Where to stop on a road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown
Here’s a short and sweet itinerary for a drive from Christchurch to Queenstown.
3-4 days | 605 kilometres | Via Tekapo, Mount Cook, and Wanaka
From the Canterbury Plains to the feet of the Southern Alps — in 3-4 days you can cover highlights of the South Island on the drive from Christchurch to Queenstown.
This four day road trip itinerary covers some of the best things to do on the way.
As always, these are the things I’ve enjoyed the most. There are many options for activities and photo stops along the way — these are my favourites.
As well as the best places to stop on the drive between Christchurch and Queenstown, I’ve also included my favourite places to eat and get coffee — because without snacks, is it even a road trip?
A heads up: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link (at no extra cost to you).
Christchurch to Queenstown itinerary overview
Driving from Christchurch to Queenstown covers roughly 480 kilometres and takes about 6 hours non-stop. However, you’ll want to stop for rest breaks and to explore the region as you drive through.
As always in New Zealand, it can take longer to drive from Christchurch to Queenstown than you would expect. It’s always best to pace yourself and not try to cram too much in — give yourself time to stop at all the viewpoints along the way.
Day 1: Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
Day 2: Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook Village
Day 3: Mount Cook Village to Wanaka
Day 4: Wanaka to Queenstown
A few quick tips for driving from Christchurch to Queenstown:
If you’re in need of a rental car, use DiscoverCars to compare prices. I usually just go for the cheapest option, but have had great experiences with both Snap Rentals and Avis out of Christchurch.
Use the app Gaspy (download from Google Play or Apple) to find the cheapest petrol stations along the way. I recommend filling in Christchurch, as there can be long gaps between petrol stations.
This road trip is awesome at any time of year, but in winter you might not be able to drive the Crown Range Road through Cardrona.
If you’re flying into Christchurch, it’s worth spending at least one night in the city. The centre is fun to explore — head to New Regent Street for great bars and places to eat.
The best places to stop on a road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown
If you’re going to make the drive from Christchurch to Queenstown into a road trip, allow at least three days.
Generally the best itinerary is one night in Tekapo and one night in Mount Cook, finishing in Queenstown on the third day.
Or, add a third night in Wanaka and make the total trip four days. This gives you more time to explore.
Christchurch is on the edge of the Canterbury Plains. Which means that on a road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown, you’re going to spend a bit of time driving through flat, nondescript areas.
Once you’re out of the plains though, the drive is beautiful and can be broken up with any number of gorgeous stops.
These are the highlights of a Christchurch to Queenstown road tip — you can tie these together any way you want to make your own itinerary.
Geraldine — nearly 2 hours outside of Christchurch, Geraldine is a sweet little town where you can stop for food
Lake Tekapo — a classic South Island stop, you need to see the cobalt blue lake to believe it.
Lake Pukaki is even bluer than Lake Tekapo.
Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, for the Hooker Valley Walk as well as Tasman Lake and the Sealy Tarns.
Omarama Clay Cliffs is a nice walk in a unique landscape.
Lindis Pass. A barren and beautiful area.
Cardrona, to get a pic in front of the historic hotel.
Arrowtown. It’s a cute wee town.
Things get really scenic once you hit Tekapo, and the drive along Lake Pukaki toward Aoraki Mount Cook National Park might be one of the best stretches of road in the whole of New Zealand.
The roads on this route are well maintained and you won’t end up on any unsealed roads.
Christchurch to Queenstown four-day road trip itinerary
New Regent Street in Christchurch City
Fill up the tank, buckle in, and get ready to discover some of the best parts of the South Island.
Day 1: Christchurch to Lake Tekapo (or Lake Pukaki)
3 hours driving
Break up the trip at Geraldine, Fairlie, and Burke’s Pass
Stay in Tekapo or camp at Lake Pukaki
The first leg of this road trip is the least interesting. Driving out of Christchurch you’ll be on long, straight roads without many interesting places to stop.
You can choose to go via the Inland Scenic Route, if you’d like to see the Rakaia Gorge, or you can beeline straight to Geraldine via Rakaia (the town).
I recommend beelining — the gorge is pretty but not so beautiful it’s worth the detour, unless you want to take on the Rakaia Gorge Walkway (I have always been too short on time to do it).
The Susan Badcock Gallery in Geraldine
In Geraldine, the Susan Badcock Gallery is an excellent stop for art lovers. The gallery is located at the top of a flight of stairs in the lovingly restored Old Post Office Building. It’s full of atmosphere and local art — you’ll see works by Badcock herself as well as other New Zealand artists.
The gallery gift store is stocked with curated ceramics, homewares, and jewellery.
Right next to the gallery is Cafe Verde, a cafe with a gorgeous outdoor seating area in a rose garden.
Further along on the road trip, The Fairlie Bakehouse is another legendary snack stop, where you can try New Zealand’s famous pies.
After Fairlie comes Burke’s Pass, a roadside wonderland that will make you feel as if you’ve landed in another country, in another decade.
A handful of retro American stores and cars are clustered around a 1950s petrol station, and Kiwiana memorabilia — it’s as delightfully bonkers as it sounds.
With various buildings, including a general store, a 1950s petrol station, a blacksmith shop and a trading store, there are eclectic collectables galore to discover.
Browse vintage collectables or get caffeinated at the coffee cart, and enjoy the wildly unusual ambiance of the Three Creek’s vintage garage.
Next stop is Tekapo village itself.
It doesn’t take long to see Tekapo’s highlights. Stroll around the lakefront, see the church, then head up to the Astro Cafe at the Mt John Observatory for the best views of the lake and surrounding area.
You can also visit the observatory at night for a tour of the pristine night sky — Tekapo is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
Where to stay: Lake Tekapo, while beautiful, isn’t my favourite place to stay. The village has been developed quite heavily in recent years and sees a lot of tour buses coming through. It feels a little soulless.
The upside is that it has more accommodation options.
Booking.com is the easiest way to search for places to stay in Tekapo.
Budget | If you want to stay in a hostel, Haka House or Tailor Made Tekapo are both really nice.
Campervan | If you’re lucky enough to be travelling in a self-contained campervan on the drive between Christchurch and Queenstown, I recommend carrying on to Lake Pukaki.
Lake Pukaki is an epic place to camp. You get to enjoy the stunning beauty of the lake and surroundings that are a bit more low key than Tekapo.
The No More Pines freedom camp in Lake Pukaki is a brilliant free camping area. There are no real facilities, just long drop toilets, but if you’re in a self contained van this shouldn’t be an issue.
There are also some beautiful stargazing accommodation options around Lake Pukaki.
Day 2: Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook Village
1 hour 30 mins driving
Walk Hooker Valley Track
Stay the night in Mount Cook village
From Lake Pukaki, you can drive the iconic road in to Mount Cook village.
The road follows the edge of the ice blue lake, with the shimmering peak of Aoraki/Mount Cook growing ever larger during the drive. You’ll recognise some of the iconic photo spots along this road. There are a few designated pull over areas.
From Aoraki/Mount Cook Village, you can walk the Hooker Valley Track (3 hours return) or the Sealy Tarns Track (3-4 hours return). The Tasman Lake Track is about one hour return and gives you a chance to see the Tasman Glacier across the lake.
You could easily add an extra day to your Christchurch to Queenstown trip and walk all of the tracks here.
Mount Cook Village is tiny, but an overnight stay is worth it to go star gazing at night. This is one of New Zealand’s Dark Sky Reserves, which means it’s exceptionally free from light pollution.
Where to stay: There’s a range of accommodation in Mount Cook. My favourite is Haka House, which is super cosy inside and great if you’re on a budget. DOC runs the White Horse Hill Campsite, an even cheaper option for budget travellers.
Day 3: Aoraki/Mount Cook Village to Wanaka
2 hours 30 minutes driving
Go for coffee and food at Mint Folk & Co, Twizel
Stop in Omarama to see the Clay Cliffs and hot pools
Stay in Wanaka
After enjoying the drive back along the shore of Lake Pukaki, it’s worth stopping in Twizel for coffee. Mint Folk & Co is a gorgeous cafe with great food, well worth stopping for your morning cuppa.
After Twizel, drive on to Omarama. About halfway between Mount Cook Village and Queenstown, Omarama is famous for two things — the Omarama Clay Cliffs, and the Omarama Hot Tubs.
The Clay Cliffs are about 10 kilometres outside of town, so they’re a short detour. It’s worth it to see the unusual rock formations though. Tall pinnacles have built up from gravel and silt, with narrow ravines running between the spires.
The Clay Cliffs are on private land. There's a donation box at the gate where you can pay a $5 vehicle entry fee.
If you want to spoil yourself after the walk, you can stop by the Omarama Hot Tubs. The hot tubs aren’t geothermal, but they are very scenic.
After Omarama, you can keep on driving until you reach Lindis Pass. The pass is visually stunning. It feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. Tussocked hills rise up around the road and ochre hills stretch into the distance.
The road feels lonely winding through this landscape.
You can stop at the Lindis Pass Viewpoint to take in the scenery and take some photos.
From the Lindis Pass viewpoint, it’s only one more hour of driving until you reach Wanaka, where you can either stop for another night or push on until Queenstown if you’re trying to get from Christchurch to Queenstown in three days.
Wanaka does make a beautiful place to break up the trip, and a night here means more time to explore Arrowtown and Cardrona the next day.
IF YOU WANT TO STAY LONGER IN WANAKA
A one night stopover in Wanaka will only give you time to see the town and the lakefront around it. If you’d like to tackle Roy’s Peak or Isthmus Peak, two great day walks near Wanaka, plan an extra night.
I definitely recommend Isthmus Peak over Roy’s Peak if you want to escape the crowds.
I also loved heading up Rocky Mountain for sunrise.
There are also a few lake activities, including the Mou Waho island cruise, which could keep you busy for yet another day.
Rippon Winery, with views over the lake, is also well worth a visit.
WHERE TO STAY IN WANAKA
Budget | Haka House has a nice hostel close to the lakefront, with good facilities — I have stayed in other hostels in Wanaka and found them a bit run down in comparison.
Campervan | The Albert Town Campground is 10 minutes outside of Wanaka, but it’s the cheapest camping option in the area. I stayed here in my car (you don’t need to be self contained) and loved the riverside setting.
Day 4 (or day 3 continued): Wanaka to Queenstown
1 hour driving
Stop in Cardrona and Arrowtown
From Wanaka, you have two options to get to Queenstown — take the high road or the low road.
The high road will take you over the Crown Range, a beautiful road but winding road through the mountains.
The low road is a more direct but less scenic route that passes by Cromwell and the Kawerau Gorge. This route will take you past some of Queenstown’s incredible wineries, so you can plan for a wine tasting and vineyard lunch on the way.
The Crown Range road takes you through Cardrona, famous for the historic Cardrona hotel and the incredible Cardrona Distillery.
Both roads take you past Arrowtown, so it’s well worth stopping here too. You only need an hour or two for Arrowtown, but there are plenty of places to get lunch (I love going to Provisions of Arrowtown) and it’s nice strolling up and down the historic main street.
From Arrowtown, it’s only 20 minutes further to Queenstown.
WHERE TO STAY IN QUEENSTOWN
Splurge | If you’re looking for somewhere to treat yourself, Queenstown has a number of gorgeous boutique hotels.
Campervan | The cheapest place to stay in a campervan around Queenstown is the Twelve Mile Delta DOC campsite 15 minutes out of town, or the Moke Lake campground, which is a little further.
Road trip essentials
SIM CARDS: I recommend getting a Skinny SIM card when you arrive
FIND WALKS AND HIKES: The DOC website is the best resource for all trails, scenic campsites, and mountain huts
BEST APPS: Campermate for finding campsites, Gaspy for saving money on petrol
LANGUAGE: English but be prepared for some local quirks
Thanks for reading this far! I hope this itinerary helped you decide where to stop and where to spend the night between Christchurch and Queenstown.
If you’re planning a trip around the South Island, you might also find these articles useful:
Still have questions about where to stop between Christchurch and Queenstown? Feel free to get in touch to chat about an itinerary planning session. I offer travel consultations to answer all your questions and help design a custom itinerary just for you.
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
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