About this guide

MilfordSoundFromQueenstown.com is an independent visitor guide to doing Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) as a day trip from Queenstown, New Zealand. We are not a tour operator, airline or cruise company, and we are not the Department of Conservation or GetYourGuide. The site name describes the trip we write about, not a business. We compare the bookable day trips so you can pick the right kind of day first time: coach, small group or fly-cruise-fly.

Facts on this site are checked against the operators' published details, the live GetYourGuide listings (including recent guest reviews), NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) notices for State Highway 94 and the Department of Conservation. Prices and timetables move; when a listing and this page disagree, the listing wins.

The site is funded by affiliate commissions: when you book through a GetYourGuide link here, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That never changes what we recommend, including telling you the coach day is twelve hours long, that flights are the first thing weather cancels, and when Doubtful Sound or a night in Te Anau would suit you better. Details on the affiliate disclosure page.

Photo credits

Tour photos (card images) are the operators' own pictures from their GetYourGuide listings. Landscape photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences below; CC BY and CC BY-SA photos are credited to their authors.

• hero: File:Mitre Peak of Milford Sound, New Zealand; February 2015.jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ, CC0
• gal-queenstown: File:Queenstown. Lake Wakatipu. (50854629786).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• gal-eglinton: File:Eglinton Flats on a frosty winter morning.jpg, Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• gal-mirrorlakes: File:Mirror Lake, Fiordland 3.jpg, Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0
• gal-homer: File:00 1365 New Zealand - Homer Tunnel (Milford Sound).jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• gal-kea: File:Kea Homer Tunnel.jpg, Scott Wieman, CC BY-SA 3.0
• gal-cruise: File:Cruising on Milford Sound. NZ. (54986951029).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• gal-stirling: File:Stirling Falls Milford Sound NZ - 53778972665.jpg, Bernard Spragg, Public domain
• gal-seals: File:Fur seals at Milford Sound - panoramio.jpg, Annette Teng, CC BY 3.0
• gal-rain: File:Milford Sound in the rain. (8171073486).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• dest: File:Mitre Peak Milford Sound New Zealand (259211407).jpeg, Marian Predescu, CC0
• g-bowen: File:Lady Bowen Falls, Milford Sound, New Zealand (25162087566).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• g-homerwall: File:Homer Tunnel - panoramio.jpg, Annette Teng, CC BY 3.0
• g-eglinton2: File:Eglinton Valley NZ 01.jpg, Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-rain2: File:Milford Sound Waterfalls.jpg, Lawrence Murray from Oxford, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
• g-stirling2: File:Milford sound Stirling falls 2010 1.JPG, Borvan53, CC BY-SA 3.0
• g-remarkables: File:The Remarkables from Queenstown, New Zealand 04.jpg, Σ64, CC BY 4.0
• g-sh94: 00 1366 New Zealand State Higway 94.jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-cleddau: Cleddau Valley. Fiordland NP. NZ (23237872180).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• g-winterroad: Milford Road In Early Winter.jpg, Ingolfson at English Wikipedia (Original text: Up, Public domain
• g-lakegunn: 00 1358 New Zealand, Lake Gunn. - Fiordland National Park.jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-eglriver: Eglington river. Fiordland NP.NZ. (23446446971).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• g-teanau: 00 1357 New Zealand - Te Anau and Lake Te Anau.jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-teanau2: Lake Te Anau 02.jpg, Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-boat2014: Cruising on Milford Sound; 2014.jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• g-doubtful: Doubtful Sound. New Zealand. (13630333343).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0
• g-doubtful2: Doubtful Sound - Patea - DoubtfulSound9078.jpg, lumoplank, CC0
• g-alps: Aerial view of the New Zealand Southern Alps.jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-alps2: 00 1283 View of the New Zealand Alps (aerial view).jpg, W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• g-tutoko: Mt Tutoko and Mt Madeleine.jpg, Philip Green, CC BY 2.0
• g-hollyford: Hollyford Valley from Key Summit.jpg, Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain
• g-dolphins: Doubtful Sound NZ. (52731222993).jpg, Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, Public domain
• g-penguin: Fiordland Penguin.jpg, Greg Schechter, CC BY 2.0
• g-knobs: Knobs Flat view.JPG, Andy king50, CC BY-SA 3.0
• g-road1: Milford Sound Road 1 (31544166811).jpg, Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0

Questions or corrections: contact us.