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Queenstown, New Zealand

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New Zealand

Travel to Queenstown

Flying to Queenstown

There are no direct flights to Queenstown from the UK. Indirect flights to Queenstown via Auckland are available with British Airways, Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific. The peak season to fly to New Zealand is between December and February during the summer. If you’re looking for cheap flights to Queenstown, the best time of year to travel is in winter between July-August. Spring and autumn trips are also worth considering for cheap flights to Queenstown.

Flight times: 

From London – 26 hours; New York – 22 hours; Los Angeles – 16 hours; Sydney – 3 hours; Auckland – 2 hours.

Travel by road

Summary:

If you want to drive around New Zealand, you’ll be in good company – self-drive holidays are popular thanks to the country’s largely uncrowded roads, scenic routes and short distances between different destinations. Road conditions are excellent but in winter and spring, some roads on the South Island may be closed due to snow and ice.

You need an International Driving Permit or a current driver’s licence from your home country to drive in New Zealand and must be at least 21 years of age. Traffic drives on the left. The maximum speed limit is 100kph (62mph) on open roads but drivers are often slower due to the country’s hilly and mountainous terrain. The speed limit is 50kph (30mph) in urban areas.

Emergency breakdown service:

AA New Zealand (tel: 0800 500 444; www.aa.co.nz).

Routes:

The main road through Queenstown is Highway 6, which runs from Invercargill on the south coast, through Queenstown, then north via Cromwell, the Haast Pass and the West Coast, right up to Nelson and Blenheim. Highway 89 is a more rugged alternative route north to Wanaka; it may however be impassable for certain vehicles in winter.

Driving times:

From Wanaka – 2 hours; Milford Sound – 5 hours; Franz Joseph – 7 hours 40 minutes; Christchurch – 7 hours 15 minutes.

Coaches:

Intercity Coach Lines (tel: (09) 583 5780; www.intercitycoach.co.nz) run competitively priced services to Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Milford Sound and the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers via Wanaka. Buses depart from the Athol St bus terminal.

Other locally based providers include Atomic Shuttles (tel: (03) 349 0697; www.atomictravel.co.nz) and Southern Link Coaches (tel: (03) 358 8355 or 0508 458 835; www.southernlinkcoaches.co.nz).

Travel by rail

Services:

There are no rail services to or from Queenstown.

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