Ames Party Bus & Charter Bus Rentals

The closest commercial airport to Ames is Des Moines International Airport (DSM) (5800 Fleur Dr, Des Moines, IA 50321) — about 35 miles south on I-35, roughly 40 minutes in normal traffic. That drive is painless with one bus. It becomes a logistics puzzle the moment your group splits into multiple cars, because DSM's cell phone lot requires timed coordination, curbside commercial pickup is in the upper-level Arrivals area, and there's no convenient staging for four cars waiting on a delayed flight at 1 a.m.

An Ames airport shuttle through Party Buses Des Moines handles all of it cleanly. Your group assembles once your full party is together with luggage, your coordinator calls us, and the bus moves to the commercial pickup zone — no hunting for cars scattered across different terminals, no rideshare surge pricing for a group of 12 at midnight. For ISU athletic teams, conference travel, or large family groups flying out together, one bus is almost always faster and simpler than the alternative.

Call 515-416-4410 to book your DSM transfer.

Campustown's Welch Avenue strip — running from Lincoln Way north toward Chamberlain Street — packs more bars per block than almost anywhere in Iowa: Cy's Roost, People's Bar & Grill, The Space, and a dozen more, all within walking distance of each other. That density is what makes a Welch Avenue bar crawl one of the most popular bachelorette itineraries in central Iowa. The problem isn't finding bars.

It's getting the whole crew there, keeping everyone together between stops, and getting home safely at 2 a.m. when rideshare demand in Campustown spikes.

An Ames party bus rental from Party Buses Des Moines solves all three. Our 15- to 50-passenger party buses come with a built-in bar, color-changing LED lighting, and Bluetooth sound — so the crawl starts the moment you climb aboard. We build the custom route, handle every stop, and have the bus waiting when the last call bell rings.

No one draws straws for who's staying sober. Call 515-416-4410 to plan your night.

Whether the birthday group is heading to dinner at Olde Main Brewing (316 Main St, Ames, IA 50010), catching a live set at the Maintenance Shop inside the Memorial Union, or making a night of it across multiple Campustown spots, a party bus arrival makes the whole occasion. Our 15- to 50-passenger party buses can be matched to your color theme, playlist loaded, and routed entirely around your itinerary — no split cabs, no designated driver debates, no group that gets there late because someone's GPS sent them to the wrong lot.

For milestone adult birthdays that take the party down to Des Moines — rooftop bars on Court Avenue, late nights in the East Village — a full charter bus moves everyone together on I-35 and brings the whole crew back home to Ames at the end of the night. We match the vehicle to your headcount so you're not paying for empty seats. Call 515-416-4410 any time to build your birthday itinerary.

Stephens Auditorium (1900 Center Dr, Ames, IA 50011) on the Iowa State campus books acts year-round in its 2,700-seat hall — and the parking situation on Iowa State's campus on a concert night is exactly what you'd expect when 2,700 people funnel through a single venue surrounded by permit-restricted lots. The nearest public parking is Union Drive Garage, a 10-minute walk, and it fills early. A concert bus rental in Ames drops your group steps from the main entrance on Center Drive and picks everyone up curbside when the show ends.

For touring acts that come through Hilton Coliseum (1700 Center Dr, Ames, IA 50011) — which holds 14,267 for arena shows — the parking crunch is worse. Lots on the Iowa State Center complex fill from the north via University Boulevard, and post-show exits through the Scheman Building lots back up against Lincoln Way for 30 minutes after final bow. Party buses with a built-in bar, Bluetooth sound, and LED lighting keep the energy going from door to door — no scramble, no surge, no standing in a cold Iowa parking lot waiting for a rideshare.

Call 515-416-4410.

Iowa State University and Ames's growing biotech and research corridor — including firms along S. Dakota Avenue and the Iowa State University Research Park on N. Loop Drive — keep us busy with group trips between Ames and Des Moines. The Iowa Events Center (730 3rd St, Des Moines, IA 50309) hosts major conventions that pull ISU faculty, staff, and industry partners out of Ames on a regular basis, and the 35-mile I-35 commute during weekday rush hour can stretch well past an hour each way.

A corporate bus rental in Ames keeps your team together, gives everyone WiFi and power outlets for the ride down, and cuts out the parking-garage hassle at the Iowa Events Center's 5th Avenue approach. Minibuses handle executive transfers for 15–25 people comfortably; a full charter bus covers department-wide conference travel. For recurring shuttle programs between the ISU Research Park and Des Moines offices, we build custom routes.

Call 515-416-4410 to discuss your group's schedule.

CYRide handles a lot of the daily campus traffic in Ames, but it stops running before bar close and doesn't cover the private-event crowd heading to a family reunion at Reiman Gardens (1407 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50011) or a corporate cookout at Ada Hayden Heritage Park. A private charter bus or minibus fills that gap cleanly — one vehicle, one flat rate, everyone together from start to finish.

The Iowa State Fair draws over a million visitors to the Iowa State Fairgrounds (E 30th St, Des Moines, IA 50317) each August, and the Ames-to-Des Moines I-35 corridor is clogged all eleven days. Parking near the fairgrounds fills before 10 a.m. on peak weekends, and the walk from remote shuttle lots on East University Avenue can stretch 20 minutes in the August heat. A private party bus from Ames drops your group at the Grandstand entrance and waits nearby — no lot hunting, no heat-soaked hike, no rideshare surge on the way back at 10 p.m.

For any private outing that needs one dependable vehicle and zero transportation logistics, call 515-416-4410.

Iowa State's Homecoming weekend in October draws tens of thousands of alumni back to Ames for the parade down Lincoln Way, the bonfire, and the Cyclones game at Jack Trice Stadium. It is one of the busiest transportation weekends of the year across Story County. Prom season in Ames and the surrounding school districts — Ames High, Gilbert, Nevada, Ballard — runs through April and May, and the right venue for a prom dinner in Des Moines fills up fast on those weekends.

For prom: book by December or expect premium pricing or no availability — Ames, Story City, and the surrounding district proms all cluster in a tight 6-week window in spring, and a bus that works for 40 students booked in January costs significantly less than the same vehicle booked in April. A typical 6-hour prom rental — school pickup, dinner stop at a West Des Moines restaurant, venue drop-off, and return — runs $1,800–$2,200 booked early. We work with parent committees across Story County every season.

Call 515-416-4410 to lock in your date.

Ames Community School District runs field trips to science and history destinations across central Iowa — the Science Center of Iowa (401 W Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Des Moines, IA 50309), the State Historical Museum of Iowa (600 E Locust St, Des Moines, IA 50309), and Living History Farms (11121 Hickman Rd, Urbandale, IA 50322) are all popular destinations that require a 30–40 minute bus ride down I-35 each way. Coordinating that through a fleet of yellow school buses that are already committed to morning routes is the recurring problem teachers face every spring.

Charter buses in our network offer real advantages for school groups: TV monitors and DVD players for educational content on the ride, overhead bins for lunchboxes and project supplies, and undercarriage storage for equipment that doesn't belong in a student's lap for 45 minutes. Onboard restrooms on full-size coaches mean fewer pit stops on longer trips — important when you're working with a timed entry at a museum. ADA-accessible vehicles are always available; just flag the need when you book.

Call 515-416-4410 to discuss your field trip dates and headcount.

Jack Trice Stadium (1732 S 4th St, Ames, IA 50011) holds 61,500 Cyclone fans, and on a Big 12 home game Saturday, every parking lot within a half-mile is full two hours before kickoff. The Reiman Road lots fill fastest; University Boulevard backs up from Lincoln Way to the north end of campus. Rideshare pickups inside the ISU campus zone post-game face a 20–30 minute wait during peak exit, and surge pricing runs 2–3x on the app by the time the crowd thins.

A charter bus rental to Jack Trice changes the whole calculation. Your group boards together, the tailgate starts on the bus, and the bus drops near the stadium's southeast gate on South Fourth Street before parking in a designated oversized-vehicle area. Post-game, the bus is waiting — no lot hunt, no surge, no driving after the tailgate.

Hilton Coliseum (1700 Center Dr, Ames, IA 50011) hosts Big 12 men's and women's basketball, wrestling, and gymnastics on the same complex, with the same parking pressure on big matchday weekends. One bus is the answer for groups of 15 or more for either venue. Call 515-416-4410.

Ames has a strong wedding venue corridor: Reiman Gardens (1407 University Blvd), the Scheman Building on the Iowa State Center campus, the Hunziker Room at Hilton Coliseum, and rural venues like Whiskey River Event Center east of Ames on E 13th Street. Most of these venues sit in or near campus, where weekend parking is imperfect and guests flying in from out of state have no good way to self-navigate from a Des Moines hotel to a reception on the ISU campus at 6 p.m. on a Saturday.

A wedding shuttle in Ames from Party Buses Des Moines runs the hotel-to-venue loop cleanly — staggered pickups from the Hilton Garden Inn or the Ames Marriott on South Duff Avenue, ceremony drop-off at the venue entrance, and return loops after the reception until the last guest is back at the hotel. Nobody in your wedding party navigates Lincoln Way construction in formal attire. A 14-passenger Sprinter limo handles the bridal party transfer on the day itself.

Because we've been coordinating these runs since 2011, your timeline stays tight and your guests stay comfortable. Call 515-416-4410 for a free wedding quote.

Story County and the surrounding central Iowa wine corridor have grown steadily over the past decade. The Cellar Winery at Snus Hill (2183 320th St, Madrid, IA 50156) sits about 20 miles southwest of Ames and draws tasting groups year-round. Summerset Winery (15101 Fairfax Ave, Indianola, IA 50125) is a popular day-trip destination roughly 60 miles south via I-35.

In Ames itself, Olde Main Brewing (316 Main St) and Barn Town Brewing in West Des Moines anchor a craft beer scene that pub crawl groups regularly weave together into a full afternoon-to-evening itinerary.

The obvious reason to take a party bus: every stop involves drinking, none involves a designated driver debate. Your group stays together in a comfortable bus sharing every pour and every story — no splitting into cars, no one anxious about the drive back from Slater on a dark county road at 9 p.m. We build the route around your stops, handle timing between venues, and have the bus ready to close out the night wherever you want to end it.

Call 515-416-4410 for a free quote on your Ames winery tour.