Unbeatable Day Trips from Queenstown

The flight into Queenstown exposes you to the sort of preposterous beauty unique to New Zealand. The pristine rolling green of hills and gullies, the Neverland bays of islands and inlets, they force you to think, and then actually use, words like ‘majestic’ and ‘sublime’.

And while Queenstown’s incredible lakeside and world-class skiing is intoxicating enough to keep most travellers put, venturing even half an hour out will reap massive rewards.

A morning coffee by Lake Wakatipu, an afternoon staring slack-jawed at cascading waterfalls, and a sunset over the Southern Alps beautiful enough to make you weep into your thermos of mulled wine - this is day tripping from Queenstown.

Without question one of the best day drives from Queenstown, Glenorchy, is a Lord of the Rings-worthy wonderland of towering mountains, turquoise rivers, and ancient beech forests. Sitting at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu, you’re spoiled with choices like a short hike on the Glenorchy Lagoon Walkway or gear up for the Routeburn Track if you’re feeling ambitious. Jet boating, horse trekking, and just gawking at the scenery are also valid choices.

Getting there: A 45-minute scenic drive that hugs the lake’s edge, with enough pull-over spots to make the trip twice as long if you so choose. Chat to your concierge about hiring a car or booking a day excursion with a local tour operator.

Pro tip: Paradise, baby. A serene forested area around 20 minutes drive beyond Glenorchy, an area literally named Paradise, will be recognisable to Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings fans immediately. The soft, emerald coloured hills and cloud-skimming mountains served as location spots for the films. It’s a wild feeling to step out of a minibus straight into Middle-earth.

One of the prettiest alpine towns on the South Island, Wanaka is like Queenstown’s mini-clone without the hustle. While the Wānaka area was an important crossroads for the Māori as early as the 1300s, today it’s been earmarked as a secret doomsday refuge for the super rich with billionaire Peter Thiel buying up land in the region.

You’ll hear a lot about #ThatWanakaTree on your Queenstown to Wanaka day trip, and there’s a good reason it’s one of the most photographed trees on Instragram. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, a solitary willow tree rises up from the water and it is eerie and beautiful in equal measure. Hire a kayak, stand-up paddleboard or paddle bike and explore the lake, best done early in the morning as the mist burns off.

Getting there: It’s about an hour’s drive if you have a car, or a bus operates from Athol Street Queenstown to Wanaka lakefront four times a day.

Pro tip: On dry land, the magnificent Roy’s Peak hike isn’t just one of those quintessential New Zealand hikes - it’s the range used on all those billboards that inspired you to book your trip in the first place. You’ll need transportation to the trailhead on Mt Aspiring Road and there is no drinking water on the trek so come prepared.

Over the last fifteen years, New Zealand absolutely dominated the wine industry, becoming the world's fourth most important producer of pinot noir and the go to order for a zingy, fresh sauvignon blanc.

Gibbston Valley, a breezy 25-minute drive from Queenstown, is famous for its pinot noir, but the whole Central Otago region is brimming with boutique wineries to suit your taste. Start at Gibbston Valley Winery for a cave tour and wine tasting, then sample from the five different growers on offer at Kinross Winery. Drop-hop through boutique vineyards like Te Kano Estate, Māori Point and a lush, long lunch amongst the lavender bushes at Carrick Winery.

Getting there: There are a few different tour operators that run set tours, or ask your concierge to organise transport for a self guided adventure.

Pro tip: Don’t leave without a bottle of the Death of von Tempsky Riesling by Carrick.

Te Anau is a peaceful lakeside town that doubles as the gateway to the dramatic Fiordland. It’s the ideal stop for those who want to explore the region without committing to a 12-hour day trip.

The Te Ana-au Caves are hiding a glowworm rave that's straight out of a sci-fi flick. Guided tours will show you through this luminescent underworld cave system.

Or if you, like many, are in NZ to hike, the Kepler Track isn't your grandma's nature walk; it's a 60-kilometre loop that serves up everything from serene lakeshores to rugged mountain vistas. If you're into watching birds the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary is where you can peep rare native species like the takahē.

Getting there: About two hours by car, it’s an easy, scenic drive with plenty of photo ops.

Pro tip: Chill by Lake Te Anau with a pie from Miles Better Pies. Honestly, those pies deserve their own postcode.

High on the list of best trips from Queenstown for history buffs, Arrowtown is a charming slice of life with streets that look like a movie set in the 1800s. Buckingham Street is the main drag, lined with historic miners’ cottages that now house boutique shops and cafes. Whether you're after a raincoat lined with possum fur, hand-carved pounamu jewellery, or just a good flat white, you’ll find it.

If golf's your game, the Arrowtown Golf Club offers a course set in an old glacier floor, blending natural beauty with a bit of sporting challenge.

Getting there: There are buses between Arrowtown and Queenstown all day long, or it’s an easy 20 minute self-drive along picturesque roads. No snow chains required.

Pro tip: Arrowtown is one of the only places in the world where autumn outshines summer, thanks to thousands of Douglas fir trees that light up like a golden inferno.

While the showy Milford Sound is about a four hour drive from Queenstown each way, a day trip to the less visited but equally jaw-dropping Doubtful Sound is more like a Hobbit quest. Quieter, more remote, Doubtful Sound is the deepest (421 metres) fiord in New Zealand.

It’s a wild, broody masterpiece where two layers of water hang out but refuse to mingle. The top bit has fresh water, dripping down from the mountains. Beneath that lies salty sea water and because the two refuse to mix, light barely gets through. Thanks to the wonky refraction, it’s dark enough down there for deep-sea weirdos like black coral to thrive.

Getting there: Accessible by a two hour drive to Manapouri, followed by a boat ride across Lake Manapouri and a coach over Wilmot Pass. Tours from Queenstown will handle all the logistics, so you can focus on perfecting your wistful staring-out-at-nature pose.

Pro tip: Bring a raincoat as this place gets misty, but it’s all part of the charm.

Queenstown might be the epicentre of adventure on Te Waipounamu (the South Island), but it’s also the base for some of the best day trips you’ll ever take.