Why visit Queenstown?

For a lake and a wall of mountains you can reach on a direct flight from Australia or Auckland, with skiing in winter and walking and wine in summer. It is the easiest way into the high country of the South Island and a good base for the fiords. The adventure sports are there for those who want them, and easy to leave alone.

Is Queenstown worth it if you don't do adventure sports?

Yes. Most of what makes it worth the trip has nothing to do with a harness. Lake Wakatipu, the road to Glenorchy, the pinot noir at Gibbston and the old mining town at Arrowtown fill several days without anyone leaving the ground, and a hotel above the town keeps the noise at a distance.

How many days do you need in Queenstown?

Four or five, and more if you ski. That allows one for the town and the lake, one for Arrowtown and Gibbston, one for Glenorchy and one for Milford Sound, with a spare in case the weather closes the road or grounds the flight. Mountain weather moves fast here, so a stay with some slack in it is the better plan.

Can you visit Milford Sound from Queenstown in a day?

Yes, though it is a long one. The road takes the best part of four hours each way, so most day trips leave early and come back in the evening. A small plane does it in under an hour, with the fiord seen from above and a boat on the water, but flights depend on the weather, so keep the day open.

Where do you ski near Queenstown?

Four main fields serve the area. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are the closest, each well under an hour by road from town. Cardrona and Treble Cone lie further off, nearer Wanaka, and take an hour or more. The season runs from about June into October, and most hotels can arrange transport up the mountain.

Boutique Hotels in Queenstown, New Zealand

Where to stay in Queenstown

The choice is between being in the middle of it and being above it. In the centre, on Hellenstein Street, The Carlin is the work of Kevin Carlin, a Californian chef who cooked on tour for Van Halen and Sting, retired to Queenstown and built a hotel in place of retirement. There are eight suites of one to three bedrooms, and the owner, a concert pianist as well, has been known to sit down at the piano during dinner at Oro, the restaurant.

Five minutes by car along the lake, at Sunshine Bay, the streets go quiet and steep. Azur Lodge has nine self-contained villas spread over the hillside, timber-panelled with fireplaces, and from July to September you may wake to snow on the balcony. Members book at rates we hold for the Club. Ask for one of the upper villas, which are the easier walk to and from the main lodge.

How to spend the days

Give the town its day, and cross the lake on the TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamer still at work. Then get out of it. Arrowtown, where the gold was, keeps its old main street, and the vines at Gibbston grow the pinot noir that Central Otago is known for. The road along the lake to Glenorchy takes about 45 minutes and ends at the head of Wakatipu, where the country stood in for Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings. It is a better day than most you can buy in town.

When to go, and how to get there

Snow reaches the hills from about July to September. December to February brings long light evenings and the walking season, and from March to May the crowds thin and the trees around Arrowtown turn. The town is busy all year, so book ahead for both peaks. Queenstown Airport takes flights from Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney, more of them in the ski season and in summer, as well as from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Ask for a window, since the approach runs between the mountains.