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.
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You can drive from Christchurch to Queenstown in three to four days — two, if you’re in a rush.
That route, across the Canterbury Plains to the feet of the Southern Alps, covers some of the highlights of the South Island. This is one of the most classic road trip routes in New Zealand.
The four day road trip itinerary I’ve outlined below covers some of the best things to do on the way. As always, these are the things I’ve enjoyed the most. This isn’t everything, but it’s most things — at least, it’s a pretty detailed list of 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?
Get wheels for your Christchurch to Queenstown four-day road trip itinerary
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.
The best places to stop on a road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown
Driving from Christchurch to Queenstown covers roughly 480 kilometres and takes about 6 hours non-stop.
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
If you’re going to make the drive from Christchurch to Queenstown into a road trip, allow at least three days. (Although if you really only have two days, you could spend the night in Tekapo, visit Mount Cook and drive to Queenstown the same afternoon).
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.
Day 1: Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
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
Things start to get more interesting once you reach 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.
A Fairlie Bakehouse pie is a traditional part of any Christchurch Queenstown road trip
After Geraldine, the next stop is The Fairlie Bakehouse; a 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.
Burke’s Pass
Burke’s Pass
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.
The little stone church on Tekapo’s lakefront
It’s a three hour drive (without breaks) from Christchurch to Tekapo, so the small town by the lake is the ideal place to stop for the night.
I think Tekapo is the perfect stopover town — you only need an evening and a morning there to enjoy it.
It doesn’t take long to see Tekapo’s highlights. Stroll around the lakefront, see the church, then head up to the Mt John Observatory for the best views of the lake and surrounding area. You have to pay to take the road up, or you can hike up for free.
If you get to the observatory for lunch time, the Astro Cafe is a lovely spot.
At night you can also join a tour of the pristine night sky — Tekapo is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
WHERE TO STAY IN TEKAPO
Tailor Made Tekapo is a lovely affordable option and a small, local business — I loved the garden when I stayed here.
Day 2: Lake Tekapo to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki/Mount Cook is our highest mountain, and the national park is possibly the most beautiful location in all of New Zealand.
There’s only one road in and out, and only a small number of trails in the park, so it feels a lot busier than other wilderness areas in Aotearoa; visitors are all concentrated in the same spot.
Hiking up to Sealy Tarns is beautiful, but the serenity is often disturbed by tinny phone speakers from those confident few who like to share their musical tastes with the group.
It’s still glorious though, and if you stay overnight you can hike early in the morning or later in the evening, to avoid the worst of the crowds.
On a clear day, the beauty begins as you drive along the edge of Lake Pukaki..
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.
If you’re very short on time, you could spend just a half day in Aoraki/Mount Cook; drive from Tekapo, walk one of the tracks, then get to Queenstown on the same day (3.5 hours away), which would make this whole Christchurch to Queenstown road trip a two day affair.
However, it’s much better to either spend a night in the village, or spend a night close by (in Twizel).
There are enough walking tracks in Aoraki to keep you busy for a full 24 hours, longer if you want.
The Hooker Valley Track is currently closed for repairs, but you can still hike the Sealy Tarns Track (3-4 hours return).
Kea Point is also great if you want something shorter, you still get a spectacular view of Aoraki/Mt Cook.
The Tasman Lake Track is about one hour return and gives you a chance to see the Tasman Glacier across the lake.
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.
ITINERARY NOTES
There are hotels and places to stay in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village, but rooms book out way in advance. If you see a room available — snap it up.
The DOC campground in the park is a great option if you’re in a campervan. It’s magical staying somewhere so remote and beautiful and waking up to the bowl of mountains.
I did get a spot in the White Horse Hill campground last minute at the end of March, but even the campground will get booked up in the peak travel season.
I have also stayed in the hostel in the park — Haka House — and loved it. So, if you’re open to a dorm room, it’s a great option.
If you miss out on rooms in Mount Cook Village, you can search for accommodation in Twizel instead.
Twizel itself isn’t that special, but it’s conveniently located less than an hour from Mount Cook.
FEATURED STAY
Aoraki Alpine Lodge
A basic but very serviceable place to stay, with a great shared kitchen and lounge area. With almost nowhere to eat in the park, having cooking facilities was perfect.
Day 3: Aoraki/Mount Cook Village to Wanaka
Rocky Mountain sunrise
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 little locally owned cafe with great food, well worth stopping for your morning cuppa.
The road to Wanaka takes you through the 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.
Lindis Pass
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.
The Tarras Country Cafe
From the Lindis Pass viewpoint, it’s only one more hour of driving until you reach Wanaka.
Not too far, but even so — I like stopping by the Tarras Country Cafe for a snack. It’s a sweet little stop, and they have a few New Zealand classics like lolly cake and cheese rolls in the cabinet.
You could skip straight through Wanaka to Queenstown if you’re trying to get from Christchurch to Queenstown in three days.
But, 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.
Wanaka is a cool, outdoorsy town, a little more laid back than Queenstown. There are lots of great hikes in the area, and it’s the ideal base for hiking up Roy’s Peak, or heading into Mount Aspiring National Park, to tackle Rob Roy Glacier.
There are also a few lake activities, including the Mou Waho island cruise, which could keep you busy for yet another day.
WHERE TO STAY IN WANAKA
The last time I was in Wanaka I stayed in Haka House 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.
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.
FEATURED STAY
Cross Hill Lodge and Domes
A peaceful, family-owned glamping stay in Lake Hawea, just outside of Wanaka.
Day 4 (or day 3 continued): Wanaka to Queenstown
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 Crown Range road takes you through Cardrona, famous for the historic Cardrona hotel.
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 wineries, so you can plan for a wine tasting and vineyard lunch on the way.
Mt Rosa winery makes a nice place to stop for a platter lunch
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.
ITINERARY NOTES
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.
FEATURED STAY
Millbrook Resort
I loved staying a little out of the hustle and bustle of Queenstown. Millbrook is a golf resort in Arrowtown, but even as someone with no interest in golf I enjoyed my stay.
More New Zealand itineraries
Driving from Christchurch to Queenstown is likely only one part of your New Zealand trip. You may wish to tack on days in Queenstown, head up the West Coast of the South Island, or head north.
Whatever your plans, here are a few other itineraries I have crafted, to give you a sense of more possible routes:
Thank you for reading
You being here is what makes my life as a travel writer possible, so thank you. I hope this has been helpful and you have come away with a better idea of where to stop between Christchurch and Queenstown.
All of the photos and words (and spelling mistakes and other errors) on this page are mine, created without help from either AI or other humans.
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So, thank you again, and while you’re here, maybe take a look at a few other articles:
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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