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
Bethjones013 • 7 years ago
Started off great then went downhill
I bought the whole kit and caboodle and at the beginning I was loving it. No need to worry about transport everything sorted for you, easy. But as the trip went on it felt more and more like a school trip. “Stop here for 10 minutes , everyone get off and then get back on come on now chop chop” or us having to stop for an hour here and an hour there, meaning a journey that would take 3.5 hours takes 7.5 and wastes an entire day on travelling. You also have to pay for The ferry over from north to South Island which they don’t make clear is not included in your ticket, which led to a lot of people flying from Christchurch to Auckland as its only $10-20 more and you save so much time. Places like River Valley in my opinion should be optional as the sole reason is to do white water rafting and if you don’t want to do it you’re stuck there with nothing to do whilst you wait for people to do their activity. Either allow people to skip it completely or have an option of an earlier coach to Wellington because you’re just hanging around otherwise. We also had a lot of issues with the buses, in the boiling heat our air con was basically nothing and all the drivers dread getting these buses. It’s not safe for the driver to be overheating when there the ones in charge of a whole coach of people! Despite all those issues I did meet some amazing people so I would say in summary, if you’re by yourself I would do it but if you know you’re going to be in NZ with other people just hire a car or camper. PS if you’re travelling in peak season i.e. jan - Feb time then if you make changes you are likely to be put on standby so try and plan you’re route ahead of time to avoid being disappointed or stuck with no accommodation.
Dsgbs • 7 years ago
Good discounts, nice people but disorganised.
For activities kiwi are guaranteed spaces so thats good. Everyone I met all seemed quite confused with what was going on and a little lost with itineraries. Layout is fairly easy to get wrong as many people did and they hadn't booked in accomodation or added onto activities on the wrong days. It's a shame there wasn't any team building or group meet ups organised for free time/evenings though. Most of the drivers I had were a good laugh except one bloke who was pretty rude and seemed a bit sick of his job. Generally a good way to travel but I definitely expected more free activities for what I paid for my pass.
Singe • 7 years ago
Fun trip
Good way to see everything and meet people. Best driver, made the whole experience! Only thing could be range of activities to accommodate for bad weather/ large group size, so people don't miss out - range of indoor and outdoor activities where possible, even if just games the driver could bring.
emmaharb • 7 years ago
Great trip!!
Bought the Geyserland pass with Kiwi Experience for the beginning of March. Beyond happy with their ability to accommodate my busy schedule even during their summer season. All of our drivers were friendly and helpful with booking various activities during our trip.
Milly1999 • 7 years ago
Amazing!
Only way to do New Zealand as a solo traveler, had such an incredible time and made the best friends.
Emma98 • 7 years ago
What a trip!!
I traveled in New Zealand one month ago. It turned out to be a journey I will never forget!
Viv77 • 7 years ago
Awesome for 1st time travelers w/ a couple of -ves
Great way to meet people and travel both islands in New Zealand for a first time traveler. Provides easy access to activities and creates a good atmosphere. Almost all the stops have good activities and options for low budget travelers. Stops at River Valley and Lake Mahinapua are great fun and drivers are very knowledgeable. Would recommend booking extra nights in Rotorua, Wellington, Abel Tasman and Wanaka to get sufficient time to explore and do activities. However, there were some areas that could be of concern; hop on/hop off becomes near impossible during peak months of summer, sometimes feels like a school trip, some stops such as Wellington arrive late and leave early giving near to no time there. Finally there were occasions where activities signed up for on clipboards were then fully booked meaning that you were unable to do it even though it is said to be "guaranteed". Sometimes cheaper to book accommodation independently as KiwiEx price turns out to be more expensive, despite claiming to be best price.
kball • 7 years ago
Great Experience!
Bought the pass a week before I left and so glad that I did!
Lovisa • 7 years ago
Disappointing
Was really disappointed in this experience. The customer service was really bad, as most employees in the office were quite rude when we needed help to make changes in our booking or had questions. You also forgot to book us in on buses two times which caused us a lot of trouble. When the cyclone hit us in Kaiteriteri there was no communication at all to inform us about our buses, and the office were not helpful when we called to ask about it. I understand that things were unclear, but at least try to be understanding that we were really worried about how our travel plans were gonna be affected as we had a time limit, and don't just deflect the questions. Furthermore it really felt like you were just trying to make as much money as possible, when we stopped in places like Lake Mahinipua and River Valley. In River Valley the only activities were really expensive, so if you didn't have the money there was not much else to do and we weren't given the option to skip the stop. In Lake Mahinipua you were not given the option to cook for yourself - you had to buy the accommodation package with food, even if you actually wanted to cook by yourself. Another annoying thing was when drivers told us to be back at the bus a certain time, but were late themselves. Then they got mad at other people when they were late... Just stick to the time you said so we don't have to hurry eating or whatever just to end up waiting for 20 minutes to leave anyway. Overall I didn't think this was worth the money for what I got - bad service both from the office and some rude drivers, and having to spend money on accommodation in places I would rather have skipped altogether.
Piarella • 7 years ago
Awesome experience :)
Only had two weeks and so I could only do the little tour till Taupo in the Northern Island in Febuary. But I'm happy that I went with Kiwi experience. I didn't have to plan anything and did/saw so many great things with lots of great people from all over the world.
