WITH Hastings St traffic looking like a tin of sardines, wise travellers have been making the most of the free buses available during peak holiday season.

Regular transport user Geoff Nichols from Noosaville had nothing but praise for Noosa's main form of public transport.

"I don't know why more people don't use the buses all the time,” Mr Nichols said.

"I've virtually given up driving, I just catch the bus.”

Mr Nichols divides his time between here and Victoria, and said the free transport was a service unique to Noosa.

"There's no free buses in Victoria, not that I'm aware of,” he said.

But are the free buses the answer to Hastings St's peak season congestion?

Upon travelling from Tewantin to Hastings St, a bus was caught in stop-start traffic from about the Noosa Sound.

When the congestion hit, people appeared to be walking faster than the crawl of traffic.

Tewantin couple Graham Willis and Helen Anderson said they left the car at home during the height of tourist season.

"At this time of year, there's no point driving in to here (Hastings St) - we normally avoid it like the plague,” Ms Anderson

said.

"Even if the buses weren't free, we'd still be catching them because the traffic is so congested,”she said.

Mr Willis said by the time buses reach the last stop, there's often no spare seats.

"It's very busy on the buses. We caught the bus from Tewantin, and by the time we got to here (Hastings St) it was full,” he said.

One happy traveller was young Sophia, enjoying her first bus ride along Gympie Tce with her grandparents.

"This is so much fun, it's so bumpy,” she giggled.

Some Noosa routes are free until January 4.

Check the Noosa Council website for more details.