Karst Stage provided transportation for our tour of Yellowstone. The drivers, Michael and Ken, were professional, personable, hard working, knowledgeable and just outstanding!! Our trip would not have turned out so well without their expertise. Michael and Ken added to our enjoyment of a truly fantastic trip at every turn. Their willingness to help and anticipate our needs ensured our comfort, safety, and success on this trip. Because both men know the area's beauty, history, lore, and locale, they helped tailor our travels and ensured amazing vistas and animal encounters that provided opportunities for all us photographers to snap away. They were easygoing, yet anticipated our needs. Both men have great communication skills and work together extremely well. They looked out for views and pull outs and got us to the right places at the right times safely. I loved the stories and experiences they shared that added to our enjoyment and deepened our understanding on our adventure. Each driver worked hard at making our trip the best for each of us and met or surpassed expectations. I felt completely safe in their capable hands. The vans were perfect for our needs. They were the right size to get us where we needed to go and carry all our photo gear comfortably, while keeping it all accessible. Thanks very much for helping create so many beautiful memories. read more

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I respect that all mountain transportation companies will have issues from time to time. All I ask is that they make an effort. Truthfully, our experience with Karst was flawless. Reasonable prices, easy rescheduling, courtesy calls, digital reminders, and friendly drivers. The bonus is that this route is probably the most scenic airport-to-ski-resort drive in the country. We saw multiple herds of elk, bighorn sheep, and even a bald eagle. Transportation in this area is really tough. Uber/Lyft extremely hard to find up at the mountain, and around Big Sky it seems the scant public bus routes are partially provided by Karst drivers/busses. read more

We booked Karst for our wedding venue/hotel block transportation and they did a great job! They helped make the process so easy. Jodi was very helpful and responsive throughout the process, and the night went smoothly. Lisa was our driver and all our guests said how lovely, accommodating and funny she was! I'm so glad we went with them because I knew I had nothing to worry about on that day. Our guests all made it to and from the wedding on time and safe. Karst was also reasonably priced in comparison to some other vendors I could find. Our guests said the shuttle itself was super luxurious as well, and I'm so happy to hear that! Nothing but good things were said. Thanks so much Jodi, Lisa, and Karst team! read more

I'm willing to amend my review but for now, I'm very frustrated with them. I made a reservation that I need to cancel, but they will NOT answer the phone nor will they answer email. So, beware. read more

The Karst Stage bus came in place of the Skyline bus, and the bus quality was so much better than I thought the Skyline bus would be. It was very comfortable, and the driver didn't punch my Skyline bus card (thankfully, because they closed Big Sky the very first day I went, so I would've only had two punches in it if this driver did punch hole it). The bus was super late, but we got to the ski resort relatively on time. Bus driver wasn't very friendly though and seemed slightly annoyed. A passenger tried to talk to him but he just wasn't conversational at all. It was a comfortable ride though so at least there's that. read more

We booked Karst for our wedding shuttles and had the best experience! Their prices are unbeatable and their communication was amazing. I changed my mind so many times and asked so many questions and they responded to everything quickly and clearly. They were flexible, able to offer car seats, extremely organized, and the drivers were very professional. Highly recommend for any excursion! read more

I used Karst Stage shuttle to get from the airport in Bozeman, MT to the motel where I was staying in West Yellowstone, MT (12/16/2018) and back (12/20/2018). Karst is crucial for tourism in the area and pretty much has a monopoly on shuttle service around Big Sky and West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone is about 90 miles from Bozeman and the price for my round trip ticket was $177.80. It doesn't run often, so it's best to make all the reservations you need before your vacation. I was picked up about two hours after my plane arrived at the airport. It was on time and the driver looked like Robert DeNiro. I got along with him well because he was originally from Georgia and is a Georgia Bulldog football fan just like me. Including myself, there were about six other passengers. There was a middle aged married couple from Tennessee, a cowboy from North Dakota, and two others who appeared to be in their twenties. Karst Stage has buses but since there were so few of us, we rode in a medium sized shuttle van. The van was comfortable but even though the driver was originally from Georgia, he'd lived in Montana long enough to be acclimated to the weather and thought weather in the 20s wasn't cold enough to be turning on the heat in the shuttle. He wasn't being mean about it but he seemed surprised when the woman from Tennessee asked him to turn it on. The ride was one of the most scenic I've experienced. Bozeman had some snow and ice but the longer we rode, the more snow we saw. There were mountains nearly the whole way and on both sides of the road. On the way, we saw a bighorn sheep just standing off to the side looking at us as we went by. The first stop was at the Big Sky resort, where some of the passengers got off. It is a popular ski resort with luxury hotels, restaurants and a tram that takes you to the top of one of the mountains. It looked so nice that I wouldn't mind vacationing there one day. Snow covered the ground in Big Sky and it was like that all the way into West Yellowstone, where I was dropped off right in front of my motel. The trip took a couple of hours because of the dropoffs. In Montana they do such a great job of treating the roads for ice that it's actually safer to drive there than on the few occasions that my home state of Georgia has ice or snow. The part of Karst Stage that brought the ratings down was the process of me leaving West Yellowstone. I checked out of my room at 11 am and my shuttle was scheduled to pick me up at 5 pm. I knew it would be a long wait and that wasn't Karst Stage's fault. I passed the time away by seeing the sights in town and waiting in the motel lobby. The problem was that I ended up not being picked up until 8 pm! I kept calling Karst and they kept telling me the driver was on the way. I was tired of waiting and some of the motel employees politely kept asking me if I was okay. Evidently, similar situations have happened to other customers dealing with Karst. A driver finally picked me up at eight. He seemed nervous because he probably thought he'd have to deal with an angry customer. To be honest, I was upset but I accepted his explanation that the reason he was late is because the company installed a new computer system and the people who manned that system failed to tell him he had someone to pick up in West Yellowstone. I was the only person riding his shuttle that evening and since we were both tired we kept each other company by talking. Originally, he was supposed to take me to Bozeman where I was supposed to catch a hotel shuttle to the Quality Inn in Belgrade, MT (a town near the airport). I was going to spend the night there and catch my flight the next day. Instead, he was nice enough to drop me off at the Quality Inn so I wouldn't have to ride another shuttle. If it hadn't been for the mix up, I would've rated Karst Stage a four or five. They have excellent drivers but I had to bring the rating down to a three due to them being so late. read more

KARST This is our second year using KARST for transportation from BOZEMAN Airport to Big Sky Huntley Lodge. Last year the shuttle was late in both directions but not to the severe extent as this year. This year the driver from the airport was rude to everyone and then did a random grocery store stop that probably added an extra 15 minutes to our trip. Today we were told to be in the Huntley lobby at 9:25. At 10:15 the 10:25 shuttle arrived but not our 9:25 shuttle. We eventually departed the Huntley at 10:25 before stopping at more lodges. We did not leave Big Sky until 10:38. The driver picked up one more passenger off resort at 10:53. At least this driver was polite. The 10:25 bus was empty and our 20 seat van was filled to the hilt with skis blocking the aisle. And the 10:25 bus made it to the airport before we did. How does this happen? And to end the story, the shuttle died at the airport--thankfully we made it before it died. Had to open the door with emergency latch since no power. read more

Karst Stage was the worst part of our ski trip to Big Sky. They just don't care - they don't care if you make it to the airport on time, they don't care if you are able to come back from the mountains after skiing (they operate the Skyline shuttles from the mountain), they don't care about your safety, they don't care if there's enough room to fit everyone (with their skiis) who paid for the airport shuttle when the vehicle comes. In short, they just don't care - I highly recommend booking a rental car than relying on these incompetent folks. Here's the reason why: 1. Hotel pick up for ride to the airport was 35 minutes late, cutting it very close for our flight time. The reason they gave was 'weather conditions'. There was a light flurry for 30 mins on 1/4/2020 - this is Montana, guys! This is like saying 'sunshine is a weather condition' for Florida! 2. The pickup driver had a small van with passengers seated already, and didn;t have room to put our skiis in the trunk. Had to lay the skiis down in the aisle. 3. The driver was annoyed that we called up Karst asking about the status of the shuttle when it was 30 mins late. So he retaliated by lying to us that the ride to airport will be 1.5 hrs, even though Google maps showed 50 mins. He wanted us to worry all the way. 4. A 5th grader can run the mountain shuttle better(Skyline is the shuttle name, but these guys operate the shuttle most of the time). The first shuttle to the mountain was 15 mins late - but this was the least of the problems. They don't follow the shuttle routes and stops- the Skyline shuttle maps clearly show the shuttle times, the stops and the frequencies: https://skylinebus.com/routes-schedules/winter-schedule/. But they randomly decides to change the shuttle back from the mountain to have transfers at town center and not communicate this clearly. In the three days we were there - two timeslots 2:17pm one day and 5:17pm another - instead of Skyline shuttle bus, Kaarst stage bus came by. And the driver kept saying this is shuttle to Bozeman, and not the mountain village to canyon. After boarding all Bozeman passengers she was saying "I can drop you off at Town Center, but not Bucks T4 (which is where the stop was supposed to be" as a favor. We decided not to take it since there was supposed to be a 5:17pm shuttle that is mountain-canyon and stops at Bucks T4. That never came. We called Skyline at around 5:45pm (it was dark and we were stuck in the mountain with kids). The Skyline supervisor was rude and said the 5:17 shuttle is a transfer shuttle and the Bozeman "Karst stage" bus was apparently what we needed to take. - THIS IS NOT MENTIONED ANYWHERE in the whole route map! Thankfully after much argument, he sent a van which picked us up and dropped us at another place to take another shuttle to get to Bucks T4. This is after one whole day of skiiing with tired kids. 5. The shuttle drivers don't care about your safety. Thrice is two days (including my own) - they took the bus off while people where unloading their skis from the hatch. Extremely dangerous. When I was unloading, I had to quickly drag the skis down and close the hatch while running alongside the bug. The next day when others were unloading, I had to run in view of the driver and wave him to stop - as couple of folks hadn't finished unloading their skis/snowboards yet. All -in all, if I ever come back to Big Sky, I will not rely on these incompetent folks to take me either to the airport or to the mountains safely. RENT A CAR INSTEAD! read more

After a few very successful trips with Karst, sad to say that I am leaving this review after the worst shuttle ride of my life and after ZERO attempts to remedy the issue after emailing them twice. If safety and professionalism isn't your thing, then I guess Karst is for you. Unfortunately I predict they won't care and it will have little impact as they essentially have a monopoly. Here was my email to them: "This way by far the most unsafe and uncomfortable shuttle I've ever taken. We had 3 adult males over six feet and over 180lbs in barely a two seat bench. My butt was half off the seat for 1hr 15min and no chance at a seatbelt because we were so huddled together. I was white knuckling every turn in what appeared to be a 2WD sardine can of a van and thought we were going to tip over. You've done a great job in the past with your very roomy busses. But please. Never book that for any passengers again. At most you can fit 7 pasengers comfortably. We had 9 almost 10 (one no show)." read more

I called Karst to inquire about their services for my upcoming trip. I talked to a representative for 3 minutes and immediately decided not to book with them. The Karst representative was incredibly rude stating that she did not have time for my questions and that they were very busy today. I am extremely disappointed in such service and I would never recommend their transportation. I am very glad that I did not jump on with booking this opportunity, especially after reading the other horrific reviews. read more

Good transportation option in the Bozeman Big Sky area. Fair prices and good communication. Our driver on the way up to big sky was Kevin, he was really great and full of good info. Our ride was late on the way back down due to an accident on the highway but there communication was great and we arrived in time for our flight. read more

These guys went the extra mile to accommodate my flight delay. Very much appreciate their special attention to a unique need. Kevin was great going up the mountain safely and securely right to my destination. I highly recommend these guys read more

There reservation system asks you submit your info then they will "call you within 24 hours"--- well that was 72 hours ago and still no contact- that's customer service for you. We went with another service through Big Sky concierge and informed the resort about this. read more

My flight was late getting into Bozeman but the driver from Karst waited for my arrival. He was the last shuttle of the night so had he not waited I would have been stranded no other option home. The night was snowing and he was an excellent driver making it through the canyon safely. My driver has worked for Karst for 11 years and he was greatly appreciated that evening. read more

Reasonable pricing, incredibly flexible with reservations, but most of all - the friendliest and most helpful staff. 11/10 would use again!

I have a home in Big Sky and normally drive myself. Unfortunately, I have had to use Karst twice in the past year and a half. I will not use them again. The first time I used them, I had an early flight. I was given a pick up time. Unfortunately, the driver arrived a full hour early due to another earlier pickup at West Yellowstone. When I told him he was a full hour early, he basically told me "tough luck - take it or leave it". I had to take it. Unfortunately I decided to give them a second chance. We were picked up by our driver at 10am and ended up shuttling to various hotels and the Hungry Moose for an hour and a half. At 11:30 we finally left for the airport for a 1:30 flight. Never again. Rent a car or use another method to get here. I like to support local business but this company abuses its position. read more

My son traveled quite a distance with Karst Stage to and from Boy Scout summer camp. They were safe and timely. Highly recommend!

Over 30 minutes delayed picking us up from our hotel. 3 miles out and the shuttle driver realizes the brakes are overheating. They send for a new shuttle that is supposedly "10 minutes away". The new shuttle arrives one hour later. After finally getting on the road, the shuttle driver then decides to go back to the lodge (where he realizes the breaks are overheating) to pick up a family (that was messing around inside and had a late afternoon flight) even though there was a second shuttle coming. At this point, half of the shuttle is going to miss their flight. I would have taken an Uber or Lyft but they are rare, and there is little cell service in some areas. The Karst shuttle company has little backup. On the plus side, I had no problems from Bozeman airport to my lodge in Big Sky. It's just unfortunate that the Karst shuttle business has a monopoly in the area with little competition. read more

Have taken four trips with Karst Stage. Continually late. Unsafe. Skis and baggage clogging the aisles in most likely overweight bus. Schedules ignored. Driver lost and unaware of the area looking for passengers at 5 AM. Will have an entire bus wait for people who are 30 minutes or more late. Take 3 people to grocery shop for 25 minutes while an already late bus forces 20 passengers to be further late. Avoid it all costs read more

Had a reservation for 4:15 am that was confirmed the day before. The driver simply never showed up. I was able to find another way back to Bozeman from Big Sky. Driver called 2 hours later to inform me he was almost there and when I told him the situation, he just hung up on me. No apologies, no remorse whatsoever. read more

Originally, super helpful when flight got delayed, and allowed us to push back shuttle to 11pm, their latest time and also the time fight arrived. Karst assured us that the shuttle driver would wait for us until 11:30. Our flight arrived at 10:50 and we were outside with our luggage at 11:07. We walked up and down the airport driveway numerous times and at one point there was not a single person in sight. We called Karst and their emergency airport line multiple times but no one ever answered. At that point our only option was to call an Uber, otherwise we'd be stranded at the airport. My travelling partner noticed a white van in the very back of the parking lot, maybe 40 yards away, with its lights turned off with no one in the car. We thought that it may be our shuttle as we were getting into our Uber but we brushed it off because the van was turned off and never once came into the airport pick up line, and we knew that we were absolutely not going to walk up to a strange empty van in the middle of the parking lot to see if it was our shuttle. We left in Uber and started to drive away when, five minutes later, we pulled up to a stoplight and met up next to the van where and noticed a tiny sticker on the back that said karst shuttle. We asked Karst to refund the one way trip for two, of $84 and to comp the return since we paid Uber $160 for one way. By comping the return, we would have been out-of-pocket the same amount for two round-trips or $160. They did not return the 1st phone call complaint and were late returning the second call. They refused to comp the entire trip and were NOT apologetic, and often rude. I asked them if they knew the value of attracting and keeping a good client. It was Russian to them. By comping the return, which had $0 marginal cost, they could have kept us as we frequent the area annually multiple times. Check their reviews on other sites and you'll notice half are negative or terrible. This company does NOT get the "customer experience" part of serving customers. You have plenty of other options. Choose elsewhere. read more

Your driver Will was amazing, thanks to him the trip was fun and unbelievably great. I would recommend anytime.

We really enjoyed working with Karst Stage for our wedding event. Karst helped us plan scheduled shuttles to and from Bozeman to our off-site wedding location for our local and out-of-state guests. They were extremely professional and went out of their way to ensure our guests were comfortable. Their shuttle vehicles are extremely clean, comfortable and pleasant to travel in. Everyone in our group commented on how nice it was not to have to drive after the reception. Many people also mentioned how friendly the drivers were. We highly recommend Karst Stage for any group activity where you need to transport people in the Greater Yellowstone area. read more

I give Karst credit, they did respond to me, and acknowledged that the CSR should have automatically offered to refund my cancellation because I was sick. Deb called me several times to make sure I was taken care of and apologized for the confusion. She was very helpful, and based on my interactions with her, I'll give them another shot next time I'm in Bozeman. Thanks Deb, appreciate the help! read more

Don't.... it's a bad Greyhound bus ride . I watched a driver stand at a stop and allow a young lady to crawl in the belly of the bus after her luggage only after making 5 stops before my arrival. Poor service --go with someone else if you are shuttling between Big Sky and the Bozeman airport read more

Used Karst as a shuttle service from Bozeman to Big Sky. They got us there safely which was the main objective, but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired! They weren't at all concerned about our timeframe and were extremely rude to deal with. Also, the van used to shuttle eight of us was filthy with torn seats. I wanted to lay a sheet down to ride in it. So they'll probably get you where you're going but don't expect it to be a pleasant experience. read more

This is a terrible company to deal with. I used them as a shuttle to get from Big Sky to West Yellowstone. When I called, they gave me 2 different prices and neither were correct. Then they were 2.5 hours late to pick us up. When I called to see where they were, the guy on the phone said: "they should be there shortly" before he even knew where I was calling from. It was over an hour later when they finally arrived. Then, despite being so late, the driver gave us the silent treatment. Literally, would not even look at us or respond when we got on the bus. We figured it wasn't his fault and didn't even complain to him but he didn't respond to "hello" or to "thank you" on the way off the bus. Rude and incompetent people throughout the company. read more

Great customer service!! Represent epitome of Montana nice. Timely service down to Bozeman and they even helped us retrieve an item we left behind in Big Sky. read more

I'm going to preface this by saying I promised our driver a fair yelp review months ago and am finally getting around to it. Sorry, I don't do this much. Honestly, if I was grading the experience based on the bus we got, it wouldn't be a 5 star review. But Will the driver made the whole experience incredible. My friend was married in June and her mom organized a ride with Karst from Bozeman to the wedding area outside town. Of course it was 100 degrees outside and we were all miserable. So Will shows up in this old bus that was probably older than him. He regrets to inform us that he had been trying to cool the bus down for an hour but the A/C was having little effect. Not a great start with this group and, regretful as he was, everyone was ready to blame him regardless. 45 sweltering minutes later we reach our destination and cool off outside in the sun. Later that evening, a group of us invite Will to chat and things start going uphill quickly. Any grudge we'd held for the hot bus quickly dripped away. It takes a lot to get me to review something online, but this was worth it. Our bus driver became a guest at a wedding that people remember and enjoy --phenomenal. The last trip back to Bozeman was crazy. The bus was full (and cool!) and someone who was more drunk than most attempted to climb through a roof emergency hatch. We didn't let him though! Most of us wanted to go back to the hotel, but probably 20 of us wanted to get some drinks at the bars. Will escorted everyone where they wanted to go, got us taken care of at the bar, then got us back to the hotel. All while making us laugh and not feel like a burden even though we definitely were. If this is a normal occurrence with Karst Stage to have a driver this excellent, then 5 stars on those grounds alone. I shouldn't remember our driver's name after almost 4 months, but I do. That counts for something big. read more

Extremely disappointed with their service and they way they handled it. After numerous emails and letters Karst failed to take responsibility for bad service from our trip in January 2010. We checked in the Karst Desk at the Bozeman airport around 12:50 pm, we were informed that we were booked on the 2 pm shuttle and we needed to wait for that. So we waited a hour for the next shuttle. We boarded the shuttle around 1:40 pm, because the Karst Stage confirmation asked that we be ready 30 minutes prior to departure time. By 2:20pm, we had not left, and I went to the desk to inquire and was told that the shuttle was waiting for a few more people, and it would leave any minute now. I get back to the shuttle, and around 2:30, it still has not left, so I called the contact number on my confirmation, and spoke with the Karst Stage staff, who informed me because flights were coming in late, the shuttle was waiting for those who were delayed. However, the Karst Stage website specifically said if there are delays, the company will do its best to arrange for the next shuttle, as opposed to making everyone on the scheduled shuttle wait. Moreover, on our confirmation, it specifically said the shuttle leaves "on time." Also their policy specifically says, "All shuttles must depart the Bozeman Airport on time. We will make every reasonable attempt to accommodate your later arrival by scheduling you on the next available shuttle." My shuttle, however, did not leave until 2:45 pm. Had we know that the shuttle had the discretion to wait, as much as 45 minutes. Why did the 1:00 PM shuttle leave on time if we were ready by 12:50? Why did we have to wait 45 minutes because they wanted to fill the bus? This is very poor service and disappointed enough to write my very first review of a company. If you do take Karst just be aware you might not leave at the time they advertise. read more

Where to start. The bus I am on right now is so cold I can see my breath. Oh and the exhaust is in the bus. We are breathing in exhaust fumes. It has been a great one hour trip read more

I booked transportation from Bozeman airport to a lodge about 40 minutes away, over the July 4, 2011 weekend (prepaid, round-trip and confirmed). My 12-year-old son and I arrived at the designated time, and there was no transportation. The Karst office closed for the Holiday weekend. I called the emergency number and got voicemail. I eventually arranged alternative transportation. Mid-week I was in a place with cell-service and found out the manager (Dan) had returned my call about 2 hours after my call to the emergency number. When I called the office about my return trip, I spoke with Diedra. She blamed me for their mistake, and whined about how they had to pay a driver to sit around for 2 hours waiting for me. When I originally booked the transportation, I gave them all of the flight information, including flight number, and the pickup time. When I suggested why they didn't check the flight, she said they don't store that information!! This company has extremely poor management, and really poor customer service. Don't do it! Sarah read more

I will spare all the details, but I missed my flight because a shuttle driver never showed up. There was no communication from the Company and I had to call five or six times just to get ahold of someone. Instead of offering to pay for alternative transportation to ensure I arrived to the airport on time, they had me wait over an hour for another shuttle. To make matters worse, it was abundantly clear the second shuttle driver had never operated the shuttle before. He didn't know what buttons were what and had difficulty even opening the doors several times. Lastly, he had no idea where he was - I literally had to get out my phone and help him with directions. It took over 2 hours to get to the airport because the driver was lost, at which point I had already missed my flight. I wrote a letter to Karst stage to ask for reimbursement for my missed flight but they never responded. Really, just terrible. read more

3/1/17 Still trying to confirm booking since 2/22/17. Have had to make ~6 calls already; having issues with accepting fully validated / confirmed CC by their processing system. Having to work thru a 3rd in order to confirm... have yet to make the ride....getting nervous with this company.... read more