On our round the world tour, we spent an epic 3 weeks in arguably one of the best countries in the world, New Zealand. We absolutely fell in love with New Zealand and a lot of this is due to the way we travelled the country. This was our experience finding off the beaten path New Zealand with Stray Travel.
Like most backpackers visiting New Zealand we wanted see as much as we possibly could in our allotted time. One of the best ways to do this is using a guided hop-on-hop-off bus service.
After researching the various buses and opting out of the Kiwi Experience (too young) and the Magic Bus (too old) we settled for a happy medium of Stray Travel. As a young couple, this was the perfect choice for us.
How it works
Choose a tour | Stray can be whatever you want it to be. Whether you have 2 weeks or 1 year, the same tours will work for you as they have 1 year validity from your first pick up. However, if you are short on time the recommended time on each tour is a good guide and we found worked well.
Book your buses | Each passenger gets a customer number and you use this to book your buses. Your ticket is valid for 12 months so you can stay at each stop as long as you like then book the next bus when you are ready to move on. We opted to stay the recommended time at each place with just one or two nights at each stop with an extra night in Queenstown (because it’s sooo much fun!).
Book your activities | Activities are not included in the price of the tour. The bus driver will announce each day what activity options they have and you can put your name down on the list to participate.
Book your accommodation | Accommodation is also not included in the price of the tour. Similar to activity booking, the bus driver will announce where they will be staying, usually a hostel, and you can then choose the accommodation type to suit you. This can be dorm style or private rooms. Stray guarantees rooms for up to 4 nights so you don’t have to worry about booking ahead, even in peak season which is an amazing service.
Food | Food is not included in the price of the tour. The bus makes stops at supermarkets to allow you to shop for food and beer or you can eat at the accommodation. Our drivers were all great and let us know when to stock up on beers for the wild nights.
I know this all sounds like a lot of effort but trust me it is not. The Stray bus drivers make everything easy and simple for you so you just have to jot your name down for each bus, activity or room. All of this can just as easily be arranged by phone or on their website.
A typical day on the Stray bus
No two days on Stray are the same however, the general gist of the day is as follows:
- Leave the hostel between 7am and 9am. Jump on the bus to your next destination.
- There will be a few stops along the way for photo opportunities or a walk in the gorgeous New Zealand wilderness. The stops during the day are generally free and nature orientated like short walks to waterfalls, lakes and forests etc. The driver will keep you entertained and informed with facts about the places you pass through.
- Stop for lunch where you usually have the option to shop at a supermarket to buy your dinner.
- There may also be paid activities to take part in during the day. This varies massively from place to place but includes bungy jumping, sky diving, a Mouri village experience and rafting … this is New Zealand after all.
- Arrive at your destination around 4pm or 5pm.
- In the evening the group generally congregates for drinks and games.
Our experience
There are a multitude of tours to choose from depending on where you want to visit and how much time you have.
We flew in to Christchurch and were scheduled to fly out of Auckland 3 weeks later. We wanted to explore both islands so the obvious tour from Stray was the Short Max. This tour combined both islands stopping in at most of the top spots.
The Short Max Tour
The positives
The off the beaten path locations | Stray, as the name suggests, like to stray away from the usual busy tourist spots and instead show you even more incredible secluded spots. The same with the accommodation. I believe Kiwi Experience only stay in hostels with bars. Stray on the other hand, may stay in remote places and tell you where to pre-buy booze as you have the chance of a heavy night.
The friendships | We had a great bunch of people to share most of the tour with. With the nature of the bus being hop on and hop off we did lose a few great travellers but then we also gained some great additions along our journey. Travelling is a lot about who you share it with. Most people were travelling alone and very keen to share evening meals, a games night or a night out. But if you fancied a quiet one you absolutely could.
The itinerary| There is a big range of tours to suit your time scale. With our Short Max tour we saw and did pretty much everything we wanted to do. With the tour having a year validity you could spend as much time as you like in each spot as your travel.
The activities | It wouldn’t be New Zealand without some insane extreme sports! Stray offered an amazing variety of activities. We opted for jet boats, an off-road motorbike tour, fishing, sailing and sky diving to name just a few.
The negatives
Time | We always wish we had more time. In 3 weeks we weren’t able to get all the way south to Millford Sound or all the way north to the Bay of Islands but that’s down to our own planning.
Would I recommend Stray Travel?
Absolutely, yes! It’s all about the experience. If you are a lone traveller, or a couple like us, and want to share the experience then Stray is awesome for that. If you want to travel New Zealand as cheaply as possible then a guided bus tour is probably not the right choice for you. The tours can be expensive but as I’ve said it’s about the experience.
Can we do it all again?!
Read more about Stray Travel New Zealand here.