New Zealand · city guide
Queenstown: the loud, lovely gateway to Fiordland
Where you fly in, eat well and get the buzz out of your system before the quiet down south.
Queenstown is where my South Island trip actually started, because it's where the plane lands and the hire car waits. It's the noisy, fun counterpoint to everything that comes after: gondolas, jet boats and a burger queue down the street, all wrapped around a lake under the Remarkables. I'll be honest though, I didn't base my Fiordland week here. I gave Queenstown a night or two for the buzz, then drove the two hours down to Te Anau and made that my base for Milford, because day-tripping the fjord from up here is the one thing I'd tell you not to do. Treat Queenstown as the warm-up, not the main event.
- Main airport gateway for the South Island and Fiordland
- Lively resort town on Lake Wakatipu, under the Remarkables
- About 2 hrs by car to Te Anau, your Milford base
Best things to do
Ride the Skyline gondola and luge
The cable car climbs to a deck high over the lake and the Remarkables, and the little luge carts down the hill are sillier and more fun than I expected. The best quick view in town.
Take the leap, or just watch, at the bungee
This is where commercial bungee was born, off the Kawarau bridge just out of town. I went to watch and got talked into it; you don't have to, the gorge and the river below are worth the stop either way.
Walk the lakefront and swim off the beach
The path along Lake Wakatipu past the gardens is free, and the water is that clear, gasping cold. A slow morning here is the easiest free day in town before you drive south.
Jet boat the canyons
A fast, spinning run down the narrow Shotover canyons, close enough to the rock walls to make you laugh. Pure adrenaline, and the most Queenstown thing you can do.
Where to stay
Getting there & around
Queenstown has the main South Island airport, so most people fly straight in, and you really do want your own car from here, the whole region is built around driving. Pick up the hire car at the airport and don't plan to be without it. For Milford Sound, don't try to day-trip it from Queenstown; it's a long way. Drive the roughly two hours down to Te Anau first and base there, then Milford is a day-drive up the Milford Road from town, about another two hours each way. Fill the tank in Te Anau before you set off, download your maps offline, and don't count on phone signal once you leave town. The Milford Road is remote and closes for avalanche and rockfall risk, so check the road status the night before.
Eat & drink
- Fergburger — The famous one, and yes the queue is real. The burgers are genuinely huge and good; go at an odd hour and it's worth it.
- Fergbaker — Next door to the burger queue, my actual budget move: a pie or a pastry for a few dollars to eat on the lakefront.
Day trips
On the map
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A few of these earn me a small cut at no extra cost to you — only ever things I'd actually book.
Frequently asked
Should I base in Queenstown or Te Anau for Milford Sound?
Te Anau, every time. Queenstown is fun for a night or two and it's where you fly in, but it's too far to day-trip Milford from comfortably. I based in Te Anau, fuelled up there, and treated the Milford Road as the main event rather than a rush.
Do I need a car in Queenstown?
Yes. You can get around the town centre on foot, but the whole South Island trip, and especially the drive down to Fiordland, really needs your own car. Pick one up at the airport when you land.