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10 Awesome Things to Do in Queenstown, New Zealand

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Last updated on October 8th, 2025 at 04:12 am

If you’re traveling to Queenstown in New Zealand (and I highly recommend that you do!), then check out my suggestions for the ten best things to do.

Queenstown is located in the far south of the South Island, and deserves a place on any traveler’s bucket list. It makes the perfect jumping off point to explore the immediate area before striking out for nearby Te Anau and Milford Sound.

I started my three-week trip to New Zealand in Queenstown–and I’m very glad I did. The scenery in Queenstown and the surrounding area is drop-dead gorgeous. You’ll also find an impressive number of cool activities, and to top it off, the food (and wine!) is excellent and the people are welcoming.

For the Artsy Traveler, Queenstown and surrounding areas in New Zealand are a must-see! Here are ten awesome things to do in Queenstown that I did on my trip, and recommend you try too!

Getting to New Zealand from North America

First, a quick overview about getting to New Zealand from North America. I started my journey on the South Island and then worked my way north, leaving from Auckland three weeks later.

Since I was traveling in March (New Zealand’s Fall), my south to north itinerary made sense because the weather stayed relatively warm as I journeyed north.

The flight from Vancouver, Canada, to Auckland took fourteen hours. I managed to snag an upgrade for a few extra hundred dollars. Thank you, Air New Zealand!

Arrival in Queenstown

After landing in Auckland in the middle of a brilliant red sunrise, I retrieved my luggage, went through customs, walked briskly for ten minutes through sultry sub-tropical warmth to the domestic terminal, dropped off my luggage, went through security, and was soon air borne again for the trip to Queenstown.

I’d hoped to have time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, but the slow bustle of getting from Plane A to Plane B did not allow for any breaks.

After a short and scenic flight, I arrived in Queenstown.

I’m traveling with my daughter, Julia. She and I have a bet about when we’ll be able to check into our hotel after arriving at 10 am. I’m convinced we’ll get a room immediately. Julia scoffs at my optimism, declaring we’ll be lucky to get in by 2. The battle lines are drawn and we chose noon for the waging of a bet. I win if we got in before noon; she wins if we have to wait until after noon.

We aren’t that clear on what we’ll win but a principle is at stake. The hotel promises to email me when the room is ready. After storing our luggage, we set off to explore Queenstown.

And now, time for my top ten awesome things to do in Queenstown!

#1: Wander Around Lovely Queenstown

The first awesome thing to do in Queenstown is just wander around. You’ll find a charming, compact grid of mostly pedestrianized streets, a sweeping swathe of green lawn, wide boardwalks fronting the lake, and jet boats cheerfully bobbing at piers.

The town is the adventure capital of New Zealand, and also known as the Adrenaline Capital of the World. But your first impression will likely be of a town that is laid-back, pretty, and pleasant. Queenstown reminds me of a cross between the Canadian resort towns of Whistler and Banff with a little bit of the quaintness of Bowen Island (where I live on the west coast of Canada) thrown in.

As in Whistler and Banff, practically every shop in Queenstown is a tourist shop or a restaurant, and a lot of the people walking the streets are tourists. But the town also feels quite down home, like it is a place where people have chosen to live.

Saturday Market in Queenstown

If you’re lucky enough to be in Queenstown on a Saturday like we are, you may catch the Saturday Market. We spend a pleasant hour browsing the market stalls that sell an eclectic mix of handmade items in just about every media imaginable, from soap to hunks of iron to jade to bone to wool (lots of wool) to wood and even to jewelry made from wine bottles.

On our first day in Queenstown, the blazing sun of a late summer day warms bones aching from a northern February.

Brunch in Queenstown

You’ll find plenty of good places to eat in Queenstown. In fact, three of my top ten Queenstown experiences relate to food!

On the first morning, we settle on the Pier Restaurant overlooking the water. The food is beyond fantastic. I enjoy perfectly cooked Eggs Benedict (best I’ve ever had and that’s saying something) and Julia has French toast wrapped around warm preserves. Best of all is the proper latte that soothes away the rough edges of sixteen hours in the air and time-travel from Thursday to Saturday. Where does that extra day go?

Here are some first impression pictures of downtown Queenstown.

Deciding on a Jet Boat Ride on the Shotover River

After brunch, we decide to kick off our first day in New Zealand with a jet boat ride on the Shotover River (my #2 awesome thing to do). Julia’s boss has told her it is a must-do, but back in Vancouver, I’d demurred at the extra cost and we’d not booked a tour.

But for some reason, the moment we start strolling up and down Queenstown’s short blocks, we become seduced by the many shiny tour outlets advertising a myriad of Queenstown activities. I’ve never seen a town offer so many activities in such a cheerful, non-pushy way.

No one ever approaches us to buy a tour; no mascots patrol the streets doling out flyers with increasing desperation; no tacky advertising mars the store fronts.

But! There are plenty of photographs of smiling people zip lining, rafting, cycling, kayaking, jet boating, sky diving, paragliding, bungee jumping, and engaging in a few more hair-frizzing activities that defy description.

We wander into the slick storefront housing the front office for the world famous Shotover Jet company. Minutes later, we walk out with two tickets for the 4 pm pickup.

Well, why the heck not?

Checking In to Our Hotel

I start looking at my phone around 11:45, expecting it to vibrate with a new email at any second. But the digital numbers click to 12:00 and Julia declares herself the winner. Three minutes later, at 12:03, the email arrives—our room is ready.

Sigh.

We trudge back up the hill to our hotel—actually, a lovely walk through the edge of the Queenstown Gardens. Seconds after we check in, we succumb to soft beds and that strange nausea that kicks in after too many hours awake.

We struggle back to life around 3 pm and set off for our Shotover Jet experience.

#2: Book a Shotover Jet Boat Experience

Hands down, one of the best things I did while in Queenstown was to take the Shotover Jet Boat Experience.

We board a small minibus (Queenstown must have more minibusses per capita than anywhere else on Earth) for the short drive to the Shotover River. Once there, we don rain jackets and life jackets and pile into the bright red boat.

Apparently everyone who is anyone, from Peter Jackson to the Prince and Princess of Wales to various heads of state, has taken a spin (literally) on a Shotover Jet.

On the Shotover River

For thirty minutes, we weave up and then back down the gloriously scenic Shotover River complete with rapids and weirdly sculpted rocks. The driver carves great swooping swathes from canyon wall to canyon wall, almost touching the rocks in places, his timing impeccable.

Every so often, the driver twirls his finger in the air and then wheels the jet boat into a tight 360-degree turn. Splashes and squeals are caught on video and still cameras with the results offered for sale after the trip. A biting wind and freezing spray chase away the last vestiges of jet lag, leaving us ravenous for dinner.

Should You Take the Shotover Jet Experience?

I wholeheartedly recommend the 35-minute Shotover Jet experience. Yes, it’s pricey (all the activities and tours in Queenstown are pricey). However, the Shotover Jet company is the only jet boat company with exclusive rights to roar through sections of the Shotover River that resemble swirling stacks of beige-striped fudge.

The only drawback is that cameras are not allowed on the boat, for good reason as it turns out. We got soaked during the ride. The company takes pictures and offers them for sale. However, the cost for three photos is too rich for me, so no record exists of our ride on that sunny day in late February.

Here are links to the Shotover Jet Experience through GetYourGuide.

#3: Go on a Nomad Safari

On our first full day in New Zealand, sparkling warmth and a high UV Index have replaced the wild winds of the day before.

We are booked to go on the Nomad Safari of the Scenes—a four-hour jeep tour of the Wakatipu Basin, the area surrounding Queenstown. The tour is to also include many of the locations around Queenstown used during the filming of Lord of the Rings.

You can choose from a wide variety of tours offered by Nomad Safaris. Check their website for more information.

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We are picked up in a jeep sporting a license plate with the word Hobbit on it. This bodes well for Julia, a dedicated Tolkien fan. For the next four hours we, along with a couple from Iowa and a woman from Australia, enjoy a non-stop commentary from the very entertaining and enthusiastic guide, a half-Maori, half-English guy called Soap who really knows his stuff.

He even played an Uruk-hai in the first Lord of the Rings movie when he was a teenager. He described the weeks of filming in the rain for the Helms Deep battle scene. Apparently when it wasn’t raining, a guy was standing by to spray the extras with water. I gather the experience was not exactly pleasant.

Windy Point

We drive first up to Windy Point high above Queenstown and look down on Deer Park Heights where many scenes from the movies were filmed. We then drive to another location high above the river that doubled as the Anduin River and Pillars of the King (minus the pillars).

The location also overlooks the very first bungee jumping operation in the world. Apparently, New Zealanders invented bungee jumping. For a fee, you can throw yourself off the bridge to the delight of bus loads of tourists (and us high on a hill above).

Arrowtown

The jeep stops for a quick look at quaint Arrowtown, a gold rush town, before joyriding along a shallow river. Soap maneuvers the jeep in and out of the river and across rocks and sandbanks with much jolting and twisting (all good!).

We have a snack by the river and are introduced to the notorious New Zealand sand flies.

After ten days, the bites I sustained on that first day were still visible and still itchy, along with the forty-odd sand fly bites I got since.

Unlike Australia where every second critter will kill you, New Zealand does not have any dangerous animals. The sand flies, however, are a worthy adversary. They may not kill you, but they will make life miserable for many, many days.

Skipper’s Canyon

The morning ends with a hair-raising drive through Skipper’s Canyon on a single-track gravel road that is so steep and so dangerous that rental cars are prohibited. I can see why. You could not pay me to drive there although I am grateful to be driven. The views are stunning.

#4: Sample a Fergberger

The Fergberger is a Queenstown institution that has become so popular that the city was obliged to widen the sidewalk in front of the restaurant to accommodate the long lines of anxious burger aficionados.

I don’t usually get dewy-eyed over a hamburger, but I must say that my classic Fergberger with blue cheese is the best burger I’ve tasted, like, ever. To save the sensibilities of my vegetarian readers, I won’t go into detail, but if you are ever in Queenstown and want a burger fix, go to Fergberger and wait in line. Just do it.

A Fergberger is a must-eat in Queenstown

Jet lag hits around 3 pm so we return to the hotel for wee naps before venturing out again—this time to The Winery and from there up Bob’s Peak.

#5: Sample Wines at The Winery

Our guide on the Nomad Safaris mentioned the Winery—a wine bar in town where up to ninety wines can be sampled. Well, that sounds like my kind of place. Comfy chairs draped with woolen shawls cluster around small tables designed for holding wine glasses and cheese plates.

I am given a chip card and directed to the various walls of wine bottles to sample. The wines are organized by grape type—Sauvignon blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and so on.

Sampling the Wines

I start on the Sauvignon blanc wall, read the descriptions of about ten Sauvignon blancs available for sampling, check out the prices for tasting either a half glass or a full glass, and then make my choice. Fortunately, the attendant tells me what to try first. I insert my card, am informed of the cost, press the button, hold my glass under the spout, and voila! The wine is crisp, clean, and fruity. I am instantly hooked.

We order a cheese plate and are presented with a platter the size of a door mat. I do not exaggerate. There is enough cheese and dips to feed all the hobbits in Hobbiton with some left over for the elves. We set to work but are soon defeated, particularly since we are to go up the gondola for a buffet dinner in less than an hour.

But back to the wine. I sample five wines in total, all of which are tasty and reasonably priced. I also chat with two women from Toronto. One of them is a retired teacher so I tell them I was also a teacher and from there the conversation progresses and I end up telling her about my novels.

I don’t mean to self-promote, honestly, but the retired teacher asks for my card and so what could I do? It just happened that my purse contains a sheaf of bookmarks showing my book covers.

The nice people at The Winery package up all the leftover cheese and crackers, and we set off for Bob’s Peak.

#6: Go Up Skyline Queenstown

The gondola ride to Skyline Queenstown at the top of Bob’s Peak high above Queenstown is reputed to be one of the world’s steepest. Riding small gondolas up near-vertical slashes through the trees is always a slightly fraught experience but fortunately the jaw-dropping scenery is enough of a distraction to keep the fear at bay.

Skyline Queenstown offers a variety of activities. When I visited, there were walking tracks, two luge tracks, a large gift shop, and a dining room. Oh, and the view over Queenstown and Lake Watakipu!

While waiting for our 8:15 buffet seating, we wander around taking pictures and then join the throngs of mostly tour bus groups in the waiting area. The buffet is extensive and, like all buffets, kind of overkill. But the view is out of this world.

The ride back down the skyline gondola and brisk walk “home” confirms our positive impression of Queenstown.

#7: Drive to Te Anau

The next morning, we bid a fond, temporary farewell to Queenstown and pick up a car to drive from Queenstown to Te Anau where we’ll spend one night before returning for a final night in Queenstown before heading north.

Te Anau, the gateway to Milford Sound, is a bit out of the way, so going there for an overnight stop and then returning to Queenstown makes geographical sense.

As someone accustomed to driving on the right, I am feeling a bit of trepidation as I inch the rental car out to the road. Although I’ve driven quite a bit in the United Kingdom, there is no getting away from the frisson of terror that gets into the car with me as I prepare to make my first right-hand turn—the “big” turn.

En Route to Te Anau

In a surprisingly short time, I start feeling comfortable driving on the left and am soon enjoying the drive to Te Anau. The first part of the journey is alongside Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand’s third largest lake, as every guide we’ve had so far hastened to tell us.

The Legend of Lake Wakatipu

The lake rises and falls about ten centimeters every hour. This interesting natural phenomena is attributed to the beating of the heart of an ogre/giant/bad guy. The Maori legend is long and involved, but the upshot is that an ogre stole a princess and was burned to death. The shape of the lake is his writhing body and the rising and falling of the water is the legacy of the one part of his anatomy that did not burn—his heart. It’s a much more compelling story than the geological explanation.

The drive to Te Anau is predictably spectacular. The landscape reminds me of the Okanagan Valley in central British Columbia, but also not. That seems to be the way with the landscape of the South Island. Its mountains, lakes, and trees are just different enough from what I see at home. They are less wild and yet more untouched.

Pretty much the only evidence of human influence on the landscape we drive through are the fields full of sheep. Lots and lots of sheep. Every so often we also pass enclosures of grazing deer and alpacas. It is storybook land with a slightly menacing fantasy twist. Trees are thickly leaved and exotic-looking with palm-like fronds poking out every so often to remind us that we are in a warmer land than where we came from.

In Te Anau, we enjoy a picnic lunch of cheese and crackers from The Winery on the shores of Lake Te Anau, which is New Zealand’s second largest and deepest lake. We check into our hotel and then set off a few hours later for the Glowworm Caves Experience.

#8: Go on a Glowworm Caves Experience

The experience begins with a stunning boat ride across Lake Te Anau to a cave system that we explore in groups of ten. The highlight is a 15-minute ride in a small boat—rather like Pirates of the Caribbean—in total darkness. Slippery, dark, wet, and roaring are the words that come to mind.

The guide pullsus along on a chain (I wouldn’t want his job but he seems cheery enough) through a cave populated by thousands of tiny glow worms. The glow worms don’t like the sound of human voices so we are told to be silent for the duration of our time on the little boat.

Up above, like a star-bangled sky, glow tiny points of light. Each one is the end of a glow worm that hangs from the cave ceiling waiting to catch passing insects. The experience is restful, enchanting even. I feel like Wendy flying to Neverland.

Here’s a Glow Worms Cave experience offered through GetYourGuide:

Dinner is pizza and pasta at a cheap and lively place in Te Anau before yet another early night before a full-day trip to Milford Sound the next day.

#9: Take the Milford Sound Cruise

Ever since I started planning my New Zealand trip, I fretted off and on about the Milford Sound Cruise. The day-long bus tour and cruise cost a fair penny and there is always the chance—quite a good one I gather—that we’ll see little more than rain-streaked windows and misty mountains. I see both of those in stereo from my office window back home.

Is it worth the risk? Yes! With its sheer cliffs and thundering waterfalls, Milford Sound is beautiful in all weathers, and the experience of cruising its narrow length out to the ocean is bucket-list-worthy.

That said, I am lucky that our Milford Sound experience takes place in picture-perfect weather—shockingly blue skies, pointy peaks and all.

We even see dolphins.

From Te Anau to Milford Sound

A tour bus pics us up at 7:30 am in front of our Te Anau hotel and, after collecting assorted visitors around the town, sets off on the two-hour drive to Milford Sound. Commentary from both the driver and a guide provide just the right supplement to the rugged scenery.

The mountains and lakes and skies are almost like British Columbia, but then again, not really. The trees are different; the vegetation crusting the hills is different; the crystal bright quality of the light is different.

We are home and yet not home.

The trip to Milford Sound takes us up and over a mountain pass and back down to sea level. We are then herded onto the boat that will take us on our 2.5 hour cruise of the Sound.

Every minute of the time on the water is filled with immeasurable wonder. I’ve taken a few boat trips in my time—I live on an island, after all—but the cruise on Milford Sound on a sharp, sunny day at the end of February will remain an all-time high point.

The boat sails past waterfalls that tumble down streaked cliffs to throw rainbows into the ocean.

Seals bask on rocks, and at the mouth of the sound, several dozen dolphins leap and swim around the boat.

The boat sails right to the entrance of the sound and into the Tasman Sea. The wind of the open ocean slams into the boat and brightens cheeks already red from the bright New Zealand sun.

Here’s a Milford Sound tour and cruise that goes from Te Anau and is offered through GetYourGuide:

Driving Back from Milford Sound

On the drive back from Milford Sound, the bus makes several stops so people can take photographs. We check out a canyon with rock walls corkscrewed into fantastic shapes, gaze out over stunning mountain vistas, and even stop to fill water bottles at a mountain stream.

I was always taught never to drink water directly from a stream. As a result, it is shocking in a good way to dip my plastic bottle into the rushing stream and chug back water so pure and cold that it redefines what water should taste like.

We arrive in Te Anau around 4 pm and pile into the car for the two-hour drive back to Queenstown. The dramatic light of late afternoon throws the surrounding mountains into high relief. This country really is ridiculously scenic.

#10: Take the Dart River Jet Boat Experience

On the morning of our fourth day in New Zealand, we board yet another bus, this time for a tour from Queenstown that takes us to Glenorchy and the Dart River for our Dart River Wilderness Jet Boat Experience.

The road to Glenorchy snakes alongside the east bank of Lake Wakatipu. Great views of the lake and mountains set us up for our half-day excursion. First stop is the boat launch at the mouth of the Dart River’s massive estuary.

On the Dart River

The young driver revs up the boat and we are off up the river. Every so often, the driver pulls the boat into 360-degree turns. Thankfully, the quantity of spray is less than on the Shotover River trip. We are allowed to keep our cameras out.

The clouds crowd into the valley and the wind whips up. We fly across the shallow waters, twisting and turning around sandbanks and roaring past the location where Isengard in the Lord of the Rings was filmed.

We penetrate a fair way up the river to stop in a magical inlet of deep turquoise water and sculpted rocks. The driver gives each of us a small piece of the local jade that is still gathered from the river by the Maori and carved into jewelry.

I plan to buy a piece of jade in Hokitika on the west coast where I’ve been told many of the workshops are located.

We roar back down the estuary, reaching speeds of 90 kilometers an hour. The sharp, cold wind exhilarates corners of my brain I’ve allowed to become far too preoccupied with work. One of the great joys of travel is the opportunity to wipe away cares and live in the present. Wind, sun, and spray command total attention.

Hike through Mount Aspiring National Park

After disembarking, we board the bus and are driven a short way to a track leading into the Mount Aspiring National Park. The guide takes us for a half-hour nature walk through groves of giant beech trees—except they aren’t really beech trees; the settlers just called them that.

Even I recognize the forest as the location where poor old Sean Bean as Boromir in the first Lord of the Rings movie was set upon by orcs and of course killed. Following the walk, we are taken into Paradise Valley where numerous movies have been shot over the years. The clouds lift as if on cue and we are treated to the full panorama of snow-clad mountains.

After arriving back in Queenstown, we ravenously indulge in our second Fergbergers. With a tight itinerary to see all of New Zealand in three weeks, we then head out on the road to Wanaka.

Staying in Queenstown and Te Anau

We stayed in Queenstown for three nights and Te Anau for one night, which was almost enough time to explore the area. If you have more time, consider spending at least a week. You will not run out of things to do.

Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s premier destinations, and for good reason.

In Queenstown, we stayed at the Copthorne Lakefront  Hotel. Our lakeview room was comfortable and the view gorgeous. Also, the walk to Queenstown was just long enough to help mitigate the effects of Queenstown’s great restaurants.

In Te Anau, we stayed at the Distinction Luxmore Hotel which was well-situated in the center of town and an easy walk to the scenic lakeside. 

Here are some more accommodation options in Queenstown:

Conclusion

Have you visited Queenstown and/or Te Anau and Milford Sound? Share your recommendations and experiences in the Comments below.