Catch the ferry - hourly service
Queenstown’s ferry service will now run every hour from 8.15am to 9.45pm seven days a week.
Otago Regional Council (ORC) announced the expanded timetable on Monday. The ferry operates from jetties outside the Hilton hotel, Queenstown Marina, Bayview Apartments and Queenstown Bay.
For the Queenstown-bound service, ferries leave the Hilton from 8.15am, calling at Queenstown Marina at 8.20am, Bayview 8.25am and arriving at Queenstown Bay 8.35am. They run every hour to 9.15pm, with the same past-the-hour times for stops.
In the other direction, ferries leave Queenstown Bay from 8.45am, calling at Bayview at 8.50am, Marina 8.55am and Hilton, 9.05am. They also run every hour, with the same timed stops.
Ferry pricing remains the same: $10 per person, per trip with a Bee Card, or $14 with a bank card (children under 5 travel for free and cash is not accepted).
ORC awarded the Lake Whakatipu ferry contract to Watersports Ltd in July.
Watersports Ltd co-owner Iraj Barabi, who also built and owns Queenstown Marina, says the intention is to provide the public with a "best-in-class transportation experience in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner".
"Ferry passengers can expect better timeliness, expanded and more reliable services, more efficient processes, resulting in elevated customer satisfaction.”
More than 71,000 trips were taken on Queenstown Ferries in the 2024/25 financial year. That's a 4% decrease from the same period in 2023/24, when the ferries were half-priced. However, the first six months of this year has seen passenger numbers increasing again.
"We are optimistic the expanded timetable will drive higher passenger numbers for the rest of the year," ORC’s transport general manager Anita Dawe says.
