Memphis in 7 Days: Budget + Day Trips
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7 days: a full week where the Mid-South is the main event
A full week uses the extra day not to add a fifth destination, but to give Clarksdale two unhurried days instead of one rushed one, on top of Tunica, Oxford and Shiloh. Expect roughly $85-165 a person per day; the main Memphis, Tennessee guide covers the city-side numbers. Tighter schedule, the 6-day itinerary compresses Clarksdale back to a single overnight. Want a week that stays entirely in the city instead, see the bare 7-day Memphis itinerary , which only touches two day trips lightly and spends its last day back downtown.
Book these before you go
- A timed Graceland ticket for Day 1
- Two nights at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, book ahead, especially near the Juke Joint Festival (April 11, 2026)
- A rental car for Days 3-7, none of Clarksdale, Tunica, Oxford or Shiloh has a transit option
Day 1: Memphis city core
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, then Beale Street at night. Ticket costs: roughly $25-40 per person.
Day 2: Graceland and Sun Studio
Graceland (Whitehaven, car needed, roughly $85 adult / $49 youth, or about $53 entry-level), then Sun Studio (roughly $15 adult / $10 ages 5-11). Ticket costs: roughly $65-100 per person.
Day 3: Clarksdale, Mississippi
Drive south on Highway 61, roughly 75-95 minutes, to Clarksdale for 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) for a live set. Stay at the Shack Up Inn’s sharecropper-shack lodging, the standout stay of the whole trip.
Day 4: Clarksdale, second day
A second full day in the Delta: Red’s Juke Joint for another live set, more of the Mississippi Blues Trail markers around town, and a second night at the Shack Up Inn.
Day 5: Tunica on the way back
Head north through Tunica, roughly 30-45 minutes from Clarksdale, for its casino corridor and the Gateway to the Blues Museum before returning toward Memphis.
Day 6: Oxford, Mississippi
Roughly 80-90 minutes southeast of Memphis: Ole Miss, Rowan Oak (William Faulkner’s home), Square Books, and the town square, a literary-and-culture day.
Day 7: Shiloh National Military Park
Roughly 2-2.3 hours east of Memphis, a major 1862 Civil War battlefield with a well-preserved site and an interpretive center, the furthest day trip of the week, worth planning around your departure time.
One honest note across the week’s day-trip days: the practical safety concern, in Clarksdale, Tunica, Oxford, at Shiloh, or downtown Memphis, is car break-ins, not violent crime. “Stow It, Don’t Show It” applies wherever the car is parked for the night.
| Days | Focus | Ticket costs (per person) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | City core: Beale Street, Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio | roughly $90-125 |
| 3-4 | Clarksdale, two nights: Crossroads, Delta Blues Museum, Ground Zero, Shack Up Inn | modest sight costs, lodging is the main spend |
| 5 | Tunica: casinos, Gateway to the Blues Museum | variable, gaming budget is your own call |
| 6 | Oxford: Ole Miss, Rowan Oak, Square Books | modest, mostly a bookstore and lunch budget |
| 7 | Shiloh National Military Park | modest, a battlefield entry and gas for the longest drive of the week |
One concrete money tip: book both Shack Up Inn nights before anything else on this trip, they’re the first rooms in town to go. Book Graceland ahead too, and check Shiloh’s driving time against your flight before you commit the last day to it.