New Zealand
Queenstown is New Zealand’s adventure capital, a small lakeside town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, or Whakatipu, ringed by the jagged peaks of The Remarkables, Cecil Peak and Ben Lomond.
It is where commercial bungy jumping began, when AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the 43-metre jump from the Kawarau Bridge in 1988, and the river canyons, sky and slopes around town still hold the country’s best-known thrills: the Shotover Jet spinning through the canyon walls at Arthurs Point, tandem skydives with NZONE from up to 15,000 feet, and the Skyline gondola and luge above the rooftops. The town also does gentler days very well. Cruise across the lake to Walter Peak High Country Farm on the TSS Earnslaw, a vintage steamship more than a century old, meet kiwi and tuatara at Kiwi Park on Brecon Street, wander the gold-rush lanes and Chinese miners’ village of Arrowtown, or climb Queenstown Hill for the view the locals love. The great day trip is Milford Sound / Piopiotahi in Fiordland, where Mitre Peak rises 1,692 metres straight from the water. This guide picks the tickets worth booking, flags the weather and road caveats, and matches you to a hotel, from a lakefront suite on Marine Parade to a budget bed with a lake view.
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi
The fiord at the heart of Fiordland National Park, where Mitre Peak rises 1,692 metres straight out of the sea and waterfalls pour off sheer rock walls, and the classic long day trip from Queenstown by coach, car or scenic flight, finished with a sightseeing cruise out towards the Tasman Sea.
Skyline Queenstown Gondola and Luge
The gondola that lifts you from Brecon Street to Bob’s Peak in ten-seat cabins, for the classic view over Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables, with the luge, the Stratosfare buffet restaurant, guided stargazing and the trailheads for Ben Lomond at the top.
Shotover Jet
Queenstown’s original canyon jet boat ride, running on the Shotover River at Arthurs Point since 1965: about 25 minutes of skimming past rock walls at up to 90 kilometres an hour, with the famous 360-degree spins, a few minutes’ drive or a free shuttle from town.
Kawarau Bridge Bungy
The birthplace of commercial bungy jumping, where AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the 43-metre jump from the historic Kawarau Bridge on 12 April 1988, now a riverside centre with the Kawarau Swing, the Zipride, a free viewing deck and a café, about 25 minutes from town.
The fiord at the heart of Fiordland National Park, where Mitre Peak rises 1,692 metres straight out of the sea and waterfalls pour off sheer rock walls, and the classic long day trip from Queenstown by coach, car or scenic flight, finished with a sightseeing cruise out towards the Tasman Sea.
The gondola that lifts you from Brecon Street to Bob’s Peak in ten-seat cabins, for the classic view over Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables, with the luge, the Stratosfare buffet restaurant, guided stargazing and the trailheads for Ben Lomond at the top.
Queenstown’s original canyon jet boat ride, running on the Shotover River at Arthurs Point since 1965: about 25 minutes of skimming past rock walls at up to 90 kilometres an hour, with the famous 360-degree spins, a few minutes’ drive or a free shuttle from town.
The birthplace of commercial bungy jumping, where AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the 43-metre jump from the historic Kawarau Bridge on 12 April 1988, now a riverside centre with the Kawarau Swing, the Zipride, a free viewing deck and a café, about 25 minutes from town.
Tandem skydiving over Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables with NZONE, which calls itself New Zealand’s first skydive operation, from 9,000, 12,000 or 15,000 feet, with up to 60 seconds of freefall, departing from its centre at 35 Shotover Street.
A family-owned, five-acre wildlife park in native bush on Brecon Street, next to the Skyline gondola base, home to more than twenty native species including kiwi in a specially designed nocturnal house and the tuatara, with a café and a conservation focus.
The vintage steamship that has sailed Lake Wakatipu for more than a century, the oldest commercial passenger-carrying steamship in the Southern Hemisphere, cruising from central Queenstown to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a farm tour, a gourmet barbecue or high tea by the lake.
The gold-rush village near Queenstown where gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862, with miners’ cottages on tree-lined Buckingham Street, the restored Chinese miners’ settlement, the Lakes District Museum and the best autumn colour in the region, all free to wander.
The best free view in Queenstown: a steady 5.4-kilometre return climb from Belfast Terrace through pine forest and past a small tarn to the Basket of Dreams sculpture and the summit of Te Tapunui, with history panels on the way and a 360-degree panorama of the lake and peaks.
A bar carved from more than 18 tonnes of clear ice at Steamer Wharf on Beach Street, with hand-carved ice sculptures, cocktails served in glasses made of ice, mocktails for children, and warm jackets, gloves and footwear provided for your session in the cold.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Queenstown Bay lakefront
Queenstown’s most celebrated small luxury hotel, on Marine Parade at the water’s edge of Queenstown Bay, with seven Lake View and Heritage suites, a penthouse, The Gold Vault suite and nearby apartments, a lakeside bar and a Michelin Key awarded in 2026.
Rates on Expedia →Brunswick Street hillside
An alpine lodge-style boutique hotel in the MGallery collection on Brunswick Street, a short stroll above the town centre, with guest rooms and Alpine Suites looking over Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables, the Lombardi restaurant and bar, and a secluded hot tub garden.
Rates on Expedia →Earl Street lakefront
A dependable four-star hotel on the corner of Earl Street and Marine Parade, about a minute’s walk from Lake Wakatipu, the Queenstown Gardens and the shops, with Lakeside and Alpine view rooms, family rooms with two double beds and the ELEMENTS restaurant opening onto a rose garden.
Rates on Expedia →Beach Street, Steamer Wharf
A full-service hotel at 93 Beach Street, directly across the road from Steamer Wharf and the TSS Earnslaw, with many rooms opening onto balconies or courtyards with lake and mountain views, the threesixty Restaurant, the fireside Balcony Bar and free breakfast for young children.
Rates on Expedia →Lake Esplanade
A modern adults-only hostel at 88-90 Lake Esplanade, formerly YHA Queenstown Lakefront, with dorm beds that have privacy curtains, reading lights and charging points, private queen rooms, lake-view lounges and a ten-minute lakeside walk into town.
Rates on Expedia →The practical primer for a first visit to Queenstown: what to book ahead, getting around on foot, by bus and by shuttle, how many days you need, and where the gondola, the jet boat, the bungy, the lake cruise, Arrowtown and Milford Sound fit.
How to choose your base in Queenstown, from a heritage suite on Marine Parade and an alpine lodge above the lake to central four-star hotels by Steamer Wharf and the gardens, and a budget hostel on Lake Esplanade.
