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
Frankie24 • 8 years ago
The most amazing 3 weeks!
My time on the Kiwi bus was so so amazing! I was lucky enough to have Simon for the majority of my 3 weeks in New Zealand and he helped make the Kiwi Experience that extra bit special. I saw so much of New Zealand and the Kiwi drivers have so much knowledge to share with you and so many secret hidden spots to take you! I made some friends for life and would definitely recommend the Kiwi Experience for anyone who is thinking of travelling around New Zealand.
Crudd • 8 years ago
Best time of my life
I was recommended this trip by my parents who did it 20 over years ago. They said that it would be the best time ever and sure enough it was. I did the Kiwi Experience as the first thing I'd do travelling, alone, and within the first hour of getting on the bus I met 4 people who'd later become my best friends for the month that I'd be travelling. I crossed so much off my bucket list and did things that wernt there originally but should have been like; climb mount Doom, Walk on a glacier, skydive, bungy jump, jet boat ride through a canyon and more! The peace of mind from having gaurenteed accommodation and sticking with a group of people who you can talk to and learn about traveling off is fantastic for a first time traveller. I've bumped into old school friends on this trip without planning it at all and I've met people I'd never encounter or speak to at all. Truly amazing, fantastic experience.
Vicky27 • 8 years ago
Wonderful experience! Would highly recommend
I had an amazing experience travelling New Zealand with Kiwi Experience, it was the best way to see all the highlights of New Zealand and on minimum time get a whistle stop shop of each place. It is also a great way to meet new people and get the opportunity to do things you never dreamed of doing at a reasonable price. If I could change one thing, it would be to have more than one bus on the move each day, so that it acts as more of a hop on hop off and you can choose to spend an extra morning in one place and potentially leave in the afternoon as oppose to being restricted to early starts everyday, especially when your on minimum time. There were occasions when we would get to a place at 7pm and leave at 7am, hence there was little/no opportunity to explore. Obviously, if you have more time than we did this wouldn't be an issue but a bit more flexibility would be great! However, it was the best experience and I miss New Zealand so much, what a beautiful place!!
Sdavies94 • 8 years ago
Amazing time
Bought the zephyr pass in the spirit of the moment when I saw the great discounts. So glad I made that decision. Had an incredible time, met some incredible people and did some incredible things. Many activities ticked off the bucket list. Skydiving was unbelievable!
megtim • 8 years ago
A really great experience but some downsides
I spent just under 5 weeks travelling with Kiwi Experience with the Kitchen Sink pass and I loved it- I didn't want it to end. Positives: being able to make so many like-minded friends from all over the world, push myself to do activities, like skydiving and a bungee swing, that I never thought I'd do when I left England. They really do choose the best locations to stay in too- my favourites were Queenstown, Taupo, Lake Tekapo, River Valley, and Bay of Islands. Negatives: Base hostels!! Kiwi Experience for some reason are affiliated with Base hostels across New Zealand which in most places is where you are booked for minimum night's stay. Unanimously we agreed that we did not like Base hostels, due to the price of rooms compared to other nearby hostels, plus the fact that free wifi is only available in reception from 7am-7pm, and is painfully slow. There is the option to stay elsewhere, however if you want to stay with the people you've made friends with it's no fun to leave! Going at peak season in February the buses were packed - we had two buses a day leaving from each hostel to the next location. This made it incredibly difficult to book extra nights in some locations as every hostel is booked out with two bus loads of Kiwi Experience people. I wanted to stay longer in Lake Tekapo but had no idea about this as I was not pre-warned by a single bus driver so I had to stay for the minimum time of only one night there. This is another negative- the minimum time is not enough! I would definitely recommend staying more nights in certain locations. Despite the negatives listed, this experience is perfect for solo travellers and is one of the best things I've ever done. Definitely do it!
CB21 • 8 years ago
Great experience
I booked kiwi experience because it was an opportunity to see as many places in a time frame that suited me, I then heard a couple of bad reviews/rumours that it was know as a major party bus and was in doubt but after finishing the tour I can honestly say it is one of the best things I've ever done and was pleased that there is a real mix of people everyone was so friendly and you could party as much or as little as you liked without pressure. The activities that are on offer are amazing and all the little stops and information you get from your driver on the way that you don't get from a regular bus are great with exclusive discounts as a bonus. Drivers are fun and know tons of information to do with organising the trip and heaps of information and stories about areas you stop. The only cons I have which aren't deal breakers was WiFi on bus doesn't always work, and wasn't as flexible as I thought it would be due to it being summer and height of season availability which I'd like to have had more time in some places that were undersold like Wanaka for example so I ended up finishing my tour earlier than I had originally planned. But all in all brilliant trip with memories to last a lifetime!
Birthe Kjær • 8 years ago
Nice, but too much party
Overall we quite enjoyed travelling with kiwi. There were lot of amazing stops along with beautiful sights. In general, though, we would like to point out the extreme amount of party time on the trip. Mostly, of course, it was completely on a volunteer basis if you wanted to party or not, but on some stops along the way (river valley, lake wanaka) you where almost pressured into drinking and partying as there was no other real purpose or activity to our stay.
HollyT • 8 years ago
Great experience
I am glad I did the Kiwi Experience although having people put on "stand-by" isn't a good idea, leaves travellers without accommodations. However, it was great to meet people from all over the world and experience just about everything NZ had to offer.
M17 • 8 years ago
Awesome
I had an amazing month travelling from Auckland to Christchurch. The drivers and the people in the office made it so easy to hop on and off which made the trip much less stressful. All the drivers were hilarious too.
caroleon • 8 years ago
Excellent service and experience!
Spent my spring break with Kiwi in the South Island and no other spring break will ever compare!
