Yellowstone Geothermal Wonders & Wildlife Tour
How to experience Yellowstone National Park stress-free even if you have no idea how to start planning.
At a Glance
How does this work? | This is a PRIVATE, guided tour that includes accommodations. Your tour guide is a naturalist expert with many years of experience leading tours in Yellowstone National Park. Comfortable vans allow for small group tours; maximum is 9 passengers. We need at least 2 travelers in order to run this tour. | |
Price | $6,700 per person sharing room. $1,299 single supplement. $4,800 per child staying in parents' room. | |
Duration | 7 days / 6 nights. Begins and ends in Bozeman, Montana. | |
Included | All accommodations, all transportation during tour. Breakfast including hot beverage choices, snacks, picnic lunches, water, cold beverages, most dinners. Vans have binoculars and spotting scopes for your use. | |
Not included | Travel insurance. Flights and transportation between your home town to Bozeman, Montana. Tips and gratuities. Items of a personal nature. Souvenirs. Anything not specifically listed as included. | |
What to bring | Camera, binoculars, sun block, sun hat, swim suit, sun glasses, clothing that can be easily layered, rain jacket / umbrella, comfortable walking / hiking boots, bug repellent, extra camera batteries, extra phone chargers. |
Highlights
Save Time & Experience More
With so much to see and do in Yellowstone, you’ll find there’s simply not enough time to do it all. Our day tours let you experience the finest highlights.
Get Oriented to Yellowstone
Our knowledgeable, expert local guides will help you navigate the park, answer all your questions and offer personalized recommendations - giving you the best possible start to your visit.
Work with Experts
Get more out of your Yellowstone experience by experiencing a tour with a certified expert naturalist Yellowstone guide who has years of experience leading tours.
Don't risk getting stuck in long lines and large crowds!
You’ll see everything you want, during times that are less busy, giving you a chance to see more in less time. You don’t have to be the area expert or know what order is best in order to avoid the crowds. We handle the details for you.
You can experience popular highlights and under-visited gems!
Want to see Old Faithful erupt? Check. Want to watch for (and hopefully see) wolves? Check! See exactly the features or sights you wish, as well as unexpected gems.
Don't waste time researching on your phone and getting lost!
Spend more time exploring the park! This tour is FULLY GUIDED so you can relax and enjoy the views without figuring routes and roads and guessing how long each stop will take.
Itinerary Details
Day 1: Arrive at the Bozeman, Montana airport. Your hotel will provide complimentary shuttle service from the airport. This evening, you will enjoy dinner with your guide as we welcome you to the very start of your tour.
Day 2: Get an early start to your adventure! You will be picked up from your Bozeman area hotel at 6AM. Breakfast will be provided en route as we make our way to Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance!
Today’s drive will explore the Paradise Valley (between two mountain ranges and before we enter Yellowstone National Park), the Northern Range (with Lamar Valley), and the Mammoth Hot Springs. Lamar Valley is rich with wildlife and we can almost guarantee wildlife sightings. This day will include morning and evening game drives as we search for bison, wolves, elk, and other wildlife. We will have a picnic lunch en route. We will spend the night in Cooke City / Silver Gate, Montana.
Day 3: Enjoy a morning game drive through Lamar Valley as we again search for wildlife. Breakfast will be provided en route. Then we head towards the West Yellowstone area throughout the day with stops through the Swan Lake area, Norris Geyser Basin, and Madison River Valley. Swan Lake has beautiful mountain views, and a continual population of trumpeter swans (hence the name). Norris Geyser Basin has some good hiking trails where you can see fumaroles and pools of water in unusual colors. We will spend the night in West Yellowstone, Wyoming.
Day 4: We will enjoy a slow start to the day. The morning will be yours to enjoy at leisure. There are a few activities in West Yellowstone that you can explore on your own including the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, shopping, and strolling around town.
In the afternoon, we will visit the Buffalo Field Campaign headquarters. Buffalo Field Campaign is a A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is working to end the needless slaughter of wild bison herds that live outside of Yellowstone National Park. We will learn about what their work entails and will get to see some of the range that the monitored herds roam. We will also have a chance to visit Earthquake Lake, a unique 6 mile long lake that was caused by an earthquake in 1959 - there are still some cars submerged in the lake from back then! We will return to West Yellowstone for dinner and to spend the night.
Day 5: Breakfast will be provided en route. We will visit the Thermal Basin area that includes Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Springs, Fountain Paint Pots, and more. This area has a lot of hiking, and you can hike as little or as much as you want. The more you hike, the more you will see. This area is also pretty level so the changes in elevation are not so great and making hiking easier if you're used to lower altitudes. We will also visit West Thumb Geyser Basin and Yellowstone Lake, which also do not vary much in elevation. We will stay overnight in the eastern area of the park in or near Cody, Wyoming.
Day 6: Breakfast will be provided en route. We will get another early start so that we have time to see the Pelican Valley by Yellowstone Lake, enjoy wildlife viewing at the Hayden Valley (another great place for wildlife sighting), and see the amazing Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - see for yourself why it has this name. We will then explore Dunraven Pass and Tower Falls (a lovely and accessible waterfall) as we make our way northward and out of the park. We will return to Bozeman in the afternoon.
Day 7: Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before heading to Bozeman airport. We wish you a safe flight home, or wherever your next destination may be!
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En route breakfasts include fresh muffins, oatmeal, fruit and hot beverages.
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Days 2 through 6 include snacks, picnic lunch, water bottles and cold drinks
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Your guide will meet you for dinner on Day 1 and will be accompanying you until drop off at your hotel on Day 6.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I have any input into what we see on the tour?
A: Yes! Our plans always have a degree of flexibility. We welcome your input if there are things that are of higher or lesser interest to you. We will do our best to accommodate your requests.
Q: How do we travel between destinations on the route?
A: We travel in small, comfortable vans that have heating / air conditioning and excellent windows for wildlife viewing. We like to keep our tours to 9 passengers or less.
Q: What are the hotels like where we will be staying?
A: We pick hotels in quieter areas, sometimes inside the park and other times near park entrances. Some accommodations may be very simple / rustic and may not always include TVs in the rooms. We will give you all hotel information before booking.
Q: Will we be sitting in vehicles for major parts of each day?
A: We space out the tour so that you spend more than ample time outside of the vehicle and in fresh air. We also keep the pace moderately slow as we do not want to rush the tour. You need to be able to relax, enjoy, and take in all that you will experience. And that cannot be done in a hurry.
Q: How can we avoid some of the large crowds and traffic jams that happen at some of the most popular locations, like Old Faithful?
A: Our local guides are experts in the park. They know the times of day when popular attractions like Old Faithful will be most crowded, and they plan tour timings around this to make sure you get fantastic views of all the must-see places, without wading through hundreds of tourists to do so.
Q: What if we get hungry for lunch and we’re nowhere near a good lunch stop?
A: Lunch will be provided en route each day of the tour so that we do not have to rely on rest stops within the park for our food. If we want to have a picnic at 11:30AM one day, and rest by the lake at 1PM the next day for lunch, we have the flexibility to do so.
Q: What kind of clothing should I pack?
A: The weather and temperature can change quickly no matter what time of the year, from one part of the park and one elevation to another. Bring clothing that can be layered, and good hiking shoes / boots. Bring a rain jacket as well for the warmer months.
Q: Can you accommodate dietary needs / preferences?
A: We can accommodate most dietary requests but you must specify these at the time of booking.
Q: What if I need to cancel my booking?
A: Life happens, we understand. If you need to cancel this Yellowstone trip for any reason within 14 days of the start of the trip, you will receive a full refund on this tour.
Testimonials
“The team at WorldwideXplorer put together an amazing vacation for me; working with Marisa was a pleasure.” - Steve K., Chicago, IL, USA
"We booked a tour through WorldwideXplorer and had an amazing experience. From the planning phase to execution, everything was handled smoothly and the tour itself was executed seamlessly..." -Sri S., Duluth, GA, USA
“Marisa looked after my booking, and she was always very helpful." - Nick D., London, UK.
Due to small tour size, we have a limited number of spots available. As well, the best hotels closest to and inside of the park often sell out months in advance. You must book early for best availability during your preferred travel dates.
We would love to help you book this tour or customize it further to meet your needs.
Cancellation Policy
Life happens, we understand. If you need to cancel this Yellowstone trip for any reason within 14 days of the start of the trip, you will receive a full refund on this tour.