Family Ski Holidays In Queenstown & Wanaka

Wide, open runs, designated beginners' area, fully licensed childcare centre, kids' ski and snowboard school, epic food, gondola cabins and of course our mates Pengi and Frosty... if you're looking for the best spot for your family ski holiday, you've just found it! Cardrona LOVES kids, and we can't wait to get your family stoked on skiing or snowboarding in New Zealand!

Make getting the mob ready for a day of skiing or snowboarding in Queenstown and Wānaka super easy – we've got all the information you need to help every member of the family have a great time on the slopes.

Sort your ski passes in advance:

If you're already in Queenstown or Wānaka for your family ski holiday, pop into one of our town offices to pick up your lift passes in advance. You can also get your rental ski or snowboard equipment in our Queenstown or Wānaka offices!

Top tip: if you've booked multi-day Cardrona rentals, you can take your gear to Ski Concierge, and they will store it overnight. This means you don't have to go back to Rentals each morning to get fitted out; your skis, snowboards, and boots will be ready to go from the day before.

Driving the mountain road:

There are heaps of options to get to Cardrona from Queenstown or Wānaka for the whole family. If you're driving yourselves, use the drop-off zone at the top of the mountain to unload the rest of the family right at the front door before parking in one of the car parks. If it's a lower car park, we offer a free shuttle to get back up to Base.

If you're not as confident driving the mountain road, we've got a bunch of transport options from Queenstown and Wānaka or you can jump on a shuttle from the Pine Trees Carpark (the 1km mark on our road) for free!

Lessons for the whole family:

From three months old to adults, everyone is looked after by our Snow Sports School team! You can enrol your teeniest tots in Pengi's Nursery or Ski Kindy for the day – it's a fully licensed early childcare centre, so you know they're in good hands. We've had kids skiing as soon as they can walk with our Under 5s lessons!

Kids aged 5 to 14 years can join group lessons for a full day. Our Kids' Multi-Day Programmes are four full days of group lessons that run Monday to Thursday every week of the season; the ultimate learning adventure with the same instructor and same group of kids.

If you're worried about the kids getting better than you, book yourself into a group or private lesson so you can keep up with them! Our instructors will show you their favourite spots on the mountain so you can show the kids later on when it's family ski time.

Want to make the most of your quality family time together this holiday? Learn to ski or snowboard all together with our Premium Family Private Lessons! Learn together all day, or split your time, your family can build your own unique lessons experience with one of our instructors.

Kid-friendly mountain food!

We've got heaps of kid-friendly mountain food options at Cardrona! Mezz and Noodle Bar both have kids-specific menus if you want to sit down and have a great meal as a family. If your kids are confident skiers or snowboarders and are shredding out to Captain's, a locals' family favourite is the Captain's Pizzeria – the kids' mac and cheese is always a winner and you definitely can't go wrong with a slice of our famous pizza! And to keep the smiles going, treat them (and yourselves) to a real fruit ice cream from Carol's.

As you gear up for your family's next snow adventure, remember that Cardrona is here to make your family ski holiday as stress-free fun as possible. We can't wait to see you and your family skiing and riding at Cardrona!