Milford Sound is New Zealand’s number one tourist attraction. Attracting over 800,000 visitors a year! In fact, it’s easily the most popular thing to do in Queenstown.
There are many factors to consider before deciding on how to get from Queenstown to Milford Sound. Such as how much time you have, whether you’re comfortable driving the narrow and winding road into Milford, and your budget.
If you have a rental car, then driving there yourself will likely be your first choice. But did you know that the road between Te Anau and Milford, although beautiful, is quite nerve-wracking even for the most experienced of drivers? So, if that scares you a little or you don’t have a car then a guided tour from Queenstown to Milford will be your best option. There are LOADS to choose from!
In this blog post, I’ll detail three of my favorite tours from Queenstown to Milford Sound, as well as give you my insider tips on what to expect from the drive between Queenstown and Milford if that’s the option you choose.
Getting from Queenstown to Milford Sound
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As you’ll read, there are a couple of ways to get from Queenstown to Milford Sound. If you have a rental car but you’re on a tight schedule, you could do the trip in one day. But that involves 4 hours of driving each way. And when you consider that a cruise through Milford Sound is a minimum of 90 minutes long and the fact that you’ll want to make some stops along the drive – you’ll need to prepare yourself for a tiring day. FYI, if you choose this option, you’ll need to allow for a 12-hour-plus day.
If the idea of driving to Milford Sound is appealing to you and you want to have the freedom to stop where and when you want along the way. Then consider driving as far as Te Anau, then spending the night in Te Anau before leaving early to drive to Milford Sound.
The alternative to driving to Milford Sound is to book a guided tour. There are plenty to choose from, but our personal favorite is the coach-cruise-fly option, which allows you to experience the best of this region by getting a luxury coach there and flying back.
1. Self-Drive (Drive there yourself)
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We 100% recommend self-driving to Milford Sound from Queenstown. However, we recommend breaking the journey up into two days and driving as far as Te Anau on the first day. Spend the night in the lovely town of Te Anau and then drive from Te Anau to catch your boat cruise in Milford Sound the next morning.
That way, you can drive at your own pace, stop at all the pretty sights for a photo, make an all-important coffee pitstop, and stop when you need a bathroom break. The pro list is endless, in our opinion, for self-driving to this natural wonder of the world.
If you’re tight on time and need to do the drive from Queenstown in one day, it’s important to note that Queenstown is a 4-hour drive (or 287 km) from Milford Sound. So, if you plan to do it in one day, it will be a long day of driving, and you will be limited to what scenic stops you can make along the way.
All in it’s a whopping 8 hours of driving. That’s not taking into account the traffic you will indefinitely encounter on the narrow roads into Milford Sound. So, 8 hours could quickly turn into 10 hours.
FYI, you will need to leave Queenstown super-early, i.e., around 6 am, to make the most of this drive. Plus, we only recommend doing this if you have 3 days in Queenstown (or longer) as the day, although amazing, really will take it out of you!
In short, instead of doing the drive in one day, we highly recommend spending the night in Te Anau and leaving early the next morning to catch your cruise of Milford Sound. The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound only took us 1 hour 40 minutes (it’s 118 km long). We left Te Anau at 7:30 am and didn’t encounter much traffic. And the big plus was that we were able to catch the 10 am cruise, beating all the coach tourists who typically get the 12 pm or later cruises.
Top Tip: If you’re going to rent a car in Queenstown, we highly recommend Discover Cars. We tend to always book our rental car through Discover Cars when we’re traveling. It is a search engine for rental cars and allows you to filter by price if you’re on a budget or by vehicle type if there’s a specific car you’re after.
Best Stops Between Te Anau and Milford Sound
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Between Queenstown and Te Anau, we recommend stopping at the very picturesque Devil’s Staircase (around 30 minutes from Queenstown) and the cute little town of Kingston. But the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is where things really get interesting. It’s known as one of the best drives in New Zealand, and the must-see stops along the way include –
- Eglinton Valley – About 40 minutes from Te Anau, you will find the very photogenic Eglinton Valley. This valley was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. Today, steep rocky mountains covered in native beech forest line the valley. The flat floor of the valley is covered in luminous golden tussock grass.
- Mirror Lakes – The aptly named Mirror Lakes gets its name from the mirror effect on the lake on a calm day – yep, on a still day, the surrounding Earl Mountains will be reflected on the surface of the lake. So photogenic!
- Homer Tunnel – The famous Homer Tunnel on the Milford road signals the start of your descent through the Cleddau Valley & into Milford Sound. The scenery before you enter the tunnel is gorgeous, especially on a rainy day, with lots of narrow waterfalls cascading from the surrounding cliffs.
- The Chasm – The Chasm is a huge waterfall. Honestly, the amount of water that gushes off this steep waterfall is mindblowing – and it’s especially fierce after rainfall! It’s around a 20-minute stroll into the falls, and there are two bridges at the end, which give you the best view of the falls!
P.S. If you’ve driven to Milford Sound, you’ll have some free time here. And if you’re a photography-lover (like us) then you MUST check out the Insta-famous Milford Sound Swing!
Where to Stay in Te Anau
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As for hotels in Te Anau – we stayed at and loved the Kingsgate Hotel. It’s lakefront location was perfect for us. Walking up to Lake Te Anau every morning was bliss! The rooms are comfortable and modern, the on-site restaurant (Jimmy Cooks) is great and, free parking is offered too. It ticked all the boxes for us. Expect to pay around $149 NZD per room per night here!
While, If you want a luxurious place to stay in Te Anau – Fiordland Lakeview Motel and Apartments is the spot for you! With balconies off every room (which are all stylishly decorated, FYI), a kitchen area in the apartments, and BBQ facilities on-site, it’s a brilliant option for families. A one-bedroom apartment here starts at $260 NZD.
And finally, if you’re on a budget, consider Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers. It;s conveniently located smack-bang in the middle of Te Anau CBD, this hostel offers private rooms or a bed in a dorm. And is the perfect choice if you’re on a budget! It’s a super-friendly hostel and is a great place to meet like-minded travelers. Facilities include a communal kitchen, free WiFi, and free parking. Expect to pay around $40 NZD for a bed in a dorm here.
2. Book a Tour
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Visiting Milford Sound is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. In fact, Rudyard Kipling re-named it the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World.’ So, to make the most of this dramatic destination, you want to be sure that you choose the best tour for you.
One of the most popular things to do in Queenstown is go on a tour to Milford Sound, which is because some tourists aren’t so keen on driving the narrow and winding roads into Milford Sound (fair enough!) And with so many options available, it can be difficult to decide what tour is best for you. Well, lucky for you, I’ve visited “the sound” heaps as I’ve been living in Queenstown for a number of years – and know what tours offer the most unforgettable experience!
Before booking your tour the main questions you need to ask yourself is how much time do I have and how much am I willing to pay. For example, if you have a bigger budget then a fly-cruise-fly tour may be right up your street as you won’t have to sit on a bus for hours. Instead, you’ll fly to your boat cruise and back again saving yourself hours.
However, if you want to spend under $300 NZD then your best bet is a bus-cruise-bus tour which involves an almost 4-hour drive each way in a comfortable coach.
The Best Tours from Queenstown to Milford Sound
The most budget-friendly – This small group tour from Queenstown
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If you’re on a budget and are after a more intimate tour, then consider this small group tour. It involves getting a luxury minibus there and back and a boat cruise of Milford Sound.
It’s 13 hours long and passes by the best sights along the drive into Milford Sound, including the Homer Tunnel and Eglinton Valley, where you’ll make a quick pitstop to snap some photos. It even includes a short guided walk into Mirror Lakes.
The cruise section of this tour is a small boutique cruise with a maximum capacity of 75 guests. Meaning you’re getting a less-crowded and more personalized experience. Tea and coffee are provided complimentary on board, too.
The smaller boat can get up close and personal with the waterfalls as well as Milford’s famous seal residents. It’s also an hour and 45 minute long cruise, in comparison to the 90-minute cruise time of most other operators here.
This small group tour from Queenstown costs $289 NZD per person and includes lunch, snacks, and bottled water. And of course, your cruise tickets and your return bus journey in a comfortable minivan are included too.
The most bucket-list-worthy – This fly-cruise-fly tour
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At just 4-hours-long this fly-cruise-fly tour is the quickest and most bucket-list-worthy way to get to Milford Sound from Queenstown. The flight is operated by Glenorchy Air, one of the most renowned flight operators in the area. The flight into Milford will take around 45 minutes, and the fixed-wing (small) plane seats 13 people. You’ll fly over Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound – and as you can imagine, the scenery is nothing short of spectacular. On this type of plane, you’re guaranteed a window seat.
You’ll land at the teeny-tiny Milford airport before being transferred to your cruise. Where you’ll cruise through the fiord and get up close to the mighty Stirling Falls. And maybe even spy penguins and fur seals lazing on the rocks nearby.
This unforgettable tour will set you back $639 NZD per person!
My personal favorite – Coach-cruise-fly tour
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I personally love this option because it allows you to experience the best of this region by getting a luxury coach there and flying back. On the coach journey, you’ll stop at scenic sights along the road and snap some epic photos. And then on the flight back, you’ll see Milford and Fiordland National Park in its full glory from high above.
And because this tour is 9 hours long it means it’s not as long of a day as the coach-only option I mentioned above.
Of course, once you get off the coach in Milford, you’ll have the boat cruise to look forward to. Which is, without a doubt, the top thing to do in Milford. The cruise is around an hour and 45 minutes long, and coffee and tea are served on board. Lunch is also included in the price.
This combo tour costs $745 NZD per person. It’s more expensive than the others because it involves three different methods of transport (luxury coach, boat cruise, and flight).
Thanks for reading my blog!
Tell me have you been to Milford Sound? If so, how did you get there from Queenstown? We would love to hear about your experience in the comment section.
If you enjoyed this post. You may also enjoy reading some of my other most popular blog posts, such as –
14 Cafes with the best views on the South Island
10 Cafes with the best views on the North Island
12 of the best photography spots in Queenstown
Last Updated on May 25, 2024 by snaphappytravel