Day 20: Queenstown - Milford Sound Cruise in New Zealand
The Milford Sound cruise It is our activity today, after yesterday we made a route through Glenorchy and the places to see in Queenstown.
In principle, the idea was to stay one more day in Queenstown or make the Milford Highway with a stop at Te Anau, but after seeing that the weather forecast was sunny today and the next rainy days, we decided as soon as we got up to make a change of plans and go directly to Milford sound, one of the essential places to see in New Zealand, to enjoy this spectacle of nature with sun.
And so, with this goal in mind, at 6 in the morning we pick up the Jucy motorhome, we have breakfast and when it's 7 in the morning we start a new day of the trip to New Zealand in 36 days, making way for Milford Sound.
Remember that if you are interested in making a route through New Zealand by motorhome, we recommend you look at the Motorhome Republic page where you can see all the available motorhome options, prices and make the reservation directly.
Before we start with the travel story, we want to highlight something very important. If you travel to New Zealand in high season or mid season and want to do the Milford Sound cruise It is highly recommended to book tickets in advance as well as accommodation, if you want to sleep in the area since there is only one campsite and this is usually full.
We have done this at 6 in the morning, when we have decided that this afternoon we were going to do the cruise and we were going to sleep there. We have been lucky, but it is not the first time we read that a traveler has run out of tickets or had to spend several tens of kilometers overnight for not booking in advance.
- You can book here different options to make the Milford Sound cruise.
- Check availability here and make your reservation at the Milford Sound Lodge or spend the night at the amazing Milford Sound Overnight Cruise - Fiordland Discovery.
Milford sound
In addition to this it is important to keep in mind that although GPS or applications indicate that the route from Queenstown to Milford Sound is 300 kilometers and 3 hours of driving, these are extended to 5 hours, as the agencies of the Milford Sound cruises and our experience.
Doing this excursion in one day, driving just one person, we think it is quite inadvisable, especially if we take into account that the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound is a real wonder and to know it and make stops, you need to invest at least a couple of more hours to driving time.
Valuing this, we recommend you spend a couple of days in the area, provided you have this time. One to make the Milford Highway and another for the cruise and the way back. In our case, we have reversed the order, since we wanted to make the cruise in good weather and the forecast forced us to do it this afternoon, although logically, we believe it is better to do the road first and then the cruise.
Road to Milford Sound
It's 11:15 in the morning when we arrive at Te Anau, one of the key points of this route from Queenstown to Milford Sound, which we will meet tomorrow on the way back, where we stop for coffee, stretch our legs and fill the tank, since this is the last point you have to put gasoline.
From this point, we can already say that the panoramic route begins, which justifies the trip completely and although the idea, as we discussed earlier, is to make the stops tomorrow, today we cannot avoid stopping a couple of times, one of them in the impressive Lake Gumm, where the sun is reflected in a spectacular way, making a mirror effect, which we had rarely seen.
Gumm lake
And so, fighting the need we have to stop every few minutes, but knowing that we have to arrive soon to do the Milford Sound Cruise, at the end we arrive at Milford Sound Lodge, the accommodation tonight, for 60NZD, when it is practically 1 noon, after making several stops and taking approximately four hours on the way.
After checking in, we eat with spectacular views and at 2:15 noon, we go to the visitor center of Southern Discoveris, the company with which we have booked the Milford Sound cruise, which is also one of the most recommended in the market.
Milford sound
Known for being one of the most visited tourist attractions in New Zealand, it is visited annually by more than half a million tourists, most of them on organized excursions, which usually arrive mid-morning by bus, to the Visitor Center.
This fjord, in which the cliffs and the dark waters seem to be taken from a film, are next to the intense rains of the area, the main attraction and the reason Milford sound, is one of the most visited places in the country.
These precipitations, which can reach 250mm, cause endless and temporary waterfalls, fall down the rock walls, making a show difficult to understand for those who have not seen it with their own eyes. And it is precisely for this reason, why it is incredibly advisable to make this visit when it rains or when it has rained heavily, during the last hours.
This is something that we did not take into account, but quite the opposite. We wanted to see it with sunshine and as we will tell you below, it was a error, since we missed that dramatic show, which makes Milford Sound an unforgettable place.
Milford sound
Milford Sound Cruise
The Milford Sound cruise It will take you to navigate the calm waters of the fjord, enjoying impressive cliffs and stops at its most interesting points, while listening to the explanations of all of them and the history of this impressive place.
After our experience, we believe that although the Milford Sound road It is a show in itself, the cruise is the icing on the cake and although it is not an economic activity precisely, it is the way to understand and enjoy this incredible place.
Milford Sound Cruise
Similarly, it is important to shuffle all possible options, since in addition to different companies, each of them has different programs that include more or less activities or stops and also different duration.
What company do the Milford Sound Cruise with?
The first thing to keep in mind is that there are 5 companies that make cruises through Milford Sound: Southern Discoveries, which is the one we have chosen and is the oldest, Real Journeys, Go Orange, Jucy Cruises and Miter Peak Cruises.
Each of them has different schedules and different options in addition to boats with different capacity.
After our experience with Southern Discoveries, we can only recommend it, since in addition to the routes it takes, the boats are comfortable and the duration and explanations are very complete.
Milford sound
Book tickets for the Milford Sound cruise
As we mentioned before, you have different options to do the Milford Sound cruise:
- Milford Sound cruise, underwater observatory and lunch
- Nature cruise in Milford Sound with optional lunch
- Milford Sound tour and cruise with food from Queenstown
- Queenstown: 2h cruise on Milford Sound and panoramic bus with Go Orange
In addition to these options that we tell you, which are among the most made by travelers, we leave you a link so you can check the rest of the options that exist, including those of cruise combinations with flight through the fjord.
- Check all the options to book your Milford Sound cruise here
Milford Sound Cruise
More practical information to prepare your trip to New Zealand
- 10 essential tips for traveling to New Zealand
- 10 essential places to see in New Zealand
- The best travel insurance for New Zealand
Recommendations to do the cruise
After our experience doing the Milford Sound cruise In addition to the journey from Queenstown, we leave you a series of recommendations and tips, so you can enjoy this incredible experience to the fullest.
- If you come by car or motorhome, although there is a parking lot right next to the port from where the cruise ships depart, we recommend you leave it in the Visitor Center area, since there, in addition to a cafeteria and toilets, there is a larger parking lot and then you will have You travel about 600 meters through a stretch of walkways, from which there are spectacular views.
- As we mentioned before, it is highly recommended to make the cruise a rainy day or after heavy rains, to enjoy the temporary waterfalls that are precipitated by the rock. In our case we did not do it and although the place is still impressive and wonderful, it did not meet the expectations we had.
- Another thing to keep in mind is what is the best time to make the cruise. In our case we did it at 3 in the afternoon and during the whole journey we had the sun in front, so we could practically see nothing. However, on the way back, we could appreciate the fjord much more. From what we saw, if you choose an intermediate option, around 11 in the morning, you can enjoy the whole journey since the sun will be on top of everything.
In the early morning, you risk that there is too much fog and you can't see the cliffs.
- Something to assess is that mid-morning cruises tend to be more crowded, since it is at the time the organized groups arrive. If you want to avoid them, a good option would be to visit the road throughout the day, sleep and do the Milford Sound cruise early in the morning (between 9-10 in the morning) the next day.
- As you can see, the choice of time is not very easy and it depends a lot on what you want and see and how you want to see it. That is why after our experience the only thing we could recommend is that you wait for a cloudy day if you have extra days to see the landscapes at their best.
Landscapes from the Milford Sound cruise
- Regarding the duration of the cruise, also after our experience, we believe that anyone who is between 1: 30h and 2h is perfect to know the fjord and no longer cruise is needed, unless you are looking for a wider experience .
- In addition to the cruise, it is highly recommended to take the path from the Visitor Center to the port. It will not take you more than 30 minutes, with stops to take a photo and the landscapes, we would say, they are the most spectacular of Milford Sound.
Views from the port of Milford Sound
- As we have said several times, if you travel in high season or mid season it is very necessary to book in advance, both the cruise and the accommodation, since in many cases they run out of places, especially the accommodation.
- You can book your Milford Sound cruise here
- Remember that as much as you see on Google Maps that the duration of the journey is 3 hours, the reality is that it will be about 5. Keep it in mind in order to organize the visit, the cruise and your journey in Milford Sound.
- Something also to keep in mind is that sandflies also abound in this area so it is important to take repellent, both for the route, as the cruise and camping, if you stay in the area.
Landscapes from the cruise
After this introduction to Milford Sound cruise, we have to say that our experience that has been that of the Nature Cruise in Milford Sound with optional lunch, has been really incredible, although we have wrong over time.
Once we have been on the cruise and we have verified that in good weather it is incredible, but that with rain it would have been a spectacle, we have understood that in this case and in an exceptional way, it would not have been necessary to cross our fingers looking for the good weather, If not the opposite.
Milford Sound Cruise
Anyway, knowing that the weather is unpredictable, we can only thank you for having had the opportunity to enjoy a place like Milford Sound and for that, after the cruise and when there are a few minutes to 6 in the afternoon, We enjoy a walk around the harbor, which give us one of the most impressive views we have seen so far and with which we say goodbye to this tourist and incredible place.
Waterfall in Milford Sound
And with a mixture of sadness, but feeling deeply fortunate, we return to the Milford Sound Lodge, where after having dinner and working for a while, we fall like children under the shelter of one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world.
We leave you the route we have followed today from Queenstown to Milford Sound, where we have made the fjord cruise.
Day 21: Places to see in Milford Sound: The Chasm Walk, Homer Tunnel, Gertrude Valley, Monkey Creek, Pop's View, Gunn Lake and Cascade Creek, Mirror Lakes and Te Anau
