What a Yellowstone snowcoach tour costs
Winter Yellowstone is not a cheap trip, and the listing price hides as much as it shows. The four main tours we compare run from ~$292 for a day by road to ~$2,249 for three days with hotels. Below, each price is set against what it buys, and then we add the fees and tips the listings leave out, plus the extra hotel nights.
Seven winter trips in one table
Below are the four tours from our home page plus three extras, each at its regular "from" price per person. Where the two booking sites differ, we took the lower one.
Dates and group size can move any figure. Scenic Safaris' price comes from its listing's last bookable period, so treat that one as a guide.
| Tour | From | Length | Starts in | What the price covers | Free cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrushBuck 4-day (our pick) | ~$2,089 | 4 days, 3 nights | Jackson | Hotels, three breakfasts, sleigh ride, snowcoach day | 45 days on GetYourGuide, none on Viator |
| Scenic Safaris snowcoach day | ~$550 | About 12 h | Jackson | Breakfast, lunch, park fees, pickup | None |
| Horizon Travel Team 3-day | ~$2,249 | 3 days, 2 nights | Salt Lake City | Hotels, two breakfasts, a boxed lunch, snowcoach day | 24 h |
| Yellowstone Hiking Guides | ~$292 | 8–12 h | West Yellowstone, Big Sky, Bozeman | Snack, picnic lunch, binoculars; no snowcoach | 24 h |
| Nomad 5-day | ~$2,780 | 5 days | Salt Lake City | Thin on the listing | None |
| Good Trip private day | ~$973 | 6–8 h | Bozeman, Paradise Valley, Gardiner | Picnic lunch plus snowshoes or crampons; no snowcoach | 24 h |
| Elk Refuge sleigh ride | ~$43 | About 1.5 h | Jackson | Shuttle to the sleighs and a guide | 2 days |
Only the first three take you to Old Faithful.
With the geyser roads closed to cars in winter, a snowcoach seat is what you pay for there. The two road tours stay on the northern range instead, and our guide to the ways into the winter park explains the difference.
What the four main tours charge for
BrushBuck Wildlife Tours' four days from Jackson, from ~$2,089, looks expensive until you list what it covers.
Three hotel nights (simple 2-3 star places), breakfast on days two to four, the horse-drawn sleigh ride on the National Elk Refuge, a Grand Teton wildlife drive and the full snowcoach day to Old Faithful are all inside it. Binoculars and a spotting scope come along too, with snacks.
Park entry is included for US residents. The trade? Only one of the four days is spent on a snowcoach.
Scenic Safaris' snowcoach day, from ~$550, is the only snowcoach day trip either partner lists. The roughly 12 hours start with hotel pickup in Jackson or Teton Village around 6 am. For that you get a guide and park fees, plus both a hot breakfast and lunch.
Its listing says the price varies by group size. It also showed "not bookable for now" when we compared tours, so expect the figure to move once winter dates open.
Horizon Travel Team's three days from Salt Lake City, from ~$2,249, covers two hotel nights at double occupancy, two breakfasts, a boxed lunch on the snowcoach day and a soak at Lava Hot Springs.
Solo travelers pay a single supplement, and the trip needs four guests to run. It is new on GetYourGuide with no reviews yet.
Yellowstone Hiking Guides' winter wildlife day, from ~$292, is the cheapest way into the park in winter on our list. It drives the one road that stays open to cars, from the North Entrance to Lamar Valley, and brings a picnic lunch and a group spotting scope.
No snowcoach, though, and no Old Faithful.
Price per day, and why the pick holds up
Split ~$2,089 across four days and each one costs a little less than Scenic Safaris' single day at ~$550, and you get a hotel bed and breakfast on top. That is closer to a fair guide-plus-hotel rate than the total suggests.
Horizon works out a little dearer per day, partly because two of its three days are mostly driving between Salt Lake City and West Yellowstone.
The road tour at ~$292 is a different product, so per-day sums flatter it. For anyone who cares more about wolves than geysers, it is the better buy; our winter wildlife guide explains why the northern range is where they gather.
Same tour, different refund rules
BrushBuck costs the same on both sites, but the terms do not match. On GetYourGuide you can cancel free up to 45 days before the start. On Viator the same four days are non-refundable.
Viator shows the stronger record (5.0 from 30+ reviews against 5.0 from 9+ on GetYourGuide). Still, if your dates might change, the GetYourGuide booking is the safer one.
- Scenic Safaris on Viator is non-refundable, and the snowcoach seat is confirmed only after you pay
- Horizon Travel Team cancels free up to 24 hours ahead, and you can reserve now and pay later
- Yellowstone Hiking Guides cancels free up to 24 hours ahead on both sites
Four winter days with one bill
BrushBuck's trip from Jackson, from ~$2,089, bundles three hotel nights with the Elk Refuge sleigh and a snowcoach day to Old Faithful. Book on GetYourGuide if you want the 45-day free cancellation; Viator's booking is non-refundable.
What the listing price leaves out
- Park entry for non-US visitors. Tours 1 and 3 cover the entrance for US residents only. A recent rule adds a surcharge of about $100 per person per park for foreign visitors, and the listings word it differently, so check yours
- The North Entrance on tour 4. About $20 per person on top, unless someone in the vehicle has a park pass, which covers up to four people
- Tips. BrushBuck suggests 10–15% for the guide and Horizon 10%; on a four-day trip that adds up
- Meals. Lunches and dinners on the multi-day trips are yours to buy, apart from Horizon's one boxed lunch
- Flights and transfers. BrushBuck does not include rides to or from Jackson Hole Airport, and you need a Jackson hotel the night before and the night after
Warm gear is a cost too if you do not own it. What to wear on a Yellowstone winter tour lists what matters and what you can borrow.
A couple, added up
Two US residents on BrushBuck pay two times ~$2,089, plus a guide tip of 10–15% and lunches and dinners for four days. Add two extra hotel nights in Jackson, which run high in the holidays, and the flight.
The same couple on Scenic Safaris pays two times ~$550 and needs Jackson hotels around it, but gets only the snowcoach day. A non-US passport changes the sum on either trip, since that person pays the park surcharge.
Flying into Salt Lake City instead, a couple could take Horizon at two times ~$2,249 plus tips of about 10%, and skip the cost of a car for winter roads.
Our gateway-town guide weighs up the starting points, and the multi-day comparison sets the two longer trips side by side.
The cheapest outing and the dearest
Cheapest on this site is the National Elk Refuge sleigh ride in Jackson, from ~$43, with 45–60 minutes among thousands of wintering elk. Two catches. In low-snow weeks the sleigh becomes a bumpy wagon, and hotel pickup is not included.
At the other end, Nomad Unlimited Adventure's five days from Salt Lake City, from ~$2,780, costs the most, with only two reviews behind it and a non-refundable booking.
Prices also climb over the holidays. when the snowcoach season runs covers the cheaper weeks, and Old Faithful in winter by snowcoach shows what the snowcoach day itself delivers.