Lake Tekapo to Queenstown: Scenic Day Trip Highlights

Embark on a small group tour from Christchurch to Queenstown and explore the stunning landscapes of Tekapo, Mt Cook, and Tasman Glacier. Led by passionate tour guides, this fully-guided day trip includes highlights like Lake Tekapo, Mt Cook National Park, and more.

Duration: 14 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Christchurch - The tour begins in the beautiful city of Christchurch. As the journey commences, the guide will not only set the stage for an exciting day but also highlight and navigate through some of the area’s top attractions.
  • Canterbury Plains - Leaving Christchurch, the tour proceeds through the remarkable Canterbury Plains, showcasing…
What's Included
  • Lunch
  • Small Group & Fully Guided Tour
  • Luggage allowance - 1 large & 1 small per person
  • Water available & snacks provided
What's Not Included
  • Optional extras and activities - please select the tour option you want at time of booking
  • Gratuities
  • On-board restrooms
Additional Information

Join us on an intimate day tour that merges the captivating landscapes of Lake Tekapo, Mt Cook National Park, and the Tasman Glacier. This is an unrivalled conduit between Christchurch and Queenstown, complete with a complimentary picnic. Our expert guides, adored for their charismatic storytelling and deep-rooted knowledge, lead the tour. All tours are…

Location
Bus Interchange (Intercity stop)
Pickup time: 6:25am. If your accommodation is yet to be confirmed, we recommend selecting the Intercity Stop for now. You can update this later if needed!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(46 Ratings)
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36jol
May 28, 2025
Excellent experience - The trip was efficiently done. I was very surprised to be given a snack pack and later a lunch pack ..both excellent. The stops en route were well spaced and information provided was excellent about each stop I hadn't realised that a glacier cruise was possible...I'd like to have Been reminded of the optional extras ..but equally I could have asked ...so not a criticism The hotel has a great cafe with good food and amazing pizza where you can see the mountains without getting cold walking in winter Served a purpose of getting me between 2 points ...it is a long day ,arriving at 7.30pm.from 6.30am but glad iv done it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carolinemw859jo
Apr 20, 2025
Great tour.Lousy weather. Spectacular views.Great guides - Absolutely fabulous guide Weather was horrible, but that's nature. Still, he was courteous and sooo nice 👍 Lunch was enough. We were listened to so the trip was catered to all our needs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelwe9474fo
Apr 11, 2025
Great experience - Both drivers were amazing! First one was a local with a lot of good knowledge and was very passionate about it. Helped us find a good hike. Second also had a lot of knowledge and was super funny
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A5090shccc
Mar 12, 2025
Good experience in transit trip from Christchurch to Queenstown - Tour guides ( Denley and Joseph) have much experience and prefect time arrangement. Very flexible to manage the group wish/ request. Sufficient arrange the time to spend at look out area . He/ she - both introduce the visiting places in details. Good handling in luggage and in transit vehicle. Drive safe. Have free Wi-Fi provided. Light snack is provided, too . Great and smooth travel.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Davidbh9468vh
Mar 6, 2025
Christchurch to Queenstown with an Alpine experience - This was a way for us to experience the most in a small amount of time! The drivers were both very informative, kind and caring! The stops were spectacular. We did the Alpine tour with landing on a glacier in a Ski Airplane and coming back to the airport by Helicopter. This was an unforgettable day for us! The yummy ice team at the end of the trip was the icing on the g on the cake for this amazing experience. Note: to both Di and Jonathan. They drove very responsible, kept everyone safe, asked about our comfort level and reminded us of safety. They were very considerate and conscientious of informing us of our timed stops for bathroom breaks and food stops. We had a great group who followed directions so our trip was seamless. We had beautiful blue skies and came away with great memories.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sharon
Feb 28, 2025
Great way to travel from Christchurch to Queenstown taking in some sights. - Very informative and friendly driver/guide. Great flexible service. Comfortable bus and treats and lunch were tasty.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Windstream
Feb 19, 2025
Great tours with Cheeky Kiwi Travel - This was one of the best trips of our life! Cheeky Kiwi has fantastic guides, very well planned routes and great partners. Our pilot for the Mt. Cook flight was absolutely amazing too! I also have a suspicion they have a secret way to arrange the most perfect weather that we enjoyed in all our three tours with them. :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ellen_r
Mar 16, 2025
Great one way trip - It was a long day but a great way to get from Christchurch to Queenstown. There were a lot of wonderful scenery and hikes.
Review provided by Viator
Poondla_r
Feb 14, 2025
Comfortable Journey - Comfortable journey. The tour operator Cheeki Kiwi travels, confirmed the journey a day in advance and also the lunch requirement. But surprisingly Cheeki Kea coach picked us up for the journey. We had to change vehicle to Cheeki Kiwi travels at Mt Cook village. As there was a deadline to pickup passengers, instead of the allocated 3 hrs at Mt Cook Village, our time was cut down to 1 hr 45mins only. So couldn't do the hikes at Mt Cook satisfactorily. Overall, both the Guide cum Drivers kept the journey interesting by their commentary and tidbits of information. The rest stops were appropriate. Though the journey was more than 12 hrs, it was not tiring. We were even dropped at the Hotel. Highly advised tour if one wants to do a relaxed drive from Christchurch to Queenstown.
Review provided by Viator
Harjit_c
Feb 24, 2025
The tour operator per our... - The tour operator per our booking was Cheeky Kiwi, instead Cheeky Kea travel. Cheeky Kia travel was over 15 mintues late in pick us from the hotel. The bus was already full with luggage and passengers, there was only two seperate seats available. Our original tour bus was suppose to have only 15 passengers while this had 16. There was no room for the luggage, it was just being picked up and tossed in with no regards to its contents. The tour operator was not knowledgeable about the tour. He was constatently talking about frivilous thigs that had nithing to do with the tour. The fact he was late, we were being rushed from visit to the next to make up for the time. Very poor service, false advertisment, not worth the trip.
Review provided by Viator
From $238
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).