Our Customer Reviews

This was the cheapest way to get around and it served its purpose well. I would make sure you understand how it works when you buy it as it's not just a 'relaxed hop on hop off bus' at all. You need to plan ahead and book buses in advance especially if you're under time restrictions. There are some compulsory stops that are completely unnecessary but you don't have a choice but to stay there. Getting guaranteed accommodation is really good though, even if some of the hostels are a bit grim and expensive. You need to plan ahead if you want to save money on accommodation.

Bought the Kea Pass whilst it was on sale (Christchurch to Auckland - not the normal direction of travel, and wouldn't recommend doing it this way either as you have a lot more of boring driving, stop off at less cool pit stops and the energy levels on the bus are dead travelling this way). Travelled for 2 weeks on South Island and a week up North. Your driver really makes an impact on your time with Kiwi, and I'm glad that most of our time we were with Dylan (he was friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and didn't play his music too loudly, unlike several of the other drivers). Likewise, the other people travelling on your bus can affect your experience on the bus. Mostly, we had nice people on our main bus (2 weeks spent South) so it was lovely to make new friends, but it can also feel quite school-trip-like and on other buses, it even felt quite cliquey. Being on the bus is good in that it eases a lot of stress of travelling for you - your transport is sorted and paid for, you have guaranteed accommodation (even if it is sometimes grim) for a set number of nights, and you get to see nice little stop off points on the way to places. However, it is not as much of a 'hop on, hop off' vibe as you might think. There are strict, scheduled timetables and pick up points (which can be confusing to find online) and you MUST book a seat on buses beforehand as the buses can get booked up (which means you have to ring Kiwi Experience with plenty of time in advance, so isn't always ideal if you just want to take things as they come and not preplan your whole trip).

I'd had so many positive stories about the kiwi experience so was very sceptical to see if it lived up to my expectations and it sure did! It was extremely flexible and enabled us to meet so many great people along the way! So easy and made the whole experience enjoyable!

Good experience even if there's a lot of bus hours ..

I was travelling with a friend we really enjoyed it. The drivers were all very friendly and we got a lot of interesting information from them. Thank your for such a great experience!

I bought the pass with my boyfriend without really knowing too much about it, we had just heard good things from a friend. I'm so glad we went with kiwi experience. It's so much more than a bus pass, the drivers are so helpful and funny and informative. Booking of accommodation and trips is so easy amd you pack a lot of things in! I learnt so much more about New Zealand than I thought I would and I'd love to do it all again!

Definitely worth doing if your travelling on your own & looking to meet people. Found on our buses it was mostly girls who could be quite cliquey. However met some really lovely people. A lot of money for what you actually receive. Majority of hostels were really great. Other than Waitomo one where there was mice traps everywhere & a mouse found in someone's room! Maybe look at finding better accommodation for here?

We had the Sheepdog pass and we are really happy with it. We saw a lot of great places and walks that we probably hadn't found by ourselves! It was easy to change your itinerary and and since we didn't travel during the high season extending our hostel nights we're usually not a problem. Kiwiexperience was a convenient and fun way to travel and a good way to meet new people if your travelling alone.

The Kiwi Experience was a great way to see New Zealand as it meant we were shown the best of the country with the flexibility of staying at each place as long as we wanted. The best part about the whole experience was the friends we made along the way, some who we stayed with for the whole month down the country. Our driver, Gina B was amazing - she was super fun, friendly and helpful with any questions we had along the way... plus she had the best playlist! We would recommend the Kiwi Experience to anyone who wants to explore NZ at ease and meet some great people along the way!

Just arrived back from 2 weeks on the Southern round up trip. Enjoyed it immensely and our guide (Guy) was so knowledgeable and approachable.