Black Hills Open-Top-Tours

Scheduled Tour for 8:30AM. My wife texted and called Rich, the owner, the day before. Rich called back to confirm we were all set. When we arrived there were two guides present. They were pleasant and professional and we jumped in one of the jeeps and were off. Just under 10 minutes in our guide got a call saying he had the wrong group. We turned around and went back to the starting point. Our guide called Rich to let him know there was a problem. Rich called Barry, one of their mechanics and part time guides, to ask for help as they were short a guide. Barry arrived and we left at 10AM. 1.5 hours late and now we would be primarily in the heat of the day. We specifically booked an early morning tour for this reason and had plans for after this tour was done. The jeep we were switched to was in horrible condition, which they do not advertise. The outside looks fine, but the interior is a mess. Not sure how they advertise these are clean. In any event, I gave this a 2 because Barry was very professional, pleasant and seemed knowledgeable. He tried to make the best of it. However, we had to stop for provisions because even though we called to confirm they were not ready. We also had to stop for gas because they were not ready. I contacted Rich to let him know this was really unacceptable. He rebated us 20%. I let him know this was short of what it should be given they were 1.5 hours late, we had to stop for provisions and gas, we were now in the heat of the day with no A/C (that we understood and why we booked early), the jeep was in poor condition and we had to alter our afternoon plans. He replied with "I appreciate your perspective. Have a nice rest of your vacation. To whomever is looking for a good jeep tour, you may want to do your research. There are several professional jeep tours. I should also note that the only Jeep Tour that can go on separate trails inside Custer Park to see the Bison are operated by the park. That is called Buffalo Safari Jeep Tours. This tour company offers at least three different tours. We booked the Buff Jeep Tour with this company.

We had an amazing time with our guide, Jeff Nugent. His knowledge and delivery were a hit with us. We only had one other family with us, so we got a lot of attention; don't think that will hold up as the season progresses. Saw not only the major sites, like Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, but also got special tips in viewing important, less obvious details. He also took us on side roads in the area that weren't in travel guides or Trip Advisor. Jeff also took the time some days after the tour to send us pictures of some animal life he recorded in the same areas. A nice final touch to a thoroughly enjoyable time. Highly recommended.

107 degrees outside and no AC - We used Open-Top-Tours for a tour of the Badlands National Park. With seven guests in a large van (seating for ~10) we didn't anticipate any problems, but the problems began after approximately 30 minutes into the trip. The AC wasn't working properly, it wasn't adequately cooling the vehicle and we had to ask that it be turned up on more than one occasion. About half way through the trip the AC completely stopped working (reading other reviews on Yelp, this isn't the first time this company has had AC problems with their vehicles). The temperature outside was 107 degrees Fahrenheit on the 11th of Aug, 2018. While the temperature outside was unbearable, the temperature in the van must have easily exceeded 130 degrees. We drank all the water that was available, and had to ask to have the side windows opened. The only windows that opened were the ones in the front, and the driver only rolled his down 4 inches or so. Thankfully my wife (in the front passenger seat) rolled her window all the way down.

On the way back, the driver made a few stops, and we only asked to get out in order to cool off. 107 degrees outside was actually cooler than the inside of the van. Everyone stopped talking as we suffered through the afternoon heat inside the vehicle.

Opening the top of the van (Open-Top-Tours) was another problem as that was a manual process and the driver didn't seem to want to close the top after it was opened. I understand the desire to have an open top - So you can get a better view, take pictures and see the scenery. However, once your done using the open-top to take pictures, the top should be closed. The driver didn't do that. The top remained open and I baked, because I was on the side of the van where the sun was shining (from the open top).

I suffered sun burn, had a headache afterwards, and became dehydrated to some extent due to the extreme heat (skin hot to the touch and flushed red skin). The second half of the tour was insufferable and the temperature kept rising the longer we were in the vehicle.

When we asked whether another vehicle could pick us up, the driver replied that 'the other vehicle is being used for a tour' - In my opinion, a company that provides vehicle based tours should always have a minimum of one vehicle in reserve just in case of mechanical break down. There was no offer of a refund, discount or compensation for the issues we encountered.

It seems to me that our $189/person trip could have resulted in someone's death. Luckily all of us were in good health, but someone with a medical condition could easily have succumbed to heat related cramps, exhaustion or stroke.

No air conditioning in an old van - an awful experience. Lunch was a plastic box Walmart salad. Only one small bottle of water provided. Tour guide (Dale) was not at all engaging and was verging on being racist with his views towards native Americans. Avoid this tour company at all cost.

They were super nice and accommodating until after they got my $$$. $314 for a half day tour with no a/c in a van were only the front windows rolled down, and a tour guide who repeated answered our questions with, "I don't know, I'll have to find out..." There is a reason my rv park didn't recommend this tour! I'd give them one star but at least the tour guide was friendly. Just didn't know much about the area, given it was like his fifth tour! Go with the 9.5 hour tour where you get breakfast and dinner and a show for the same $$$.

Terrible, and a rip-off. They picked us up, a party of 8, in a very, very old converted van/school bus type vehicle. You know, the ones that are used by assisted living centers. It was painted over with a brush and you could still see the name of the care center. Nothing wrong with that if it was up to code. It had a linoleum floor with wood paneling from your grandfathers den with plastic see through panel roof section applied with caulking. The windows could not be closed, adding to the discomfort and noise level. Not all seats had a seat belt, which is probably against the law. We all were uncomfortable and in danger for our lives. To top it off, the driver, a nice enough guy, did not know anything about the tour sites. He had to constantly refer to map to inform us of where we were, which we easily did on our own by reading the same map. Also, the driver asked us to give back the disposable plastic sandwich containers for re-use, which is probably against food sanitary laws. He stated that his boss wanted them back. This is totally a food service violation. If you value your life, your health and your pocketbook you will not use this company's services.

I just wanted to share my experience Black Hills Open Top Tours. I was pleasantly surprised with the knowledgeable guide we had for our tour. He knew many interesting tidbits about the area we traveled and it was just fun to listen to his stories about the area. We saw several types of wildlife so I was able to stand and take pictures from the top of the vehicle. We have family coming this summer and plan to take them to the Black Hills and will use these guys again.