We love getting feedback from our passengers after they complete their Kiwi Experience. Feedback helps us tweak Kiwi Experience for other passengers or simply lets us know when we've done a great job.
Some of our passengers stay in touch for years to come. We love that!
Reviews
Rating Snapshot
Overall
Amy Corcoran • 5 years ago
Great service
Myself and my friend had a great experience with the kiwi bus. The buses were a fun and social way to see New Zealand. Our first driver was a bit unapproachable and didn't seem too interested in his job, however the other driver we got (Matt) was so friendly and accommodating. Matt really made the experience for us with his chilled attitude and his eagerness for us all to have the best time possible and get the most out of our trip. Overall, would give it 5 stars and would 100% recommend it to friends.
Evo18 • 5 years ago
Awsome time!
Brilliant trip ! Meet awsome people and saw amazing stuff! Had a belter of a time
Kevin • 5 years ago
7 Day South Island Tour
I was very pleased with the tour and the smaller group. Blake was a good tour guide and I was very happy with the overall experience.
Lauren Dinella • 5 years ago
Great experience, need opportunities to upgrade
We had a lovely time even though weather was not always on our side. We enjoyed our group and driver. I would recommend for the small group tours to allow the opportunity to upgrade to private rooms. We had to organize them Ourselves through the hostel and it got confusing. If we booked in advance through you guys it wouldn’t be as confusing for us and our driver. Considering these small group tours are tailored toward slightly older clients who would like to spend more i think this would be a good option.
Zteasdale • 5 years ago
Met amazing people!
I bought the kiwi pass as I heard it was the best way to view all of New Zealand. I chose the Backyard pass. The stops along the way we’re ideal, sometimes the hostels weren’t so good or very expensive, but you could easily book your own. The ease of booking activities was great, and the bus drivers were so informative. But, my highlight of the trip has to be the people I met.. you don’t always stay on the same bus as people have different time scales which means you are constantly meeting new people.
BinaChan • 5 years ago
Legendary and epic
Travelling New Zealand with Kiwi Experience was the best choice ever. No need to struggle with accommodation or transport organisation. Just sit back, relax and let the Guide drive you to the most important places! Moreover, you get to know the cultural and historical background of NZ.
jwills123 • 5 years ago
Great Trip
I really enjoyed the Kiwi Experience trip. It is well organised, clearly has been running successfully for decades and had experienced guides. A mix of nationalities, I wondered if I'd feel 'old' at 27 but it wasn't particularly the case. Plenty of solo travellers and a few groups, too. Not too pushy to join group activities, as I wanted to mainly hike and was fine to do so. I booked my own hostels often (avoid Base hostels if you want non-party vibe) and could do as I pleased flexibly.
Daniel Bartholdy • 5 years ago
Awesome time!
I bought this, thinking it was just a nice way to be transported around the country. It was, but it was also so much more than that. It was a gateway to making so many new friends and the perfect way to get to know this beautiful country, by the knowledgeable commentary from the driver!
Lorna Corbin • 5 years ago
Amazing guide/driver Dave
We booked this last minute not knowing what to expect. We stayed with the set tour with min days as it was January, glad we did as the buses were full. Our guide Dave made the trip, good sense of humour good knowledge of the country of course and already happy to help out. Having worked for the company for a long time I think you should take feedback on what’s working from ‘the man on the ground’. We loved New Zealand and the concept of the bus is great. Lake mahanipua was not our cup of tea at all. The range of activities was good but some places where we had been on road all day no short trips were offered like sup or kayaking which I think was available at the location. My suggestion would be to listen to drivers about what activities are/aren’t popular or even requested as this will ensure you keep up with the market and maximise profits. I would recommend this to our friends and isn’t love to come back to Nz!
Ellie • 5 years ago
Efficient and straightforward!
I did the whole kit and caboodle pass which was great for being able to see everything, although a month is not long enough to do everything so make sure you have some extra time, I had to fly from Queenstown to Auckland to ensure I made my flight home. Overall the kiwi experience makes travelling New Zealand so straightforward, you don’t have to worry about getting yourself anywhere other than being picked up in the morning outside the hostel. Hostel rooms are always guaranteed as well and it makes it very easy to book activities. They also take you to nice walks that you’re unlikely to find yourself. The only negatives I found were that some of the drivers were very pushy about getting you to do the expensive activities, making it very clear that they are working on commission, the activities are expensive in general anyway so there’s no way a normal traveller could expect to do everything. The other downside is there is no option to skip certain stops. Lake Manihipua is a waste of time and a massive money maker for kiwi as you are made to spend extra to get an average dinner and breakfast at the hostel as well as having to buy fancy dress in the town and pay for watered down drinks at the hostel bar. We were told we stopped here because it’s a long drive from the previous place to Queenstown, however we only spent just over an hour the next day driving from lake manihipua to Queenstown which I think most people would be happy to do in one day. There is no way to skip this stop so you have to spend your money doing this. All in all a great experience but it would be great if there was a little more flexibility.
