New Zealand’s Backpacker Buses
One of the biggest ways travelers get across New Zealand is by backpacker bus. These buses offer a hop on/hop off service allowing travelers the flexibility to go at their own pace but also the convenience of having travel and activities organized for them. New Zealand has three major hop on/hop off buses: Kiwi Experience, Magic Bus, and Stray. I tried the Kiwi Experience and the Stray bus.
Kiwi Experience
The Kiwi Experience is the biggest and most popular backpacker bus in New Zealand. The bus mainly attracts young gap year travelers. Nine times out of ten I was the oldest traveler on the bus. I say it’s about 50% 18-22 year olds, 40% 23-27 year olds, and 10% 27+.
What I liked: The Kiwi Experience goes out of their way to make sure everyone socializes and gets to know each other. The drivers play a lot of games, icebreakers, and there are group dinners at most of the hostels. Most of the group ends up sticking together making it a good way to find travel partners. Additionally, the Kiwi Experience gets you discounts on most attractions, activities, and hostels.
What didn’t I like: Size. The buses seat around 55 people and when they are full, they get a little bit clicky. Little groups form and in the end it feels like a Contiki Tour. I had more fun when the bus was less full and you could get to know people better. During the busy season, the bus is pretty much always full. Moreover, I wished the bus didn’t make so many little side stops. While it’s sometimes nice to see something different, by the 9th or 10th stop, most of the people are simply like “can we get to the destination already?”
Who’s it for: If you are 25 or younger or just looking for a party, this bus is for you. It’s predominately filled with young people who want to have a good time. Out of all the buses I took, I only saw one couple- most formed on the bus. Moreover, if you aren’t looking to get off the beaten track and just want to see the highlights of New Zealand, this bus is also for you. They’ll drop you off at all the main destinations.
Stray Travel
Stray is new and their goal is to “take you off the beaten path.” While they hit all the major destinations the Kiwi Experience does, they also take you to a few different ones. I was really happy that they take you right into Abel Tasman National Park for two days instead of just dropping you off in Nelson.
What I liked: Stray has smaller buses providing a more intimate setting and making it easier to meet people. While there are many gap year travelers on the bus, Stray tries to pick up more older independent travelers. On my buses I saw a lot more couples and people generally less interested in getting drunk every night. They went out but it wasn’t the only thing they were interested in. Stray seems to have a better balance than the Kiwi Experience when it comes to this.
What I didn’t like: The bus drivers I had didn’t play as many games or have as many icebreakers making it a bit awkward when you first step on the bus alone and aren’t an extrovert. Moreover, compared to the Kiwi Experience, the buses weren’t as comfortable.
Who’s it for: Stray, unlike Kiwi, goes both ways. You can definitely find a party bus full of gap year kids, but unlike Kiwi, you are more likely to find travelers more interested in seeing something other than the bar. If you aren’t really looking to party a lot or want to spend time with more mature travelers, Stray is for you.
Overall, I liked the Kiwi Experience better. But then again I tend to enjoy a livelier atmosphere while I travel. I spend a lot of time online doing work so I am usually ready to cut loose by nightfall. The Kiwi Experience is definitely the place to do that. I thought Stray does a great job and I would recommend them to people looking to do one of these buses but not be surrounded by young travelers. But no matter what bus you choose, do not buy your ticket before you get to New Zealand. You will get better deals and discounts if you purchase your ticket from a hostel or travel agent inside the country. Many of the people I traveled with learned that lesson the hard way.
For more information, visit my country and city guide to New Zealand travel.
(Disclaimer: Both the Kiwi Experience and Stray Travel gave me a free bus pass.)
12 Comments
When I got to Auckland in January, Magic Bus was having a 50% off sale on their top three packages. I ended up buying one that went around the entire country that came out to about $300US. The pass is good for 12 months and I could make as many trips around NZ as I want…um, if I manage to get back there before it expires.
My experience was somewhere between what yours was with Kiwi Experience and Stray. The buses were large (except once in Northland), we made lots of little stops, and received special discounts on activities. The drivers in general made an effort to make sure we socialized and had a good time, but one of them really went out of his way. I was lucky to have him for all of the south island!
There were a lot of people in their late teens/early 20s, so I often felt old being 28, but at the same time, there was generally a small handful of people from 30+, all the way up to 60+. One woman in her 50s said she had heard that Kiwi E was the party bus, which is why she chose Magic. I also noticed quite a lot of couples…maybe 1/4 of a full bus.
This probably goes for all the buses, but I was generally one of the few Americans on each of mine, which was nice.
Most of everyone else was from the UK, Ireland, and (of course) Germany.
Anyway, I guess if you’re looking for a happy medium between Kiwi Experience and Stray, go with Magic? /essay
No mention of Atomic Travel? Did you get the chance to review them? From my experience, they were the cheapest and tended to have more frequent schedules.
Attomic doesn’t compare to stray or kiwi, its a point to point bus and you would miss out on all the cool little extra’s and discounted activities. got to compare apples with apples
Atomic are only really a shuttle service or “point to point” where as the above one a what would be know as jump on jump off. I the above ones are offering a full experience rather than just transport. Companies like atomic, intercity and naked bus are just transport… good and cheap for the independent traveler
Sounds like a great way to meet fellow travelers, and, given what the demographics seem to be on these buses, a great way to have fun and meet people you’d normally never be around. Sounds like a great opportunity for a nice mix of culture and party, especially for the younger travelers. New Zealand is high on our list for travel – I just get a sense the people are fantastic and the local is perfect for adventure.
We felt that travelling with Intercity gave more flexibility to choose where, when, for how long and in what direction you want to travel.
We also found it being the cheapest option.
We bought 50 hours of travelling (and had used up all of it exactely as we were about to leave) and could then travel wherever we liked, back and forth, completely how we wanted. With most of the other bus companies you could only travel in one direction, which meant that you would miss out of many places you would have liked to see depending on where you started off.
I wish you had time to review Magic in comparison to Stray and Kiwi as well (and even Intercity, even though it’s not a ‘backpacker bus’ but a good alternative to all three, especially to go where you want, when you want instead of always sticking to a certain route).
Both Stray and Kiwi were started by the same person while Magic is (apparently) totally different then those two. I am (was) a loyal Stray-er but it would have been nice to read about something other then what everyone uses.
A reason to return!
There were only so many buses I could take in my short time while I was there. Taking the intercity (which I did) and reviewing it here wouldn’t fit as this post is just about backpacker buses. i would have liked to take Magic but there wasn’t enough time.
Nice review Matt, whilst I’m giving New Zealand a miss in my first trip around the world I’ll go there another time and probably with kiwi travel while I’m still young!
I am heading to New Zealand tomorrow and really considering buying a stray pass. The one I am looking at works out at around the same price as going by intercity and goes to far more convenient destinations – Abel Tasman for example. The only drawback I can see at the moment is that the likes of stray don’t run everyday from each destination whereas the public buses do.
Very helpful post as I play my trip to NZ. Guessing I’ll be there at least a month, and potentially many more. I’m currently leaning toward getting a cheap car and selling it when I’m done – but may give Stray a shot when I start (You’re making me feel old by having 27+ as your top age bracket
).
Steve
Thanks for the post. I am thinking of going to NZ in September and haven’t bought any ticket yet.
Do you know if it’s still very cold in September?
For people who like bush-walking, is stray or kiwi experience better choice?
If the website offers 40-50% discount for the pass, is it still cheaper to buy the ticket from local hostels or travel agents?