The South Island’s two most iconic mountain resort towns are only an hour apart over the winding Crown Range. This post will help you choose which one to stay in and whether you should visit the other one on a day trip or not.
Queenstown VS Wānaka
Queenstown, by the shores of Lake Wakatipu, is the heavyweight of the South Island travel industry. It has an international airport and dozens of big hotels and resorts. The streets are busy with traffic and pedestrians and the town centre has a very “I could be anywhere in the world right now” international feel.
Wānaka is smaller than Queenstown and still retains a bit of that old school Kiwi small-town atmosphere. It’s often busy and crowded with tourists too though and will continue to mirror Queenstown’s seemingly exponential growth.
READ MORE: Queenstown Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Your Trip
The Towns
Queenstown and Wānaka both sit on the shores of stunning lakes surrounded by peaks of the Southern Alps. In both you can grab some takeaways or a coffee and sit on the beach enjoying the beautiful views. You can also do walks around the lakes and longer hikes / scenic drives nearby.
Queenstown is larger and feels more like a city. It has better nightlife, more eating options and a huge range of hotels. Wānaka has most of what Queenstown has just on a smaller scale.
READ MORE: Wānaka Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Your Trip
Nature
You can’t go wrong with either Queenstown or Wānaka if you’re looking to immerse yourself in the best of what the Southern Alps has to offer. You can head out on either lake for a scenic boat ride, do some of the best day hikes in New Zealand or explore by car — pretty much anywhere you go from Queenstown and Wānaka will be full of beautiful roadside views and lots of interesting places to stop.
If your main activity will be hiking and you won’t have your own transport I’d suggest focusing on Queenstown. There are two awesome hikes that start in town (Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill) and you can also bus to Arrowtown and do some walks there. In Wānaka, the best walks (Roys Peak, Isthmus Peak and Rocky Mountain) are all a drive away.
READ MORE: 14 of the Best Walks in Queenstown | 10 of the Best Walks in Wānaka
Eating and Sleeping
I can’t really separate the two on this one, although Queenstown obviously has more accommodation options and more places to eat. If you can’t decide which town to stay in maybe check out the accommodation options and see what suits.
Make sure to take into account the location of the hotel — if you’re keen to try out some nightlife try and stay close to the town centre as possible. There are heaps of great food options in both towns — unless you’re staying for weeks you’ll never try them all.
Should You Visit Both Queenstown and Wānaka?
Yes, if you have time! It doesn’t take too long to drive between the two and you’ll see heaps on a day trip. If you’re doing it this way it’s probably best to stay in Queenstown, especially if you’re flying in and out from there. If you only have a few days in Queenstown it might be better to just stay there and do Wānaka another time. There’s more to do near Queenstown (Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston and heaps more) and you’ll easily fill a few days exploring.
If you don’t have transport it might be better to stay in Queenstown too. You can take bus between the two so you can easily do both without a car but Queenstown is the better town to explore on foot.
Did this post help you choose between Queenstown and Wānaka for your next trip? Let us know in the comments below!
Jon Algie
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