New Zealand›Queenstown, Fiordland & Otago›Wanaka›January
Wanaka in January
Great month: January is in the middle of the recommended season (December – March). Christmas and New Year holidays can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of March, 2 months away. Snow on the Crown Range and the Haast Pass usually starts in June, 5 months away.
2 days in Wanaka in January · from ₹28,302 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
What’s on in January
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Christmas and New Year holidays
New Zealand's main summer holiday: families head to the beaches and lakes, holiday parks and campervans are booked out, and Queenstown and Wānaka hold big New Year's Eve parties. Public holidays on 25-26 December and 1-2 January close some shops and add surcharges in cafés.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹28,302 for two
- Room a night₹9,350
- Food a day, each₹3,939
Mid-range
₹60,329 for two
- Room a night₹16,500
- Food a day, each₹9,090
Luxury
₹1,39,687 for two
- Room a night₹38,500
- Food a day, each₹21,210
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for New Zealand yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Christchurch (CHC), 309 km away
Then: Transfer · 5h 15m (Rental car (self-drive), per vehicle)
Flights from India: from 4 cities, one way from ₹54,000
Fly into Auckland (AKL), 993 km away
Then: Flight · 5h 30m (Flight via Queenstown + coach (Wānaka))
Flights from India: from 8 cities, one way from ₹54,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 270 days, about ₹24,260
- Apply online for a New Zealand Visitor Visa on Immigration New Zealand's Immigration Online (immigration.govt.nz), at least 6 weeks before you fly and earlier for December to February. Indian passports can't use the NZeTA.
- Pay the NZ$341 visa fee and the NZ$100 tourism levy (IVL) online, together about ₹24,300. If INZ asks for your passport or documents, the VFS Global centres in India handle them for a service fee.
- Upload your passport, a photo, 3-6 months of bank statements, flight and hotel bookings, a letter from your employer or business, and your income-tax returns.
- The visa comes by email as an eVisa (nothing is stuck in the passport): print it and carry it.
- Before you land, fill in the free New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) online or in its app, and declare all food on it: undeclared food brings an instant NZ$400 fine.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 3 months after the day you leave New Zealand; Visitor Visa (eVisa) printout; Return or onward ticket; Proof of funds: NZ$1,000 per person per month of the stay (NZ$400 a month if your accommodation is paid), about ₹55,000 a month; Hotel bookings or a host's invitation for the whole stay; NZTD confirmation.
The fee rose to NZ$341 plus a NZ$100 levy in October 2024; older guides quoting NZ$211 are out of date. INZ moved visitor applications to its enhanced Immigration Online system in September 2026, so check the current steps and processing time on immigration.govt.nz before you apply.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in New Zealand in January
Also in season this month.
- Aoraki Mount Cook · great month
- Auckland · great month
- Bay of Islands · great month
- Christchurch · great month
- Dunedin · great month
- Kaikoura · great month
- Lake Tekapo · great month
- Napier · great month
Nearby in Queenstown, Fiordland & Otago:
Want this as a real plan?
Wanaka in January, day by day, priced for your group.