I'm going to Queenstown, NZ with a buddy in March. Neither of us have been so all recommendations will be appreciated. I am seeing that Queenstown is a bit "fancy" which is the opposite of us. I would like recommendations on the more local type places to eat and "dive bars" if there are such a thing. We are planning on renting a car so we will be able to visit the smaller towns around there as well. We will also be doing some Red Stag hunting but that's the only thing we have planned. Thanks in advance!

Queenstown is a big party town. Crowded and overpriced, but if you want to do nightlife with lots of people, it's your place.

We stayed in Arrowtown about 19 kms away. Stayed at Arrowtown House Boutique Hotel. Very nice place and a great breakfast included. Our room had washer and dryer so we could clean all our clothes. They even furnished the washer soap.

Arrowtown is quiet, pretty and has a lot of history. We ate at Slow Cuts and another restaurant that was small but served a great ribeye and had Eagle Rare on the bourbon list at a reasonable price.

If you are looking for smaller, quieter and more nature/history give it a look.

My wife reminded me about the fresh baked cookies every afternoon at the hotel. Yum!

Thanks for the info! Arrowtown is on my list to visit. We are definitely more of the small town type of people. This trip is a "work" trip for my buddy and the hotel in Queenstown is already booked/paid for by them.

We only spend a bit over a day in Queenstown. There seemed to be an entire downtown area devoted to bars, etc. so you should find plenty of places to have a good time. Wish I could be of more help in that area.

BTW - if you have the time and want to do some fly fishing I can recommend Ollie Bassett in the Rotura area on the North Island. He showed us a great time. He is on the New Zealand National Fly Fishing team and travels all over the world in competitions. Really nice guy.

so see milford sound, definitely worth the trip

fergburger is a famous burger shop, i thought it was ok

pies! make sure to get some nz meat pies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_pie_(Australia_and_New_Zealand)


drive around the south island and see some sites, tough to go wrong if you like the outdoors. nz south island is my favorite place i've ever been

I like Wanaka more than Queenstown, less crowded and not quite as pretty but more of a small town vibe.

So much of Queenstown is the area it's in. Great walks, day trip to M ilford Sound, go bungee jumping, etc.

Hell Pizza is good, and there are more divey bars around, just away from the central tourist area a bit.