Milford Sound

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Piopiotahi, a fiord fifteen kilometres long under Mitre Peak, at the end of a mountain road, a four-day walk, or a short flight over the Southern Alps from Queenstown.

Fly to Milford Sound All of New Zealand

Arrival: Queenstown · ZQN
To the Sound: 75 km by air from Queenstown; 121 km by road from Te Anau
Private jets: Land at ZQN; light aircraft and helicopters on to the Sound
Best time: November to April

The city

Rock, rain and deep water.

Milford Sound runs about fifteen kilometres in from the open sea, its walls rising straight out of the water to Mitre Peak at 1,692 metres. The only road comes in from Te Anau, 121 kilometres away, through the Homer Tunnel; the Milford Track arrives on foot at Sandfly Point, and small aircraft land on a strip beside the head of the fiord.

The rain gauge at the airstrip records about 6,500 mm a year, with between 440 and 670 mm in every month, and the cliffs run with water after each downpour. Between half a million and a million people come each year, most of them for a day. Walkers come from November to April, when the Milford Track is open and the days are mildest.

Mitre Peak The 1,692-metre summit that rises from the water’s edge and gives the fiord its outline.
The underwater observatory A chamber ten metres down in the Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, looking into the fiord’s dark, sheltered water.
Sutherland Falls A 580-metre fall in three leaps from Lake Quill, a side trip from the Milford Track, which ends by boat at the Sound.

Arriving

Queenstown for the jet, then over the mountains.

There is no airport for jets at the Sound. The aerodrome at the head of the fiord, run by the Ministry of Transport, has an asphalt strip of under 800 metres for light aircraft and helicopters. Jets land at Queenstown, 75 kilometres away in a straight line.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia fly into Queenstown. From there, scenic operators fly single-engine Cessna Caravans and Airvans to the Milford strip, weather permitting, and helicopters make the same crossing. Business & First fares Private Jet Private jets and the last leg At Queenstown, open from 7 am to 10 pm, a business jet must use a ground handler, and Queenstown Corporate Jet Services is the one the airport names. The last leg is a charter by light aircraft or helicopter to the strip at the head of the fiord. Charter a jet

Approximate flying time by midsize jet

Auckland 1 h 40
Sydney 2 h 45
Melbourne 3 h 00
Brisbane 3 h 20
Tokyo 12 h 20 long-range jet

When to go

November to April.

Very wet all year, with 440 to 670 mm of rain in every month. Summer highs reach 18 to 20 °C, winter ones 9 °C, and the Milford Track is open from November to April.

20° J 667
20° F 467
19° M 571
16° A 528
13° M 645
9° J 440
9° J 468
11° A 457
13° S 541
15° O 617
16° N 558
19° D 585

Best months NIWA normals 1991–2020, Milford Sound

Where to stay

A night in Te Anau.

Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.

Four-star · Te Anau, 121 km by road from Milford Sound Distinction Luxmore Hotel In the centre of Te Anau, a short walk from the lake, on the road that leads to the Sound.

Elsewhere in New Zealand

More reasons to come.

All of New Zealand

Flying to Milford Sound?

Choose how you arrive.

A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.

Business & First Private Jet