Cardrona Alpine Resort
Cardrona Alpine Resort
4.5
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Located between Wanaka & Queenstown in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, Cardrona is a high ski resort renowned among skiers & snowboarders for its dry powder snow & wide slopes. Features include the Southern Hemisphere's most extensive park & pipes, excellent kids skiing facilities, ski & snowboard school, 8 distinctly different cafes & restaurants, & apartment accommodation. Cardrona is open for both winter & summer operations, with mountain biking, gondola rides, hiking/sightseeing, stargazing & NZ's only mountain carting in the summer months.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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  • Nathan M
    Napier, New Zealand99 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A true Ski resort
    Having skied in the North Island for most of my life I have had a revelation. This field is so well run, so professional it puts RAL to shame. The snow conditions were quite low but it stayed in great condition through out the day. Crisp squeaky snow on a solid base. The staff managed the high numbers well and the free shuttle bus from the bottom carpark was great. We will be back.
    Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic experience skiing with us. We take great pride in providing an excellent experience, even when the snow levels are low. We can't wait to welcome you back for another memorable skiing adventure in the future. Thank you for choosing us!
    Written 10 July 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited July 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 7 July 2023
  • Alison T
    Cairns, Australia6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great day- great instructor
    We had a private 2 hour lesson with Eriska. She was amazing- really patient, encouraging and clearly a very experienced instructor. We learned much more than we expected and were able to feel confident with skiing with and without poles, stopping, controlling our speed , riding the magic carpet and beginning to explore turns. Thank you so much. Extremely enjoyable day
    It sounds like you had a fantastic day on the slopes, mastering essential skills, and exploring the mountain. We're grateful for your kind words, and we hope you continue to have many more memorable skiing adventures at Cardrona Alpine Resort in the future!
    Written 3 September 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited August 2023
    Written 18 August 2023
  • Paul A
    Auckland Central, New Zealand8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    One of the best ski fields in NZ.
    Always good times @ Cardrona even when the weather isn't the best. Usually go there during Winter X Games so that's busier than school holidays and during those times queues are a bit annoying if you are on the MdDougalls or Whitestar and want to watch so it would be great if they upgraded to a six-seater. But then the Captain's is usually relatively empty. Limited off-piste as you need decent snow coverage to hit the best diamonds trails but there are plenty of other cool drops and steep areas for adrenaline junkies around the Captain's. If the usually used for racing trails are open, you can get some decent speeds while carving it up hard :) Food/Beverages got a lot more expensive from the 2023 season to what I remember so you may want to pack lunch and bring your isotonic drinks with you :)
    Thank you for sharing your review of Cardrona Alpine Resort! We appreciated your detailed feedback as we are continuously seeking to improve our offerings to our guests. We hope you continue to have fantastic experiences at Cardrona, and we look forward to welcoming you back for more memorable adventures on the slopes! ⛷️
    Written 26 October 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 9 October 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles795 reviews
Excellent
529
Very good
176
Average
54
Poor
22
Terrible
14

Jess C
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Friends
CANT RECOMMEND ENOUGH! Great day up the mountain and can't wait to go again. Staff were friendly and helpful, the views from the tracks (and chairlifts) are amazing and the carts are so much fun
Written 24 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tash L
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Friends
It is better to take your own food!
The quality of the food is really not good and made without any passion or even interest and that for ridiculously high prices. Even at the Mezz, what they like to call the fine dining, is not really a hit. Truffle chips?! They only get sprayed with something that might contain a minimum of truffles, if any at all. The food quality at noodle bar is exactly the same problem.
Written 24 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David T
Melbourne, Australia2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
One of the many highlights of our holiday. Well worth the trip up the mountain for not only the incredible views but also the 2 hours of adrenaline carting across 3 different downhill tracks.
You can go as fast or as slow as you want.
Written 8 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Paul A
Auckland Central, New Zealand8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Friends
Always good times @ Cardrona even when the weather isn't the best. Usually go there during Winter X Games so that's busier than school holidays and during those times queues are a bit annoying if you are on the MdDougalls or Whitestar and want to watch so it would be great if they upgraded to a six-seater. But then the Captain's is usually relatively empty.

Limited off-piste as you need decent snow coverage to hit the best diamonds trails but there are plenty of other cool drops and steep areas for adrenaline junkies around the Captain's. If the usually used for racing trails are open, you can get some decent speeds while carving it up hard :)

Food/Beverages got a lot more expensive from the 2023 season to what I remember so you may want to pack lunch and bring your isotonic drinks with you :)
Written 9 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for sharing your review of Cardrona Alpine Resort! We appreciated your detailed feedback as we are continuously seeking to improve our offerings to our guests. We hope you continue to have fantastic experiences at Cardrona, and we look forward to welcoming you back for more memorable adventures on the slopes! ⛷️
Written 26 October 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Eve C
5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Staff were so nice, definitely worth getting a private lesson you get to skip ques so you don’t have to wait long, slops are great and well maintained.
Written 28 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review of Cardrona! 😊 We're thrilled to hear that you had a positive experience with our team and enjoyed your private lesson. Skipping the queues certainly adds to the convenience and allows you to make the most of your time on the slopes.
Written 8 October 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Karis
Hong Kong, China2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Friends
All the staff at the resort are super friendly and helpful. The bus ride is very comfortable thanks to our skilful driver Pete. My friends and I have very little experience in snow sports so we did a first timer package which include a whole day lesson. Our snowboarding instructor Gav is experienced, friendly, encouraging. We all managed to learn a few basic snowboarding skills. We couldn’t stop talking about it for the rest of the day.
Written 11 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your fantastic review of Cardrona Alpine Resort! We're stoked that you all managed to learn some basic snowboarding skills and had such an enjoyable day. Rest assured, we will pass on your kudos to the team, Pete, and Gav. Your positive feedback is greatly appreciated, and we're sure they'll be delighted to hear it. We look forward to welcoming you back for more snow adventures in the future! 🏂🚌🌨️🌟
Written 20 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

steve w
Auckland, New Zealand66 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Great snow, despite it being an average winter. Two things make this a 3 star review.

At no time in the last seven days did I see a ski patrol. What I did see, was parks riders, both skiers and boarders hammering down the slow area at the bottom of All Nations, whizzing around novice skiers trying to get there confidence up, scaring the living daylights out of them.

It's appallingly bad. Do something about it.

Second, Captians cafe is still the biggest joke on the mountain. A sold out day, yet the queue for coffee was 25 minutes. Grumpy staff, grumpy patrons, but.....BUT, they still only had one of two coffee machines going.

Unbelievable.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We're sorry to hear about the concerns you had during your recent visit to Cardrona Alpine Resort. Your feedback is valuable in helping us improve the guest experience. Regarding the ski patrol issue and the behavior of some park riders, we take safety on the slopes seriously. We will investigate the situation and make necessary adjustments to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all our guests, especially those who are learning to ski or snowboard. We also apologise for the inconvenience you faced at Captains Cafe, including the long queue and service issues. To better address your concerns and gather more details about your visit, we kindly ask you to email us at feedback@realnz.com with the date of your visit and any additional information you can provide. Your input will be instrumental in helping us make the necessary improvements for future guests. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, and we hope to see you again in the future with an improved experience.
Written 3 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Alison T
Cairns, Australia6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023
We had a private 2 hour lesson with Eriska.
She was amazing- really patient, encouraging and clearly a very experienced instructor.
We learned much more than we expected and were able to feel confident with skiing with and without poles, stopping, controlling our speed , riding the magic carpet and beginning to explore turns.
Thank you so much.
Extremely enjoyable day
Written 19 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It sounds like you had a fantastic day on the slopes, mastering essential skills, and exploring the mountain. We're grateful for your kind words, and we hope you continue to have many more memorable skiing adventures at Cardrona Alpine Resort in the future!
Written 3 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Nathan M
Napier, New Zealand99 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Family
Having skied in the North Island for most of my life I have had a revelation. This field is so well run, so professional it puts RAL to shame. The snow conditions were quite low but it stayed in great condition through out the day. Crisp squeaky snow on a solid base. The staff managed the high numbers well and the free shuttle bus from the bottom carpark was great. We will be back.
Written 8 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic experience skiing with us. We take great pride in providing an excellent experience, even when the snow levels are low. We can't wait to welcome you back for another memorable skiing adventure in the future. Thank you for choosing us!
Written 10 July 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jenny D
Gold Coast, Australia52 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Family
Let me start by saying there wasn’t much snow but that didn’t stop us having fun on the beginner slopes and every instructor we had for group lessons was fantastic.
But let’s talk about the downstairs cafe. Lunch is expensive but that’s what you expect on a mountain. Honestly, I have no issue with paying a premium for hot food. My issue is with the day we decided to bring our own noodles in a cup and use the boiling water tap in the cafe. I have spent a huge amount of money to bring my family here and wanted to exercise some frugality on one day. The single hot water boiler was out of water by 1:45 which is when lunch starts for those doing lessons. I asked staff behind the counter if it was broken and they said just to wait for it to reheat. I stood at the water heater for a full 20 minutes and every 4 minutes or so got a tiny dribble of boiling water. After 20 minutes I had enough water for one noodle cup and had a queue of disappointed customers behind me asking why I was taking so long. I repeatedly raised the issue to staff but they couldn’t/wouldn’t help. The best the staff offered was for me to buy an overpriced tea, throw away the teabag and use the water for my noodles. I found this a terrible experience, it soured our time at Cardrona and sent a clear message that profit is far more important than the customer experience.
My advice is to have two or more water boilers, and if they aren’t working, do the right thing and provide free or reasonably priced boiling water from behind the counter. This is pretty basic customer service and I’m disappointed that Cardrona doesn’t put the customer first.
Written 30 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, Jenny. Firstly, we're glad to hear that you had a fun day skiing, despite the limited snow conditions! We appreciate your feedback regarding your experience at café. We understand that providing affordable options for our guests is important, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused by the single hot water boiler running out of water. During peak times, the demand on our 60-liter boiler can exceed its capacity, and once it runs out of hot water due to frequent usage, it becomes challenging to re-boil it quickly enough to meet the demand. Similarly, during peak times, the demand for hot beverages is typically high, and this unfortunately limits our ability to provide hot water to everyone. We acknowledge that the situation could have been handled better, and we apologise for the lack of assistance provided by our staff. We appreciate your feedback and recognise the importance of addressing these issues to enhance the overall customer experience. Your comments will be taken into consideration as we evaluate our operations and seek ways to improve our service, including potential solutions to ensure a more reliable supply of hot water.
Written 10 July 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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CARDRONA ALPINE RESORT: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Cardrona Alpine Resort