A review of the Queenstown Luge & Skyline Gondola

If you’re travelling to New Zealand, you’ve got to visit Skyline Queenstown! This worldwide favourite is home to the gondola, luge, and other fun attractions. Visitors can jump on the gondola up Bob’s Peak, seeing beautiful views of Coronet Peak, the Remarkables, and Queenstown along the way. Once there, they’ll take another chairlift up to Skyline Luge, then enjoy the gravity-fuelled downhill ride with the purpose-built luge carts. Racing down the hill in complete control, nimbly navigating banked corners, tunnels, and dippers – it’s fun for all ages, so no wonder Skyline Luge is a must-do activity! Read the review by [author], who tried out these adventurous attractions with [their] family on holiday.

Exploring Skyline Queenstown

It was another stunning hot day in Queenstown; the weather was really turning it on for us Aucklanders. Our accommodation was a ten-minute walk from Skyline Queenstown, just on the outskirts of the CBD. We all agreed to have a lazy morning; I got up early and went for a run around the lake and read until early afternoon. We had a late lunch, then wandered across the park toward the gondola. Once we got there, we queued for five minutes and bought a family of four pass on the gondola, plus three turns each on the luge – but as it turned out, three goes wasn’t enough!

     

Pictures of the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown.

Riding the gondola up over Queenstown

After another five-minute wait, we jumped into a moving four-person cabin and screamed up the steep mountain face. Queenstown started to sink beneath us as the houses got smaller and smaller. The cabin shuddered unexpectedly as we ran over the support pillars. Within a few minutes, we were at the top, preparing ourselves to leap out and run out on the command of the attendant. Queenstown is amazing already, but the view from up there was truly something special!

Skyline Queenstown has everything you need, including a jellybean shop, bar, souvenir shop, and buffet restaurant. We had already eaten, so we bypassed the restaurant – but a dinner at dusk with a view like this would be one of the best dining experiences in the South Island, I reckon.

After exiting the gondola, we powerwalked around looking for directions to the Skyline Luge and found we had to go down a flight of steps below the restaurant. We grabbed a hairnet and slapped on a helmet before joining the queue to board another chairlift. After another short, peaceful ride, we were at the top, where the luge started.

 

View looking back over the Queenstown luge track 

 

Whizzing down the Skyline Luge

There are two tracks: a slow one (green track) and a fast one (blue track). Everyone has to take the green track to begin with, safety rules. That didn’t stop us from racing, though! The track is smooth, with lots of curves, jumps, and fast straights. There’s more than enough space to pass Sunday drivers, but it gets narrower toward the end of the track, so overtake early! Plenty of dads safely drove down with kids between their legs, so it’s great fun for young children.

We had so much fun that we ended up buying another two rides each – five in total. After the victors had finished their gloating, we made our way back to the outdoor viewing deck next to the restaurant – there was a ten-minute delay as the girls got side-tracked by the souvenir shop! The vista was amazing.180-degree views of a clear blue sky.

After spending fifteen minutes taking photos in every position imaginable, we stopped by the Jelly Bean shop, purchased a packet of exotic-flavoured Jelly Beans, and waited in line to go back down.  For those scared of heights, the ride down is worse than the ride up in my opinion. Here’s a view looking down. The Queenstown Luge and Gondola experience was great and another must visit attraction when you’re in Queenstown. 7/10.

Get to Skyline Queenstown with a rental car from Omega

As you can see from [author]’s review, Skyline Queenstown is a must-do activity for any family with an adventurous spirit! Enjoy amazing sights while you have complete control racing down in a specialised luge cart. It’s all-ages, gravity-fuelled fun that the children will love.

Since this worldwide favourite is located right outside the city, it’s incredibly easy to get there with a car rental from Omega’s Queenstown Airport location. So, if you’re heading to the adventure capital, don’t miss out on the chance to ride up the gondola and down the luge!