Top Queenstown Day Trips

We were a little leery about the long bus ride to and from Milford Sound, but James, our guide/driver, filled the trip with lots of great information and humor. James was a delight, a very safe driver, and was always making sure that we were well taken care of! The drive to Milford Sound is broken up into lots of stops and photographing opportunities - amazing scenery! We hadn't had time for breakfast with such an early pickup, but a small stop in a town allowed us to grab a snack. The drive home is a long drive, but be prepared to relax, maybe take a nap and leave the driving to James. It is a long day, but well worth the time to see a lot of the beautiful South Island, and worth the money to have a driver/guide take care of you - thank you James :)

Despite a bit of rain, this was a wonderful tour. Our guide Bill was outstanding. He grew up in the Arrowton area, worked in the forestry industry and other areas, and provided really interesting and insightful info during the tour. It was both informative and enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the Chinese Settlement at Arrowtown- a must see. I'd recommend this tour and try to get Bill - he really made it an exceptional experience.

Wonderful wine tasting experience. Our tour guide Nicole was super friendly with lots of fun and factual information. Our tour was changed last minute as one of the wineries was not available due to a function however the substitute winery was absolutely beautiful. All 4 wineries were individual and special. Pizza lunch at the Gibbston Valley Winery was delicious. The road trip was very scenic and made fun by Nicole who also obliged our group by, at the end of the tour, dropping us at a destination that we were interested in seeing.

The charter bus ride was fun & beautiful. Abbey, our guide was delightful. She was knowledgeable & helped us connect. She told a beautiful Māori story & had lots of interesting facts about the beautiful area & Milford Sound National Park. The boat ride was gorgeous. Unfortunately we booked the flight home & it was canceled due to weather so we took the charter home. All was good though ~ we loved this excursion & would highly recommend.

This was such a fun day trip! The group size isn’t too large and the bus was pretty comfortable. Dean was the guide I had and he had so much info to share with us during the whole trip. I liked that we got time to do a little walking/easy hiking during this trip because the views were stunning and it was just nice to move after sitting for long periods of time. Did the trip solo and met some really nice people. Would recommend!

This tour was so much better than we expected. Steam ship is beautiful and you can really explore all of it. The animals at the farm are gorgeous and friendly. The food provided for afternoon tea was amazing and there was free time to walk around the gardens and the beach. Fab tour.

We did the half day tour & would recommend! Loved: - Both drivers (Kerry & George) - Mt Rosa (1 - small great vibe), Nockies Palette (2 - beautiful views & scenery), the Winery in Arrowtown (3 - so fun to dispense the wine ourselves and I think a really fun way to start), Gibson Valley (4 - could take or leave but I think it’d be better if we did a formal tour with them) - we fit in 4 stops! Felt like we made good use of our time. Tour ended approx 5-5:15pm. - drivers offered to call and make bookings for tasting when we got on the bus - bus very comfy, not super windy or bumpy Of Note: - you get a timetable & map immediately upon getting on the bus. You need to be a bit flexible with the wineries you go to since you don’t have access to it beforehand. There must be some reason they don’t give it out but 🤷🏼‍♀️ - the stops are approximately 50mins so it’s fast!! You would definitely need to spend two spots for lunch in order to have enough time to get your food & eat it. Since we were the halfway, we ate beforehand and had plenty of time to get a cheeseboard, bread, fries, etc during one stop Overall really fun & would do again!

Beautiful views and a solid but achievable challenge for someone of a moderate fitness level. We had an issue with one of the bikes early into the ride which was responded to with pace and we were back in action. Very well run professional service from the check in, shuttle, briefing, troubleshooting and bike return. Remember to take a snack and water. The paths are well signed so you can put your focus on nature. We will be trying some other routes in the future!