Things to do in Wanaka
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Wanaka
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak with long evenings, swimming and lavender, but highest prices and busiest tracks, especially late December and January.
Autumn connoisseur window with warm March days, Clutha colour, harvest and thinning crowds. May turns cold and quiet.
Ski season. July has best snow reliability and worst crowds and prices, August is the insider ski month.
Spring value window with changeable weather and lambing closures cutting summit options in October and November.
Best months overall for a summer trip: February for warm lake and calmer feel, March for colour and everything open.
Late November to mid December sweet spot with lupins, reopening tracks and Christmas crowds not yet arrived.
What's on
- Rhythm & Alps 29-31 December
South Island New Year festival in Cardrona Valley with about 10,000 people. Book beds and transport with the ticket.
- Challenge Wanaka Usually mid to late February
Triathlon festival around Lake Wanaka.
- Wanaka A&P Show second weekend in March
Large two day agricultural show on lakeside showgrounds, a genuinely local festival worth timing for.
- Warbirds Over Wanaka Easter
Biennial warbird airshow in even years at Easter. Accommodation in a Warbirds year is the hardest booking in town.
- Winter Games NZ late Aug-early Sep
Elite winter sport events across Wanaka and Queenstown fields in its cycle, as a spectator bonus.
- New Year's Eve on the lakefront 31 December
Lakefront New Year night with a volunteer safe zone. Pace drinking and pre-book your ride home.
Best things to do in Wanaka
Rob Roy Glacier Track
Best half day walk in the park, with a swing bridge, beech forest and a glacier lookout with kea.
Isthmus Peak
Steep quiet summit between two lakes, with the same big views as Roy's Peak and far fewer people.
Roy's Peak
Famous lake and Mount Aspiring panorama from a grassy knoll, reached by a long crowded farm track.
Mou Waho Island
Predator free island with weka and a small lake on top, reached by boat and a short walk.
Rippon Vineyard
Biodynamic vines above the lake with a hosted tasting and one of the most scenic winery settings in NZ.
Maude Wines
Family owned Central Otago tasting known for pinot noir and host led tastings, deeper than Rippon.
Cinema Paradiso
Small cinema with sofas, a cafe bar, homemade ice cream and hot cookies baked for the intermission.
Puzzling World
Illusion rooms, a tilted house and a two level maze, best as a family or wet weather option.
Where to stay in Wanaka
Town Centre / Lakefront
first trip, all-round base
Walk to dinner, the cinema, shuttles and the lake in under 10 minutes, vital with no public transport.
Sargood Drive / Edgewater lakefront
families, space and quiet lake access
Waterfront strip with apartments and Bremner Bay swimming, quieter at night and a short drive to town.
West lakefront / Wanaka-Mount Aspiring Road
best views and luxury lodges
Sunset facing and peaceful with Rippon and big view lodges, but a car is essential for dinner.
Albert Town
value and local feel
River confluence village with Pembroke Patisserie and trails, where rents drop and a car is needed at night.
Lake Hawea
value, calm and local feel
Small lakeside community with superb swimming and cheaper homes, a slower pace many long stays prefer.
Cardrona Valley
ski season and solitude
Handy for Cardrona and Snow Farm mornings, but almost no dining and a dark alpine road home.
Think twice about
- Wanaka-Luggate Highway and Three Parks outskirts
Safe but charmless highway and business park surroundings with nothing walkable, so you drive for everything.
- Deep Northlake, Hikuwai and Cardrona Road subdivisions
Pleasant for residents but walk to town claims can be fictional in winter darkness or summer heat. Check actual distance to Ardmore Street.
- Ardmore Street lakefront at New Year
The lakefront is a party strip for a few nights a year. Light sleepers should stay two streets back in late December.
Best restaurants in Wanaka
Bistro Gentil
Modern French special occasion dinner with garden views, fine wines by the glass and Trust the Chef.
Kika
Locals favourite sharing plates dinner with seasonal produce, open fire in winter and a buzzy room.
Muttonbird
Modern New Zealand cooking championing local produce, with bar energy rather than hushed fine dining.
Francesca
Buzzy Italian crowd pleaser with house made pastas, polenta fries and creative pizzas.
Scroggin Coffee & Eatery
Large Scandi minimal cafe with in house baking and a substantial brunch built for hike fuelling.
Federal Diner
Hidden alley cafe for local first breakfasts and lunches, with much produce grown by the cafe itself.
Big Fig
Slow food served fast from a counter of hot dishes and salads, the best cheap healthy meal in town.
Burrito Craft
Star food truck for huge burritos, tacos and loaded fries with a heat scale that means it at five.
Best bars in Wanaka
Rhyme x Reason Brewery
Craft beer brewery with live music, a natural group session stop after outdoor days.
Best coffee in Wanaka
The Coffee Shack
Brownston Street coffee stop named in town for coffee alongside the bakery picks.
Curbside Coffee & Bagels
First open truck village stop for coffee and bagels including buffalo tofu and smoky hash options.
Outdoor things to do in Wanaka
Cardrona Alpine Resort
Default ski field for families and mixed ability groups, with wide groomed runs and a strong ski school.
Treble Cone Ski Area
Steep experts field with large basins and huge lake views, not suited to beginners.
Snow Farm NZ
Cross country ski area with groomed trails and snowshoeing, a cheaper and calmer snow day.
Wildwire Wanaka
Waterfall via ferrata on rungs, ladders and wire bridges, with levels from fit beginners to the top.
Wanaka River Journeys
Jet boat run up the braided Matukituki beneath glaciers, with a short wilderness walk en route.
Lakeland Wanaka
Shorter Clutha River jet run from town for a fast hour when a half day is too much.
Bike the Wanaka and Hawea Trails
Off road e-bike ride from Lake Hawea back to Wanaka on flat river and lake trails for mixed fitness.
Bike Glendhu
Purpose built mountain bike park at Glendhu Bay for riders wanting harder trails than the river route.
Best hotels in Wanaka
Whare Kea Lodge
Flagship lakefront luxury lodge with huge glass, a helipad and a famous heli accessed chalet option.
Minaret Station Alpine Lodge
Fly in only alpine lodge on a remote station, all inclusive and a destination in itself.
Mahu Whenua
Suites and cottages on a vast conservation station with stables and private trails near Mount Aspiring.
Lime Tree Lodge
Top end lodge style stay with lake views, gardens and host run concierge help in miniature.
Tin Tub Luxury Lodge
Premium lodge stay with lake views and gardens, a rung below the flagship lodges.
Lakeside Apartments
Premium apartments two minutes from the centre, the luxury pick for groups wanting space.
Edgewater Hotel
Only true lakefront resort hotel, with apartments, tennis and direct waterfront lawns.
Clearbrook Motel & Serviced Apartments
Dependable serviced apartments with kitchens and parking, walkable to dinner.
Is Wanaka expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NZ$110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NZ$230 a person |
| Splurge | NZ$450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mou Waho Island: a few days ahead
- Rippon Vineyard: a few days ahead
- Maude Wines: a few days ahead
- Cinema Paradiso: a few days ahead
- Siberia Experience: weeks ahead
- Wanaka Helicopters: weeks ahead
- Cardrona Alpine Resort: weeks ahead
- Treble Cone Ski Area: weeks ahead
- Book Bistro Gentil, Kika, Muttonbird and Francesca days ahead in season and weeks ahead at Christmas, New Year and events.
- Book Mou Waho, Wildwire, Siberia and scenic flights early in your stay so weather cancellations can roll forward.
- Book Rippon and Maude tastings by appointment and check DOC alerts on the morning of any national park walk.
Is Wanaka safe?
- Risks are environmental: alpine weather, glacial cold water, fords after rain and tired driving on alpine roads.
- Carry a windproof layer and at least 2 litres of water on summit tracks. There is no water on Roy's Peak or Isthmus Peak.
- Download offline maps, tell your accommodation where you are going, and use sunscreen. UV is ferocious even when it feels cool.
Wanaka travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Roy's Peak at midday in January means heat, no shade, crowds and a photo queue. Go at sunrise, sunset or in shoulder season.
- Hook fish is charged by weight and you must buy what you catch. Agree a size and budget before fishing or order from the menu.
- That Wanaka Tree is a five minute stop on a walk, not a destination. The lakefront west of it is the actual experience.
- Edgewater is a good mid range resort hotel, not luxury. Do not pay luxury expectations for it.
Getting around Wanaka: public transport and more
- Rent a car at Queenstown Airport. Almost every trailhead, vineyard and ski field needs wheels and there is no useful public transport.
- Ritchies shuttle runs Wanaka to Queenstown Airport about four times daily from 100 Ardmore Street, around NZ$40 to 46 one way.
- Walk in town. The centre, lakefront and cinema grid is tiny, and late night rideshare and taxis are scarce.
Who Wanaka suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Wanaka your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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