This post is about how to get from Queenstown to Arrowtown.

Arrowtown is a popular place for a day trip from Queenstown so there are a few options. Some of the options depend on what you want to do in Arrowtown, but other factors include time and budget.

Short Answer: If you haven’t got a car, definitely take the Queenstown to Arrowtown bus. The free parking in Arrowtown makes driving attractive, but if you’re planning to have a few drinks in Arrowtown, stick to the bus.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Bus
2. Drive
3. Uber and Ola
4. Organised tours
5. Hitchhiking
5. Biking

HOW TO GET FROM QUEENSTOWN TO ARROWTOWN

1. THE BUS FROM QUEENSTOWN TO ARROWTOWN

Is there a bus from Queenstown to Arrowtown?

Yes.

It’s easy to travel from Queenstown to Arrowtown by bus thanks to the friendly pricing, regular schedule, and the Bee Card system.

The main bus stop in Queenstown for people travelling to Arrowtown is at Stanley Street bus stop here. It’s a couple of minutes away from Four Square, and about five minutes from FergBurger.

How much does the bus cost?

With a Bee Card (the bus driver will give you one for free at the time of writing): Adults are $2 and children $1.50 (one way). Here’s a full post about the Queenstown buses, and how to catch them etc.

Cash: Adults are $4 and children $2 (one way).

How long does the bus ride take?

To get from Stanley Street, Queenstown to Ramshaw Lane, Arrowtown is expected to take 36 minutes.

How regular are the bus rides?

Click here for the full timetable.

They are regular, at least once an hour and during peak hours they run every 30 minutes. It’s also nice that they run until late in the evening (almost 10 pm), meaning you can have dinner and drinks in Arrowtown and not fret about missing the last bus and forking out for an unexpected expensive taxi.

p.s. the buses in Queenstown can usually fit two bikes on the front of them.

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2. THE QUEENSTOWN TO ARROWTOWN DRIVE

If you’ve got a car for getting around Queenstown, you’ll be glad to know there’s a lot of free parking in Arrowtown.

There are two practical options if you’re planning to drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown. If you’re starting from the Stanley Street bus stop area both routes are just over 20km to get to the free parking area in Arrowtown (if you put X Marks the Spot Arrowtown in Google Maps, that will lead you to the parking lot).

I’ve labeled them option 1 and option 2 below and will describe them both. In short, option 1 is the less instinctive route from Queenstown to Arrowtown but is the one locals recommend.

Option 1

This route takes you via Malagans Road, essentially a backroad. When a friend took me this route I was a little confused, but it’s definitely a quieter drive via the scenic town, Arthur’s Point.

Option 2

This is the route the bus takes. You go via Frankton and there’s a lot more traffic. Yet the higher speed limit keeps the travel time similar to option 1.

The benefits are that the drive goes past Frankton, which gives you more supermarket options than you have in Queenstown with Pak’nSav and Countdown both available (if you’re planning on doing some walks in Arrowtown maybe you need snacks). The same goes with restaurants, and takeaways (there’s no Domino’s Pizza in Queenstown).

p.s. there are fun things to do in Frankton!

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3. UBER AND OLA

Note: YourRide is not available in Queenstown.

As you can see above, these aren’t the cheapest options, but if there are a few of you, the price point might work for you.

Both are usually in the $50-$60 dollar range (see screenshot) depending on where you are in the city exactly (I used Stanley Street, Queenstown and Arrowtown as the to/from details).

From my experience, there’s minimal wait time with Uber, but Ola can be hit or miss. If you’d like a deeper comparison of ride-sharing services in NZ, this post will help you out.

As long term readers will know, I don’t love the old school taxi industry so am only including Uber and Ola in this Queenstown to Arrowtown post 😉

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4. ORGANISED TOURS

There are various tours that take you from Queenstown to Arrowtown for a day trip (or even a half-day). I haven’t taken any of these options, but I’ll list and describe a couple below.

The best part is they get you from your Queenstown accommodation to Arrowtown without you needing to figure out the logistics.

On this tour, you’ll pass through Arrowtown on a tour where you visit various filming locations used while shooting Lord of the Rings.

Or this one where you go to a few different places on a five hour tour, including Arrowtown.

The Hop On Hop Off bus tours are always a winner an they have a drop off locations in and around Arrowtown meaning you can easily include it if you take this tour option.

If you still want to be independent, you can take get picked up from Queenstown and dropped off in Arrowtown along with a bike and make your own way back to Queenstown. These two companies offer this, with slightly different packages:

• Around The Basin Bike Queenstown (there’s an e-bike option)
• Going Blue Queenstown

The best part is the staff involved with the companies are experts on biking around the area. In addition to providing all the gear, they have expert advice on the best routes to take, and hidden spots to stop on the way.

I’ll mention biking to Arrowtown further below.

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5. HITCHHIKING BETWEEN QUEENSTOWN AND ARROWTOWN

Hitchhiking in New Zealand is super easy. But any benefits of hitchhiking from Queenstown to Arrowtown isn’t really worth it when the bus is $2 each way. Especially when the best spot for hitching starts in Frankton.

But you could walk to the area just past the Fresh Choice in Queenstown. There’s not a heap of traffic going all the way to Arrowtown. If you’re sick of waiting, just catch the #2 bus to Arrowtown from there. I haven’t hitched this way, but if you do, let me know how you get on 🙂

5. BIKING FROM QUEENSTOWN TO ARROWTOWN

Thanks to the amazing network of Queenstown Trails, you can get from Queenstown to Arrowtown with just a few short stretches of road. Or if you’re crazy, you can take the road all whole way 🙂

It’s going to be a somewhat lengthy bike ride for most people but there are a couple of places you can stop on the way to refuel, and there’s some magic scenery on the way.

The bike trails you’ll follow are:

1. The Frankton Track to the Kawarau Falls Bridge
2. The Twin Rivers Trail to the Old Lower Shotover Bridge
3. The Countryside Trail to Arrowtown

In total, it’s about 28km. And you can use the route on Google Maps here. There’s a screenshot of the route below.

This is less confusing when you see the signs in real life. You can see all the trails on: QueenstownTrails.org.nz

When you’re there, you can then ride about Arrowtown, or simply lock your bike up and explore by foot.

And it’s great because if you’re not sure about your legs riding home, you can always put your bike on the bus.

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I hope this post helps you a little bit 🙂 As I mentioned, Arrowtown is a popular day trip from Queenstown, but it’s also a good post to visit for a couple of days after Queenstown.

If you have any questions about how to get from Queenstown to Arrowtown leave a comment below or email me jub@churnewzealand.com

RECOMMENDED READING

5 Amazing walks in Arrowtown

These are some of the amazing walks right on Arrowtowns doorstep you can do.

How to get from Queenstown Airport to the City

If you haven’t figured this part of your trip out yet, let’s go!

Travelling from Queenstown to Wanaka

Another useful article to help you get from A to B.

7 Epic walks in Queenstown

There’s at least one in this post you won’t be too familiar with. I think?

How to get from Queenstown to Glenorchy

Like Arrowtown, another great day trip from Queenstown.

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