Bismarck Charter Bus Rental FAQs
About Busrentalbismarck.com
Busrentalbismarck.com is an advertising and quote comparison website that lets you compare bus rental options and pricing from a network of bus companies serving Bismarck through a national booking company. Fill out one quick form, and you go straight to a results page showing vehicles and pricing for your trip — no calling around, no waiting on callbacks. Busrentalbismarck.com is an advertising and referral website and does not own or operate any vehicles; it connects you to a network of independent transportation companies so you can find the right bus for your group fast.
No — Busrentalbismarck.com is a comparison and referral website. You use it to browse vehicles and pricing from a network of independently owned bus companies serving the Bismarck area, and the transportation itself is carried out by those independent operators once you book. Think of it as the easy way to see more options and more price points in one place, rather than calling companies one at a time and hoping the first one you reach has what you need.
When you search on your own, you call one company, get one price, and either take it or start over. With Busrentalbismarck.com, you fill out one form — or make one call to 701-450-9080 — and get vehicles and pricing from a whole network of providers serving Bismarck in seconds. You see more options, more price points, and more vehicle types side by side, and companies in the network are competing for your booking.
That is time you are not spending on hold.
An independently owned transportation company serving the Bismarck area. When you fill out the quote form, you are taken to a national booking platform where you choose the vehicle and price that fits your trip. What you are selecting there is a vehicle — the specific transportation company confirmed to your booking is communicated to you after the reservation is made.
The booking platform works with a network of operators in the area so there is more than one option on the table.
Booking a Charter Bus
Fill out the form on this page — or call 701-450-9080 — with your trip details. As soon as you submit, you are taken to a search results page on a national booking company's website. That booking company partners with independent operators serving the Bismarck area, and their site shows you the vehicles and pricing available for your trip.
You pick the vehicle and price that works for your group and book it right there online. What you are choosing on that results page is a vehicle and a price, not a company off a list.
Your pickup city, your destination, how many people are coming, and how many hours you need the bus. That is enough to get a quote started. The more detail you add — your stops, exact start and end times, how much luggage the group is bringing, and any amenities that matter — the more accurate the quote comes back and the better your chances of finding the right vehicle at the right price on the first try.
Right away — there is no waiting on a callback. The moment you submit the form you go straight to the search results page on the booking company's website and see quotes for your trip. If you would rather go through it with someone, call 701-450-9080 and a live agent can walk you through your options, answer questions, and help put together a package that fits your itinerary.
The earlier the better, especially if your date is a popular one or you need a specific vehicle type. That said, because Busrentalbismarck.com puts your request in front of a whole network of providers serving the Bismarck area rather than one operator with one yard, short-notice trips are often still workable — that is the real advantage of comparing a network instead of calling a single company and being told no. Submit the request or call 701-450-9080 even if your trip is coming up fast.
You may be surprised what is available.
All of those can be requested. Hourly or as-directed keeps the vehicle with your group for a set block of time — great for a night out downtown or an event where the schedule is flexible. A one-way transfer moves the group from one place to another.
A round trip brings them back. A multi-stop itinerary runs a set route with several stops along the way, like a brewery loop or a wedding guest shuttle hitting two hotels and a venue. A multi-day booking covers a trip that runs across more than one day, like a charter to Fargo for a Bison game weekend or a longer group excursion.
Which format fits comes down to the trip itself — and a multi-stop or overnight itinerary should be laid out in full with your request so it comes back priced correctly.
Charter Bus Pricing
A charter bus costs $205–$385+ per hour on weekdays, $225–$410+ per hour on weekends, and $1,650–$2,950+ per day. Those are the ranges — your actual price depends on the specific vehicle, the date, the distance, the number of stops, and how busy that date is in the Bismarck market. The range is a starting point, not your quote.
The fastest way to see a number for your trip is to fill out the form and see pricing in seconds, or call 701-450-9080 where going through the details with someone can turn up better pricing and packages than you would find on your own.
It depends on the trip, and all three are used. A short trip of a couple of hours — say, a round trip from downtown Bismarck to Bismarck Municipal Airport (BIS) or a shuttle loop to the Bismarck Event Center — is usually priced hourly. A trip that runs long distance, roughly past the 100 to 200 mile mark or heading well out of the area toward Fargo, Rapid City, or Minneapolis, may carry a per-mile charge instead.
A long day, generally around eight hours or more, often comes back as a day rate rather than stacked hours, simply because the vehicle is booked for so much of the day. Submitting the actual trip is what determines which structure applies.
The type and size of bus, how long it is booked, the date and day of the week, the distance and route, the number of stops, and how busy that date is locally all move the price. In Bismarck, the United Tribes International Powwow in early September, prom weekends in late April and May, summer wedding Saturdays in July and August, and New Year's Eve are the dates that pull demand hardest — pricing on those dates reflects it.
Here is what you can actually do about it: Sunday through Thursday prices lower than Friday and Saturday, and daytime trips price lower than those same evenings. Booking the size of bus the group actually needs beats over-booking capacity you will not fill. And grouping riders into one or two pickup points instead of five cuts the hours on the clock and the cost that comes with them.
Submit the full route or call 701-450-9080 to get a number for your specific trip.
About Charter Buses
A charter bus is a full-size passenger coach that a group hires for its own trip, with its own route and schedule, rather than riding a fixed public route. It is built for moving a large group over a distance in one vehicle — comfortably, on the group's own timeline — and seats roughly 40 to 56 people depending on the make and model.
On the outside, a full-size charter bus is a tall, wide coach body with high windows running the full length of both sides and luggage bay doors along the lower panels. The exterior is usually finished in white, silver, black, or a solid color, and some coaches are wrapped in an operator's own graphics — so the coach that shows up will not always look identical to a photo. Popular makes on the road include the MCI J4500, the Van Hool CX45, and the Prevost H3-45, all of which share the same tall, long coach silhouette.
Inside, you find forward-facing seats arranged in pairs on either side of a center aisle, with seat fabric in cloth or leather depending on the make and model, overhead parcel racks running the full length of the cabin, and a restroom toward the rear. The interior is built to be comfortable across a long run — think more like a domestic aircraft cabin than a transit bus.
Some of the amenities available on charter buses include reclining cloth or leather seats, individual climate controls, an onboard restroom, overhead parcel racks and undercarriage baggage bays, WiFi, power outlets and USB charging ports, a PA system, and TV monitors. Features may vary — not every coach is built with every option, and what a specific vehicle carries is confirmed during the booking process. If there are amenities the group needs, note them with the trip details when you submit the request, since that narrows which vehicles come back in your results.
Generally 40 to 56 passengers, depending on the make and model, with 56 the most common build on a full-size coach. The MCI J4500 seats 56 as standard and can be configured for up to 60. The Van Hool CX45 is the same — 56 standard, up to 60 in a denser layout.
The Prevost H3-45 also seats 56. Shorter 35-foot coaches seat closer to 44. What changes the count on the same coach is configuration: extra legroom rows or a wheelchair position each take seats out of the total.
Because Busrentalbismarck.com works with a network of providers, the exact coach on any given trip depends on what is available for your date — submit the trip or call 701-450-9080 if the group needs a specific capacity.
A 56-passenger coach runs 14 rows, with two seats on each side of a center aisle — forward facing, paired seating, one aisle straight down the middle. The row count drops on coaches built with extra legroom or a wheelchair position, since those configurations take out a row or part of one. Some coaches also tier the front rows slightly for a better sightline, which does not change the count but changes how the front of the cabin sits.
A full-size charter bus is 45 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. To put that in terms that are easier to picture: roughly three cars parked end to end. That is the measurement people usually need because they are working out whether one fits at a venue, a loading zone, or a parking area.
Shorter coaches exist, most commonly around 35 feet, and the 45-foot coach is the standard full-size vehicle you will see on most long-haul and event trips.
A full-size charter bus stands about 11 to 12 feet tall depending on the model, and traffic engineers design overhead clearances for 12 feet. A little taller than a single story of a house — which is the comparison that matters if you are checking a parking garage, a covered venue entrance, or an underpass on the route. Use 12 feet as the working number when you are checking clearances anywhere along the itinerary.
WiFi is one of the amenities available on charter buses, and many coaches on the road today are equipped with it. One point worth knowing before the trip: onboard WiFi is an equipment option a coach is built with rather than something every coach carries, so whether a specific vehicle has it varies. And when it is there, it runs off a cellular connection — it is built for light use across a full coach, meaning phones, messaging, and browsing, not for fifty or sixty people doing heavy video calls or large file transfers at once.
If WiFi matters for the group, note it with the trip details when you submit the request, since that narrows which vehicles come back.
Yes — an onboard restroom is standard on full-size charter buses. It sits toward the rear of the coach and is there so the group does not have to stop every hour. On a long run, say from Bismarck to Minneapolis or down to Rapid City, the trip is still usually planned with real rest stops along the way, so the onboard restroom is a backup and a convenience rather than the only option.
Note it with the trip details if it matters for the group.
Yes — charter buses are built with 110-volt AC power outlets, and coaches are commonly fitted with them at every seat, some with a USB port built into the same outlet. This is an equipment option rather than something every coach carries, so it varies by vehicle. Practically speaking, a group can keep phones and laptops charged across a long run from Bismarck to Fargo or Minneapolis without anyone rationing battery.
Note it with the trip details if the group needs it, since that narrows which vehicles come back in your results.
Yes — in two places. Overhead parcel racks run the full length of the cabin inside the coach, and undercarriage baggage bays sit underneath it along both sides of the lower body. A full-size coach carries roughly 460 cubic feet of underfloor baggage space and around 100 cubic feet in the overhead racks.
Across a full 56-passenger load, that works out to roughly 8 cubic feet per person underneath and under 2 cubic feet overhead — which in practice is about one checked-size bag each in the bay below, plus one small carry-on or backpack in the overhead rack above. Most groups traveling from Bismarck to a destination like Minneapolis or Rapid City fit comfortably within that.
What changes it: a coach fitted with a wheelchair lift gives up some baggage bay space, and bulky gear — instruments, sports equipment, event supplies, or coolers — takes the space of several regular bags. State luggage and any oversized items with the trip details when you submit the request, so the right coach is matched to the group from the start.
Charter Bus Service in Bismarck, North Dakota
Any group that needs to move together — and that covers a wide range in Bismarck. Airport transfers to and from Bismarck Municipal Airport (BIS) are one of the most common requests. Corporate travel and employee shuttles move teams between offices, conference hotels, and the Bismarck Event Center without splitting the group into separate cars.
Weddings and private events use shuttle buses to move guests between hotel blocks and venues across the city. Concert and entertainment groups ride together to the Bismarck Event Center and back. Sporting event groups charter buses for Bison games in Fargo and home events at University of Mary.
School and church groups book field trips and team travel. Government and military groups move personnel and delegations. Brewery and winery tour groups run loops through Bismarck's taprooms and out to Prairie Knights Casino & Resort.
Prom groups book party buses every spring. And long-distance trips run to Fargo, Minneapolis, Rapid City, and beyond. Call 701-450-9080 or fill out the form for any of these — or anything that does not fit neatly into a category.
Bismarck and the surrounding region, including Mandan (directly across the Missouri River), Lincoln, Wilton, Washburn, Hazen, Dickinson, Minot, and communities throughout Burleigh County and Morton County. Those are examples, not the full list — the network of providers serving this area covers a broad footprint across central and western North Dakota. If the city you need is not listed here, enter the full route into the quote form or call 701-450-9080 to check availability.
A few dates pull the whole Bismarck market hard every year. The United Tribes International Powwow in early September — held at the United Tribes Technical College campus and drawing tens of thousands of visitors — is one of the single biggest demand events in the state, and buses book out well in advance for that weekend. Prom season across Bismarck High, Century High, Legacy High, Shiloh, and St. Mary's runs late April through mid-May and takes most of the available party buses and minibuses in the area.
University of Mary and Bismarck State College graduation weekends in May fill hotel rooms and create heavy shuttle demand. Wedding Saturdays in July and August are the tightest of the year. New Year's Eve downtown clears out the party bus inventory early.
For any of those dates, book as far ahead as you can. For everything else, submit the request even on short notice — the network is larger than any one operator's yard.
Planning Your Bismarck, North Dakota Charter Bus Trip
Yes — Bismarck Municipal Airport (BIS) (2301 University Dr, Bismarck, ND 58504) is the primary commercial airport serving the area, about 4 miles and 5 to 10 minutes from downtown Bismarck. It is served by United, Delta, and Allegiant with connections through Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. For groups flying into or out of a major hub, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) is approximately 185 miles east via I-94 — roughly a 3-hour charter run — and Denver International Airport (DEN) is approximately 595 miles south, roughly 8.5 hours.
For airport pickups, the bus meets the group curbside at the arrivals level following that airport's own guidelines for buses and commercial vehicles. Gather the full group and all luggage before calling the bus forward — that keeps the pickup clean and on time.
Yes — the main arena in Bismarck is the Bismarck Event Center (315 S 5th St, Bismarck, ND 58504), home of the Bismarck Bobcats NAHL hockey team and a regular host for concerts and large entertainment events. The Sanford Sports Complex (3406 E Calgary Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58503) hosts regional tournaments and amateur athletics. University of Mary (7500 University Dr, Bismarck, ND 58504) hosts Marauders home games in football, basketball, and volleyball.
The Capital Ice Complex (1504 Wichita Dr, Bismarck, ND 58504) draws youth and adult hockey tournament groups.
For long-distance game-day travel, the Fargodome (1800 N University Dr, Fargo, ND 58102) is approximately 190 miles east via I-94 — about 2.5 to 3 hours — and is one of the most common long-distance charter runs out of Bismarck for NDSU Bison football. Build extra time around events at any of these venues; traffic patterns shift when a game or show lets out. Drop-off and staging arrangements follow each venue's own access guidelines.
Yes — the primary facilities in Bismarck include the Bismarck Event Center, which combines an arena with convention and expo space for trade shows, banquets, and large-scale events. The Bismarck Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center (800 S 3rd St, Bismarck, ND 58504) is one of the main hotel-convention facilities in the city and hosts state association meetings, government conferences, and large banquets. The North Dakota State Capitol (600 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck, ND 58505) draws government delegations, school groups, and civic tours year-round, with bus drop-off on E Boulevard Ave.
Large venues have designated bus loading areas separate from the main entrance. If the trip is a repeat shuttle between a hotel and a venue — common during legislative session or a multi-day conference — lay out the full schedule with the request so it comes back timed and priced correctly.
Yes — any wedding venue in the area. Bismarck and the surrounding region have a solid range of options: the Bismarck Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center (800 S 3rd St) handles large receptions with full banquet facilities. The Mandan Progress Center (901 Division St NW, Mandan, ND 58554) across the river is a popular reception hall.
Outdoor and waterfront ceremonies happen along Sertoma Park and the Missouri River corridor. Barn and estate venues in the surrounding Burleigh County countryside draw groups from across the city.
The most common wedding setup is a shuttle loop between a hotel block and the venue — moving guests out for the ceremony and back to the hotel after the reception. Giving the exact venue address and the hotel address with the request gets the right vehicle matched to the route from the start. Call 701-450-9080 or fill out the form to get started.
Yes — all of them. At the college level, University of Mary and Bismarck State College (1500 Edwards Ave, Bismarck, ND 58506) are the main campuses, along with United Tribes Technical College (3315 University Dr, Bismarck, ND 58504). At the high school level, Bismarck High School (1214 N 10th St), Century High School (1000 Century Ave), Legacy High School (4800 Governors Dr), Shiloh Christian School (4300 Memorial Hwy), and St. Mary's Central High School (1025 N 7th St) all generate field trip, team travel, and prom transportation.
Across the river, Mandan High School (905 8th Ave NW, Mandan, ND 58554) is a regular request as well.
Field trips and team travel are usually pickups at the school or campus itself. Campuses have designated bus loading zones — and student trips should include the exact headcount plus any chaperone or accessibility needs with the request so the right vehicle comes back.
Yes — and the Bismarck area has a solid loop to build. Laughing Sun Brewing Co. (1023 E Front Ave, Bismarck, ND 58504) is one of the most established craft breweries in the city, with a full taproom. The downtown corridor along Main Ave — anchored by spots like Peacock Alley American Bar & Grill (422 E Main Ave) and The Depot (411 E Main Ave) — is the primary nightlife stretch.
Mandan's bar and restaurant scene across the Memorial Bridge is about 10 to 15 minutes from downtown and rounds out a natural loop.
For casino runs, Prairie Knights Casino & Resort (7932 ND-24, Fort Yates, ND 58538) is approximately 65 miles south via ND-1804 — about an hour — and is one of the most common day-trip or evening-trip destinations from Bismarck. Four Bears Casino & Lodge (202 Frontage Rd, New Town, ND 58763) is approximately 130 miles northwest via US-83, roughly 2 hours.
A multi-stop route is timed by how long the group stays at each stop — so listing the stops and roughly how long at each one gets the hours right when the quote comes back.
Yes — long-distance charters out of Bismarck are a regular request. The most common runs: Fargo is approximately 190 miles east via I-94, about 2.5 to 3 hours — the standard run for NDSU Bison football at the Fargodome and large Fargo events. Minot is approximately 110 miles north via US-83, about 1.5 hours — popular for North Dakota State Fair groups in mid-July.
Rapid City, South Dakota is approximately 285 miles south via I-94 and I-90, about 4 hours — a natural gateway for Mount Rushmore and Badlands trips. Minneapolis is approximately 400 miles east via I-94, about 5.5 to 6 hours — the big-city run for concerts, sports, and shopping. Sioux Falls is approximately 380 miles southeast, about 5 hours.
A long-distance trip is typically booked as a one-way transfer or a multi-day package rather than by the hour. Overnight trips need the full itinerary — departure time, stops, return date — laid out with the request so it comes back priced correctly. Call 701-450-9080 or fill out the form to get started.