Memphis in 5 Days: Budget + Day Trips
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5 days: two city days, then three Mid-South day trips
Five days adds Oxford, Mississippi’s Ole Miss and Faulkner sites to the Tunica and Clarksdale trips from the four-day version, so the back half of the week becomes a real Mississippi Delta-and-hills tour. Expect roughly $85-160 a person per day; the main Memphis, Tennessee guide covers the city-side numbers. Tighter schedule, the 4-day itinerary covers everything here except Day 5. More time, the 6-day and 7-day plans add Shiloh National Military Park and a Clarksdale overnight on top of this base.
Book these before you go
- A timed Graceland ticket for Day 1
- A rental car for Days 3-5, none of Clarksdale, Tunica or Oxford has a transit option
Day 1: Beale Street and the Civil Rights Museum
Beale Street by day (free), the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (roughly $25 adult / $22 child / $23 senior-student, closed Tuesdays), BBQ at Rendezvous or Central BBQ, Beale Street at night.
Day 2: Graceland and Sun Studio
Graceland (Whitehaven, car needed, roughly $85 adult / $49 youth, or about $53 entry-level), Sun Studio (roughly $15 adult / $10 ages 5-11).
Days 1-2 ticket costs (per person): roughly $90-125.
Day 3: Clarksdale, Mississippi
Roughly 75-95 minutes south on Highway 61, the Delta blues pilgrimage: the Crossroads of Highways 61 and 49, the Delta Blues Museum, and Ground Zero Blues Club (Morgan Freeman co-owns it), then Red’s Juke Joint in the evening before driving back or staying at the Shack Up Inn.
Day 4: Tunica, Mississippi
Roughly 30-45 minutes south of Memphis, Tunica’s casino corridor, the Gateway to the Blues Museum, and the Tunica RiverPark.
Day 5: Oxford, Mississippi
Roughly 80-90 minutes southeast of Memphis, Oxford is a literary-and-culture day rather than a music one: Ole Miss, Rowan Oak (William Faulkner’s home), Square Books, and the town square. A change of pace after two Delta-focused days.
One honest note across all three day-trip days: the practical safety concern, whether in Clarksdale, Tunica or Oxford, is car break-ins, not violent crime, same as it is downtown in Memphis. “Stow It, Don’t Show It,” nothing left visible in a parked car.
| Day | Focus | Ticket costs (per person) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | City core: Beale Street, Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio | roughly $90-125 |
| 3 | Clarksdale: Crossroads, Delta Blues Museum, Ground Zero | modest, mostly meals and a live-music cover |
| 4 | Tunica: casinos, Gateway to the Blues Museum | variable, gaming budget is your own call |
| 5 | Oxford: Ole Miss, Rowan Oak, Square Books | modest, mostly a bookstore and lunch budget |
One concrete money tip: do Oxford last, it’s the lightest, cheapest day of the trip and makes an easy wind-down before heading back to Memphis for departure. Book Graceland ahead; the three day trips need nothing but a rental car and a full tank each morning.