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The Wanaka Lavender Farm is a great place to visit as a tourist in New Zealand. This blog is all about what the farm is like, what to do there, how much it costs, what my experience was like, and a general review.
If you have an hour or so to spare while in Wanaka, then a trip to the Wanaka Lavender Farm is a great option! Located only a couple of minutes outside of Wanaka town center, this lavender farm lets visitors explore the purple lavender fields, shop in the gift shop, sample lavender products in the cafe, or feed some of the animals on the farm.
Dan and I were passing through Wanaka the other day on our journey to the West Coast and decided to check out the lavender farm for ourselves. We had a blast watching the animals and even tried lavender-flavored ice cream! While the whole experience only took about an hour, it was a fun quick stop!
Here is everything you might want to know about the Wanaka Lavender Farm.
What is the Wanaka Lavender Farm exactly?
It is a farm of lavender fields! You can walk the fields and take some photos or explore what else the farm has to offer.
There are some farm animals around that you can see including alpacas, goats, pigs, and sheep. The animals are all really friendly and will likely come to the fence to greet you! You can sometimes buy food from reception and feed the animals yourself.
The gift shop offers lavender goods including lots of skincare products. Next to the gift shop is a little cafe that sells some treats including lavender ice cream and tea!
Related Read: Here are some other incredible South Island Destinations to see while visiting New Zealand.
How much does the Wanaka Lavender Farm cost?
When the flowers have bloomed in summer expect to pay $10 per adult and $5 for children. In the offseason, it costs $5 for an adult and $2 for children.
The price changes depending on the season because when the flowers aren’t blooming it isn’t as special of a place to visit as when there are purple flowers surrounding you as far as the eye can see.
For updated prices be sure to double-check their website here!
When to Visit the Wanaka Lavender Farm
Lavender is seasonal so if you were to visit in winter then there will be no flowers. We went in spring at the beginning of December and the flowers were just starting to bloom. If you wait until January, February, or March though you will see the flowers all bloomed bright purple!
Related Read: Just a 25 minute drive away from the lavender fields you can visit the scenic Diamond Lake Walk in Wanaka.
Where is the Wanaka Lavender Farm?
The Wanaka Lavender Farm is located only a 5-minute drive from Wanaka town center on New Zealand’s South Island. The address is 36 Morris Road and you can find their location on Google Maps (there are also signs on the road to help.)
About the Wanaka Lavender Farm
The Wanaka Lavender Farm is a locally owned and operated business. They opened in November 2014 and the property stretched across 12 hectares with over 7,000 lavender plants. They have over 25 different types of lavender and also hundreds of bee boxes on the property.
The Wanaka Lavender Farm is an operating lavender farm but has also become a popular tourist attraction! Today, it is more than just a farm and also has a gift shop and cafe!
Our Experience at the Wanaka Lavender Farm
We were passing through Wanaka on a road trip on the South Island and decided to stop at the Wanaka Lavender Farm to stretch our legs. It was a good quick stop to break up our day of driving.
Because we visited in spring the lavender flowers weren’t fully bloomed yet, but there was still enough color to take some photos!
After our lavender photoshoot, we wandered the fields for a bit and then spent some time with the animals. The lambs were especially cute and friendly!
We finished the day with lavender ice cream in the cafe. We selected the lavender and manuka honey flavor and it was delicious!
Overall, we only spent about an hour at the lavender farm but it was a fun short stopover and for the small price of only $5 we couldn’t complain!
Related Read: Visiting New Zealand during the winter? Hit the slopes at Cardrona Ski Resort.
Important Info to Know Before You Go
The Wanaka Lavender Farm is open from 9 am to 5 pm 7 days a week during the months of September-May. From June-August, their hours are 10 am to 5 pm 7 days a week.
Note: The Wanaka Lavender Farm closes on Christmas Day
Make sure you bring a hat and sunscreen for sunny days as well as your camera for those amazing “Instagram-worthy” photos! Bring some money for the entrance fee and if you want to buy anything in the cafe or gift shop as well.
Other than that, just show up and enjoy!
Where to stay near the Wanaka Lavender Farm
There are lots of great options for places to stay in Wanaka. Here are our top recommendations for every budget!
- Wanaka Backpackers Bothy – These are dorm-style rooms that are perfect for budget travelers or backpackers, they offer clean and comfortable stays, and beds start at $32 NZD. It’s located right in the center of Wanaka, right across from Wanaka Lake.
- Wanaka Hotel – The Wanaka Hotel is a luxury mid-range hotel. It is perfect for couples or families who want a nice hotel in a gorgeous location without the heft price tag. Private rooms start at $150 NZD for two people.
- Bella Vista Motel Lake Wanaka – The Bella Vista is another hotel in a fantastic location. It offers a massive gorgeous pool which is perfect for relaxing on a hot summer day. This is a really well-reviewed hotel in Wanaka in a central location.
You can browse all of the accommodations available in Wanaka and book online in advance!
General Info for Visiting Wanaka
If you’re exploring Wanaka beyond the Wanaka Lavender Farm here’s some important info to help you have the best time possible!
Other Things to do in Wanaka
There is a huge range of things to do in Wanaka including:
- Skydiving – Wanaka is one of the most beautiful places in the world to go skydiving.
- Go Hiking – Some of the most popular trails around Wanaka include Roys Peak, Diamond Lake, and Isthmus Peak.
- Get out on the lake – You can walk along the foreshore, have a drink at a pub with a view or on a happy hour cruise, go paddleboarding or kayaking, enjoy a scenic boat cruise, or even go jet boating!
- Other adventure activities – Climb a waterfall (via Ferrata, go canyoning, or even tackle kayaking in river rapids!
Renting a Car or Campervan in New Zealand
The first step to planning your New Zealand road trip is choosing your set of wheels! Most people rent a campervan or motorhome to get around, but you can also just rent a normal car and stay in hotels (as opposed to camping.)
You can search for rental cars online with Discover Cars in advance to compare car models and prices. We’ve used this website all over the world and if you want more details, read our honest review of Discover Cars for more details!
You can also do this with motorhomes and campervans on a website called Motorhome Republic. It shows all of the available campervans and motorhomes for your specific New Zealand road trip dates. You can compare prices and company reviews here too!
JUCY is our personal favorite campervan rental company in NZ. We love JUCY because they have such a range of both cars and campervans available, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to find something to suit your budget and travel style.
We’ve actually secured an exclusive discount code for our readers with JUCY. Just click here to browse their availability and use the code DTRAVEL25 at checkout to get 5% off! What a good deal!
You can check prices, availability and book with JUCY online here.
Star RV is another company we personally recommend but specifically for motorhomes! They offer larger motorhomes (as opposed to budget campervans) at really reasonable rates.
Star RV has actually given us a discount code for our readers too! Use the code DTRAVEL25 at checkout to get 5% off your motorhome rental! Click here to browse availability, prices, and book with our discount code!
Note: For both Star RV and JUCY, no discounts or promotions will be applied for pickups from December 16, 2024 to January 19, 2025 for New Zealand and Australia. But for the entire rest of the year, the discount is yours!
Thanks for reading!
The Wanaka Lavender Farm was a really unique attraction. It’s a good budget-friendly activity and suitable for all ages. We love taking photos for our Instagram, so for us, we really enjoyed our time at the lavender farm. Plus, the baby sheep were just too cute not to love!
Thanks so much for checking out our guide to the Wanaka Lavender Farm. If you have any questions please leave them below in the comments section.
Also, if you found this guide helpful then be sure to check out all our other New Zealand blogs on our official New Zealand page here or check out some of our other related articles below:
The BEST and Worst Waterfalls in the Catlins, NZ
Things to do in Punakaiki, New Zealand
