Queenstown · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Queenstown is dear for a small town, but the hikes, the lake and the views are free.
Sleep in the town centre
Hostels cluster around Shotover Street and up the hill on Man Street, minutes from the lakefront, the gondola and the bus hub.
What a day costs
Dorms NZ$40–70 and more in ski season, food NZ$25–50, Orbus fares a few dollars. Reckon NZ$90–150 a day, roughly $55–90.
Getting around cheap
Orbus buses take a Bee Card at a flat low fare and reach Arrowtown, Frankton and the airport; ski shuttles serve both fields in winter.
Free by day
The Queenstown Hill and Tiki Trail walks, the lakefront gardens and their frisbee golf, and the Kawarau bridge, where watching bungy jumps costs nothing.
Lakefront and Searle Lane
The gravel beach in front of the Steamer Wharf and the bars on Searle Lane are where hostel crowds and seasonal workers collect.