Easter in Queenstown: What's Open, What's On and Where to Drive

Most of New Zealand closes on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Queenstown does not, and that single fact changes what a long weekend here actually looks like. If you would rather do it by car, Evolve Rentals can have one at your door in Queenstown before you start.

The rest of the country spends Good Friday driving from one shut supermarket to the next. You get to spend it somewhere the shops are open, the coffee is being made, and the only thing in short supply is a dinner table. Here is what is open, what is on, and where to point the car.

Are the shops open in Queenstown at Easter?

Yes, and Queenstown is genuinely unusual in that. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are restricted trading days across New Zealand, which means almost every shop in the country has to stay shut. Queenstown Lakes has an exemption for one and a local council policy for the other, so both days trade here.

Good Friday runs on a long standing exemption that covers shops within a 35 kilometre radius of the corner of Camp Street and Ballarat Street in central Queenstown. Easter Sunday is covered separately by the district's own Easter Sunday shop trading policy, which lets shops across Queenstown Lakes choose to open. Easter Saturday and Easter Monday were never restricted anywhere, so those two are normal days.

The practical version: in and around town you can shop, eat and fill up as usual. The exemption is drawn as a circle around central Queenstown though, so the further out you drive the less safe that assumption gets. If you are heading somewhere remote for the day, take food with you rather than banking on finding somewhere open at the far end.

When is Easter, and does it change what you get?

Easter moves, and in Queenstown that matters more than it does in most places. It can land in late March or push well into April, and here that is the difference between the last weekend of summer and proper autumn.

An early Easter gives you warmer afternoons, long light and green trees. A late one gives you the colour, and the colour here is the reason people come. The poplars and larches around Arrowtown and Lake Hayes turn through April and they are worth planning a day around. Our guide to autumn in Queenstown covers when the colour actually peaks and why it is so uneven from one valley to the next.

What is on over the Easter weekend?

Egg hunts are the anchor of the weekend if you have children. Ayrburn, the restored farm estate out on the Arrowtown road, has run a large one across its grounds in past years, and it books out. Their What's On page is where the year's events appear, and it is worth checking a few weeks out rather than turning up hopeful.

Beyond that, Easter in Queenstown is not an events weekend so much as a very good ordinary one. The town is busy, everything is trading, and the weather in late March and April is often the best of the year. Plan it around a drive and a long lunch rather than a programme.

Which markets are actually running?

Two of them, and they are not the same thing. The Queenstown Market runs on the lakefront every Saturday of the year, from 9 to 4 in summer and 9:30 to 3:30 in winter. It is the arts and crafts one, and it is on whenever Easter falls.

The Remarkables Market is the seasonal one, Saturdays from 9 to 2 at Remarkables Park in Frankton, and it runs roughly from the end of September to late April. So an early Easter catches it comfortably and a late Easter can land right at the end of its season. Worth a look at their site before you build a Saturday around it.

Where should you drive over the long weekend?

Easter is four days, which sounds like a lot and disappears quickly. Three drives are worth the time, and all of them are sealed and easy.

Arrowtown, about 20 minutes out past Lake Hayes, is the obvious one and deserves to be. Historic streets, the restored Chinese settlement down by the river, and the best of the autumn colour if Easter falls late. Our Arrowtown day trip guide has the walks, the museum and where to eat.

Glenorchy, about 45 minutes along the western shore of Lake Wakatipu, is the drive people remember. Take the whole day, take lunch with you, and stop as often as you want to. The full version is in our Glenorchy in a day guide.

Gibbston, about 20 minutes the other way through the Kawarau Gorge, is the one for a slower afternoon. Whoever is driving gets looked after everywhere out there, and if the day turns into a hunt for lunch instead, our pie stops around Queenstown covers the same ground with less swirling and sniffing.

Where to eat, and yes, the chocolate

It is Easter, so we may as well deal with the chocolate first. Patagonia Chocolates is the local institution, with a shop on the Queenstown waterfront and another in Arrowtown, which conveniently sits at the end of one of the drives above. Hot chocolate, truffles and the dulce de leche, which is the one to get.

For dinner, book it now rather than on the day. Easter is one of the fullest weekends of the year here and the good tables go early. Our dining destinations worth the drive covers the places outside the town centre, which are usually the ones still holding a table when everywhere on the waterfront is full.

How do you get around over Easter?

By car, realistically. Everything worth doing over the long weekend sits outside the town centre: Arrowtown, Gibbston, Glenorchy, the market at Frankton, the lookouts around Lake Hayes. They are spread right across the basin, and four days goes fast when each outing has to be built around a timetable.

We bring the car to you. Nobody else in Queenstown does that, and over a weekend this busy it is the difference between starting your Good Friday at a counter and starting it on the road to Arrowtown. Tell us where you are staying, one of our team meets you there and runs you through the car, and that is the whole process.

Easter is one of the busiest weekends of the year here and the fleet is finite, so if your dates are set it pays to sort the car well before you arrive. Book a car with Evolve Rentals.

FAQs

Are shops open in Queenstown on Good Friday?
Yes. Good Friday is a restricted trading day across New Zealand, but shops within a 35 kilometre radius of the corner of Camp Street and Ballarat Street in central Queenstown trade under a long standing exemption. Most of the town, Frankton and Arrowtown fall inside it.

Are shops open on Easter Sunday in Queenstown?
Yes. Queenstown Lakes District Council has adopted an Easter Sunday shop trading policy, so shops across the district may open. Individual businesses still choose their own hours, and staff can decline to work that day, so opening times vary more than usual.

Is the Queenstown Market open over Easter?
Yes. The Queenstown Market on the lakefront runs every Saturday of the year, 9 to 4 in summer and 9:30 to 3:30 in winter. The Remarkables Market at Frankton is the seasonal one, Saturdays 9 to 2 from around late September to late April, so a late Easter can fall at the very end of its season.

What is there to do at Easter in Queenstown with children?
Egg hunts are the main draw and Ayrburn has run a large one in past years, so check their What's On page early because it books out. Beyond that, the Queenstown Market on Saturday, the walk through the Chinese settlement at Arrowtown, and the lakefront are all easy with young children and cost nothing.

Do you need a car for Easter weekend in Queenstown?
If you are staying in town and happy to stay in town, no. If you want Arrowtown, Gibbston or Glenorchy, which is most of the reason to be here at Easter, then yes, because they are spread across the basin and a four day weekend does not stretch far when every outing runs on a timetable. We have written the honest version of that argument, including when the answer is no.