Ah New Zealand, the most beautiful country in the world! My last International trip pre-pandemic was a summer road trip around the South Island, so it was a dream come true to head back to Queenstown in 2022.
This time, we visited in August and got to experience the snow: skiing, snowboarding and eating our way through the adventure capital.
Check out my recommendations below of what to do and eat in Queenstown.
Watch the vlog here:
Things to do in Queenstown in Winter
Skiing, snowboarding and yoonering(!?)
Queenstown is the hub of winter sports and home to some of the best slopes in the world. As this was a snow trip, we spent three days on the slopes. Even factoring in flights and accomodation, this worked out cheaper than going somewhere like Perisher in Australia (and the snow was better).
There were lots of places to hire gear in town. We bought second hand pants and jackets with us, then hired boots, helmets and skis/snowboards from Quest and Outside Sports.
There’s a few ways to get up the mountain each morning:
- Have a hire car and either drive yourself or get someone to drive you up – note that you’ll need to put chains on the car which can be difficult if you’ve never done it before.
- Take the public bus. This is a good option to get back down, but unless you’re lined up an hour before the first bus, you’ll be waiting a long time and potentially not make it up.
- Book a private hotel bus (same company as the public bus). This is a little pricer that the public bus but well worth it for peace of mind. Unfortunately this option books out well in advance, so we only got to use it one day.
Lessons from my first time skiing
- If you have wide feet and/or calves, ski boots will be uncomfortable. Be mentally prepared for this, bring your own boots or do what I did and snowboard instead because the boots are comfier.
- A full day of lessons can be tiring. Do a couple of morning class, then hang out with your friends in the afternoon.
- Don’t listen to people who say snowboarding is harder than skiing. Yes, it’s hard but if it’s what you want to do, you’ll enjoy it regardless!
Overall, it was an incredible experience and one I’d love to do again. I personally only went up the mountain on day 1 for a ski lesson at Coronet Peak and day 3 for a snowboarding lesson at The Remarkables. On the second day everyone else hit the slopes at The Remarkables.
So what the heck is a Yooner? Well, my friend Syan decided to have a break from skiing in favour of a yooner lesson. A yooner is like a trike with a ski foot instead of wheels. A very fun time. We hired one on the final day and all had a blast trying it out – it’s much harder than it looks! Perfect for the kids or kids at heart.
Skyline Queenstown: Gondola & Luge
Not interested in winter sports? There’s more to explore in Queenstown of the slopes. The best view of Queenstown can be found up the Skyline. A return gondola ride is $46pp and can be purchased either online or in-person when you go up.
On the second day, when everyone was skiing, I took myself on a solo adventure in town and went up the Skyline. I spent hours admiring the snowcapped mountains and watching people whiz by on the luge.
A few days later, the four of us went up together for some luge rides. This is a very fun activity, especially in a group. It’s like a little go kart toboggan that weaves down the mountain – a must do!
Walk around town
Set on gorgeous Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is a sight in itself. My favourite thing to do in Queenstown is sit on the beach to eat lunch with the ducks and watch the boats glide around.
There is are great walking track around the Lake and through Queenstown Gardens – a relaxing way to spend a few hours.
Eat some good food
After burning so much energy on the slopes, we were all very hungry. This meant we tried lots of different places.
For dinner and drinks, head to Pub on the Wharf for an affordable pub feed, El Camino or Margo’s for Mexican and margaritas or Winnies for pizza and a boogie.
When in Queenstown you can’t miss the infamous Fergburger – the original burger is a banger. Next door at Fergbaker, try the Ferg Steak Pie, cream donut and their excellent coffee.
Top it all off with freshly baked, warm cookies and an ice-cream shake from Cookie Time. If that’s not enough, the chocolate covered ice cream at Patagonia Chocolates is drool-worthy.
Day trips
If you’ve got a car, there are many day trips you can take from Queenstown.
Forty minutes north-west you’ll find Glenorchy. This is a beautiful scenic drive along Lake Wakatipu leading to the quaint town with the famous red hut. Visit Glenorchy for mountain views, the iconic hut and great photo ops. It was really exciting coming back here in winter to see how different it looks with snow on the mountains.
After admiring Glenorchy, continue north towards Diamond Lake to be rewarded with incredible views.
Twenty minutes in the other direction of Queenstown is the historic Arrowtown. While we didn’t make it on this trip, we spent half a day here in 2020 admiring the old buildings and walking around Lake Arrow.
So there you have it: the best things to do and eat in Queenstown New Zealand. As I write this, I’m actually back in the South Island for a solo road trip, so stay tuned for my updated recommendations!
I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it gave you some inspiration for your next New Zealand trip. You can follow my adventures on Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube.
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