We recently used Auckland Explorer Bus by purchasing their 24 hour pass. The experience did not start off on the right foot, given the third party agent who sold us the ticket refused us a refund after we waited for the bus for almost 90 minutes in the rain. We were told the bus comes every 30-40 minutes, this day they ran into some road construction but we only later found that out. There was a 'guide' at the main stop but she was unable to provide us with any tangible update, except for repeating that eventually the bus would arrive. The places the bus visits are definitely not walkable if you are staying downtown, so in that sense, the bus was necessary to see the important sights in Auckland. Having said that, the tickets themselves were very expensive (total: approx. $120 for 2 people) and we would have saved a lot of time, effort and money had we simply taken public transit. Ultimately, it worked out fine, but overall a pretty disappointing experience- especially given the high cost.

This bus is terrible, it takes forever and are more than 15 min. The price is very expensive. You are better off with an Uber to get where you want. My kids wanted to go to MOTAT and it didn’t even stop. Do not do it

I got 24 hour pass with museum entry and started at sky tower. Found it informative and easy to get around tourist spots. Had to wait about 20 minutes at museum but that was ni issue to me. Recommend for travellers.

Have done this tour 3 times now and loved it every single time. The staff are so friendly and helpful, the buses are reliable as far as the timetable is concerned...and it's a fabulous way to see your way around Auckland, whether you're a visitor or a local.

Auckland Explorer Bus pass was totally worth its price. The drivers were very friendly. The buses were in a great condition. The frequency was also good. Got to see different parts of Auckland on & off the bus. Trip to Devonport via ferry was included in the price. I recommended that you buy the 2 days pass from Auckland Explorer Bus to see the best of Auckland & Devonport.

In the winter, takes 1 h to get the next bus. The Wifi availability is limited to some GB. The red loop bus was old and bad smelling. Service can be improved

Had a fun time on the explorer bus. The open air bus was great. It was a beautiful day. I did get a little bit sunburned. I wish the bus ran longer but we did have a great time.

The bus is very good for getting a view of Auckland. I went on both routes last week. However as its winter there is just one bus per hour. The last bus from the Museum is at 4.20 and dies not make any other stop..... Also had no commentary. Two of my driver were excellent and so helpful.

Not worth it. The busses dont pick you up again after 3.30pm (what you are not told in advance), the audio commentary is awful, the price is too high. Better take a free walking tour

Lie 1: wifi Lie 2: aircon Lie 3: regularity Lie 4: lively commentary Lie 5: accessibility for elderly Don’t waste $100 (2 persons)

Please avoid this. The Auckland explorer is expensive - $50-60 for 24-48hours, and this in a city with decent public transportation that’ll set you back a $1-2 for a journey. The explorer buses were old and worn, and the bus frequency was appalling. Buses often arrived 15-20mins late, and when they arrived, they were often full, thus forcing you to wait a further 30mins for the next bus. And that next bus could be full too! We were told that someone even had a heart attack whilst waiting for the Auckland explorer bus. So please avoid this entity until they improve their service.

It has very few stops and doesn’t stop at many places one might want to stop.

We really enjoyed this despite not usually being city tourists via this kind of thing. The route was great and the audio guide interesting. Had we had more time we would have know what else to visit. Highly recommend getting off at Mount Eden. We decided that gave great views so didn't bother paying for Sky Tower.

This one star is for the overweight aboriginal unhappy lady working for the Explorer Hop On Hop Off company working at stop 1 at 10:30 February 5, 2024. Since she was not wearing her name tag on her yellow uniform, I can only describe her the way she looks (I am not judging her appearance). As soon as we arrived, she did not say “Hello”, no smile, wanted to take our vouchers including my credit card receipt until I requested to have it back and her response was “Maybe you should not have given it to me in the first place”. She has poor customer service, she is very unfriendly and unpleasant to deal with - I could feel her bad energy. It is obvious that she does not like her job and is miserable interacting with clients. She either needs to go find a different job or get some customer service training. Thank you grumpy lady for making our first day in Auckland with a memorable bad experience - I confirm that you were the only person so far who was unpleasant to deal with and thid since we landed on your land! Please Explorer Bus look into this situation and address it with her… for the sake of us clients. Thank you!

Great that it was hop on, hop off and the tickets were valid for 24 hours. There was also two different circuits both available on the same ticket, no extra charge. Commentary was informative and comprehensive without being exhaustive. Our driver was courteous and drove very safely.

Very disappointing service for the price charged. Couldn't cope with the volume of passengers on our cruise ship which they should have anticipated or not oversold tickets. Bus only comes every 30 minutes and then hasn't got capacity for everyone at the bus stop. As a side note, very inefficient ticketing system - the bus seemed to spend more time at bus stops sorting out ticketing than it did driving the route. We thought the taxi we caught back from the museum to the city represented better value for money.

disappointing hop on hop off experience! Heavily over sold, the wait time for buses was often over 30 minutes and the buses were often full. We heard many complaints from other patrons. The staff were unfriendly, unhelpful with a lack of information about their company and a lack of enthusiasm. All for a "cheap" price of $55 per person. Very disappointing!

Only 9 hop on hop off points

Nice tour although not too long on both routes. A little expensive $45 for 1 day of basically a 2 hour total tour. Nice clean air conditioned busses. Fully automated tour with no live narration.

They lie about bus every 20 mins,, simply not true,, it takes way longer for bus to arrive,, at one time we needed to wait more than 40 mins at Mt Eden,, the driver wasn’t even polit when she arrived,, and phone numbe is a joke we called no one answers

Hasn't run for two years and are starting back up just as we left Auckland!

Used the tour today, nice female driver. We are used to open top double decker buses for this type of tour but the bus we boarded was enclosed upstairs and relied upon the commentary coming through speakers. Much of the commentary was drowned out by the selfish people who boarded, talked loudly and thought they needed to entertain the passengers with mindless conversation. Hopefully the other buses utilise the earpieces to hear the information.

When I boarded the bus at stop #3 and showed the driver my Sea Life and bus combo ticket, the driver did not inform me that I need to get a printed ticket to get in Sea Life. I got off at Sea Life, found out that without the printed ticket I couldn't get in, so I had to leave and wait for the next bus, and then had to be on that bus back to stop #1 to get the ticket and then travelled all the way around all the stops back to Sea Life. It wasted 2 hours of my time. Also, coming back to downtown from Sea Life I waited at the bus stop for nearly an hour because of traffic jam.

Terrible, I was left behind, I waited 1 hour for explorer bus at stop point 8. Finally a bus arrived, but it did not stop, it left straight away. There was no 2nd bus in that hour. I called their customer service 6 times, but no response for whether there would be another bus picking me up. In the end I have to call an Uber back to my hotel. This trip was very frustrating.

I got the 48 hour pass for $52. This is a pretty standard price for hop on hop off buses, but this one was definitely not worth it. The places it takes you to are very walkable except for the two furthest options and the city buses are a better option price wise. Also one of our days all of the shops, entertainment, etc. in Auckland were closed. We were not notified of these closures by the buses and missed out on a whole day of bus travel. It really was messy. Giving it 2 star for the staff and bus drivers though. They were kind, drove safe, and overall joyful. Thanks!

You will always have to wait a long time for the bus if you get off. You have to stay near the stop or will miss the bus. They need live location system. Also hard to find stops.

Staff are nice. However it was really difficult to find where to print the ticket. On google it has a office but in reality just a trolley. I walked around for 30 minutes just to find the “ office” to print the ticket, but I couldn’t. Eventually I randomly met a staff on the street and asked about the “office”, the staff printed the ticket. It was really time wasting

The hop on hop off which is a magnificent service in some cities is not necessary in Auckland because the main points of interest are very walkable.

What a great way to get around Auckland. All the right spots. Clean efficient and safe

I took the bus at the beginning of February, 2023. Due to the heavy rainfall, the bus couldn't stick to it's original route. I may missed one or two stops on the map. Yet it is a good way to navigate the city.

Great way to see Auckland and get a sense of where things are to take proper look at. Got a 48 hour pass as a lot to cover in one day.

It seemed like a good way to navigate around the city & get a general overview / history. Got a small discount from the hotel & the bus line discounts tickets to some of major visitor spots. We bought a 48 hr pass and a Sky Tower admission ticket. Buses are comfortable & staff helpful /pleasant. Day 1 worked out pretty well. Day 2 is a hot mess and bus wait times are closer to 60 minutes & more, not what was advertised! Not sure I’d recommend it.

Great way to get to know the town, but ita bit pricey. Stops are every 1/2 hour. Hannah was a great driver.

I would give it zero if I could. As other reviews, unable to cope with numbers. Absolute disaster. One bus every 30 minutes, not enough stops, one way only. Travelling with wheelchair made it even worse. Bus driver so overwhelmed, didn’t even respond to query on how to get on with chair. Lost confidence in hop on/hop off availability which made the $55 spent (for 5 people) an absolute waste of money. Blue route/red route also confusing. Would not recommend.

Probably one of the worst hop on hop off NON open top services we used throughout the southern hemisphere. Started with an non engaging street ambassador to a driver who thought he was in formula one and then we were transferred to a coach with limited visibility.Between transfers we were left in the soaring heat with no idea of when a bus would arrive with space. Over priced rip off. The one star is for the second driver ( not his fault).