We recently went through Tim to charter a bus to take a group of thirty international scientists on a geology focused excursion between Anchorage and Whittier. Tim was very responsive to my emails and questions and very clear on costs. Our bus driver Mark was also great. - professional, informative, and very safety conscious. Well done! read more

Wow, after reading the comments below, I am wondering if they are talking about the same person. I have been working with Tim ever since I started bringing my groups from Minnesota to Alaska for the past 8 years to cruise and then do a little land touring. He has been nothing but fun to talk to and saved me one time when I needed a bus at the last minute. He showed up at the airport with one personally and saved our tour. I get the impression that he flies a lot by the seat of his pants, but he gets things done. I highly recommend him for any transportation you would need in Alaska. read more

My family booked a private tour with Magic Bus Transportation, and paid in advance. The morning of our pickup, no van was waiting. A phone call to Tim revealed his confident claim that we had never booked through his company. A quick dive into the extensive email chain between us showed this was not the case. In an unusual tactic, Tim did not apologize for his mistake, but began berating us because HE had not run the credit card, or booked us a van (despite having confirmed both these facts in writing). To be fair, he did seem to understand the gravity of his error when he offered to personally take us on the tour for free. It was a tempting offer, but his crass, unapologetic and aggressive behavior was a dealbreaker. We found some lovely people to help us get on a much more affordable bus. No one even raised their voice! What a treat. I've seen children run lemonade stands with more efficiency and professionalism than Tim. read more

Updating this review to 1 star. Absolutely never doing business with him again. Just called to verify that my cc worked....and got yelled at. No Thank You. read more

One star is only because it wouldn't let me give zero. The owner of the magic bus literally cursed at me on the phone for three minutes straight because he had to stay up late the night before for another customer. Never have I ever seen such unproffesionalism in my life. I think the guys is crazy or very close. After I finally hung up in shock that an "owner" of a company could really be so incredible rude, he called me back!! To curse at me some more. Needless to say, I'd rather take a cab for 4 times the price than ever give this little balled pissed off man any of my money. Worst experience I've ever had with any business ever. For sure read more

The owner is vitriolic, rude, condescending, and incompetent to boot. Although I had documentation of a reservation, he had lost it. Rather than an apology, what followed was a tirade the likes of which I have not experienced in my life. The only magic here is how someone so unprofessional and unhinged manages to make a living. Do yourself a favor and avoid this organization at all costs. read more

Tim, the so called owner of this poor excuse for a company was nothing but rude, inconsiderate and unapologetic when confronted about a perviously booked tour. We Booked a van back in April and he personally confirmed via email, but when we arrived in Seward there was no transportation waiting. When we called about the situation he did not apologize but began to scream about us not giving him a credit card (credit card was given months ago-per email chain). Avoid this company at all costs unless you want to be treated horribly- would give 0 stars if i could. read more

I shopped around for a private tour from Whittier to Anchorage Airport. After calling several Tour/bus companies, I choose The Magic Bus. Tim was very helpful in advising what places we could stop at and times allotted etc. Since his price was slightly lower then the others, I choose his company. I did have a slight problem when he charged my card a few days earlier then he said he would. However, our driver Dave was on time and wonderful. He made suggestions and helped us all day to get some fantastic views and photo's. We found out many interesting and historical history, while having so much fun. Maybe book on line?? But do reconfirm 2 weeks before you start to travel. The bus was very clean and new. read more

I was on vacation and took this from Anchorage to Whittier for a cruise. The owner was driving that day, and would not stop talking the whole bus ride. I couldn't believe it. read more

I will admit right off that I have never been on The Magic Bus, but I feel compelled to leave a review because of the antagonistic behavior and extreme lack of professionalism by the owner, Tim, during a professional encounter I had with him. Tim called our company a while back because our business operations happened to be interfering with his. It was a legitimate, if minor, complaint and we were very happy to remedy the situation as soon as Tim made us aware of it. However, he was not content with voicing the complaint and getting it resolved. He screamed and ranted so viciously about the situation that everyone in our office could hear him despite the fact my phone was not on speaker. He demanded explanations, called us terrible people, and basically just spent the better part of ten minutes swearing, threatening our business with bad press, and saying over and over that I was a liar. I was barely able to say anything during his tirade, and was finally able to get off the phone long enough to call our team and remedy the situation. Although I was still shaken from the earlier verbal abuse from Tim, I did not want to leave things as they currently stood as he was obviously very angry about the situation. I called back simply to apologize once more and make sure there were no hard feelings...and boy, was I sorry. His irrationally angry tirade picked right back up where he left off. After a few minutes of more swearing, accusations, and threats I simply hung up. Tim then called back and got my coworker, and then demanded he be transferred to me. After she did not comply, he called back again and left me a 4 minute long voice mail with more of the same furious tirade, all over this minor inconvenience that we immediately resolved. Luckily I never heard from that man again. He was the most irrational, unprofessional person I have ever dealt with in my entire career. I work in customer service, so that's saying something. I'm sorry our company caused you a minor inconvenience Tim....but you really kind of freaked me out. I will never, ever, use The Magic Bus, and hope I never have to speak to you again. read more

Called to get a quote to use the bus for a wedding. He Answered the phone rudely, was condescending, and was hung up on at the end before I was even finished. Something majorly wrong with this guy. Stay away. read more

Had a great time on the ride from Anchorage to Whittier with Gary. Kept the trip up beat the whole time and very informative about the places that we stopped during the trip... I would definitely recommend using them if you are needing transport to the 26 glacier cruise. Sam is watching me type this read more

Should have read all of these reviews before calling to ask about booking a ride. If you're the type of person who enjoys being berated for asking a simple question then this is the company for you. After saying thank you several times to get him to stop, I had to hang up on him because he wouldn't stop his condescending ranting about maybe I should call Uber and how he's so busy and booked all the time blah blah blah. Then he called and left me a FOUR MINUTE rant. Dear Tim, if you're so busy why do you have time to leave a four minute message? Please read all of the 1 star reviews and hire a person who knows customer service because, dude, you got issues. read more

I was amazed by this company. I made an inquiry about a double cruise ship transfer between Seward and Whittier. I am not familiar with Alaska geography so I am totally at the "mercy" of the vendors that I contacted. Then I found Tim and he was amazing. He was nothing but polite and professional and provided me with two great solutions to meet my needs. One of the solutions did not even involve any business or dollars for Magic Bus. All Tim cared about was helping me to have an amazing experience in Alaska and I am very grateful for that. What a great vendor. read more

Awful, unorganized, horrible, rude, booked tour in April, no one showed up today. Called Tim and he rudely yelled at my daughter-seriously shocked this guy is still in business. Wandered around Anchorage for 12 hours, thanks Tim, you're a jackass. read more

As an Alaskan business owner also in the tourist industry in the Anchorage area I was shocked by horrible customer service I received from the owner himself when I was attempting to make a reservation for my own clients. I seldom write reviews but the experience was so incredibly disturbing and unmerited that I wanted to warn the general public to steer clear of this operation. In this industry it's the customer service that counts and you wont find any here. Good luck! read more

I just got off the phone with Tim from Magic bus. I am trying to piece together my own trip ..Denali and the inside passage...No big ship , and that means finding ones own transportation from Denali to Whittier. Tim gave me the schedule, offered to pick us up at the hotel and offered us a discount. He was pleasant and helpful. Looking forward to the trip I appreciate his help. JF. South Carolina read more

I booked online, The Magic Bus to drive us 2.5 hrs from Anchorage to Seward harbor and back to take the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise. I received an emailed receipt immediately with an itinerary following a week or two before the trip. We met at the designated place and were fortunate to have Gary as our driver. It was a full bus. He was absolutely amazing. He's so knowledgeable and funny. He made the trip pleasantly memorable! It wouldn't have been the same without him. What a perfect guy for the job. It's obvious he loves Alaska and people. Thank you so much for sharing your time and love for Alaska with us. The experience with Gary and the cruise was the highlight of our vacation. read more

We had Robert as a driver for our group for 2 days and he was fabulous! He kept us informed about all the neat stuff we saw and the group loved him. I would recommend The Magic Bus to anyone! read more

I've used the Magic Bus on three occasions for trips to and from Whittier for kayak trips on the sound. The MB picks up my group at the Anchorage airport or hotel in the morning and drops us at the charter boat location in Whittier around 11:30 am. The MB picks us up in Whittier a couple weeks later and takes us back to the Anchorage airport or hotel. The service has worked well for us. This year Tim was surprised by a group larger than had been booked when leaving Anchorage. The MB didn't have enough seats, so Tim sent us by limo, no extra charge. I book early, get confirmation, and follow up a day or two before our arrival. Mid-day calls seem to work best for Tim. I'll continue to travel with MB. read more

SPOILER ALERT! Read this and other reviews quickly before it gets deleted by the Magic Bus staff. I agree with a previous review that I would rather walk to Anchorage than give Tim one cent of my money. We were trying to get from Whittier to Anchorage airport. One email he quoted $90 and a pick up at the 2 pm ferry. Next, it was $50 and the bus was actually at 5:30, which meant we would have missed our plane home. We tried for almost a month to get a confirmation from him. When we finally got him on the phone, he raged and spewed such vitriol, he gave excuses of how busy he was and ended with "Well, sweetheart, I'm the only game in town so what are you going to do?"His customer service sucks, he is the rudest person I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I've heard his drivers are quite nice, but the money goes in Tim's pocket and I will never have anything to do with him or his company. By the way, he isn't the only game in town. We found two other options. read more

I emailed The Magic Bus as per their website instructions to see if I could schedule transportation for an event. After waiting over 3 months with no response to my email, I finally decided to call them and get a quote directly, and would have been more than happy to leave a voicemail if necessary. When the person answered, I said "hello, I emailed you guys a little while ago asking about a quote, but I haven't heard back." Instead of being a professional and either explaining the delay or apologizing and offering to send back a quote, the man on the phone decided to tell me that "people die every day, 21 people died in London, we have to answer our phones all the time and work hard and no, I haven't looked at any email." In what universe is that something normal to say to someone on the phone who is making a business inquiry? After attempting to tell him multiple time that due to his rudeness I would no longer like to speak to him or use his services (not wanting to be rude myself and hang up), he proceeded to continue ranting about how hard he works and how he has to answer the phone all the time, and throwing in how their company is the best company so I should use them anyway. I don't care if his company is the best company, if it means I have to speak to him again I'll never use them, even if they are half the price of anyone else. I'm honestly surprised he is able to keep any employees let alone customers with that attitude. I wish I had come here and read reviews before making that phone call. I can't comment on the quality of the buses or drivers, and I don't want to discredit them if they are doing a good job, but keep your sanity and avoid this guy. read more