There are many things you should take into consideration before deciding on the best Milford Sound Cruise for you. Things like the price, the reviews, and the size of the boat (I’ll explain why later). Milford Sound is one of the most beautiful and dramatic places in the world. In fact, Rudyard Kipling re-named it the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.
Would you believe it is New Zealand’s number one tourist attraction, attracting over 800,000 visitors a year? Which seems like nothing in comparison to tourist-heavy cities like Bangkok, London, and New York. But Milford Sound is very remote and, as a result, quite difficult to get to. If you’ve visited, you will understand what a feat it is to get 800,000 visitors in and out of Milford Sound every year.
The absolute number one thing to do in Milford Sound is to go on a cruise, 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 lived in Queenstown for a number of years – and know what cruises offer the most unforgettable experience!
Which Milford Sound tour is the best?
We drove our rental car from Te Anau to Milford Sound this past weekend. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. The weather was moody and slightly rainy – just the way we wanted it, as it made our photos all the more epic.
Did you know Milford Sound is the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest places in the world? Averaging 182 days of rain every year.
We also made the decision to stay the night in Te Anau so we could catch an early cruise. With Te Anau being only an hour and 40 minutes drive from Milford Sound. Spending the night here made it a relatively stress-free journey for us. We do not recommend driving from Queenstown in one day. The drive is simply too long at over 8 hours return.
Anyway, we wanted to let you in on the most important factors that affected us when deciding on our Milford Sound cruise. There are lots of options, so you’re spoiled for choice.
My top 3 best Milford Sound Cruises:
This small boutique cruise experience – Which promises a more personalized experience and the smaller boat enables you to get up closer to the waterfalls and wildlife.
This Milford Sound Cruise on a bigger boat – Takes place on board a larger boat but what makes it stand out is the large outdoor deck and large indoor seating area.
This Milford Sound Overnight Cruise – If you’re not on a tight budget and are after a truly bucket-list-worthy experience, I can’t think of a better option than spending the night on a luxury boat on the sound, surrounded by epic scenery and silence (no other boats around between 6 pm and 9 am!)
My personal favorite – This small boutique cruise
We were looking for a more intimate experience and so decided on this small boutique cruise experience. Operated by Cruise Milford, this boutique boat has a maximum capacity of 75 guests. Meaning you’re getting a less-crowded and more personalized experience. A win-win in the most-visited part of the country!
We were lucky as there were only 30 people on our cruise. Bliss! 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.
As you cruise through the almost-black waters of the sound, your local skipper will detail the history of the area and point out any sights or wildlife (like penguins or seals) he spots along the way!
Tickets for this boutique cruise are $149 NZD per person, and included is free tea, coffee and, biscuits on-board!
Most family-friendly – This Milford Sound cruise on a larger boat
If you’d prefer to see the sights on board a larger boat, then we recommend this one hour and 45-minute experience. The cruise section of the tour is longer than most other tours and is operated by Southern Discoveries. Like the smaller cruise, complimentary tea and coffee are served onboard!
What sets this Milford Cruise apart from the others is that it’s a larger boat (it fits up to 200 people) so more space to move around for families. There’s a huge outdoor deck and a spacious indoor seating area (with huge windows) so you can enjoy the experience no matter the weather.
This Milford Sound Cruise costs from $145 NZD per adult and what’s handy is that you can book it now and pay later if you wish!
Most bucket-list-worthy – This Milford Sound overnight cruise
Okay, if you’re not on a tight budget you MUST consider the Milford Overnight Cruise Tour. Honestly, I can’t think of a better option than spending the night on a luxury boat on the sound, surrounded by epic scenery and silence (no other boats around between 6 pm and 9 am!) On this bucket-list-worthy tour, you’ll get to sleep in an ensuite cabin with views of the sound and enjoy a delicious 3-course dinner and breakfast in the morning. There’s even a hot tub on board – I’m really selling it now, ain’t I?
It costs from $1,145 NZD per person, but when you consider your other option – paying for a night’s accommodation in the surrounding area (which is spenny). Add into the mix the fact it includes dinner and breakfast – and it’s not a bad deal!
If you don’t have a car – This tour from Queenstown
If you’re staying in Queenstown and don’t have a set of wheels to get you to Milford Sound then your best option is to book a guided tour from Queenstown to Milford Sound. As that includes return transfers (usually on a luxury coach) and your boat tour through the sound. As you can imagine there are heaps of tours to choose from, but below I’ve listed the one we did and loved!
Like I said, this small group tour involves getting a luxury minibus from Queenstown to Milford and back again 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.
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.
If you’re staying in Te Anau – This locally-run tour
On the other hand, if you’re staying a few nights in Te Anau (which I highly recommend doing) and don’t fancy driving into Milford yourself. Then this is the best Milford tour for you, it’s a small group tour leading to a more personalized experience.
It includes return transfers from Te Anau in a luxury minivan and along the way you’ll get to make no less than 11 photo stops at sights like the Eglinton Valley and Mirror Lakes. Also included is a 2-hour boat cruise through the sound. Prices for this tour are $309 NZD per adult and $209 NZD for children.
Do you want to be on a small or large boat for your Milford Sound Cruise?
I guess the main question you want to ask yourself before booking a Milford Sound Cruise – is whether you want to be on a small or a large boat for this bucket-list-worthy experience. Of course, there are pros and cons to both.
On a small boutique cruise, you’ll have the benefit of a more personalized experience. As I said this small boutique cruise is capped to just 75 guests and the smaller boat can get up closer to the Mitre Peak falls and to the rocks where you’ll often see seals and Fiordland Penguins lazing about. The only downside to a smaller boat is that they are often more expensive.
If you choose a bigger boat – like this Southern Discoveries boat you will be sharing the experience with around 200 others. In saying that, the boat is big enough that it doesn’t ever feel too crowded. One of the big benefits of this particular boat is the huge outdoor deck and the spacious indoor seating area (featuring big windows) so you can comfortably enjoy the experience no matter the weather.
Is it better to do a Milford Sound Cruise in the morning or afternoon?
Beat the coach crowds and catch the early cruises, which depart between 9 am and 11 am. Morning cruises pretty much guarantee smaller numbers. The majority of the coach tours come from Queenstown to Milford and don’t reach Milford until after 12 pm. So, the afternoon cruises are usually jam-packed. From our experience, when we first walked into the cruise terminal at 9:30 am, there were maybe 50 or so other guests waiting around. When we came off our cruise at 11:30 am, there were at least 300 people lining up to board the waiting boats.
If you do the morning cruise it also means you’ll be able to check out the Underwater Observatory in Milford. This is an aquarium of sorts, except the marine life is free to come and go as they please. Interestingly, Milford Sound is home to unique black coral that can only be seen 50 meters below the surface – so, the underwater observatory is the only way you can see this coral up close.
And after our morning cruise, we checked out the Instagram-famous Milford Sound Swing, which is pretty hard to find. Lucky for you, I have a detailed guide on how to find the Milford Sound Swing!
Book your Milford Cruise in advance!
As I said, Milford Sound is one of the most-visited places in all of New Zealand – so as you can guess, with close to a million visitors every year, the cruises tend to book out quickly. This is why we STRONGLY recommend booking your cruise as soon as you know the date you’ll be in Milford Sound. That way, you can avoid disappointment and pick the cruise that’s right for you.
There are so many Milford cruises to choose from, but as I detailed earlier, this small boutique Milford Sound cruise was the perfect choice for us. It wasn’t crowded – there were only 30 other guests on our boat. Our Captain was also really knowledgeable, telling us lots of unique facts about the area over the speaker. We even got to see seals lazing on the rocks and the famous Fiordland penguin. Plus, there was free tea and coffee on board!
Stay the night in Te Anau or Milford Village to beat the crowds
We spent the night before our cruise in the pretty lakeside town of Te Anau, and we highly recommend doing this. Te Anau really surprised us; there are lots of great food options in the town, and it had a lovely laid-back vibe. We stayed at the Kingsgate Hotel along the lakefront and loved it!
Some other great places to stay in Te Anau include –
- Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers – 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.
- Kingsgate Hotel – This is where we stayed and we loved its lakefront location – 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!
- Fiordland Lakeview Motel and Apartments – If you want a luxurious place to stay in Te Anau, this 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.
Top Tip: If you’re going to rent a car to drive to Milford Sound, 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.
Final thoughts on choosing a Milford Sound Cruise
We are so glad we finally made it to Milford Sound after living in Queenstown for over a year. We took lots of photos, ate some great food in Te Anau, and really enjoyed the scenic drive from Te Anau to Milford.
The small boutique cruise was the perfect choice for us – not crowded and quite a personalized experience given the smaller-sized boat. The Captain was also really knowledgeable telling us lots of unique facts about the area over the speaker. Plus, there was free tea and coffee on board!
Finally, our top tip if you have more time is to visit the remote but stunning Doubtful Sound from Te Anau, some tourists actually told us they preferred Doubtful Sound vs Milford Sound, but we’ll leave that to you to decide. There are heaps of Doubtful Sound tours and all take a minimum of one full day!
Thanks for reading my blog!
Tell me have you been to Milford Sound? If so, what cruise did you pick? 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 –
Moving to New Zealand: My Experience
Can you visit Queenstown New Zealand on a budget (A Locals Money-Saving Guide)
How to have the BEST 24 hours in Queenstown
12 of the best photography spots in Queenstown
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Last Updated on November 14, 2024 by snaphappytravel
I have never been in New Zealand and it is on my bucket list. I will definitely took into Milford Sound Cruise when I finally visit NZ, thanks for sharing!
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Yes been to Milford sound in 2012. I think I went with Milford cruise something like that. Great pictures. I would love to go back very soon.
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This is great advice! I’m visiting in June and I had no idea where to start for picking out a cruise. We are staying in Te Anu for two nights and doing the self-drive.
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