The Arthurs Point Base

The Shotover Jet is listed from $113 per person on GetYourGuide for the 25-minute canyon ride. That covers the ride itself, a professional driver with live commentary, the safety briefing and life jackets, heated handrails in winter, free parking and lockers. Some booking options add return transport from Queenstown, which costs more. Photos and videos of your ride are sold separately. See our tickets and prices page for how it compares with the other rides.

Twenty-five minutes on the water. Allow considerably longer for the whole outing: check-in, the safety briefing and getting into a life jacket happen first, and the base is about ten minutes out of central Queenstown. An hour and a half door to door is realistic if you drive yourself, and longer on a transfer.

From its own jet base at 3 Arthurs Point Road, Arthurs Point, Queenstown 9371 — roughly a ten-minute drive from the centre of town. There is free parking, a café, toilets, lockers and viewing areas at the base. The meeting point varies with the booking option you choose, so read your confirmation. Full detail on our Arthurs Point page.

Children must be at least 1.0 metre tall and travel with a fare-paying adult, and the operator states that minimum can rise to 1.2 metres when the river is running high. That is decided on the day. KJet and Thunder Jet have no height restriction at all and take children from two years old. Our age and height limits page compares every ride.

The operator quotes speeds of up to 90 km/h and full 360-degree spins, driven between the canyon walls rather than out on open water. The boats sit shallow, which is what allows them to run that close to rock.

Somewhat. The spins throw a curtain of spray and some of it lands on the boat, so you finish damp rather than soaked. The operator's own advice is about warmth rather than wetness: a hat, gloves and warm layers in winter, and eyewear year-round. See do you get wet on the Shotover Jet.

No. Handheld cameras, phones and loose items are not permitted on the boat. The only camera allowed is a forehead-mounted, hands-free GoPro or similar, which is what the lockers at the base are for. The operator sells photos and videos of the ride separately, subject to availability.

Yes. The boats carry heated handrails for the winter months and the operator's guidance is to dress warmly with a hat, gloves and layers. KJet, on the other rivers, states it runs rain or shine 365 days a year. The season changes what you wear rather than whether the boat goes out.

The operator lists the ride as unsuitable for pregnant women, for people with back problems and for anyone under 1.0 metre tall. Life jackets are mandatory and provided, and a safety briefing comes before every departure. If you have a medical condition, tell the operator before you book rather than at the desk.

Different rides rather than different lengths of one. The Shotover Jet is 25 minutes inside the Shotover canyons from Arthurs Point, from $113. KJet is an hour covering about 45 km of Lake Wakatipu and two rivers from the Main Town Pier, from $84, and has the larger review count. Our full comparison sets them side by side.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure applies to these listings, so booking ahead costs nothing if things move. One ride behaves differently: Thunder Jet departures need minimum numbers to run, and if they are not met the operator offers a reschedule or a full refund.

Not as a single booking. The Shotover Canyon Swing and the Shotover Jet are both bookable on their own, but no listing here sells the two together. Doing both in a day is practical, since the swing shuttle can pick up at Arthurs Point if arranged in advance — it is just two tickets. Our combos page covers what genuinely does bundle.