Fly or Drive to Milford Sound? A Fiordland Decision
The short answer. From Queenstown, flying in and out takes about five hours and costs about twice as much as a coach day, which takes 11 to 13 hours. The catch is the weather: the flights need clear air through the mountains. If your dates are fixed, book the road; if you have spare days, fly. Milford Sound scenic flights and the road days are compared below.
The three ways in from Queenstown
| Fly, cruise, fly | Coach in, fly back | The road both ways | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to door | 4 hours 30 to 5 hours | 9 hours | 13 hours |
| Fare, per person | $428 | $540 | $215 |
| In the air | 30 to 40 minutes each way | 40 minutes home | None, unless added |
| On the water | 1 hour 45 to 2 hours | 2 hours | A two-hour stop |
| Lunch | Bring your own | Picnic lunch | Picnic lunch |
| If the weather turns | Rebook or a full refund | Coach home, part refund | Runs in all weather |
Fares are per person. Each trip's inclusions are on its booking page. The drive, the pass and the tunnel are described on getting to Fiordland.
The case for flying
Queenstown to Milford Sound is 600 km return by road, and DOC puts that day at 12 to 14 hours. A small plane does it in 30 to 40 minutes each way, over the mountains and the glaciers, and lands on the airstrip beside the fiord. You spend the time on the water, not on the road.
The plane and boat day flies you in, puts you on a 2-hour cruise past Mitre Peak and Stirling Falls, and flies you back on a different path, for $428. The flight and nature cruise takes up to 12 in the plane, flies 35 minutes each way and gives you a 1 hour 45 minute small-boat cruise with morning tea, for $482. Saba Hamedy called seeing the fiord by plane and then by boat the best day of the trip.
- Weight limit: 150 kg a passenger on both flight days.
- Infants: on the plane and boat day, under 11 kg fly free on a lap; heavier children pay a child fare.
- Food: no food is sold on the plane and boat day's cruise, so bring a snack.
How the air day runs
On the plane and boat day you are picked up from one of 24 listed Queenstown hotels, or you drive to the base, park for free and check in 45 minutes before take-off. The plane crosses Mount Aspiring and Fiordland national parks and lands at Milford Sound. You board a 2-hour cruise, usually with Mitre Peak Cruises, then fly home by a different path. On the flight and nature cruise, the pilot briefs you on a map before take-off, your seat is reserved, and the pilot can walk you from the plane to the boat when time allows. MARYANN praised the commentary from both the pilot and the skipper.
The case for the road
The road is the other half of the view. The drive from Queenstown passes Lake Te Anau, the Eglinton Valley, the Mirror Lakes and Lake Gunn before the Homer Tunnel, and a guide stops at the best of them. The small-group day with lunch takes up to 15 people for $215, with a picnic lunch, and runs in all weather. Rain fills the waterfalls rather than cancelling the day.
It is a long day: 13 hours, starting at 6:30 or 7:00am. Russell R. warned that the winding road will not suit everyone and is taken briskly to fit in the stops, but found the cruise itself excellent. The stops, one by one, are in our guide to the drive from Te Anau.
How the road day runs
Pickup is at 6:30 or 7:00am, from a listed hotel or The Station in Queenstown. The van follows Lake Wakatipu, breaks for 20 minutes in Te Anau, then stops in the Eglinton Valley, at the reflecting lakes, at Lake Gunn and in the Darran Mountains. After the tunnel comes a two-hour stop at the fiord on a small boat. On the way home you stop at Pops View, and you are back about 13 hours after you left. There is no toilet on the van, so use every stop.
Driving yourself from Queenstown
You can hire a car and do the road alone. DOC puts Queenstown to Te Anau at 179 km, about 2 hours 20 minutes, and Te Anau to the fiord at 120 km and two hours more. That is the 600 km round trip in a day, with a cruise in the middle and the alpine road home in the evening. DOC recommends breaking it with a night in Te Anau instead. Park at the fiord for NZ$10 an hour, by card, and fill the tank in Te Anau, since there is no fuel on the road. Where each town sits is on the Fiordland map.
Do both: drive in, fly back
The coach-in, fly-back day gives you the road in the morning and the sky in the afternoon. You stop at the Mirror Lakes, Knobs Flat and the Eglinton Valley on the way, cruise for 2 hours out to the Tasman Sea, eat a picnic lunch, then fly 40 minutes home. The whole day takes 9 hours and costs $540.
If cloud grounds the plane, you ride the coach home and get part of the fare back for the flight. Leah's family lost the flight home to heavy rain and some snow, but found the drive in interesting and the fiord beautiful even wet. On the small-group day you can also add the flight home when you book, with a 130 kg limit.
What happens when the weather closes in
Fiordland gets up to 7 m of rain a year, and small planes need clear air through the mountains. Flights do get cancelled, and each trip handles it differently. On the plane and boat day, a cancelled flight is rebooked or refunded in full. On the flight and nature cruise, routes change with the weather, and a rescheduled flight can be refunded. Sonya flew in on a clear morning, then skipped the cruise because the forecast for the flight home had turned.
Verdict by traveller
- Short on time, flexible on dates: fly, cruise and fly. Five hours, and the view from the air.
- On a budget: the road. About half the fare, and lunch is included.
- Want both views: coach in, fly back, with the coach home as a fallback.
- Nervous flyers or travellers over 150 kg: the road both ways.
- Families with young children: fly, or stay in Te Anau and drive the short way.
From Te Anau, the road is only two hours each way, and the flying question mostly goes away. That is the base DOC recommends for the trip. Where Queenstown, Te Anau and the fiord sit is set out in getting to Fiordland, and what you pay at the fiord is in the visitor guide. Every Queenstown day, by road and by air, is compared on Fiordland National Park tour from Queenstown.
Air days and the road in
From Queenstown: Milford Sound Full-Day Trip by Plane & Boat
Fly from Queenstown, cruise the fiord for two hours past the peak and the falls, and fly back on a different path: about five hours door to door. Bring your own food.
From $428 per person
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From Queenstown: Milford Sound Flight and Nature Cruise
A small plane of up to 12 from Queenstown, 35 minutes each way, with a 1 hour 45 minute small-boat nature cruise between the flights and morning tea.
From $482 per person
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From Queenstown: Milford Sound Day Trip with Cruise & Flight
The road in with stops at the lakes, the flats and the valley, a 2-hour cruise out to the sea and a picnic lunch, then a 40-minute flight home to Queenstown.
From $540 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Plan the family version of the day with our guide to Fiordland with children. Every fare sits side by side on Fiordland Tours.