Three days around Lake Wakatipu: the town and the hill above it on day one, the lake road to Glenorchy on day two, then Arrowtown's gold-mining street and the Gibbston wineries. Skip the bungy and the jet boat if you like; the walks and the water are the trip.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
December to February is summer: long evenings, warm days, the busiest prices and the most sandflies. March and April are the calm months, with fall color in Arrowtown. June to September is ski season and the town fills again; the walks are still open but short on daylight. October and November are quiet and the weather swings.
The town center or Queenstown Hill for everything on foot and the lakefront at night. Frankton is cheaper and ten minutes from both the airport and town on the bus, with the big supermarkets. Arrowtown if you want quiet evenings and do not mind driving.
The town is a 15-minute walk end to end. Orbus buses cost NZ$2.50 a ride with a Bee card (NZ$5 for the card plus a NZ$5 top-up; NZ$4 in cash) and reach the airport, Frankton and Arrowtown. Nothing public goes to Glenorchy, so day two is a rental car or a shuttle. Drive on the left, and allow longer than the map says; every viewpoint is a stop.
Bob's Peak · 120 min
The gondola opens around 9:30 a.m. and runs to the evening; Bob's Peak gives the whole lake and the Remarkables in one frame. The luge runs from 10 a.m. and a three-ride combo is about NZ$30 on top of the gondola; walkers can skip the ticket and take the Tiki Trail, about an hour from the base.
NZ$69
Queenstown Gardens · 60 min
Walk down and along the lakefront to the peninsula: the gardens are free, the frisbee golf course loops through the trees, and the path round the point gives the view back at town.
Town center · 60 min
Fergburger is the line on Shotover Street; order the Little Lamby or the Sweet Bambi and eat by the lake. The same money buys a near-identical burger at Devil Burger with no wait, or fish and chips at Erik's.
NZ$20
Steamer Wharf · 150 min
The 1912 steamship leaves Steamer Wharf a few times a day for a 90-minute crossing to Walter Peak and back; the cruise alone starts at NZ$129, with the farm tour from NZ$139 and the barbecue dinner from NZ$175. Book ahead in summer; the cheaper afternoon is a kayak rented by the hour from the lakefront.
NZ$129
Town center · 120 min
Rātā is the serious dinner in town: book a week or two ahead and order the lamb. Blue Kanu on Church Street takes walk-ins for Pacific and Asian sharing plates.
NZ$70
Lakefront · 60 min
A drink on the water at Pier or Pub on Wharf, then the lakefront benches. In summer it is still light; in winter the mountains hold the last of it.
Glenorchy Road · 75 min
Forty-five kilometers along the lake's northern arm, about 45 minutes without stops, which you will not manage. Pull-offs at Twelve Mile Delta and Bennetts Bluff are the ones to take; no Orbus runs here, so without a car book a Glenorchy shuttle the day before.
Glenorchy · 75 min
An hour's flat loop on boardwalks through the wetland with the Humboldt Mountains behind. The red boat shed on the wharf is the photograph everyone takes; take it early before the coaches.
Routeburn · 120 min
Twenty-five kilometers further up a partly gravel road. You do not need a hut booking to walk in: the Routeburn Nature Walk is a short loop, and the Flats hut is 7.5 kilometers and about two hours each way; cover up against sandflies at the parking lot.
Glenorchy · 60 min
Back in Glenorchy: pies and a real coffee at the general store, or a proper plate at the Glenorchy café next to the pub. Most things close by mid-afternoon, so eat before you head on.
NZ$25
Kinloch · 75 min
Across the Dart River bridge to the lodge at the top of the lake, about 25 minutes on gravel. Have a drink on the lawn and look back down the water; skip it if the river is high after rain.
Bob's Cove · 60 min
On the way back, 15 minutes short of town. A 30-minute loop through beech forest leads to a cove the color of a swimming pool and a lookout over the lake; swim if it is warm, though it is cold even then.
Lakefront · 90 min
Malaysian and Chinese plates on the lakefront: the roti and the fried chicken. Walk-ins most nights; an hour's wait on Saturdays in summer.
NZ$50
Arrowtown · 75 min
Twenty minutes by car or 40 on Orbus route 2 for NZ$2.50. The 1860s gold town's main street has the Lakes District Museum at one end for the story; go early, because the coaches arrive at 11.
Arrowtown · 45 min
Free, at the river end of town: the stone and mud huts of the Chinese miners who worked the tailings after the rush. Ten minutes to walk, longer to read; walk on along the Arrow River afterwards.
Arrowtown · 60 min
A miner's cottage with a garden: the sticky cinnamon bun and a salad plate. The Arrowtown Bakery on the main street does the pies if you want to eat walking.
NZ$25
Gibbston · 90 min
Fifteen minutes on through the gorge. The cellar door opens from 10 a.m. without a booking; a hosted tasting is around NZ$20 and the Classic Cave tasting in New Zealand's largest wine cave is about NZ$30, and the driver tastes last and spits.
NZ$30
Kawarau Gorge · 45 min
The original 1988 bungy, 43 meters off the old bridge, NZ$320 to jump and NZ$280 for children, open until 5 p.m. in summer and 4:30 p.m. in winter. Watching from the viewing deck is free and takes 20 minutes.
Lake Hayes · 90 min
The eight-kilometer loop round Lake Hayes is flat and takes two hours; the first half from the pavilion is enough for the reflections. The alternative is the Shotover Jet from Arthurs Point, about 25 minutes in the canyon for around NZ$170 an adult; book a slot.
Lakefront · 60 min
Back in town, the gondola ticket from day 1 covers a return trip for the last light on the Remarkables; otherwise the lakefront by the gardens faces the same way for free.
Steamer Wharf · 90 min
On Steamer Wharf: sharing plates of Southland lamb and Stewart Island fish, and a table outside if the evening is still. Walk-ins early, a booking after 7:30 p.m.
NZ$60
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
Queenstown Airport (ZQN) sits in Frankton, about 8 kilometers from the center. Orbus route 1 leaves every 15 minutes and takes 15 to 20 minutes into town for NZ$2.50 with a Bee card or NZ$10 in cash. A taxi is around NZ$50. Hire cars are at the terminal; the drive to town is ten to fifteen minutes.
About NZ$150 to NZ$250 a day per person for meals, the gondola or the steamship and buses; a rental car adds NZ$70 to NZ$120 a day plus fuel. The bungy, a Milford day or a jet boat each add NZ$170 to NZ$320 on top.
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Not for day one. Day three is easier by car, since Orbus reaches Arrowtown but not the wineries or the bungy bridge. Day two does need wheels: rent a car for the day or book a Glenorchy shuttle. You drive on the left.
Yes, once. It is about five hours each way by coach from Queenstown and a two-hour cruise, from around NZ$319, leaving before 7 a.m. Trade it for day two if you only have three days, or fly one way.
Day 3: Arrowtown's museum and shops, a long lunch and the wine cave are all under cover. The Glenorchy day is the one to move to the next clear morning; Waystop can save a rain version of day 2 for you to switch to.
Most visitors from visa-waiver countries need an NZeTA before flying, NZ$17 in the app or NZ$23 on the website, plus the NZ$100 visitor levy paid at the same time. Allow a few days for approval.
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Queenstown. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.