Milford Sound Coach Tour & Cruise from Te Anau

Te Anau and the start of the Milford Road

Te Anau is the closest town to Milford Sound and the best base for a Milford Sound day trip, sparing you the much longer drive from Queenstown. Your coach collects you in central Te Anau and heads north along the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the South Island, before turning inland onto the Milford Road, State Highway 94, about 120 kilometres of road that many consider one of the most beautiful drives in the world.

Your driver shares stories about the building of the road, the early explorers and the wildlife of Fiordland National Park as you go. If you are wondering how to get to Milford Sound without a car, a coach tour from Te Anau is the simplest and most relaxing way, because the road is long, winding and often wet, and parking at the fjord is limited.

The Eglinton Valley and Mirror Lakes

The first great sight is the Eglinton Valley, a wide, flat-floored valley carved by a glacier, where golden tussock grassland is framed by steep walls of beech forest. It is one of the most photographed landscapes on the road, especially in the morning light. Your coach stops here so you can step out and take in the scale of the mountains around you.

A little further on, the Mirror Lakes are a series of small, still ponds beside the road. On calm days they reflect the Earl Mountains perfectly, and a short boardwalk leads along the water's edge. Look for the sign at the lakeside, written upside down so that it reads correctly in the reflection. These short stops make the journey part of the experience rather than just a transfer.

The Divide, the Hollyford Valley and the road tunnel

Past Lake Gunn the road climbs to The Divide, one of the lowest east-west crossings of the Southern Alps, and then drops into the Hollyford Valley before winding up towards the Darran Mountains. Here the scenery turns dramatic, with sheer granite walls, hanging valleys and, after rain, dozens of waterfalls pouring down the rock faces.

The road then passes through a 1.2-kilometre tunnel cut through solid rock by hand and machine over almost two decades and opened in 1953. Cheeky kea, the world's only alpine parrot, are often seen near the tunnel entrance, though feeding them is not allowed. On the far side the road zigzags down the Cleddau Valley towards the fjord, with views that are among the most spectacular of the whole day.

The Milford Sound cruise: Mitre Peak and the waterfalls

Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi, is a fjord carved by glaciers and filled by the sea, about 15 kilometres long from the wharf to the Tasman Sea. Its most famous landmark is Mitre Peak, rising almost 1,700 metres straight out of the water. During your scenic cruise you sail beneath cliffs that plunge hundreds of metres, past the permanent Lady Bowen and Stirling Falls, and out towards the open sea.

The skipper often noses the boat close to a waterfall so you can feel its spray. Along the way, watch for New Zealand fur seals resting on the rocks, bottlenose dolphins and, in certain seasons, Fiordland crested penguins. Is a Milford Sound cruise worth it? Without doubt: it is the highlight of most trips to New Zealand, and rain only makes it more dramatic.

Fiordland National Park and the best time to visit Milford Sound

Milford Sound lies inside Fiordland National Park, part of the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Area that covers the wild south-west of the South Island. It is one of the wettest inhabited places on Earth, with several metres of rain a year, which is why the forests are so green and the waterfalls so many. Despite the rain, mornings and early afternoons often bring sunny breaks.

The best time to visit Milford Sound depends on what you want. Summer, from December to March, brings longer days and milder weather; winter offers snow on the peaks and quieter roads, although snow can occasionally close the road. Rainy days transform the fjord with hundreds of temporary waterfalls. Whatever the season, our 10:00 departure lets you enjoy a relaxed start in Te Anau.