Cardrona Alpine Resort
4.3 21 reviews
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Cardrona is NZ's biggest ski resort and consistently the one people come back to. It suits all levels well, families especially, and the beginners' area gets a good wrap from first-timers who felt looked after. The terrain variety is solid, and the season tends to run longer than most other South Island fields. Worth noting though, it's not cheap, and a handful of reviewers flag that peak times can get crowded, particularly on the learner slopes and in the hire shop.
My practical tip: sort your rental gear in Wanaka before you head up, not at the mountain. It saves a fair chunk of time on a busy day. Buy your lift passes in town too if you can. The road up is well maintained but check the chain requirements before you go, especially early and late season. (There's a 10% saving available with promo code RANKERS, which softens the cost a bit.)
If you're not skiing, the summer mountain biking gets a solid thumbs up too, and The Lounge cafe up top is genuinely good. The views alone are worth the drive. About 45 minutes from Wānaka and an hour from Queenstown Airport, it's an easy day out from either base.
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Details
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Organisation |
Cardrona Alpine ResortCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township |
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Operating Season And Hours |
The winter season starts June 13. The resort also operates during the summer season with different activities. Currently, Cardrona and Treble Cone mountains are closed. |
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Promo Code 10% Off |
Use discount code RANKERS with Cardrona Alpine Resort and 10% off. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
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Snow and Ice
Google Maps
Reviews
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Good value for size of ski field.
Alan -
Love it - been back 3 years running.
Lucy_S -
Very much fun although very expensive.
Dassel -
Great location.
Mark Ryan -
Excellent teachers.
Louise
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Booking system 10/10: I had booked online and changed from trail to downhill bikes.
Summer mountain biking:
They replied quickly and it was super easy to pay the extra via a link in the booking amendment email.
Access 10/10: The road up was well groomed and we made it easily in our tiny rental car (Mazda2). Plenty of parking and well sign posted all the way.
Service 8/10: Super casual, friendly and quick. I'd advise a sign in and out sheet for hear though as collecting & returning helmets and pads was not tracked - one point off. The bike my partner was riding was in an incident the day prior but they didn't track him down to check it over until we were well into our riding time - one point off.
Trails 9/10: Rode mostly intermediate trails which were all super enjoyable with some groomed, flow sections and some rocky drops and loose sections that were more challenging. Signage to trail heads was confusing and the trail map was inaccurate in places - one point off.
Amenities 10/10: OMG The Lounge is rad. Super comfy and styley interior, lovely coffee, decent selection of cold beer, all food made on site - cabinet food looked delish. We had a beef burger which was one of the best burgers I've ever eaten. Outdoor pizza looked great too... will have that next time!
Tip: bring a warm top as it's chilly on the lifts even in the middle of summer.
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A great place to ski.
Really family friendly and good beginner lessons and slopes to keep you entertained.
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Wicked park!
Views are supreme! Lots of snow and a longer season makes this the best ski field in New Zealand.
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Went to the Cardrona in winter, fantastic boarding/skiing facilities suited to all levels of ability.
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Love it - been back 3 years running.
It's small and friendly and there's a great selection of green runs.
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First day we tried to go skiing at Cardrona we got to the entrance and the sign said we needed snow chains but there was nobody there to hire/fit them.
We drove back to Wanaka and hired some chains and then went back to the Cardrona sales office, where we had been the day before when they had given us no info. Found out then that there is a guy halfway up the hill that hires and fits snow chains. Too windy so we decided to go back next day. Advice for first timers - hire your ski clothes in wanaka as it takes hours to get organised in their hire shop and get through the crowded rush. Hire skis etc at the mountain. I was exhausted by the time we got our family organised. Also see if you can buy lift passes etc in town to beat the crowds.
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When it's not windy/rainy/cloudy it's ok.
Long lift queues, especially during school holidays! Quite dirty facilities (toilets etc). Staff were quite friendly, the instructors didn't seem that knowledgeable unfortunately. Quite flat terrain, there's only really 3 runs and they're boring! Noodle bar is yum. Lots of kickers, rails etc for those baggy-panted people (which there are a lot of).
Overall boring, way preferred other ski fields to Cardrona.
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Booking system 10/10: I had booked online and changed from trail to downhill bikes.
Summer mountain biking:
They replied quickly and it was super easy to pay the extra via a link in the booking amendment email.
Access 10/10: The road up was well groomed and we made it easily in our tiny rental car (Mazda2). Plenty of parking and well sign posted all the way.
Service 8/10: Super casual, friendly and quick. I'd advise a sign in and out sheet for hear though as collecting & returning helmets and pads was not tracked - one point off. The bike my partner was riding was in an incident the day prior but they didn't track him down to check it over until we were well into our riding time - one point off.
Trails 9/10: Rode mostly intermediate trails which were all super enjoyable with some groomed, flow sections and some rocky drops and loose sections that were more challenging. Signage to trail heads was confusing and the trail map was inaccurate in places - one point off.
Amenities 10/10: OMG The Lounge is rad. Super comfy and styley interior, lovely coffee, decent selection of cold beer, all food made on site - cabinet food looked delish. We had a beef burger which was one of the best burgers I've ever eaten. Outdoor pizza looked great too... will have that next time!
Tip: bring a warm top as it's chilly on the lifts even in the middle of summer.
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A great place to ski.
Really family friendly and good beginner lessons and slopes to keep you entertained.
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Wicked park!
Views are supreme! Lots of snow and a longer season makes this the best ski field in New Zealand.
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Went to the Cardrona in winter, fantastic boarding/skiing facilities suited to all levels of ability.
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When it's not windy/rainy/cloudy it's ok.
Long lift queues, especially during school holidays! Quite dirty facilities (toilets etc). Staff were quite friendly, the instructors didn't seem that knowledgeable unfortunately. Quite flat terrain, there's only really 3 runs and they're boring! Noodle bar is yum. Lots of kickers, rails etc for those baggy-panted people (which there are a lot of).
Overall boring, way preferred other ski fields to Cardrona.
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First day we tried to go skiing at Cardrona we got to the entrance and the sign said we needed snow chains but there was nobody there to hire/fit them.
We drove back to Wanaka and hired some chains and then went back to the Cardrona sales office, where we had been the day before when they had given us no info. Found out then that there is a guy halfway up the hill that hires and fits snow chains. Too windy so we decided to go back next day. Advice for first timers - hire your ski clothes in wanaka as it takes hours to get organised in their hire shop and get through the crowded rush. Hire skis etc at the mountain. I was exhausted by the time we got our family organised. Also see if you can buy lift passes etc in town to beat the crowds.
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Love it - been back 3 years running.
It's small and friendly and there's a great selection of green runs.
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It was my first time skiing and although I enjoyed it, the teaching was a bit rushed.
We moved on to the next thing before we were ready.
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I went snowboarding and had never tried it before.
The crew were really friendly and I was allowed to practice all day.
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