The Best Places to Stay to Visit Milford Sound, New Zealand
Milford Sound is one of the most popular places to visit in all of New Zealand, but given it is a protected area with few permits to access it individually it can be tricky to figure out where to stay to visit Milford Sound! We’ve outlined the best places to stay based on your itinerary and travel style below to help!
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The Milford Track Hike
If you are planning to hike the Milford Track through the fiords, you will have to book far in advance to reserve your place at the small “huts” that the conservation team has built into the trails throughout the hike. These have limited space and must be booked far in advance.
Generally speaking hiking is one of the least common ways to see Milford Sound, as it isn’t very accessible and there are not many passes granted each season.
The Milford Sound Lodge
Currently the only public accommodation located within Milford Sound itself is the Milford Sound Lodge. This lodge is located right next to the Pio Pio Restaurant within the fiord itself, and is as close as you can get to the sound’s entrance (other than by hiking it and staying in the huts as mentioned above!).
Due to its location and popularity, the Milford Sound Lodge can be difficult to get a reservation for and it would be best to try to book this one in advance if possible.
Staying in Te Anau
Beyond the sound itself, one of the most popular towns to stay in to access Milford Sound is the town of Te Anau. Te Anau is located right on the shore front of Lake Te Anau, and is a common pick up destination for day tours to Milford Sound. This is ultimately where we chose to stay during our visit, and we used it as our base to see Doubtful Sound as well!
By car the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is just under a couple of hours, but typically this travel time is covered in your day tour when booked through a service. It would also include getting on a boat to transport you more quickly by cutting through the water!
Our recommendations of places to stay in Te Anau for easy access to Milford Sound include:
- Budget: Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers
- Popular: The Kingsgate Hotel
- Luxury: Distinction Te Anau
Staying in Manapouri
An extra ten minutes further south from Te Anau is the town of Manapouri, a very similar feeling destination that is on the lake front of Lake Manapouri! There are also plenty of tour agencies that offer pick up directly from the town of Manapouri as well, so this is another popular option to stay in when visiting Milford Sound in addition to Te Anau.
- Budget: The Possum Lodge
- Popular: The Lake Hotel
- Campground: The Manapouri Holiday Park
Staying in Queenstown
While there are a multitude of private vacation homes you can stay in between Queenstown and Milford Sound that are closer by distance than Milford Sound itself, since you have to visit Milford Sound through a tour company the other city that tour companies will easily pick you up from is Queenstown itself.
The benefit of staying in Queenstown is that it is likely going to be on your itinerary even if you were not going to visit the sounds, so a day trip coordinated from here will be easy to build into your trip without needing to switch towns! It is, however, a farther drive to the sound for a day trip (but still commonly done). Te Anau and Manapouri are often only visited due to their proximity to Milford and Doubtful Sound, but Queenstown in and of itself should be a stop on your trip!
- Campeground:Â The Hampshire Holiday Park: Queenstown Lakeview
- Budget Hostel:Â The Nomads Queenstown Hostel
- Five Star Hotel:Â The QT Queenstown Hotel
- Luxury Villa:Â The Hulbert House Luxury Boutique Lodge
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