Milford Sound on Solstice - Milford Sound from Queenstown

[Mystictraveler]

We will be in Queenstown for a few days before sailing out of Auckland on the Solstice on Nov. 11. Our itinerary includes a day cruising through Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sounds.

 

We are looking for advice on whether we should also do a day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound as it is one of the most recommended things to do on TA? One of our hesitations is that it is a 13 hour trip and we would have to take the tour 2 or 3 days after a 28 hour journey from the US.

 

I know these things can depend on personal preferences, but if anyone has experience with both, I would love to hear your thoughts.

[jelayne]

If you haven't already, you may want to post this in the Ports Of Call boards for New Zealand/Australia.

[Mystictraveler]

Thank-you. Great suggestion.

[vickykay]

We were on the Solstice this past Feb. The cruise thru Midford sound on the ship was amazing. We were warned that is typically foggy and one rarely sees the tops of the peaks. We were very fortunate and had very unusual weather, bright and sunny. The naturalist on board, who does continual commentary, was amazed! Since the ship goes in and the out of the sound it is a few hours long. We were on the back deck off the Oceanview Cafe. Great views. I don't think you will,really need a separate trip to Midford Sound. Bring a warm jacket as it is very cool in the Sounds as the ship is very far south.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise. It was wonderful!

 

 

Vicky

[mickey89]

Milford Sound is breathtaking and not to be missed together with Queenstown they are the icons of New Zealand. It is important to realise that the entrance into Milford Sound is narrow and if the winds are up the ship will not enter for obvious reasons, we waited 3 hours and our journey into the sounds was aborted. We waited to pick up the passengers that took the land tour from Dunedin to Queenstown and onto Milford, they were the lucky few. Since you are in Queenstown pre-cruise I would recommend you take a flight over the sounds in the small planes from Queenstown airport. Included in the trip is landing at the small airport, a 2 hour boat cruise thro the sound and return back to Queenstown airport cost US$350/pp - money well spent.

Edited September 29, 2017 by mickey89

[floridatravelersforlife]

We did a land tour years ago (not a cruise) and spent an overnite on a small 50 pax vessel in the Sound. The benefits were the dawn and dusk panorama (we had great weather) and up close views of the cliffs, waterfalls and shore wildlife. The vessel got so close to the waterfalls the water was splashing on the bow (like Niagara Falls in the old days). The cruise ships can only enter the large mouth fjords. The local tour ships visit much more narrow fjords further inland.

 

The negative is one needs a day and half to full two days for travel and do a daytrip or an overnight. Search youtube and you should find videos

.

Any means of seeing the Milford fjords is rewarding.

[redjetz]

Milford Sound is breathtaking and not to be missed together with Queenstown they are the icons of New Zealand. It is important to realise that the entrance into Milford Sound is narrow and if the winds are up the ship will not enter for obvious reasons, we waited 3 hours and our journey into the sounds was aborted. We waited to pick up the passengers that took the land tour from Dunedin to Queenstown and onto Milford, they were the lucky few. Since you are in Queenstown pre-cruise I would recommend you take a flight over the sounds in the small planes from Queenstown airport. Included in the trip is landing at the small airport, a 2 hour boat cruise thro the sound and return back to Queenstown airport cost US$350/pp - money well spent.

 

Agree - it will be a highlight of your trip and an altogether different experience from the Solstice excursion. Flying so low over those mountains is thrilling!

[Mystictraveler]

Milford Sound is breathtaking and not to be missed together with Queenstown they are the icons of New Zealand. It is important to realise that the entrance into Milford Sound is narrow and if the winds are up the ship will not enter for obvious reasons, we waited 3 hours and our journey into the sounds was aborted. We waited to pick up the passengers that took the land tour from Dunedin to Queenstown and onto Milford, they were the lucky few. Since you are in Queenstown pre-cruise I would recommend you take a flight over the sounds in the small planes from Queenstown airport. Included in the trip is landing at the small airport, a 2 hour boat cruise thro the sound and return back to Queenstown airport cost US$350/pp - money well spent.

Thanks for your suggestion. We actually decided to do this option earlier today. After the long (28 hours with plane changes) trip from the U.S., we were not looking forward to a 13 hour bus trip so we are going to do the fly/cruise/fly and are already looking forward to it.

[Lastdance]

I know this is off topic, but hiking into Milford Sound is unbelievable. We stayed at the hotel there for a few nights and thoroughly loved it. On our hike was a 90 year old gentlemen from NZ who did an amazing job, even after drinking lots of wine at dinner each night between huts. The huts are rooms with bunkbeds, but the home cooked food was very special and the people from there there are truly amazing individuals.

[Hlitner]

Great question. We have been through Milford Sound on two cruises (one on Princess and the other on HAL) and its a lovely pristine place. But then after a cruise we flew back to South Island (from Auckland) and spent two weeks doing a South Island driving trip. We spent a few fantastic days in Queenstown (if we ever wanted to leave the USA....we would choose to live in Queenstown). One morning we got up early, checkout,,,and drove to Milford Sound. We then took a very small (about 50 passenger boat) on the sound and it was heads and shoulders better then being on a big cruise ship. Our little boat actually pulled up against the shore so that a waterfall plunged down on our bow (one teen boy went out and got a freezing bath). Unlike a cruise ship which must stay some distance from the shore....our little boat took us within feet of the coast. We came within a few feel of beautiful penguins and saw other sea and land life. After our long day at the sound we drove back to Te Anau, where we spent the night before moving on.

 

So, here is my take on NZ and South Island. The first two times we saw South Island was on typical cruises with the normal ports. After that first cruise we knew that we had to return to South Island and explore it with a car. When we finally spent our 2 weeks on South Island...it was a total love feast. We were able to drive within a mile of two glaciers...and then hike (easy) to the glaciers. We saw Mt Cook...up close and personal. We spent a few glorious days in fantastic Queenstown (seldom visited by any cruiser) which is an amazing city in a setting beyond description. During some days we would drive for hours and only see a handful of other cars. We have traveled extensively (over 100 countries) and South Island is #1 on our personal list.

 

As to guidance to the OP here is what we did. We cruised from Seattle to Auckland (about 35 days) on the Oosterdam. When we disembarked at Auckland (we have stayed there on other trips) we went directly to the airport and flew back to Christ Church (South Island). After a night, we took the Tranzalpine Express train from Christ Church across South Island to Greymouth where we picked up our rental car for 2 weeks of bliss.

 

Hank

[Lastdance]

Hank...it is our #1 place too! Loved the driving and wanted to bungee jump in Queenstown. I think we took a small boat from Te Anau to begin the Milford Track. Hiking the zig-zag up the mountains was cold, but the fresh air and beauty were beyond description; one just had to go there, as it can’t be described with words...

 

I twisted my ankle and could not hike the last day. Honestly, this was the best think that could have happened to me. They sent in a helicopter pilot to take me out, but not before he took me all over the area. Underneath, the helicopter carried lots of backpacks in a huge net, so the hikers could be lite on the last day! I thought I was in a movie...

 

 

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