Queenstown, located on the South Island of New Zealand, is famous for its picture-perfect scenery, dramatic Southern Alps, and renowned for adventure sports. In October, a couple of girlfriends and I went on a Girls’ Weekend Getaway looking for a destination where relaxation would meet some adventure and Queenstown, New Zealand, was the perfect destination for that.
Queenstown has something for everyone.
Not only is it absolutely stunning, (seriously the scenery in Queenstown doesn’t look real because it’s so stunning), but there’s plenty of adventure to be had with bungee jumping, speed boat rides, hiking, parasailing, mountain biking, and skiing, along with plenty of opportunities for relaxing with countless fabulous restaurants, spas, peaceful walks, shops, and so much more.
Queenstown is definitely one of my favorite places I’ve traveled to; and, if you’re looking to travel to the area, I highly recommend checking out the following.
Where to Stay
The Park Residence
Located in Arthur’s Point, a 10-minute drive outside of Queenstown Town Center, The Park Residence offers a brand-new, modern and luxurious retreat perfect for families or friends traveling to Queenstown. The apartments offer absolutely stunning views of the Shotover River and the New Zealand mountains. We stayed in the two-bedroom apartment at The Park Residence which was more than enough space with two gorgeous king-size beds, modern furnishings, and luxurious touches like a fireplace, balcony, and access to The Spa at Nugget Point.
You’ll be more than comfortable at The Park Residence with the full-size kitchen, spacious floorplan and daily housekeeping.
To check out my review of The Park Residence and Spa at Nugget Point click here.
Holiday Inn Queenstown
The Holiday Inn Queenstown is located ten minutes outside of Queenstown Town Center as well but in the direction of the Queenstown Airport and not Arthur’s Point. Although the Holiday Inn wasn’t nearly as spacious at The Park Residence, it did have an absolutely fabulous view and our stay also included the buffet breakfast which was, actually, really delicious. Overall, I was pretty impressed with our stay here.
The Holiday Inn also has a shuttle service available to bring you into Queenstown Town Center – but with limited times so advance bookings are essential. We only stayed at the Holiday Inn for our last night, but it’s definitely a great option, especially if you’re looking for comfort, at an affordable price.
What to Do
Queenstown Skyline Gondola
It’s no secret that Queenstown is incredibly gorgeous.
To get some of the best views of Queenstown, the Queenstown Skyline Gondola is an absolutely must.
Our Wandering Mind was lucky enough to partner with Skyline Queenstown to experience the picture-perfect gondola ride and Luge Car Rides.
Located in the center of Queenstown, the Skyline Queenstown is a perfect activity that anyone, of any age, is sure to love. After stopping for breakfast at Bespoke Kitchen, about a five-minute walk from Skyline Queenstown, we headed to the Gondola office to check-in for our booking.
You can either purchase tickets online ahead of time or at the office and select different packages depending on what you want to do for the day. We received a return Gondola ride along with 3 Luge Car Rides which was the perfect experience.
With the Gondola Ride, you’re treated to the most amazing views of Queenstown’s picture-perfect scenery. The Skyline Gondola is the steepest cable car lift in the Southern Hemisphere and takes you up 450 metres or about nearly 1500 feet! On the ride up, you’ll see spectacular views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.
At the top of the Gondola, there’s the Skyline Queenstown venue that has multiple restaurants, gift shops, lookout points and hiking trails. Here you’re able to have a coffee or lunch with the most amazing views of Queenstown and it’s only accessible from the Gondola. At the lookout, you’ll take in breathtaking 220-degree panorama views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter and Cecil Peak and Queenstown.
Outside the venue is where you’ll find the chair lift to reach the Luge Car rides. The Luge Car Rides were, actually, my favorite part of the Skyline Queenstown experience and are definitely something you should add on to your gondola experience.
When you arrive at the Luge Car track, one of the staff members will give you a mini-lesson on how to move, steer and stop your Luge Car . After completing the easier track for the first go-around, you’ll graduate and be able to try out the second track that features a lot more winds and dips. Once I got the hang of it, it was so much fun and drivers of any age would enjoy. 
The track is also set up where you get the most beautiful views of Queenstown. Photos are taken at both the gondola and the Luge Car rides to perfectly capture your Skyline Queenstown memories.
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is known as being the “8th wonder of the world” and once you experience it for yourself, you’ll understand why.
Milford Sound is definitely a must when visiting New Zealand and luckily there are a lot of tour options to see one of New Zealand’s most stunning natural attractions leaving right from Queenstown. We partnered with Altitude Tours for their BBQ Coach and Cruise Milford Sound tour which was absolutely incredible and such a well-run tour.
I have a complete post of our review and our full-day experience on Our Wandering Mind, which you can check out here.
I highly recommend not only visiting Milford Sound but visiting with Altitude Tours. You’ll be guaranteed to have an amazing day.
Queenstown Famous Outdoor Hot Tubs
If you’re looking to spend the afternoon relaxing or looking to take advantage of the famous Queenstown Outdoor Hot Tubs, The Spa at Nugget Point is the perfect destination for you. With multiple treatments available, you can relax in the Roman-style spa or enjoy an hour reservation in the outdoor hot tub overlooking the Shotover River. You’re guaranteed to feel incredibly relaxed after a trip to The Spa at Nugget Point.
You can check out more of The Spa at Nugget Point in my Girls’ Getaway Retreat to The Park Residence and The Spa at Nugget Point post.
Shopping
Queenstown Town Centre is full of boutiques and some larger franchise shops as well. There are tons of traditional souvenir shops, but I prefer boutique-style souvenir shops.
At these shops, you’ll find really unique, nice-quality souvenirs that you’ll also get tons of use out of like New Zealand wool gloves, sweaters and a plethora of other knickknacks. With Queenstown being a ski village or a destination for a lot of adventure, you’ll also find lots of athletic shops like Katmandu, Lululemon, North Face and other similar stores. So, if you’ve forgotten to pack some warmer clothes, you definitely won’t have a problem finding some at the Queenstown Mall shops.
Queenstown Garden Walk
It’s no secret that Queenstown is beyond beautiful, so what better way to take in the incredible views than going on a relaxing garden walk? Located just by the shops, you can enjoy a 25-minute walk surrounded by the gorgeous lake and mountains. There a few places to rest, perfect stops for picnics, a rope swing and plenty of photo opportunities. Especially if you’re able to pick up some takeaway, I highly recommend walking around the Garden and eating lunch at one of the many of the rest locations.
Happy Hour
It seems like nearly everywhere in Queenstown has a daily Happy Hour special! Not only will you find Happy Hour specials from 4-6 pm daily, but multiple places had extended Happy Hours from 8-11 pm each night as well. While strolling through the town, I recommend checking out the chalkboard signs out on the street and see what each restaurant offers for Happy Hour specials – you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.
We enjoyed Happy Hour one night at 1876 for $5 mixed drinks and $10 cocktail jars and another afternoon at Little Blackwood for $8 glasses of wine. If you’re looking to get a few drinks, you can definitely find some amazing deals every day at the majority of the restaurants in Queenstown.
Where to Eat
Fergburger
The last time my family and I were in Queenstown, we noticed a huge line outside of Fergburger and because of that, we didn’t try it for ourselves. This trip, however, we made sure to try the world-famous Ferburgers and I’m so glad we did!
Fergburgers has a reputation for making the best burgers in the world.
The line may be long, but the wait is definitely worth it. We went after typical lunch hours so we only had about a ten-minute wait which wasn’t bad at all. The burgers are huge and very reasonably priced at about $15 NZ. They have a wide range of different burgers to choose from, but I opted for the classic BBQ-style burger. The fries at Fergburger were also delicious but, since the burgers were so big, we didn’t really get to eat many of the fries since we filled up on the burger.
Needless to say, Fergburger is definitely a must when visiting Queenstown.
Patagonia Chocolates
If you’re looking for something sweet, Patagonia Chocolates is a must. We picked up an ice cream cone from Patagonia one afternoon and it was delicious. After testing out a few different flavors, I opted for the Mascarpone and White Chocolate and Hazelnut ice cream drizzled with chocolate on top. The ice cream was amazing but the chocolate on top is really what sold it for me.
After sampling on the chocolate drizzle on top of my ice cream, I can only imagine how delicious their actual bars of chocolate are!
Definitely do yourself a favor and stop for some dessert at Patagonia Chocolates!
Halo Forbidden Bite
If you’re looking for a typical cafe lunch, head over to Halo Forbidden Bite for a delicious meal. Halo offers vegan days where everything on the menu is vegan. Don’t worry if you’re not vegan because they have plenty of non-vegan options to choose from including chicken burgers, fish burgers, salmon, and delicious salads.
I enjoyed a fish burger and fries which was delicious and I highly recommend.
If you’re heading to the Queenstown Skyline, Bespoke Kitchen is the perfect place to stop to grab a bite to eat before. We went our first morning in Queenstown and, judging from the crowds, it’s definitely a very popular place to eat. Although it was very busy, it was definitely worth it with their wide selection of delicious and unique dishes perfect for breakfast, lunch or brunch!
I would definitely recommend checking out their daily specials when we were there, everything sounded absolutely amazing.
How to Get Around
Airport Shuttle
Especially with not having cell service when arriving in New Zealand, we wanted to have our airport shuttle pre-booked so we wouldn’t have to stress about being stranded at the airport. Obviously there are plenty of taxi options, but we felt better knowing we had something pre-booked. We opted for Super Shuttle which with 3 of us in the booking only came to a total of $30 or $10 per person.
Comparatively speaking, $10 per person was definitely way more reasonable than some of the other prices we saw. So, if you’re traveling with others, I would definitely recommend pre-booking your shuttle with Super Shuttle.
Hotel Shuttle
Another great option for getting around Queenstown is to look for hotels that offer a complimentary shuttle to and from Queenstown Town Centre, especially if you’re a few minutes outside of the Town Centre like we were at The Holiday Inn Queenstown. If your hotel has a free shuttle bus, it’s a great way to stay a little bit outside of Queenstown and save money, while still having the convenience of getting into town quickly and for free.
Uber
There is Uber available in Queenstown, but they do have specific restrictions on where Uber drivers can and cannot pick people up. We used Uber a few times to get around and get to our accommodations at The Park Residence, but unfortunately, you cannot use Uber to get to the airport, so you’ll have to arrange a Taxi at your hotel or an Airport Shuttle if you’re needing a ride.
Taxi
As Uber is not as popular and is heavily regulated in Queenstown, taxis are definitely a much more popular and feasible way to travel around. Unfortunately, we found it a little difficult to order a taxi without a phone number as we were just using WIFI when in Queenstown, so it’d be best to use your hotel phone or have your accommodations call you one.
Flying to Queenstown
We flew with Jetstar from Sydney. I’ve flown with Jetstar many times like to Launceston, Tasmania, and to Whitsundays as they normally have great deals many times throughout the year. I always like to set up price alerts for trips I’m looking at planning and it was great that I did because flights from Sydney to Queenstown round trip were around $400 AUD per person around the time of year we were looking. However, I got a great deal and was able to grab them for around $250 round trip.
Visas
We were definitely shocked when, after we arrived at Sydney International Airport and were ready to check-in, we discovered that we needed a New Zealand visa to travel to Queenstown. I think of myself as someone who is really prepared when it comes to traveling, but after just traveling to New Zealand earlier in the year and not needing a visa due to having a return flight and staying in the country for less than three months, I didn’t think to check if anything had changed with visas.
That was a mistake.
Effective October 1, 2019, the law changed and, unless you’re an Australian Citizen or New Zealand Citizen, you need to have a visa to visit New Zealand— even for a layover. Luckily, you can easily apply for a New Zealand visitor visa on their app. My friends got approved within a couple of minutes, however, mine took 3 days to get approved (while I was already in New Zealand). The representative at the Jetstar counter was nice enough to call immigration directly before the flight as my visa was still pending and they gave me the go-ahead to board the plane. If not, it could have been a very devastating trip, so word to the wise, so definitely apply for your visa ahead of time!
I hope you found this Queenstown Travel Guide helpful and gained some inspiration for planning your Queenstown Adventure! Queenstown is definitely one of my favorite places that I’ve traveled to and I highly recommend you add it to your personal bucket list.
If you’re looking to travel to Queenstown, definitely check out my other blog posts below:
Exploring Milford Sound with Altitude Tours
The Park Residence & The Spa at Nugget Point – Queenstown Girls’ Getaway
