Enjoy a golden getaway in Arrowtown

Last updated 10 July 2026

Looking for a stunning holiday spot where nature and history come together? Writer Sarah-Kate Lynch highlights the best that Arrowtown has to offer. 

My dream, come holiday time – if it’s not a foreign beach within walking distance of delicious food, a cold rosé and a dash of history – is an ivy-covered cottage within walking distance of delicious food, a cold rosé and a dash of history. 

They’re not as easy to find in this part of the world as perhaps among the cobbled streets of Tuscany or the lavender-filled fields of Provence, and I have on one occasion arrived in small town New Zealand expecting ivy and found instead a candle-wick bedspread nailed over a window to spare me the view of a dozen dusty utes in a public carpark. Epic fail on my part. 

You can, however, find the charm, the rosé, the thread count and a smorgasbord of wining and dining options in the historic Central Otago settlement of Arrowtown.

Eat your way through the streets

While Queenstown has its ‘big little city’ adventure vibe, Arrowtown, 15 minutes from the airport in the opposite direction, boasts a picture-perfect main street running alongside a lovely river shaded by leafy trees, with exquisitely explorable mountains in the background.

Arrowtown Lodge in Anglesea Street is a boutique hotel mere steps away from the main drag. With its lush gardens, private villas and plentiful outdoor spaces with shade for summer and outdoor fires for winter, it’s a one-stop holiday shop. 

Drop your bags, drink in the scenery, then hit Buckingham Street for something a little stronger. A new addition to the eatery landscape is Swiftsure by Man o’ War: an idyllic spot to idle away an afternoon. Cave on Arrow Lane is great for a sushi fix, La Rumbla is a local favourite for tapas and good cocktails, and the Fork and Tap hums with clinking glasses, smacking lips and live music. 

Have a negroni at Dorothy Browns cinema and bar then catch a movie, or grab a bottle of wine and check out Nadia Lim’s Royalburn Farm Shop where everything you could possibly want to eat on a picnic – and then some – is available, and you’re about 100 steps from the Arrow River for an al fresco rendezvous. The late evening light in spring and summer gives you plenty more hours to breathe in the great outdoors. And in autumn? The colours!  

Explore the great outdoors

Speaking of the great outdoors, there are more walks leaving from downtown Arrowtown than you can poke a stick at. I personally like a large ice cream from Patagonia before I head off anywhere, and I typically take a box of their dark chocolate cherry pinot noir truffles home with me too (you’re welcome).  

You can walk from bridge to bridge along the flat riverbank, take the high road up Tobin’s Track for a stunning view back across the Whakatipu Basin to Queenstown. If you have more time and proper shoes, the Sawpit Gully Trail is a stunning round-trip hike into the back country that begins and ends at the historic Chinese Village, which traces the town’s gold-mining roots. Dishery is good for a morning coffee in the sun while you’re over that way. Up the hill is the Arrowtown monument, a lovely stroll, and if you keep following your nose up to Bush Creek Road you will find an outpost of the ridiculously popular Queenstown hotspot Fergburger. 

If golf is your thing, there are 3 courses (soon to be 4) nearby. Millbrook is well known and comes with a great Japanese restaurant (Kobe). Arrowtown Golf Course is open to the public, and if you’re feeling flush you can play at The Hills, the stunning course studded with sculptures built by the late Michael Hill. Up to 12 non-members can book a round Monday to Saturday. I’m not a golfer but have been to the divine Club House at The Hills, which is worth visiting all on its own – and it has merch.  

If you’re not into golf but would like to be, why not gather a few girlfriends and sign up with the delightfully named Kiss My Putt for a Rookie Retreat?