Fiordland Tour Prices

Fiordland has no gate and no ticket, so what you pay is the trip that gets you onto the water. This guide lines up every fare, per person, by the kind of day it buys, with what costs extra and which fares you can get back. For the park's other fees, see Fiordland ticket prices.

Is there an entry fee for Fiordland National Park?

No. The park has no gate and charges nobody to enter, on foot, by car or by boat. What you pay for is the cruise, the coach seat or the flight.

Two official charges reach most visitors anyway. Parking at Milford Sound costs NZ$10 an hour. And most international visitors pay New Zealand's NZ$100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy with their visa or NZeTA, before they arrive. Australian and New Zealand passport holders do not.

What does a Milford cruise cost?

From the terminal, $96 to $110. The two-hour small-boat cruise is the cheaper, at $96, and it goes the furthest, out past St Anne's Point into the Tasman Sea. The boutique cruise is $110 for 1 hour 45 minutes on a boat that sails about half full.

Both leave you to get there and to feed yourself. Neither sells food on board; you get tea and coffee. Our guide to Milford Sound without a tour covers the drive and the parking.

What does a day from Queenstown cost?

By road, $210 to $215 with lunch. The premium small-group day is $215 for 13 hours, with 15 guests at most and hotel pickup. The fare covers the coach, the guide, a two-hour stop on the fiord for the cruise and a picnic lunch.

By road to Doubtful Sound, $273 for a 13-hour day. The tours from Queenstown are compared side by side.

What does a day from Te Anau cost?

Less than the same fiord from Queenstown, because the road is shorter. The walks day to Milford Sound is $157 with a nature guide, the cruise to the sea and a packed lunch, for 15 guests at most. The cruise-and-track day is $219; it adds a water taxi and a self-guided walk on the Great Walk, and lunch is extra.

The Doubtful Sound day from Te Anau is $218, and the lake and river trips from town run $94 to $151. The tours from Te Anau are compared on their own page.

What do the flights cost?

$428 to $540 a person, the dearest day fares here. The plane and boat day is $428 for about five hours. The flight and nature cruise is $482 for four and a half, in a plane of up to 12 with morning tea. The coach-in, fly-back day is $540, with a picnic lunch.

What you are paying for is time. A flight saves you most of a 13-hour day. Read the scenic flights page before you book, for the weight limits and the weather rules.

Why do the Queenstown fares cost more?

Because of the distance. Queenstown is 179 km from Te Anau before the Milford Road even starts, so the return trip to Milford Sound is about 600 km and takes 11 to 13 hours by coach. You pay for the driver, the fuel and the day, and you save a night in Te Anau.

Whether that is good value depends on your bed. If you are staying in Queenstown anyway, the coach day is the cheapest way in. If you can move to Te Anau, the same cruise with a guide and lunch costs less, and the day is shorter.

What does Doubtful Sound cost?

$205 to $273, depending on where the day starts. From Manapouri it is $205 for seven hours; from Te Anau $218 for 8 hours 30 minutes; from Queenstown $273 for 13.

Every one of those fares includes the lake crossing both ways, the coach over Wilmot Pass both ways and a three-hour cruise. The difference is only the coach to Manapouri. Food and drinks are on sale on board, card only.

What do the overnight cruises cost?

On Doubtful Sound, the overnight is $428 a person for 23 hours. That buys the lake and the pass, a night on the Wanderer, a three-course buffet dinner, a hot breakfast and a twin-share cabin with shared bathrooms. Drinks other than tea and coffee are extra.

On Milford Sound, the Fiordland Jewel is $847 a person, booked in pairs, for about 17 hours 30 minutes. It includes dinner, breakfast, kayaking, a tender-boat trip, the top-deck hot tub and an ensuite cabin. Alcohol and your transport to the terminal are extra.

What do the lake and river trips cost?

The Faith cruises on Lake Te Anau are the cheapest trips here, at $94: three hours with a guided walk by day, or 90 minutes with champagne in the evening. The jet boat ride with a forest walk is $117, and $151 with the bike ride home.

What costs extra?

• Parking at Milford Sound: NZ$10 an hour in the main car park, by card; NZ$30 overnight from 2pm. Deepwater Basin is free, 40 minutes' walk away.
• The visitor levy: NZ$100 for most international visitors, paid with the visa or NZeTA, and not refunded.
• Food: on the small Milford boats and the flight days, bring your own. On Doubtful Sound, buy it on board by card.
• Drinks: the bar on the Doubtful Sound boats and alcohol on both overnight boats.
• Great Walk huts: if you walk the Milford Track in season, huts cost NZ$152 a night for an international adult.

What does each fare include?

Read the fare as a list of what you would otherwise arrange. The coach days include the transport, a guide and, on most, lunch. The terminal cruises include the boat, the commentary and hot drinks, and nothing else. The Doubtful Sound fares include both lake crossings and both coach rides over the pass.

The flights include the pickup, the flights and the cruise; the flight and nature cruise adds morning tea, and the coach-in, fly-back day a picnic lunch. Every price here is per person, and the Fiordland Jewel is priced per person for bookings of two.

Which fares are refundable?

Most of them, in full, up to 24 hours before. Two are not. The Doubtful Sound overnight refunds in full only up to 14 days before. The Fiordland Jewel is non-refundable and cannot be changed.

Weather has its own rules for flights. A flight cancelled for weather is rebooked or refunded in full. On the coach-in, fly-back day, you ride home by coach and part of the fare comes back. The premium small-group day may be cancelled for weather or low numbers, and you then get an alternative or a full refund.

Where is the best value?

For hours on the water, the Doubtful Sound day from Manapouri: three hours of cruising and two lake crossings for $205. For a first look at Milford Sound with a car, the two-hour cruise at $96, which goes out to the sea. Without a car, the walks day from Te Anau at $157 includes the guide, the cruise, the stops and lunch.

For a night on the water, the Doubtful Sound overnight at $428 includes the lake, the pass, dinner and breakfast, and refunds up to 14 days before. The Fiordland Jewel costs $847 a person and never refunds, so it is value only when your dates are certain.

If you only have one day in Queenstown, the flights are dear but they give you the day back. Our fiord decision guide helps if you are choosing between the two.

Frequently asked questions

Tours at three price points

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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Premium Milford Sound Small Group Tour & Cruise from Queenstown

Thirteen hours from Queenstown with 15 guests at most, a picnic lunch, road stops at the lakes and in the valley, and a boutique cruise on the fiord. A flight home can be added when you book.

From $215 per person

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From Manapouri: Doubtful Sound Wilderness Day Trip

Seven hours from Pearl Harbour in Manapouri: across the lake, over the pass by coach with a rainforest stop, and three hours on the quiet fiord. Food and drinks are on sale on board, card only.

From $205 per person

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