30 minutes away
Staying near Queenstown
We are not in Queenstown. We are 30 minutes away in Zeehan, which for most people visiting Queenstown turns out to be the more useful place to sleep.
- To Queenstown30 minutes
- RoomsMotel and apartments
Photograph: Kim Dunstan
Being straight with you
Why 30 minutes away works
Queenstown is a working town rather than a tourist one, and its accommodation reflects that. There is not a lot of it, and what exists fills quickly when the railway is running well.
Thirty minutes on a sealed road buys you a choice of room types, a licensed bistro on site, a bottle shop in the same car park and somewhere to put a trailer.
The drive over the range between the two towns is also one of the better bits of road on the coast, which makes the commute part of the trip rather than a cost of it.
Breakfast opens at 5am, every day
Early railway departures from Queenstown mean leaving here early. Breakfast opens at 5am, so that is straightforward rather than a sacrifice.
Nearby
What you are going to Queenstown for
- The West Coast Wilderness Railway, which departs from Queenstown station.
- The moonscape hills, best seen on the drive in rather than from the town.
- The Mt Owen mountain bike network, from green family loops to shuttle downhill.
- The Lyell Highway east, with Nelson Falls on the way to Derwent Bridge.
Stay the night at the Heemskirk
Thirty minutes from Queenstown, with a bistro, a bar and parking for a trailer.