Backpacker Busses v. Intercity or NakedBus

hi canook

i’ve been using flexipass and found it really good. there are plenty of intercity buses everyday to choose from and the comfort level is excellent. You can also use your pass hours to take the ferry between the north and south islands which is a real bonus if you’re doing the whole country. the main reasons I went for flexipass over the other options was it wasn’t one of the “backpacker party buses” and I got to meet loads of locals along the way. while you could pick through the website to find cheap fares, the pass gives you a discount upfront which saves a whole load of messing around. while I haven’t traveled with naked bus (more like retro fitted vans), I’ve met a few who have and think the old sayings of “you get what you pay for” and “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” ring loud and clear.

hope this helps

Hey Dave, no offence but 90% of your posts mentions flexipass. Do you work for intercity or something?

For what it's worth, I had good experiences with Intercity. Have you checked each service's routes/departure times for the places you want to go to? That might help you decide which company to go with.

Nakedbus can be cheap, but there are two problems with it. They're still rolling out full coverage of the country, although getting closer and closer to full coverage (Invercargill to Dunedin went "live" yesterday). Second, since they resell seats on other suppliers, it is patchy as to the service levels. The bus between Dunedin and Christchurch is actually pretty good, a bus company that goes door to door, where the driver leaps out to carry your bags and escort old ladies to their door. I've not been on a proper nakedbus/Pavlovich Transport (the company behind them) yet, but that is all going to change, next week, when I go Auckland - Whangarei with them.

Flexipass does get you on the very comfortable and usually obliging (there is the occasional grump) Intercity. But I travel a lot on buses around NZ (its an environmental thing), and routinely compare the best available fare with the cost of a Flexipass, and have yet to see the point. On every single occasion, it has been cheaper to just buy a ticket. Plus, if you can score a nakedbus $1 fare for a sector, or go with Atomic, or another cheaper operator, then you won't end up with time left over.