Renting a car at The Bozeman Airport
BZN Car Rental is the starting block for Montana adventures. Explore Rentals offers not only superior rental cars for visitors arriving at BZN but also great service and convenience. There are numerous on-airport rental car options at BZN, however, if you dig a little deeper you will likely find a trove of terrible reviews, horrific reviews, and extremely high prices. It is not uncommon for the Franchises to move 2wd SUVs from warmer climates to meet the Winter demand in Big Sky/ Bozeman. Most people have a perfectly good experience renting from on-airport car rental agencies, however, every summer and every winter we get folks calling us from BZN (sometimes in tears) exclaiming that so-and-so Franchise canceled their reservation, has given them a rear-wheel-drive Suburban for their ski trip, etc.
Guaranteed 4WD Rental Cars in Bozeman
Since we started the business in 2010, Explore Rentals has taken great efforts to provide the safest, convenient, and most reliable rental car experience in Bozeman. In an effort to make this simple, here is a partial list of why renting a car through us is easier and better.
1. Conveniently located 2 miles East of the Bozeman Airport
This means no waiting in line, no long walk, no searching for your car, and if you decide to pick up the car at the office; no 10% Airport Concession Fee.
2. Guaranteed 4WD or AWD rental cars
We do not own anything else, so it is literally impossible for you to get a crappy 2WD rental from us.
Explore Rentals is one of the few car rental agencies in the country to put snow tires on rental cars in the winter.
4. Independent and locally owned
We do not serve stockholders, we serve you, our renter.
Bear spray, camping gear, campers, fly fishing equipment, optics, child seats, ski racks- you name, we rent it.
Additional Transportation Options
There are multiple shuttle options in the Gallatin Valley to get you from the Bozeman Airport to Big Sky, West Yellowstone, etc…
There is not a ‘Taxi Line’ at the airport so you must arrange in advance through the Taxi company.
Our favorite taxi service is VexiRide. They have clean, well cared for caravans and their drivers are professional(non-smoking).
UBER and LYFT are also now operational in Montana. Their BZN service is typically pretty good.
The traditional “taxi” services still exist but may be less reliable than the options listed above.
Many of the hotels offer a free airport shuttle. This can be useful if you have very late arrivals or early departures. We highly recommend verifying when your hotel’s shuttle is running and that it is still free of charge.
The Holiday Inn Express Belgrade, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn Bozeman, Best Western Gran Tree, La Quinta Bozeman, among others, have a free, reliable shuttle. Very few of the less expensive Motels offer shuttle service.
Explore Rentals is in immediate proximity to BZN(1.2 miles) and offers Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Suburban, and Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4×4 rentals. We have the best reviews out there.
Toyota Rent-a-Car is located 12-miles from the airport and offers all new models of Toyotas to rent.
Journey Rent A Car rents Suburbans and economy cars and is located 9-miles from BZN.
Please note that the off-airport rental car companies are required to charge the 10% concession fee if they pick you up at the airport. In order to save the concession fee, you must take a taxi to the rental company.
There are rental car franchises at the airport as well as some off-airport rental car companies. It is worth noting that the Bozeman airport has the highest concession fees on rental cars in the state of Montana. By taking a taxi to an off-airport rental car company, you will save 10% of your total vehicle rental cost.
Renting cars from the Bozeman airport is often the most cost-effective solution. The major US rental car companies(Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Thrifty) have on-airport locations at BZN.
During peak times, expect lines at the counter for vehicle pick-ups. In the winter, expect an icy parking lot. Unless you are visiting during the slow season(April, May, October, November) It would be wise to book in advance.
The prices of 4wd vehicles at these franchise vendors can be extraordinary. It is not uncommon for a ‘Premium SUV’ to be $350+/ day. Even at this price, many renters can’t be guaranteed a 4wd vehicle.