Queenstown or Wānaka: Which Base Is Right for Your Heli Elopement?
Queenstown and Wānaka sit about an hour apart by road and both put you inside the Southern Alps within minutes of lifting off. They are not interchangeable, though — the country you reach first is genuinely different, and so is the feel of the town you come back to.
Side by side
| Queenstown | Wānaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting there | International airport, direct flights from Australia | Domestic flights, or an hour's drive from Queenstown |
| First country you reach | The Remarkables, Mt Crichton, Cecil Peak, Earnslaw Burn | Mt Aspiring country, Coromandel Peak, Rob Roy, Isobel Glacier |
| Feel of the town | Busy, lively, plenty to do either side | Quiet, slower, lake-and-mountain simple |
| Accommodation | The widest range in the region | Smaller, books out fast in peak season |
| Best for | Overseas couples and guests | Couples who want nobody around |
Choose Queenstown if travel logistics matter
Queenstown Airport takes international arrivals, which means guests flying in from Australia or further afield land where the elopement happens. If anyone is joining you, this alone usually settles it.
The flying is superb too. The Remarkables are minutes away, Earnslaw Burn's hanging glaciers and waterfalls are a short hop north, and Cecil and Walter Peak give you long lake-view ridgelines directly across the water.
Choose Wānaka if you want the quieter version
Wānaka trades convenience for space. It is closest to Mt Aspiring National Park, which means glaciers, hanging valleys and shoulders above Lake Wānaka within a very short flight. Coromandel Peak is the best-known of them, and it lives up to the photographs.
The town is calmer at every hour of the day. Couples who want the whole trip to feel remote, not just the ceremony hour, usually end up here.
What does not change between them
- The same team, celebrant, photography and film coverage.
- The same approach to weather — backup sites, morning preference, honest calls.
- Similar cost. Base town is not a meaningful price lever; flight time and landings are.
- The final landing site is chosen on the morning either way.
You do not actually have to choose today
Because the two airfields are an hour apart, we regularly plan from one and fly from the other when the forecast sits better on that side. If your date is fixed and the weather is marginal, having both options open is an advantage, not indecision.
Read the full Queenstown guide — logistics, landing areas and how the day runs.
Or read the Wānaka guide, including Mt Aspiring country and Coromandel Peak.
If you would rather see the landing sites first and decide from there, the locations page groups every site we fly to by region and landscape.
Tell us your date and where you are staying, and we will recommend the airfield.