Kiwi Experience review: what it is really like to travel around New Zealand with Kiwi Experience

Planning a trip to New Zealand? This is the post for you! Read my honest Kiwi Experience review to see if it’s the best way for you to explore this amazing country.

When planning a solo trip to New Zealand, the first question you are going to ask yourself is, ‘How am I going to get around?’ Much of the info and posts online talk about ideal itineraries when travelling in a camper van. And while this is an excellent way to see the country, it might not be ideal solo. You might be asking yourself any of the following questions: Are you going to meet anyone? Do you want to drive those distances alone? How will you plan the route? These were exactly the thoughts I had when researching my trip.

Having decided that this wasn’t how I wanted to solo travel around New Zealand, I started exploring other options and came across Kiwi Experience, with whom I ultimately travelled around the country.

So, what is it like to travel with Kiwi Experience? This blog post covers what’s involved, how it works, and what the experience is like. Giving you all the information to decide if this works for you. 

So, what is it? And what is travelling with Kiwi Experience really like? Read on for my full Kiwi Experience review!

Kiwi Experience review: What is Kiwi Experience? 

Think of it as a hybrid between a group travel tour and a bus network. It’s a group travel tour without all the restrictions and set itinerary. It’s a bus network, with a fixed route and much more included. 

The company was established in 1989, so with over 35 years of experience travelling around New Zealand, they know what they’re doing! Instantly recognisable by their big green buses, Kiwi Experience covers the full length of both the North and South Islands, giving travellers the chance to check off many items on their New Zealand bucket list.

Kiwi Experience offer two types of experiences. The traditional group travel tours, or their hop-on hop-off bus passes. 

Kiwi Experience review: Who travels on Kiwi Experience?

I think this is the big question, and honestly the one I was probably most nervous about before travelling with them. As a solo traveller in my 30s, I did want the social aspect but didn’t just want to party. 

What is the age range?

I found the mix of fellow travellers to be very broad. Undoubtedly, the most common age was early to mid-20s. However, I also had families, retired couples, solo travellers in their 60s and plenty of fellow 30-something travellers on the buses I was on. 

Don’t let its reputation as a “party on wheels” put you off. I travelled on more than eight different buses, each with different drivers and groups of people. On every bus, I found a mix of travellers, including like-minded individuals. However, if you’re looking for the party scene, there are also plenty of travellers who fit that vibe. Ultimately, you’ll find your tribe!

Why does Kiwi Experience work so well for solo travellers? 

It goes without saying that Kiwi Experience is designed for solo travellers. With so many fellow travellers on the bus, you’re guaranteed to find someone to talk to, and since most people are in the same situation, you’ll make friends quickly. Participating in activities together and enjoying the included stops provide plenty of opportunities to bond.

Kiwi Experience review: How does hop-on hop-off work with Kiwi Experience? 

The hop-on, hop-off passes are the reason to book Kiwi Experience. It allows you to join a group of travellers, but it doesn’t mean you are stuck doing a set itinerary with no flexibility. As a fan of group travel tours (and you can find out why HERE), it really does offer the best of all worlds.

Once you have booked your pass, you then have access to the trip planner, which allows you to book your buses. Here you can put in the date you want to catch each bus, and it will show if there is a bus on your requested date, or when the next bus is.

The buses used to run daily, but now they are more like every three days. Meaning if you decide to hop off your bus, the next bus is most likely going to be two days later. Essentially giving you a choice of 1, 3 or 5 nights in each place.

Once you have booked your bus, you can still change it to suit. So you are not fixed on a date. This does depend on bus availability, but it means that if you want to stay somewhere for longer, or want to move on faster, then you have the freedom to move. Just make sure you change your booked bus at least 24 hours in advance.

What is the pace of travel with Kiwi Experience?

This is really up to you! If you are pressed for time, then you can follow the route exactly without adding any extra days. However, I would say you might miss out on some of the amazing places along the way. For example, you arrive in Wellington at 5 pm on the bus and would have to leave the next day at 8 am to catch the ferry.

Having said that, the itinerary is planned to fit in the ‘must-sees’. You are dropped off at activities as you arrive somewhere, or picked up after a morning activity, so that you can do at least one experience in each location.

Are there different bus pass options? 

Absolutely! There are plenty of different routes for different time scales and budgets. In fact, there are 4 South Island only passes, 5 North Island only and 12 passes that cover both the North and the South Island.

To break it down, these passes all generally follow the same route. However, different passes have different parts of the route included. Some start and end in a specific location, and others allow you to start and end anywhere, and some of the longer ones already include the add-ons, such as Cape Regina or Milford Sound. Ensuring there is a pass to suit your itinerary.

Where do you have to start the route? 

This does depend on the pass you have booked. The longer passes (20+ days) all allow you to start and end anywhere along the route. Perfect for maximum flexibility. There is also an option to start and end anywhere with one pass for each island. All the others dictate where you start and end (either Queenstown, Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland).

Is there a time limit for the buses? 

Technically yes. However, you have up to a year to complete your full loop of your pass. Which means you can take pretty much as long as you want in each place.

How far in advance do you need to book your Kiwi buses?

If you are travelling at peak times (I found November and December to be very busy), you are going to need to book your buses at least two weeks in advance, perhaps even a month. As previously mentioned, you can change your bus after you have booked it, but this does depend on availability. It might mean you end up having to stay longer somewhere for a few days.

Kiwi Experience review: Booking activities and hostels through Kiwi Experience

As part of booking your pass with Kiwi Experience, you get access to the trip planner, which allows you to book some activities and accommodation through it.

When I was travelling on the buses, this was still a webpage. If I am honest, it wasn’t very user-friendly and even harder to do on a phone – I was grateful for my laptop. I have since had an email to say they have launched an app, which definitely felt like something that was needed. So I can’t speak to how the app works, but I feel confident it will be a much better experience.

Booking activities through Kiwi Experience

Through the trip planner, there are activities you can book for every location. Kiwi Experience have agreements with these suppliers, and they can hold spaces until 24 hours before. This means you can chat to people on the bus to find out if others are partaking so you can join in.

Sometimes the itinerary isn’t too clear, but it will tell you which is the recommended day to book each activity for. For example, you book Hobbiton the day you leave Waitomo, and the bus takes you there along the way.

Not to give too much away, but some the activities you can book through Kiwi Experience are:

• Dolphin cruise
• Kayaking
• Hobbiton
• Skydiving
• Jet Boating
• Whitewater rafting
• Swimming with dolphins
• Glacier hike
• Mitai Māori Village evening experience
• Milford Sound day trip
• Surfing

Booking accommodation through Kiwi Experience

As with the activities, Kiwi Experience also reserve beds in hostels for everyone on the bus, up to 24 hours before. Meaning you won’t ever have to arrive at a destination without having accommodation booked. These hostels are all clean and convenient. The buses drop you off and pick you up from outside the hostels booked through Kiwi Experience.

All accommodation booked through Kiwi Experience is managed in the Trip Planner, keeping all your reservations in one place. The bookings are fully flexible, allowing you to make unlimited changes with no charge. To guarantee a place to stay, it’s recommended to book at least 48 hours in advance.

However, for me, I often booked accommodation myself. If you are choosing to hop off the bus for a few days (which I did at nearly every stop), you can still only book the number of nights your bus stops in that location. Meaning you would have to book subsequent stops independently. This would have ended up with having multiple bookings, and most likely resulted in having to change rooms.

You also don’t have a choice of dorms booking through Kiwi, so you can’t choose the size or female-only beds.

Having said that, the other bonus of booking through Kiwi Experience is that they place all travellers in the same rooms, so you will be sharing with your new friends. Whereas if you book yourself, you will most likely be in another dorm.

Kiwi Experience review: What can you expect on board?

Once you are on the bus, you can expect absolutely stunning views out of the window. No travel day will be the same; some are much longer drives than others. However, you will spend each day staring out of the window at the beautiful scenery passing by.

Each day will have stops built in. These serve two purposes. The first to break up long drives, stop for a bit to eat and a comfort break. The second is to make sure you don’t miss any of the ‘must-sees’ in New Zealand. This is where the Kiwi Buses have a huge advantage over a public network. Instead of just taking you from A to B, they always stop at places along the way that you won’t want to miss – almost as if you were driving yourself.

The driver guides

Your Kiwi Experience bus driver is more than just a driver. They are also a tour manager, an entertainment manager, and even a friend. As you are driving along, they will offer a lot of information and stories about each location, giving even further insight into the country.

They are also on hand for any questions you might have, as well as having tons of recommendations on what to see, where to eat and drink.

Facilities on board the bus

The first thing to note is that there isn’t any WiFi on board the buses. This is definitely something to keep in mind, as the driver guides will talk to you about a lot of the activities while you are travelling, and you might want to book as you go. I would absolutely recommend having an eSIM so that you can be connected while travelling.

There also isn’t a toilet on board, but plenty of stops are factored in, so this was never an issue.

The pros and cons of travelling with Kiwi Experience

The pros of travelling with Kiwi Experience

• The hop-on, hop-off nature of Kiwi Experience is ideal. You can choose how long you want to spend in each place and create your own itinerary, yet still have the guidance and experience that comes with group travel.
• You get lots of great advice from the driver guides.
• Making friends is guaranteed.
• Kiwi Experience have selected activities for each place, so you have an already made list of the best things to see in each place.

The cons of travelling with Kiwi Experience

• If you are hopping off the bus frequently or spending longer in each place, it is likely that your group and driver will move on. Joining a new bus and trying to make new friends in an already established group can feel daunting.
• The buses can get full, and cliques do form.
• Particularly in peak seasons, the buses get very booked up. So it might not be as flexible as you think, or you might get stuck in a location for a while waiting for the next bus.
• If you stick to the minimum time on your route, the itinerary is jam-packed, and you won’t get to explore any ‘off the beaten track’ parts of New Zealand. If I were tight on time, I am not sure I would book a hop-on on hop-off pass.
• You will only have a set amount of time at the stops along the way. As you are travelling in a group, you need to stick to the time frame. This means you might miss out on hikes or getting off the beaten track in certain locations.

Is Kiwi Experience good value for money?

As with many group travel experiences, they can be more expensive than if you completely DIY it. However, Kiwi Experience does offer good value for money. It is a stress-free and fun way to travel the country, and if you are a solo traveller or a first-time traveller, it is a fantastic way to travel the country. You don’t have to worry about planning your itinerary, researching activities or accommodation.

If you are a couple or a more experienced traveller, then you might want to consider creating your own itinerary using the bus network or booking a camper van.

Kiwi Experience frequently have sales, so do keep checking back for the best time to book, as there are massive savings to be made.

Kiwi Experience Review: My wrap-up

Kiwi Experience is a fun and easy way to travel New Zealand, and I really recommend it.
For me, the hop-on, hop-off aspect was ideal. It allowed me to travel on a route, knowing I was seeing the best of the country, as well as meeting a lot of wonderful people along the way. However, I wasn’t forced into following a set itinerary, allowing me the flexibility to hop off for a week at a time to hire a car or camper van to explore even further and at my own pace.

The social aspect allows you to make friends quickly. While it is targeted towards a younger crowd, you will find people to spend time with in each group.

It really gave me the best of all worlds – group travel with independence mixed in!

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Check out my other New Zealand posts:

• Things to do in New Zealand: the ultimate list
• 18 Best Things to See in North Island, New Zealand
• 18 Best Things to do in South Island, New Zealand
• Solo Travel in New Zealand: Campervan Diaries
• Lord of the Rings Filming Locations In New Zealand

Please note, I was gifted my Kiwi Experience bus pass, but was under no obligation to create this Kiwi Experience review post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are travelling to New Zealand, then make sure to pin this Kiwi Experience review post for later!