Milford Sound – or Piopiotahi, to give it the Maori name – is arguably New Zealand’s most prized attraction. The steep-walled fjord, lined with waterfalls, is a natural wonder on the west coast of the South Island.
It’s also pretty remote, and most people use resort town Queenstown as a base for visiting Milford Sound.
This is a mistake.
How far is Milford Sound from Queenstown?
As the crow flies, Milford Sound and Queenstown are pretty close. Unfortunately, you’ll not be travelling by crow.
By road, the drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound is 289km long. That makes for a driving time of around three hours and 45 minutes.
To do a day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound, therefore, involves seven-and-a-half hours of driving. That’s pretty brutal.
Milford Sound to Queenstown by bus
There’s even more time in transit if you take the popular one day bus tours to Milford Sound from Queenstown. It’s usually four hours each way, with a toilet break built in. The cruise on Milford Sound may be lovely, but it’s an endurance test getting there and back.
Distance from Te Anau to Milford Sound
The smart move for visiting Milford Sound, therefore, is to stay in Te Anau. A 171km drive from Queenstown, which takes around two hours and five minutes, Te Anau is right on the edge of Fiordland National Park.
It’s a 119km drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, which equates to a drive of roughly one hour and 45 minutes. For a day trip, that is far more manageable.
If you’ve not got your own transport, day tours to Milford Sound from Te Anau are far less gruelling. They’re generally cheaper than the ones from Queenstown, too.
The best things to do in Te Anau
There are plenty of other good reasons to stay in Te Anau, however. The first is that it makes a good base for exploring the even more remote – and arguably more impressive – Doubtful Sound.
Several Doubtful Sound tours operate from Te Anau.
You can also do full day guided walks along the Routeburn Track or – my personal recommendation – go to see the glowworm caves on the far shore of Lake Te Anau.
The glowworm caves tour involves a cruise across Lake Te Anau, then a boat ride through the twinkling caves. There are evening departures, too, so you can see the glowworms after arriving from Queenstown, then head to Milford Sound the next day.
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