person per day; the main budget guide has the full cost breakdown. Only have a weekend? The 2-day itinerary covers just Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum, Graceland and Sun Studio. More time on the calendar, the 4-day plan adds Midtown and Shelby Farms on top of this exact three-day core.
Book these before you go
- A timed Graceland ticket for Day 2, especially near Elvis Week (Aug 8-16 2026)
- A Sun Studio tour slot for Day 2 afternoon
- Nothing for Stax, Overton Park or Big River Crossing, just check Stax is open (closed Mondays)
Day 1: Beale Street and the Civil Rights Museum
Walk Beale Street by day, free, then spend the afternoon at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 (roughly $25 adult / $22 child / $23 senior-student, 9am-6pm, closed Tuesdays). Treat it as the profound, essential visit it is. Evening: BBQ at Rendezvous or Central BBQ, then Beale Street after dark, weekend nights after 9pm carry a $5 security fee with ID and bag checks.
Day 1 ticket costs (per person): Civil Rights Museum roughly $22-25; Beale Street free.
Day 2: Graceland and Sun Studio
Graceland (Whitehaven, about 9 miles south) needs a car; the standard Elvis Experience tour runs roughly $85 adult / $49 youth, entry-level Elvis Presley’s Memphis about $53. Give it a half day, then head to Sun Studio (706 Union Ave), roughly $15 adult / $10 ages 5-11 for the 40-50 minute tour. Book the timed Graceland slot before you land; it’s the ticket most likely to sell out.
Day 2 ticket costs (per person): Graceland roughly $53-85, Sun Studio roughly $15.
Day 3: Stax, Overton Park and Big River Crossing
Morning at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (Soulsville, roughly $20 adult / $16 concession, 10am-5pm Tue-Sun, closed Mondays), covering Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & the M.G.’s on the original Stax Records site. Afternoon at Overton Park, a green city park and the site of Elvis’s first paid concert (July 30, 1954), free to walk. Round out the day with Big River Crossing, a free roughly 1-mile pedestrian bridge over the Mississippi from downtown into West Memphis, Arkansas, the easiest way to set foot in a second state without a car.
One honest note: beyond the downtown core, a car is genuinely useful for Graceland and Stax, and the realistic safety concern in Memphis is car break-ins, not violent crime. “Stow It, Don’t Show It” is Memphis Police’s own line for it, nothing visible left in a parked car, whether at Stax, Graceland, or downtown at night.
Day 3 ticket costs (per person): Stax roughly $16-20; Overton Park and Big River Crossing free.
| Day | Focus | Ticket costs (per person) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beale Street, Civil Rights Museum, BBQ | roughly $22-25 |
| 2 | Graceland, Sun Studio | roughly $68-100 |
| 3 | Stax, Overton Park, Big River Crossing | roughly $16-20 |
One concrete money tip: pair Stax with Graceland on the same drive south rather than doubling back, they’re about 10 minutes apart. Book Graceland ahead, and the free Day 3 stops need no reservation at all.