Last Updated on March 26, 2024 by Alexx
Tossing up between Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound but not sure which one to go with? This detailed guide will run you through the pros and cons of both options to help you find the most suitable option for your trip.
So you’ve already made the brilliant decision to explore Fiordland National Park. Congratulations! Your next step is choosing whether to spend your precious time at Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound (or both), and I’ve pulled together a little comparison guide to make that choice much easier.
If you’re familiar with the feeling of frustration when trying to decide an itinerary, you’re not alone. I too suffer from chronic indecision, also known as “analysis paralysis”, and I tend to get myself into a dangerous cycle of overthinking every travel decision I have to make. Okay let’s be real, every life decision too.
I’ve been fortunate enough to experience both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound a couple of times each, but I understand many people don’t have the luxury of time or budget when you’re planning your once-in-a-lifetime New Zealand adventure.
So to help you make a final decision between visiting Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound, here’s a deep dive into how easy it is to get to each fiord, the activities on offer, the scenery, how much you’ll need to spend, and what type of travellers each one is best suited to.
Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: A quick summary
If you just want a quick pros and cons list to help you make your decision, I’ve got you.
Milford Sound pros
✅ Very accessible: Options to self-drive (Te Anau 2-2.5 hours, Queenstown 4-5 hours), book a coach or small group tour, or take a scenic flight
✅ Iconic scenery: Instantly recognisable with dramatic icons like Mitre Peak and Lady Bowen Falls
✅ Variety of activities: More things to do in Milford Sound, like kayaking, diving and short walks
✅ More affordable: Milford Sound cruises are shorter so less expensive
Milford Sound cons
👎🏼 Crowded: Milford Sound is beautiful and accessible, which means it gets busyyyy, especially during summer, school holidays or weekends. It’s the downside of visiting the 8th Wonder of the World!
👎🏼 More commercialised: Milford Sound is a pretty slick operation, with expensive parking fees, a fancy terminal and vending machines, which are all very convenient but somewhat take away from the magic of the destination
👎🏼 More boats on the water: When you’re on a Milford Sound cruise you’ll be one boat amongst five or six on the water at once, all running in a little circle around the key spots. Unless you go for an overnight cruise (highly recommend!).
👎🏼 Less wildlife (debatable): People say there’s less wildlife in Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound because there’s obviously more boats and people around (which makes sense) but in my experience of five Milford trips and two Doubtful trips, I’ve seen wildlife in both.
Who is Milford Sound best for?
- Travellers with only one day to experience Fiordland
- Travellers on a tight budget
- Travellers in a campervan wanting to stay overnight
- Families with young kids who couldn’t handle the car-boat-bus-boat combo of getting to Doubtful Sound
- Anyone with accessibility needs, the Milford Sound terminal is wheelchair accessible and you can find wheelchair-friendly cruises (though you’ll need to call the companies to check as it does depend on the boat)
- Hikers who want to explore the area’s trails
- Scuba divers
🚢 Book your Milford Sound day cruise or Milford Sound overnight cruise
Doubtful Sound pros
✅ Remoteness: Doubtful Sound is so far off the grid away from other humans, it’s fantastic
✅ Wildlife: As above! Keep an eye out for tawaki (Fiordland crested penguins), fur seals and bottlenose dolphins
✅ Larger scale: Doubtful Sound is significantly larger than Milford Sound, which creates an epic sense of vastness
✅ Way less busy: Fewer people on the boats and fewer boats in general, making it a much calmer experience
Doubtful Sound cons
👎🏼 Harder to reach: Requires you to get to Lake Manapouri (20 min from Te Anau, self-drive or coach transfers available), then a boat ride to West Arm, then a coach ride over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove where the boats live. Phew! The total return journey from Manapouri on a day cruise is 7 hours, compared to 1.5-2 hours on most Milford cruises.
👎🏼 Less frequent tours: There are fewer cruise operators in Doubtful Sound which means less frequent tours, you’ll need to book in advance in busy periods to avoid missing out
👎🏼 More expensive: Doubtful Sound is more pricey thanks to its remoteness and duration of the experience
👎🏼 Fewer additional activities: You can’t really visit Doubtful Sound independently, it’s pretty much only accessible via an organised tour, so there are no separate activities on offer like there are at Milford Sound
Who is Doubtful Sound best for?
- Travellers looking for a unique and lesser-visited experience
- Those who aren’t concerned about their budget and are happy to spend more for a more peaceful trip
- Photographers, it’s much easier to take photos with fewer people on the boat
- Anyone who has already visited Milford Sound
- Travellers who are lucky enough to have the time and budget for both Milford and Doubtful Sound
- People who suffer from sensory overload and struggle to deal with busy crowds (hi, it’s me 👋🏼)
🚢 Book your Doubtful Sound day cruise or Doubtful Sound overnight cruise
Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: A detailed breakdown
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the difference between Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound.
Getting there
How to get to Milford Sound
Milford Sound is much more accessible which is a big plus if you’re short on time.
You can drive to Milford Sound from Te Anau along the stunning Milford Road in 2-3 hours (depending on stops), or from Queenstown in 4-5 hours. There are also group tours, private tours or scenic flights from both Te Anau and Queenstown.
My top Milford Sound tour recommendations:
- Milford Sound cruise with RealNZ (self-drive or coach transfer)
- Milford Sound premium cruise with RealNZ (self-drive or coach transfer)
- Milford Sound overnight cruise with RealNZ
- Premium small group day trip from Queenstown with Altitude Tours
- Private Tesla tour from Te Anau with Envy Experiences
- Fly-cruise-fly from Queenstown with Glenorchy Air
- Milford Sound scenic flyover from Queenstown with Glenorchy Air
How to get to Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound is deeper into the National Park, and the remoteness means less human interference and smaller crowds, though it does take longer to get there. Public access is restricted, so the vast majority of visitors will need to travel with an organised day tour or overnight tour from Lake Manapouri.
Your first boat will take you from one side of Lake Manapouri to the other, then you’ll jump on a coach to travel through rainforests and past rushing waterfalls over the Wilmot Pass, before you reach your third and final vessel in Doubtful Sound itself.
The entire day to and from Lake Manapouri takes around 7 hours, 8 hours if you’re coming from Te Anau, and 12 hours from Queenstown not taking into account any rest stops. It’s a long day on multiple forms of transport, and may not be ideal for young children if your kids aren’t used to long travel days.
Doubtful Sound is also viewable by scenic heli flight from Te Anau if you’re happy to splurge, the views will blow your mind.
Scenery
Milford Sound landscapes
Milford Sound’s glacial waters are flanked by mighty peaks and steep cliffs, creating an iconic landscape that you’ve almost certainly seen on Instagram. I know the photos are impressive, but seeing it with your own eyes is something else entirely.
Due to the ease of accessibility, Milford Sound is home to more tour boats, so your view is more likely to be interrupted by a floating distraction or two. Even so, the size of the fiord means you’ll still get plenty of time to soak up some of the scenery without any other boats in the way.
Doubtful Sound landscapes
Doubtful Sound’s scenery is less dramatic and harsh but equally captivating, with dense vegetation, fewer cliffs, smaller mountains, more waterfalls and a higher chance of seeing local wildlife (not in my personal experience but this is what the tour companies say!).
Peace, serenity and unspoiled nature are key selling points for Doubtful, over the striking views in Milford.
Geography
FYI: There are fourteen fiords in Fiordland, some of which have been incorrectly named as ‘sounds’ by early European settlers. They also decided to spell it ‘fiord’ instead of ‘fjord’, just to be difficult. Confusing, I know!
Milford Sound geography
At 16km in length from innermost point to the Tasman Sea, Milford Sound is easily explored on a short cruise. The most iconic mountain in the area is Mitre Peak at 1692m tall, but the tallest is actually Mt Tutoko at 2723m.
Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls are the fiord’s most well-known waterfalls, at 162m and 151m high respectively, and the Sutherland Falls (only seen on the Milford Track hike) are a whopping 580m tall.
After a storm, Milford Sound’s steep rock faces begin to cascade with sky high temporary waterfalls.
Doubtful Sound geography
At 40km long, Doubtful Sound is significantly larger than its counterpart, with a number of ‘arms’ branching off to create more of a maze than the fairly linear Milford.
The mountains here are more rolling than cloud-piercing, but the waterfalls are even more striking. Helena Falls stands tall at 220m, and Browne Falls tumbles down from between 619m and 838m, depending on who you speak to.
Activities
Things to do in Milford Sound
If you’re looking for adventures, there are lots of fun things to do in Milford Sound to fill your itinerary.
As well as a classic day cruise or bucket list overnight cruise, you could try a kayak tour (I HIGHLY recommend Rosco’s Milford Kayaks), scuba diving, short hikes or watching for native birds.
RELATED READ: 11 Epic Things to Do in Milford Sound
Doubtful Sound
Because Doubtful Sound is only accessible on an organised tour, the only things to do in the area are whatever’s available on your cruise.
Day cruises offer sightseeing, wildlife spotting and commentary, but to experience Doubtful at its best I’d recommend going on an overnight cruise, where you’ll also get access to kayaks to see the fiord from sea level. Kayaking in Doubtful Sound with no other humans around apart from your boat mates is pure magic.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Milford Sound
On my trips to Milford Sound I’ve seen fur seals, Fiordland crested penguins and a pod of bottlenose dolphins, the Fiordland trifecta!
There’s an abundance of bird life in the Milford Sound, with cheeky kea, South Island robins, kaka, tui and more flitting around the canopies. In the water there’s penguins, seals, dolphins and thriving underwater life too.
But a general rule is that the more boats, the less wildlife, so in peak travel times you potentially might not be so lucky in Milford. I’ve had some cruises where I’ve seen all three, and some cruises where I’ve seen none, so you really need to just cross your fingers and hope for the best but not be disappointed if it doesn’t happen.
Doubtful Sound
If wildlife is the reason for your trip, the remote and rugged wilderness of Doubtful Sound might be more up your alley. Because this fiord is calmer and quieter, it’s home to larger groups of animals, which means more of a chance of spotting them from your boat or kayak.
Keep an eye out for the resident pod of bottlenose dolphins (compared to a few occasional visitors in Milford Sound), see penguins nesting along the rocky shoreline, and watch fur seals sunbathing on the rocks.
In saying that though, I’ve seen wildlife in both fiords!
Weather
Milford Sound
With over 6.8m of annual rainfall, almost three times the annual rainfall of the Amazon Rainforest, Milford Sound is known for being wet and wild. It rains here about 200 days of the year!
But don’t let rainy weather dampen your spirits, that’s when the fiords waterfalls come alive. Just make sure you bring a decent raincoat…
Doubtful Sound
Though only about 100 kilometres south of Milford Sound as the crow flies, Doubtful Sound does get slightly less rain in total over a similar number of rainy days. Annual rainfall here is between 3m and 6m.
My first visit to Doubtful Sound was actually very stormy and much wetter than our day in Milford Sound! But the waterfalls we saw were absolutely next level.
When I returned for an overnight trip in February 2024 we had the dreamiest conditions, the skipper said it was the best day of the summer, barely a cloud in the sky. And it was epic both times!
Price
Milford Sound
If you’re on a tight budget, Milford Sound is the best option and can give you an incredible experience while keeping costs low. You can drive there yourself, cruises start from only $125, and then head back to Te Anau or Queenstown in time for dinner.
If you’d prefer to spend the night, accommodation at the Milford Sound Lodge is $100 for a powered campsite for campervans/$525 for a chalet for two people, or an overnight cruise will set you back somewhere from $599 to $1099.
Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound cruises are more expensive because of the transport required to reach the fiord, with day cruises starting from $379 per person and overnight options from $559 to $1299.
Bucket list experience
Milford Sound
As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, Milford Sound is hands down one of the best New Zealand bucket list experiences.
Once deemed the 8th Wonder of the World by Rudyard Kipling, many travellers would say a New Zealand itinerary is incomplete without a visit to this magical corner of the South Island.
I mean seriously, look at this place!
Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound is lesser known and lesser visited than Milford Sound, so it doesn’t hold the same iconic fame than its northern counterpart.
In saying that though, for landscape photographers, wildlife lovers or those who prefer getting off the beaten track, a visit to Doubtful Sound may well be a top travel goal.
And if you want to experience Fiordland’s incredible landscapes without having to share them with too many people, a Doubtful Sound trip is going to be better for you than a Milford Sound visit.
The verdict on Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound
What type of travellers are Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound best for?
Rather than stating which fiord is the best overall (because that’s impossible!), I think each of them is best suited to different types of travellers.
Who should visit Milford Sound?
- First-time visitors to Fiordland National Park
- Anyone pressed for time who can only spend a day in Fiordland
- Anyone on a tight budget
- Families with young kids
- Scuba divers
- Anyone wanting to hike the Milford Track or other hikes along the Milford Road
Who should visit Doubtful Sound?
- Those who prefer off the beaten track destinations
- Wildlife and nature photographers
- Anyone with money to splurge on an overnight cruise
- Families if your kids are comfortable with long travel days
- Those who prefer a calmer, quieter experience
Did I prefer Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound?
It’s a bit of a cop out to write a comparison blog but not state my own personal preference.
While I’ve really loved my experiences at both fiords, for a number of reasons, I would have to say that Doubtful Sound was my favourite. The main reasons being:
- The entire experience was much less crowded, and the difference in crowd size makes a HUGE difference. I first visited Milford Sound in 2020 while borders were closed and we were one of only a couple of groups on the boat (it was a life highlight for sure), but now when I go back the busy-ness of the terminal and foreshore really does get to me. Still incredible to see, but I prefer the tranquility of Doubtful.
- I did an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound which was absolutely insane, kayaking as the sun was going down, stargazing with not a single dot of light pollution and waking up to the most incredible scenes where it felt like we were the only people in the world. I’m sure a Milford Sound overnight cruise is just as impressive so my main recommendation here is to just do the overnight!
- I will say that the journey to get to Milford Sound does make it one of the best things to do in New Zealand though, you get magnificent landscapes the entire drive with loads of variety, from tussock flats to mirror lakes to thick forest walks.
So should you visit Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound?
I can’t tell you exactly which one to pick because it will depend on your budget, timeframe and priorities, but I can tell you this: Fiordland HAS to be on your New Zealand itinerary in one way or another.
I hope this Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound comparison has made your decision a little easier! I’d love to know which one you end up choosing, let me know in the comments. Happy exploring!
Other New Zealand blog posts
- The Ultimate New Zealand Bucket List
- 22 of the Best Places to Visit in the South Island
- Driving to Milford Sound from Te Anau: Everything You Need to Know
- 11 Epic Things to do in Milford Sound
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Huge thanks to Destination Fiordland abd RealNZ for hosting me during my trip to Te Anau and Milford Sound. As always, all opinions are my own and are based on my personal experience.
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