We found this on T/A and are glad we did. Ther are many who say why do a bus tour, do it yourself. The trip IMO would be a real white knuckle drive as it's very hilly, lots of curves many on the edge of the cliffs and I'm quite sure my focus would have been on the driving, not the scenary which was the purpose of the trip. This trip offers great value at $100pp which includes a pancake, sausage, buscuits and gravy breakfast (average) and a dinner (average) and live music (great fun). This part takes place at Ft. Hayes.
When reviewing what to do when visiting the Black Hills, the main suggestions were Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse memorial, Sylvan Lake, Custer Park and Needles Hwy, well; this tour does it all. Our driver; Dan was awewsome providing an incredible commentary on the history of the area. How he managed to navigate the roads and especially the tunnels is beyond me. One of the tunnels only had a few inches of clearance on each side and he amused to people at the other end of the tunnel who were watching this spectacle with his "student driver" sign and then pretending to get the bus stuck.. hilarious. In addition to at least an hour stop at Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse (enough time to tour the site and the gift shops), he did numerous road stops for photo ops. The only issue was that we saw absolutely no wildlfe. Apparently they round up th bison towards the end of September for winter culling and we missed it. We were so desperate for something, at one of the road stops there was a nest of chipmunks and you wouldn't believe the excitement at even this sign of wildlife.
Lunch isn't included and there is a stop, would recommend the buffet (about $14.00) and try the bison stew, definitely something different. It's a long day, starting at FT. Hayes at 7:30a.m. and returning to FT. Hayes around 5:30 p.m. If you do the dinner and show, it all ends around 8:00p.m. The shops here are interesting, tin plate maker, brick maker, gift shop including black hills jewelry, the only thing it's missing is a saloon.
The sights on this tour are fantastic, but Dan the driver makes the tour even better. Thanks for the experience, I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the area