Queenstown on a budget can it be done? Well, I a local am here to detail all the amazing things you can do for free/ very-cheaply in this notoriously expensive town.
Okay, to tell you the truth I’m not born and raised in Queenstown. BUT, I’ve been living in Queenstown on the beautiful South Island of New Zealand for two years. But depending on who you speak to I could be considered a long-term local or a “blow-in”. Queenstown is a very seasonal town with most “locals” coming for either the Winter or Summer season with some staying as long as their working holiday visa allows (typically a year).
My husband and I have been renting and working full-time in Queenstown for a year now, so I think we’re a reliable source for the best things to do on a budget. We’ve been saving hard since we got here (for our wedding in Italy) so, fun & cheap things to do are high on our radar. Without further ado here’s our local’s guide to enjoying Queenstown on a budget.
Read Next: We recently had the best 24 hours in Queenstown – read our restaurant/Cafe tips as well as the most unique activities available in Queenstown!
The BEST Budget-Saving Tips for Queenstown
1. Pick the cheapest options for eating out
The restaurants in Queenstown aren’t that competitively priced; for a decent restaurant, you’re talking at around $30 NZD for a main course. Our top tip is to grab a takeaway and eat it on board Perky’s – a floating boat in the lake where you can BYO food. Perky’s also serves cheap beer and wine for only $7.50 a pop.
Our favorite takeaways in Queenstown are:
- Fat Badgers for yummy American-style pizza
- Caribe Latin Kitchen for excellent quesadillas & burrito’s
- Erik’s for Kiwi-style fish & chips
If you really want to experience the restaurant scene in Queenstown, we recommend downloading the First Table app. On this app you can get the first seating of the night (typically 5:30 pm) at many restaurants in Queenstown for 50% off. You do have to pay $10 USD to make the booking & the discount doesn’t apply to alcohol.
Or an even better to is to buy some food from the supermarket and grill it on one of the free grills at St Omar Park, next to Lake Wakatipu – a short walk from town.
PSSST…If you’re after the best Cafes on the South Island then you must read our detailed guide (P.S they all have awesome views!)
2. Buy your alcohol from a store
Yep, you can drink all along the lake in town – which is incredibly handy when you’re on a budget. It’s legal, I promise (with the exception of 27th December – 6th January every year). And you’re getting a better view sitting on the lake’s edge than you are in any of Queenstown’s bars. It’s a win-win, really!
3. Go hiking – it’s free
Hiking is free in Queenstown, plus the views are exceptionally pretty & you’re keeping active. Our top hikes in the area include: Bob’s Cove, which is about a 15-minute drive from Queenstown and boasts sparkling blue water views; Sawpit Gully in Arrowtown – which is quite a hard trek but the views of the rolling hills and countryside are well worth the climb.
As for the best easy hike in Queenstown – we love Lake Hayes and Moke Lake.
4. Walk as much as you can as taxis are expensive
Luckily, Queenstown CBD is quite compact and very walkable. However, if you want to explore further field – like to Moke Lake or Bob’s Cove (two of my suggested hikes above) – then you will either need to get a taxi or hire a rental car. Which I really rate doing, by the way, if you have the budget!
Or get the bus if you can. You can buy a Go Card from the stand outside McDonald’s in the town center – this means each journey will only be $2 NZD instead of $5 NZD. The minimum you need to put on the card to activate it is $10 NZD.
Click here to download the bus timetable.
You can also use Uber in Queenstown; however, at this moment, there are only a few Uber drivers in the area.
5. Choose fun and cheap activities
Luckily, Queenstown is full of cheap but memorable things to do. For example, did you know you can be panning for gold in Arrowtown? Yep, the quaint village of Arrowtown (15 minutes from Queenstown) is an old gold mining settlement and here, you can hire a gold pan for a few dollars and go panning for gold down by the Old Chinese Mining Settlement.
If you want to see Queenstown from the water on a budget, then your best bet is to hop on the Queenstown ferry, which costs just $14 NZD per person. The ferry departs from the pier in town and drops you off at the luxurious Hilton Hotel in Frankton. From here, you can grab a coffee from the hotel’s Cafe and walk the Frankton Track back into town. This will take around 1.5 hours.
Finally, a great free thing to do in Queenstown is walk through the Queenstown Gardens. Again, grab a coffee from one of the great coffee shops in Queenstown (we love Vudu) and set out on your walk. This is a short walk, so allow around an hour to go all in (including time to stop and take photos). There’s also a very photogenic swing along this trail – see if you can find it!
6. If you want to REALLY explore – rent a car
Renting a car is probably the cheapest and most convenient way of getting around Queenstown and surrounding areas. However, you may have written it off as an option if you’re on a budget – but did you know you can rent a car for as little as $30 NZD per day from Queenstown Airport? Yup, we always use Discover Cars for renting a car in New Zealand and found some really cheap deals. What’s great is you can filter by price, car type, etc.
But please be extra careful on the roads here. It’s not the locals, it’s the tourists that are the offenders. The most common offences include: going around the roundabout the wrong way; stopping the car in the middle of the road to take a photo, driving extremely slow and not using indicators. It is incredibly frustrating town to drive in, so please have your wits about you when driving in Queenstown.
A road trip is the best way to see this stunning region in my opinion, there are so many epic New Zealand road trips to take. Some of my favorites from Queenstown include the drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound and from Queenstown to Glenorchy.
As I said, just take care when driving New Zealand roads, as you will quickly learn the roads here are a lot different to the United States.
The CHEAPEST Places to Stay in Queenstown
I always try to stay in an apartment when I’m traveling on a budget as then I can cook in if I want and do laundry. Below, I’ve listed the cheapest apartments in Queenstown that I could find –
Glebe Apartments – centrally located (next to Queenstown Gardens in the CBD) these stylish apartments are a great option. You can choose from Studio, One; Two or Three bedroom apartments.
Cranbury Court Apartments – are again centrally located on Glebe Road, just a 5-minute walk from the CBD. FreshChoice supermarket is also close by. You can chose from One, Two or Three bedroom apartments.
Apartments at Spinnaker Bay – luxurious apartments with great lake views, these apartments are located on Frankton Road. You can walk the Frankton Track into the CBD – taking about 25 minutes. The apartments here are very stylish – choose from One, Two or Three bedroom apartments.
The Whistler Apartments – also located on Gorge Road, these apartments are a very popular choice in Queenstown. Just a 5-minute walk from the center of Queenstown. There are two supermarkets very close by – Raeward Fresh and Freshchoice. Choose from One or Two bedroom apartments.
Queenstown CAN be done on a Budget!
Whew, and there you have it, our top tips for doing Queenstown the right way on a budget. I hope you found it helpful. Queenstown is a beautiful place, but it can be very expensive – fingers crossed, I’ve given you hope that you, too, can enjoy it on a tight budget.
Feel free to ask us any questions about visiting Queenstown on a budget in the comment section below.
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Last Updated on May 23, 2024 by snaphappytravel
12 thoughts on “Can You Visit Queenstown on a Budget (A Locals Money-Saving Guide)”
Intended to have a cheap-ish break in Queenstown this winter but that went out of the window when I went heli skiing. So hard not to spend money there.
Great to have info from a local! Queenstown looks so picturesque!
Ah good ol’ New Zealand drivers. The locals aren’t great, the roads aren’t great and the tourists are even worst. I’ve been tempted to move to Queenstown for a year, would you say there’s good coffee there?
I feel like anything becomes a great experience since there seems to be no bad view, LOL. Not sure when I’ll make it out to Queenstown, but I’m sure it’s more stunning in person.
Thanks for a fun read. I don’t know about them being the worst drivers in the word. We have some pretty bad ones in the US. LOL
I have yet to explore this part of the world, but I’ll definitely save this guide for a future trip! You’ve covered all the essentials. I love a good hike and looking at your pictures, it seems like there are some interesting trails in Queenstown!
Beautiful picturesque views of Queenstown! This is definitely a location on my bucket list. Great read and very informative.
I visited Queenstown last year and loved it! I was on a budget but managed it with making use of the free hiking trails.
Queenstown looks stunning. I think I would go straight up the gondola first thing. New Zealand is such a treasure, I think it would be wonderful to explore all the cities like this!
Love it, thanks for this guide to Queenstown! We didn’t make it down to the S Island on our last trip, but it’s on the agenda! I think in some ways a “local” who only stays at a place for a year or two might not about a few more places than a long term local. When you live abroad and know your time is limited then you definitely push to experience ALL the things!
I wish I would’ve had this guide when I was in Queenstown last year! Unfortunately I didn’t have much time in Queenstown except to go bungee jumping and eat at Fergburger (was I a typical tourist or what? haha). The tip about drinking along the lake sounds like one that would be great to take advantage of!