Things to Do in Milford Sound

The Full List

Cruise prices are the bookable US dollar prices from the tours listed on this site. New Zealand set prices such as kayak trips, hut nights and the glowworm caves stay in NZ dollars. Walking times come from the Department of Conservation and Fiordland tourism material.

Day Cruise

A day cruise is the core Milford Sound activity and the only practical way to see most of a fiord that runs 15 km inland from the Tasman Sea. Boats run from the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal, and the shortest bookable trip is 100 minutes while the longest sits at 2 hours. You pass Lady Bowen Falls, which sources put between 160 m and 162 m, and Stirling Falls, listed at either 151 m or 155 m depending on the source, and some cruises run out to the Tasman Sea, with Seal Rock named on the route of the Mitre Peak Small Boat Cruise. Fur seals and a resident population of bottlenose dolphins live in the fiord, though sightings are never guaranteed.

The entry price on this site is the Classic and Signature Cruises at $80 per person. For a small boat, the Mitre Peak Small Boat Cruise runs 2 hours at $100 per person with no food sold on board, so bring your own in a bag. The Nature Cruise with Optional Lunch at $89 lets you add a picnic or buffet at least 24 hours ahead. The full side by side comparison of boats, prices and review counts sits on the Milford Sound boat tour homepage.

Overnight Cruise

The overnight cruise is the only way to wake up inside the fiord. The RealNZ Milford Mariner departs the Milford Sound terminal daily at 4pm and returns the next day at 9.15am, a booking listed as 17 hours at $391 per person with dinner and breakfast included. Check in at the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal at least 30 minutes before departure.

The vessel sleeps 64 in private ensuite cabins with limited quad share bunk compartments, and carries 20 kayaks and 2 tender craft. Guests aged 10 and over can kayak, with under 16s accompanied by an adult, and everything is weather dependent. The itinerary anchors in Harrison Cove, includes a stargazing session around 9.30 to 10pm on clear nights and a sunrise run before the return.

RealNZ points out that overnight cruising means hardly any other boats on the water. Book the Overnight Cruise early, because cabins are limited.

Kayaking

Kayaking puts you at water level beneath the falls, and it leaves from Deepwater Basin near Milford Sound Lodge. The easiest trip is Rosco's Milford Cruiser, 3 hours for ages 8 and up at NZ$205 per person, and it includes Lady Bowen Falls. The Sunriser Classic is a 5 hour, 10 km loop at NZ$220 for ages 14 and up. At the hard end, the Stirling Sunriser paddles 12 km near Stirling Falls at NZ$335 for ages 16 and up, and the Morning Glory covers 18 km to the Tasman Sea at NZ$340. The Harrison Cove Quicky uses a water taxi for a 1 hour paddle at NZ$310, and the Day Safari from Te Anau runs 9-11 hours at NZ$275 with transport included.

Milford Sound Lodge lists gear as a life jacket, thermals, spray skirt, paddle jacket, neoprene gloves and a dry bag, with a 25 kg minimum weight, a 110 kg weight limit and a 1.93 m height limit. Staying at the lodge, the only accommodation in Milford Sound, makes the start easier. The Milford Sound kayaking guide has the full breakdown.

Diving

Rain washed tannins form a dark freshwater layer on the surface that cuts light, so deepwater species appear at easy diving depths. DOC names red coral, black coral and sea pens as visible shallows species, and lists butterfly perch, sea perch, tiger shells, kina, Jason's nudibranch, snakestars, rock cod and dogfish in the Piopiotahi marine reserve. Black coral grows in the fiord at depths as shallow as 10 m because of that freshwater layer.

DOC advises students against snorkelling or swimming in the reserve because the water is very cold and dark and needs proper exposure protection. No dive operator or price is given here, so check with DOC and local operators before planning a dive.

Piopiotahi Milford Foreshore Walk

The Foreshore Walk takes 30 minutes and starts right by the village, tracing the shore of the fiord at the head of the sound. It is free and needs no booking, so it fills the gaps around a cruise. Sandflies appear along the foreshore, so bug spray is recommended by operators.

Toilets sit at the foreshore carpark and the cruise terminal. Free parking is available by a 20 minute foreshore walk from the boat terminal, which makes this walk the access route for drivers who skip the paid car park.

Milford Lookout Walk

The Lookout Walk takes 10 minutes and gives the compact viewpoint over the fiord and Mitre Peak, which DOC lists at 1,692 m and Wikipedia's own peak article at 1,683 m. It is free, short enough for any timetable and pairs naturally with the Foreshore Walk on foot. The terminal itself is a 10 minute walk from the main car park via a covered walkway, and officials advise allowing 45 minutes to park, reach the terminal and check in 20 minutes before departure.

Bowen Falls Walk

Honest status first. DOC's Bowen Falls Walk page currently lists the walk as permanently closed because there is no boat service to reach it, so you cannot plan this as an activity at present. Lady Bowen Falls itself, at 162 m on Wikipedia's figure and 160 m on Mitre Peak Cruises' figure, is still easy to see, because it sits near the head of the fiord and cruises pass near it.

The Milford Sound waterfalls guide covers the falls you can see without the walk.

Milford Track Day Walk

The full Milford Track is 53.5 km over 4 days and 3 nights, walked one way only, but a day walk reaches the first waterfall leg. From Sandfly Point to Giant Gate Falls is 11 km return, under two hours to the falls and about 3 hours return, on flat terrain with under 50 m of elevation and a pool for swimming at the falls. Fiordland Outdoors' boats run from Deepwater Basin to Sandfly Point in about 10 minutes, departing at 8.30, 9.30, 10.30, 11.45am and 12.30pm with returns from noon to 4.30pm and flexible pick up times.

The boat fare is not stated in the sources, so book operator direct. If you want the whole track instead, hut nights cost NZ$106 for adults and NZ$152 for international adults in the Great Walks season, which runs 1 November to 30 April, and 90 walkers start per day.

Key Summit

Key Summit is a 3 hour return walk from The Divide car park, which sits 83 km from Te Anau at 531 m, the lowest east west pass in the Southern Alps. The route follows the Routeburn Track for about an hour and then a 20 minute climb, and RealNZ lists roughly 400 m of gain with views over the Hollyford, Greenstone and Eglinton valleys. The same car park also starts the Lake Howden Track, listed at 3 hours return with an extra hour if combined with Key Summit.

Lake Marian Track

Lake Marian is a 3 hr 30 min return walk to an alpine lake in a glacier formed hanging valley above the bushline. The track begins 1 km down the unsealed Hollyford Road, the falls sit about 10 minutes from the car park on DOC's figure, and the lake is about 1 hr 30 min beyond the falls. DOC grades the section past the falls as a tramping track needing good fitness and moderate to high backcountry skills, with steep muddy sections.

Two practical warnings from DOC: wear long trousers because the track carries large amounts of ongaonga, stinging nettle, and supervise children closely.

Gertrude Saddle Route

Gertrude Saddle is a 4-6 hour return route that DOC reserves for experienced trampers with high level tramping and navigation skills. The carpark is about 98 km along the Milford Road from Te Anau, there are no permanent markers above the bushline, and steel cables aid the steep slab sections. Do not attempt it in rain or snow.

Wet weather makes the slabs treacherous in any season, avalanche danger runs from May to November, and DOC says to carry a personal locator beacon. There is no cellphone coverage along the road, with emergency phones at Knobs Flat and the Homer Tunnel.

The Chasm

The Chasm is a 20 minute return walk at 110 km from Te Anau, where the Cleddau River has cut a 22 m deep ravine through the rock. Give both sides on status: fiordland.org.nz's walks page says the viewing platform and track were washed away in the February 2020 flood and lists the walk as closed for flood damage, while RealNZ still lists The Chasm as an open 30 minute stop with slippery surfaces when wet. Check with DOC for the current state before you count on it.

RealNZ suggests allowing about 30 minutes for the stop itself.

Mirror Lakes and the Quick Stops

Mirror Lakes is 56 km from Te Anau, a 10 minute boardwalk that is wheelchair accessible, with reflections of the Earl Mountains on still days. RealNZ calls it a 15 minute stop best seen early before wind disturbs the water. Two more free stops fill a driving day.

The Lake Gunn Nature Walk is a flat 45 minute loop through red and silver beech with the best birdlife in the morning. Monkey Creek at 93 km is a pull over with a good chance of spotting whio, the blue duck, and kea, one of the best highway spots for them. Never feed the kea.

For the full run including the Homer Tunnel, see the Milford Road guide.

Scenic Flights

A scenic flight turns the drive into 30 to 40 minutes each way from Queenstown, per Queenstown Airport, which lists ten flightseeing operators including Air Milford, Glenorchy Air, True South Flights and several helicopter firms. Glenorchy Air's fly cruise fly uses about 40 minute flights each way with a 1 hr 45 min cruise, 5-5.5 hours from check in to landing, and promises every passenger a window seat. If conditions are unsafe, Glenorchy Air returns passengers by coach, and RealNZ says a cancelled flight component is refunded.

Fiordland Helicopters from Te Anau lists a 55 minute Doubtful Sound Discovery and a 90 minute Southern Sounds Discovery. Bookable fly cruise packages on this site start with the Flight and Cruise from Queenstown at $512.29 per person for 4.5 hours and the Fly-Cruise-Fly from Queenstown at $467 for 5 hours. Aircraft land at Milford Sound Airport, which has a 782 m asphalt runway at the head of the fiord.

Details are in the Milford Sound scenic flight guide.

Te Anau Glowworm Caves

The RealNZ Te Anau Glowworm Caves tour starts from NZD $154 with a maximum of 12 guests per guide. You cross Lake Te Anau by purpose built catamaran to caves described as 12,000 years old and still being carved by a river, pass the Cavern House exhibits and go through limestone passages with whirlpools and an underground waterfall to a glowworm grotto. Check in is 30 minutes before departure.

The glowworm is Arachnocampa luminosa, a fungus gnat found only in New Zealand, whose larva hangs up to 30 sticky silk threads to lure prey. One rule to plan around: cameras and video are not permitted in the caves.

Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound is the quieter second fiord, reached from Manapouri by lake boat and a coach over Wilmot Pass. The Doubtful Sound Day Cruise from Manapouri runs 7 hours at $179 per person with a 3 hour cruise, 2 hours on the early departure, and food is available for purchase rather than included. From Queenstown, RealNZ runs a 12 hour version with a 2 hr 45 min cruise at $274.56 per person, and an overnight cruise at $457.98 per person with dinner and breakfast.

The Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound page sets out which fiord suits you. Bottlenose dolphins live in both, though Wikipedia notes the isolated Doubtful population is declining.