"Milford Sound -Glimpse of the Fiorland" Top 5 Page for this destination Milford Sound by imstress

Milford Sound Travel Guide: 204 reviews and 679 photos

Milford Sound -Glimpse of the Fiorland

Milford Sound is an easy 2hrs drive from Te Anau. Milford Sound is the famous of all of the fiords and the only one that can be accessed by road.

It is about 16km from the head of the fiord to the open sea. Visitors can comfortably travel the length of the fiord to open ocean.

We stayed overnight in Te Anau and departed at 0630 to catch the early cruise out to Milford Sound. It is advisable to do so as we do not have to fight with the rest of the large coach crowd arriving from Queenstown.

The drive from Te Anua to Milford Sound is very scenic. There are few walks which you can do when you are on your way to Milford Sound.

There are 4 cruise operators which you book yourself on the Milford Sound Cruise. Cruising Milford Sound, Red Boat Cruises, Mitre Peak Cruises and Real Journeys.

If you have more time, you could stay overnight on board the cruise. For budget accommodation, the Milford Sound Lodge is the nearest one around.

Road to Milford Sound

Te Anau Downs

The road to Milford Sound is one of the most awesome sceneries of the Fiordland.

Please top up your fuel in Te Anau before heading to Milford Sound.

Suggest that you stop over at some of the following points:

Te Anau Downs
Boyd Creek
Mirror Lakes
See the "Avenue of Disappearing Mountains"
45th South Parallel
Knobs Flat
Cascade Greek
Lake Gunn
The Divide & Key Summit
Hollyford Valley
Marian Corner
Monkey Creek
Gertrude Valley
Homer Tunnel
The Chasm
View of Mt Tutuk
Milford Sound Visitor Centre

Homer Tunnel

Homer is 19km from Milford Sound.

The 1.5 kms long tunnel took many years to be built. The idea came from William Henry Milford in 1889.

In 1935, eight men brought their tools and started clearing the rocks and debris from the base of the saddle. Machines were eventually brought in. The tunnel was finally completed in 1953.

Pros and Cons

Cons:Sandflies

Last visit to Milford Sound: Dec 2005
Intro Updated Mar 4, 2006
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Reviews (21)

Lupins at Cascade Creek Things to Do (13)

Stop by at Cascade Creek to see a field of beautiful Lupins. The flowers are so beautiful and comes in dark purple,... more travel advice

Red Boat Cruises Transportation (4)

The Red Boat Cruises is one of the Milford Sound Cruise operator. The Lady Bowen, Pride of Milford, Spirit of Milford,... more travel advice

Real Jorneys Transportation (4)

Real Journeys has lots of big vessels. The earliest and the latest cruise is slightly cheaper and less crowded. The peak... more travel advice

Cruising Milford Sound Transportation (4)

We chose Cruising Milford Sound because this is the cheapest cruise and they offer complimentary coffee & tea and each... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (3)
See All Thick Mist

Hotels (1)
Milford Sound Lodge

Comments (7)

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robertgaz Mar 23, 2009 at 5:39 PM

Great tips! I will be going here this October :)
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Hetu Nov 25, 2007 at 5:13 PM

I am visiting this place on Dec.... Ur page is really helpful.. Cheers..
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hivaoa1 Jun 4, 2006 at 1:59 AM

wow, i want to visit this place in dicember-january 2007, what a BEAUTIFUL place... i love the pics you took ;-) ciao from Tuscany, Italy:)
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bijo69 Apr 18, 2006 at 5:27 AM

Beautiful page Jen! I was on a tour to Milford and we also stopped to admire a Kea stting on a tourist's car :).
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budapest8 Apr 2, 2006 at 9:27 PM

Gr8 photos of the mountains Jen. Keep the new pages coming. Do u ever come to Europe? Well have a good week. Tim
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LPAW Mar 5, 2006 at 6:36 AM

Went there too, just before Xmas, Dec 2005 and it was open then, Brand new board-walk - v nice!
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victorwkf Mar 4, 2006 at 6:28 PM

Yes, the scenery of Milford Sound is indeed breathtaking, the fjord, waterfalls etc. Te Anau is also a very lovely town by the lake :)