Planning A Family Vacation To Montana This Summer? Be Prepared.

Montana is certainly a very popular destination when it comes to family vacations.

Everyone jumps in the "family truckster" to head out across these great United States of America.  Along the way, you stop at all the weird roadside attractions, take a couple of pictures to post on social media, maybe buy a t-shirt, and you're off to the next site.

In Montana, summer tourism is big business, especially here in Bozeman. Last year was a record year for Yellowstone National Park, and a whole lot of folks think we'll beat last year's record, this year. Of course, Yellowstone isn't the only thing to see here in Montana. We've got lots of things for tourists to see and do.

If you love the beauty and freedom of the outdoors, you'll love Montana.

Having said that, don't let the whole "freedom" and "outdoors" thing fool you, it's still going to cost you a pretty penny to come and vacation here.  My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are talking about coming and spending a few days with us this summer.  Lucky for them, we have a spare bedroom for my brother and his wife, and a comfy couch for my nephew.

For those of you that don't have "family" to stay with, just how much can you expect to pay for lodging? Well, that is kind of a wide-open answer and really depends on you and just how comfortable or fancy you want to be.

I went to Expedia.com and put in the following dates for hotels here in Bozeman; Sunday, June 24th thru Saturday, July 1st. That's one full week.  So, how much will that cost?  You might want to sit down.  I figured we would look for a room for a family of four, two adults and two kids.

So, how much are we talking about here?

Somewhere between 1800 and 5500 for a week's stay, depending on the hotel. Then there is food, and according to vacationkids.com the average per adult is 60 bucks per day and for kids, it's around 45 for 10 and under. Alright, so even if we're doing this on a budget and staying in a cheaper motel, throw in an average of 210 dollars a day for food and we're at 3270 bucks.

Throw in gas to get here and back (that's certainly not cheap) plus tickets to different things and you can rack up another 1000 dollars easily. What about activities? Fly Fishing, or river rafting? Do you buy the equipment or do you rent it?  Either way, that all comes out to additional costs.

So, for 5 grand or so you can come to Bozeman and Montana for a week this summer.

If you are thinking about coming here and vacationing this summer, allow me to pass along a few tips.

• Get a hotel/motel that provides Breakfast. This is just an easy way to save time and money.
• Get a hotel/motel with a pool.  Kids love swimming, plus when kids swim they get tired and go to sleep.  This is a good thing on a family vacation.
• While the animals are beautiful, they're also wild. Don't end up being some youtube video that we share with all of our friends after a Bison headbutts you.
• Be polite to locals. We understand that you've spent a lot of money to come here, however, Montanans aren't real big fans of rudeness.
• Enjoy your time here and understand that it's a wonderful place to vacation, for a week, two max.
• Buy a bunch of "Made in Montana" products for your loved ones and friends, everyone enjoys it when you bring them back something.

In all seriousness, we hope you enjoy your stay here, but just be prepared for big crowds, lots of traffic, and long waits in restaurants. Montana is a pretty special place and a whole lot of people want to come here, make sure you do your part so that everyone enjoys their time in the state.

Credit: expedia.com, vacationkids.com