Milford Sound Guide – Anything and Everything You Need to Know About It

A Milford Sound guide should be the ideal starting point before you plan a New Zealand vacation, as it is one of the top highlights in the country. Milford Sound is basically a Fiord that is located in the South Island of New Zealand. There are majorly two islands in New Zealand, one being the North Island and the other being South Island. An ideal New Zealand vacation should consist of an itinerary that covers both of these islands. If you are covering both of these islands, it should ideally take you a minimum of 7 days so that you can cover at least the top attractions on both of these islands.

There are several prominent places and attractions to visit on either side. The North and the South Island provide you with a completely unique experience as compared to each other. Therefore, you get to experience the best of both worlds during a New Zealand trip. In the North Island, you have a major international airport in Auckland and is one of the key cities to visit. Apart from Auckland, you can visit places like Rotorua, Whitianga, Coromandel Coast, Wellington, and many more. This will give you a comprehensive city life experience, along with a tinge of coastal places and tribal villages. All in all, a visit to the North Island as the first part of your New Zealand will ensure you have a refreshing start.

The South Island of New Zealand is where most of the top attractions lie. You can visit places like Christchurch, Franz Joseph Glacier, Mount Cook, Queenstown, Dunedin, and many more. Out of all the top attractions in South Island, the most beautiful one would definitely be the Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is one of the most loved places in New Zealand. No tour to New Zealand is complete without visiting the Milford Sound. There is so much to know about Milford Sound before visiting it. Therefore, a Milford Sound guide would be quite useful for you to know what you are going to expect. The Milford Sound guide will give you information right from reaching the spot, to the ways of navigating through the region, till the stay options.

Milford Sound Guide

1. When to visit?
2. How to reach?
3. Where to stay?
4. What to do?

1. When to visit?

Milford Sound is situated in Fiordland National Park. This is a natural wonder. Hence, the glory of the natural wonder keeps enhancing through rainfall, during the monsoon season. The rainfall ensures thunderous waterfalls and healthy flora and fauna in the spot. Therefore, you will have to keep in mind the heavy amount of rainfall that is there in this spot.

There are few people who will want to witness this natural wonder during the rainy season as it is when you can embrace the true glory. But if you are looking for a more pleasant sightseeing experience, you could visit it during the season where it is relatively dry.

December-March is generally considered to be the peak season to visit Milford Sound. This is when the tourists throng this UNESCO World Heritage site. The temperature, although quite humid, is quite pleasant for the sightseeing experience. This, however, can’t guarantee there won’t be any rainfall at all. Therefore, even if you are visiting this place during summer, ensure you have your raincoats/umbrellas with you. Therefore, knowing when to visit Milford Sound forms an integral part of the Milford Sound guide.

Also Read: 10 must-see places in Auckland that you did not know about!

2. How to reach?

Knowing how to reach is the second thing you should know from the Milford Sound guide. Milford Sound is a very prominent attraction in New Zealand and is one of the most visited places. Hence, you shouldn’t face much hassle in reaching this place.

If you are looking for an airport closest to this spot, then it is going to be Wellington.

Taking the bus is the most ideal and recommended way to reach Milford Sound. It is also relatively less expensive as compared to other travel options. There are several bus operators, mainly Gray Line, which operate buses from Queenstown.

You can also choose to drive, as it is also one of the most frequently sought option by the tourists visiting this spot. Milford Sound is situated about 300 kilometres from Queenstown. Therefore, it should take you around 4-5 hours to reach this spot. One major attraction about driving is the fact that the scenic views while driving are truly a sight to behold. You will have to although keep in mind that the roads may get jam-packed since this is a high tourist volume place. Therefore, ensure you start your trip around 6 am in the morning. Please be aware of the weather conditions during the day of your travel as heavy rainfall or bad weather conditions could lead to potential road closures.

Also Read: New Zealand road trip for the best self-drive bliss

3. Where to stay?

This is yet another important aspect of the Milford Sound guide. Although a freedom camping option sounds enticing in such a beautiful place, it is strictly prohibited. So there is no option of Freedom camping in this site.

Most of the travellers who visit Milford Sound generally consider it as a day trip. Therefore, they tend to stay in cities like Queenstown, which is relative closeby to Milford Sound. Similarly, you can also choose to stay in Te Anau. There are few hotels in these places where they will offer you a pickup-drop facility to the site.

If you are seeking a stay in this natural wonder, then overnight cruises are one of the most recommended options. The overnight cruises generally and frequently depart from Queenstown.

If you are looking for a hotel stay option, then you can choose to stay at Milford Sound Lodge. It is the only accommodation option in the Fiordland National Park.

Also Read: Your 3-day itinerary: Things to do in Queenstown

4. What to do?

How is a Milford Sound guide completely without telling you what you could do in this natural wonder? There are two major things that tourists do to explore this wonderful tourist attraction.

Primarily, tourists seek to explore this via cruise. If you want to navigate through the pristine waters and get good and close to the waterfalls, then the best way you could choose to explore is through the cruises! One highlight about the cruise is that you could visit the Milford Deep Underwater Observatory, which is a well and truly unique experience.

Subsequently, the other most frequented option is hiking. The multi-day Milford track, falling under the ‘Great Walk’ category is highly sought after by the tourists. If you want to keep it to smaller tracks and walks, you can choose the other hiking trails like Lake Howden, Key Summit, and many more.

During the peak visiting season, the hiking is regulated at the Milford Sound. Whereas, during the monsoon season, it is unregulated. So you will have to take the hiking up during monsoon only if you are very experienced!

Also Read: Top Places to visit in New Zealand

The Milford Sound guide provides you with adequate information that you require before you plan your visit to Milford Sound. The vacation to New Zealand is never complete without visiting this stunning site. Therefore, plan your vacation with travel experts from Pickyourtrail, and get yourself a tailormade New Zealand tour itinerary through the New Zealand tour packages. You could also drop a Whatsapp enquiry to understand more about the other domestic and international tour packages. Let the ‘Milford Sound guide’ guide you to one of the most beautiful places on Earth!