The stunning Lady Bowen Falls is Milford's highest waterfall. It plunges 162 metres from a hanging valley into the head of the Milford Sounds. Despite its name, Milford Sound is actually a fiord, not a sound. It is also the only fiord in New Zealand that is accessible by road. However, its remote location, bounded by steep cliffs and dense rainforest, means its special features remain unspoilt. The west coast of the South Island is notorious for its high rainfall, and Milford Sound is no exception. Milford Sound is the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand, and one of the wettest places in the world! The mean annual rainfall in Milford Sound is 6,813mm, and it rains there on average 182 days a year. In the South Island, the prevailing winds off the Tasman Sea meet the Southern Alps. The resultant precipitation makes the West Coast the wettest area of New Zealand.

If you take one of the many trips around the sound you will get to see these falls close up. Impressive, maybe not so impressive if you have just walked the Milford track and seen those waterfalls but nonetheless worth seeing.

The first impressive and beautiful waterfall you see if you decide to make a boat tour with one of the companies… must do…

An amazing waterfall and probably one of the largest ones that you will see in Milford Sounds. It is easy to see as you leave the port or return on your boat cruise of the Sounds. The boats can’t get as close to this waterfall as they do to others in the Sounds, but they will get close enough that you can get some great photos!

An amazing waterfall and probably one of the largest ones that you will see in Milford Sounds. It is easy to see as you leave the port or return on your boat cruise of the Sounds. The boats can’t get as close to this waterfall as they do to others in the Sounds, but they will get close enough that you can get some great photos!

Awesome. Powerful. Wet.

Beautiful Waterfall. You can see it from the ferry jetty but for a good look, try the boat cruise. We went after a heavy rainfall and the volume of water was awesome. My friends has climbed Bowen falls and took pictures from the top of the falls. I would love to do it some day.

If you take one of the many trips around the sound you will get to see these falls close up. Impressive, maybe not so impressive if you have just walked the Milford track and seen those waterfalls but nonetheless worth seeing.

Stunning waterfall, highly recommended.

Get there after some rain for even larger waterfall! Cruise or kayak are the best way to discover Milford Sound and to check out the waterfall from a close up look. It’s one of the only two forever waterfall there as all the other ones are only temporary after the rain.

Absolutely stunning waterfall in Milford Sound. Best place to view it is from one of the boat cruises for sure. Not sure if it’s accessible via a hike. There are so many waterfalls in Milford I lost count but this was one of the larger ones in terms of volume.

I wasnt a big fan of the cruise, partly the weather was terrible and bucketing down rain. Ship felt like it was about to sink and almost impossible to go on the viewing deck without being thrown overboard by the turbulent waves. The best part of the cruise was the amazing soup they serve on board and the staff were also very friendly too! The soup is definitely a must try!

This was a spectacular day trip. Bus super comfy, driver very experienced. The cruise was absolutely amazing. Must do and definitely recommend taking bus so you can take 1 million photos on the way. Stopped at all the good places and met a Kea who wanted to come on the bus with us.

Great experience! The staff are nice, there's 3 platforms to watch the surroundings. There's sitting area inside the boat. Make sure to buy the ticket with the underwater observatory, great experience! There was super strong wind so bring hat or something to cover your ears and good jacket.

Nice, clean and detailed commentary on board with huge knowledge about mountain 🏔️ and waterfall. No speakers outside was downfall, could not hear anything when you out on deck. Well presented staff, helpful and caring while on board. Under water observatory was nice thing to do actually but due to weather was not able to see much things in marine. Enjoyable, recommended.

4 stars for the experience in the cruise, 2 stars for the toilet. The smell of this place was not good at all, even in the lobby you can smell something fishy there. The cruise was clean, view was amazing

The cruise was really good and worth it. If the weather is raining on the day and the days prior to the trip, this will be good as you will experience more waterfalls in Milford Sound. If you lucky, you can see dolphins and penguins, but the cruise captain will alert you as he would have the best view of the ocean. You won’t go out deep into the ocean especially if there is bad weather or if the sea is tough. There is food (cold and hot) and drinks on the cruise, a bit pricey, but that is expected. PLEASE NOTE. Car park if 10/15 min walk from the cruise/ferry terminal (unless you come in a coach as they will park near the terminal in the coach car park.) parking in very expensive, we paid $30 for 3 hours. But that is not cruise company fault.

Went with Southern Discoveries for our cruise and it was amazing! We went with the lunch option and the food was delicious! The crew on board were lovely to deal with and the captain was extremely skilled. Would definitely recommend this. Make sure you get your food and eat fast because not long after the cruise starts. All in all, amazing experience!

I really do believe everyone who visits the south island should definitely make time for a Milford sounds boat cruise , you will definitely not be disappoint as it's next level stunning ❤️🌄

A nice company and the trip was run by friendly staff. We had a good time but sometimes we’re left wondering what was happening next. While the kayak was fun and informative it is for the complete novice only and stays in a nice but hidden bay. It misses going out into the sound and requires virtually no paddling. Not recommended for seasoned kayakers.

It was a cool experience, we had luck that it was a very clear day but because of that there werent many waterfalls - the tour guide was very friendly and liked what he does- very authentic - you could learn a lot in the science center Just a bit expensive

The cruise was absolutely amazing! The sea was pretty calm the whole way through and the view is amazing! We saw dolphins and seals, beautiful waterfalls and mountains! I highly recommend the cruise!

Hard not to give Milford Sound a 5 star review. Of the 40 countries I have visited, this is the most awe inspiring place I have been in the world. Our trip on the Southern Discoveries ship was fabulous even though it was raining. Fun fact - rain makes waterfalls and even though the weather for our trip was gloomy, waterfalls were everywhere. So don’t despair if the weather is rainy as it rains 250 days per year here. We also did the stop at the underwater viewing and I’d honestly say that’s probably something you could skip if pressed for time. The drive from Te Anau takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes without stops. But why hurry? The drive there is stunning so plan on 2.5 hours and be happy you arrived early. We booked the 10:30am tour and glad we did. The boat was only half full at most. By the time we returned at 1:30pm, the lot was full of tour busses. Book ahead of time in high season.

I think i had a great tour with southern discoveries. They offered a splendid coach with glass ceiling. The guide as well as driver was super nice. He even made a stop to let us see sceneries and take some photos. Their lunch boxes were great but i guess they are a little bit overpriced for what they have

We had a great experience with this company! We did the Milford sound cruise and kayak option which included a stop at the underwater observatory. The cruise was great! Amazing views of Milford sound, great captain who took us up close to many waterfalls and pointed out wildlife (seals and penguins!). Provided lunch was simple but filling. The kayak experience was also great, very well organized, no prior experience needed. The only thing to note about the kayaking though is that you basically just to a big loop in sheltered Harrison cove, where there aren’t many (if any at all) falls. The scenery is beautiful, and we got lucky and saw penguins! The underwater observatory was a cool addition, but not something I would specifically pay extra for had it not already been included.

Really fun and beautiful cruise. We took the one with the buffet meal and my daughter took the vegetarian picnic/ boxed lunch. The buffet was ample, but they only serve it the first 30 minutes of the cruise, so eat fast. There were 2 main meat dishes, 1 main vegetarian dish, 3-4 sides (all vegetarian), garlic bread, 3 types of salad, fruit, and 2 desserts. Plus tea, coffee, and water for everyone. The boxed lunch was a sandwich, apple, orange, chips, protein snack, cheese/ crackers, and 2 pieces of chocolate for dessert. The captain did a good job of showing us some seals and various birds that were nearby. He went up to several waterfalls (if you are outside, you WILL get wet). The audio system in the boat wasn't great, or maybe people were just talking too loudly, so we couldn't hear most of what he was saying but the views were jaw-dropping good! The people working were very friendly.

The cruise we were on was called the spirit? Anyway, it was good and often I get seasick but I didn’t this time. Saw plenty of seals and dolphins. Lunch was generous portion. Loved the underwater discovery center Driver was kind and knowledgeable too

We had a really great experience with the cruise and kayak tour! We even saw a penguin while on the cruise. Highly recommend both, we would have loved to kayak a bit longer. Jared was a great guide! Make sure to bring a water bottle for a chance to fill it up with glacier water.

The whole experience was amazing. Our driver, Roland, was just perfect with his commentary along the way and provided a number of stops for us to take photos, have toilet breaks and get our morning coffee! Everything was so well organised, from initial pick up, to coach trip, to cruise, to fly back. Everything communicated and co-ordinated to perfection . The lunch on board the cruise is definitely worth doing and worth paying the extra to reserve front seats in the coach (if this is important to you). Our pilot Megan gave us a wonderful experience on the flight back to Queenstown - so professional and great fun. An all round great experience and would really recommend this as a 'must do'. #southerndiscoveries #SDShareandWin

An easy and interesting walk at the end of Milford Sound. You can see the waterfall from here. Quite flat, but not wheelchair friendly as there are area that's rocky. It takes about 40-60mins if you walk from the Basin carpark and back. Definitely worth exploring, you can walk as far as the beach goes. There are a lot of birds. No toilet here.

(Translated by Google) The hiking trail from the parking lot to Milford Sound is flat and easy to walk, the scenery along the way is good, and you can even encounter KIWI birds. (Original) 從停車場走往米佛峽灣的健行步道..平坦好走、沿途風景不錯、還遇到KIWI鳥

(Translated by Google) Apparently the filming location for Ridley Scott's Prometheus is near here, so the scenery is quite impressive. (Original) リドリースコット監督のプロメテウス撮影地がこの付近にあるそうで、なるほどと言う景観です

(Translated by Google) I was disappointed that the distance I had to travel was too long to just take the cruise, so I walked carefully. If you have some time, I highly recommend it. (Original) 크루즈만 이용하기에는 이동한 거리가 아쉬워 찬찬히 걸어 봤습니다. 시간이 조금 있으시면 강추 합니다.

This is review #2 (Geert van Offeren) of the Milford Sound Lodge (MSL). Why a second one? Well, we were there for two days, the first was written during the first day and on the second day we found out a few things that we don't want to withhold from the future customer. As written in the first review, WIFI is offered, 500 MB free and then paid. That's on top of the price of $120 per night for a powered site. It turned out that this only applies to camping guests. If you stay in a cabin/chalet/lodge, there is another WIFI connection available (MSL-Chalet) that is better, has a greater range and is free. But not for camping guests, who are made to pay extra for less quality. If you decide to go there after reading my reviews, which I can understand given the location, just ask. What also raises questions is the policy on booking and reservations, especially for camping guests. For some time now it has been stated on the website that there is no point in arriving without a reservation. Then you would expect them to be completely full/packed. As a result of the renovation, the reception has now been temporarily housed in the lounge (separated with a thin screen). So if you sit in the lounge for an hour in the afternoon, you can, without even wanting to, hear every conversation between arriving guests and the staff word for word. You don't ask for that, it's not eavesdropping, it's offered for free. Now it turns out that they send away some guests who arrive without reservation and some don't, that's strange and there is a word for that. But turning away older people at 7pm and send them back through the tunnel that has 45 minutes closures after 6pm, who drove from Queenstown, while you have several places, is very customer unfriendly. Just as I mentioned in the first review, get your act together and don't make it abundantly clear that you don't actually take camping guests seriously and want to rip them off. And for all the (camping) people before me who gave a 5 star review, please take off your Milford Sound pink glasses, take a good look around you, and see that you are being cheated right in front of you.

There are few sleeping options in Milford Sound, if you have a Campervan or vehicle you're comfortable spending the night in, this is an excellent affordable option. They have a nice modern building with plenty of bathrooms, showers, laundry, kitchen and dinning/lounge area. When I arrived, 2 families had set up camp in the lounge and were taking all of the "soft" chairs. They eventually consolidated after awhile. Checking in was super easy and staff was great! They started offering a complimentary nature walk that was interesting.

Set in a pretty forest with access to a river. Perfect location for morning sound kayaking - just a short drive away. Camper van spots are very narrow and no room for a table or chairs. Communal space for campers spacious but kitchen short on cooking supplies.

Beautiful! What can I say more! We had the chalet with the mountain/river view. Absolutely stunning! The place is well maintained. We enjoyed every second of it. Restaurant is good as well. The place can organize activities for you. What I would recommend is the kayak tour because it feels like you are alone in the middle of those gigantic mountain and you don’t have the swarm of tourists on the boat taking pictures!

Stunning campervan site! Cant believe the changes over night in the sound. Worth the price! Shower and bathroom amenities were fantastic and clean. Would be back again! Great privacy in the bushes and easy water and power source close by.

We visited for our honeymoon and we had the most lovely time here at the lodge. All the staff (Especially Eleanor and Conor - thank you both so much 🩷) made our time their so wonderful. We had the lake view chalet room and it was so comfortable and clean. The restaurant served excellent food, and even though it is a bit expensive, you do get quite a lot of food. I would 100% recommend staying here.

Best camping place in NZ! I particularly enjoyed your common areas, which allowed us to read, relax and meet other travellers. Something I really missed in other camping places in my trip.

I did not stay here but I ate lunch at the restaurant after kayaking at Milford Sound. The lunch was delicious and fresh. The coffee was also good. And the vibes were nice as well. A good stop after kayaking! I think they stop serving lunch at 2:30p.

Pretty slick little Campground and chalet property within minutes from the Milford Sound cruise terminal. Definitely bought for the proximity for my 8:50 AM cruise and especially the hot showers. Kitchen and lounge are is great but I do wish they provided some sort of pots and pans to cook with. Kinda odd to have an entire kitchen with empty cupboards..

Thank you for a lovely stay in our Chalet #16. Tucked in by peaceful stream looking at the mountain & falls. The staff were just lovely! Phil was a attentive observer and responsive , my son loved him (just had that touch with kids too), Julia at front desk was helpful and Kathy the duty manager made some excellent recommendations to us and just had such a great personality. The chef is great. Fresh croissants and pasty’s for breakfast. We loved the lamb entree as a starter. The location is perfect to hike towards the daily cruises around Milford sound (25 minutes). Thank you to everyone behind the scenes, for doing such a excellent job in one of the most beautiful and pristine places on earth. Your hospitality was well received and greatly appreciated. ❤️

campsites are located separately, which is good for van owners who don’t want to be interrupted. location is very good to visit the Milford Sound. kitchen is well enough for the campers. sofa area is cozy. shower is hot.

Excellent location, bathrooms, kitchens are very clean. The pitches are well isolated from each other in a green setting, it is very pleasant and quiet. A great welcome, the staff is attentive and provides good information (you can also book) A place out of time An address to remember

Beautiful spot , motorhome sites are good , the amenities are top quality. Note make sure you have aeroguard as there are sandflies. My only issue would be for the cost involved in staying a more powerful wifi as traveling guests need to make plans and require cell service/ wifi.

We stayed in the campground for 4 nights. The setting for the campground and lodge is so beautiful. The toilet/shower rooms are the cleanest I have ever seen and such a delight to have your own private room. We ate 2 dinners at Pio Pio and were very happy with the food selection, wine and staff. Can walk to the cruise terminal, kayaking and Milford Track taxi (about 25 min one way).

Nestled in the forests this place offers stunning views of the mountains and milford sound. Truely a refreshing/relaxing atmosphere. Expensive laundry ($5 nzd per wash/dryer) and powered site ($122 nzd for 1 night) but understandably its one of its kind. Good kitchen area, multiple gas stoves/kitchen sink and heaps of space in the common area. We were located directly infront of the facilities and for that we are greatful! Staff at reception are helpful as we needed to swap notes for coins (for the laundry).

As the only accommodation located in Milford Sound, and no freedom camping in the area, if you have an early tour booked, you don't really have many choices unless you are happy to drive 30-45 minutes away. We booked a campervan space over the busy peak period around Christmas, so this meant the price per night was very high. The kitchen is clean and well stocked with pots and pans, and there is a fridge to store your items, along with a small communal space to eat and hang out. The bathrooms and showers are single rooms which offers some privacy which is great. It was a nice stay in a great location, and except for the sandflies (obviously not the property's fault!) and the cost, we would consider staying over a different time period. Free wifi for all guests was appreciated.

I can't rate this Lodge highly enough due to the amazing, convenient location and super helpful, professional and friendly staff. Even during and following rare power-cuts, the Lodge team updated each guest including via email. The kitchen managed to work their magic and kept service moving with what they could produce (thank you and kudos to them for this!). When visiting, yes some items may appear pricey, but keep in mind where you are and the quality of the produce & wines on offer in this location. Some of the Rieslings, Pinot Noir wines and menu items like the Rewena Flatbread with Bone Marrow Butter, Lamb, Mussels and Veggie dishes were both delicious and well presented. A special mention to the incredible Fanny and Charlotte who I felt went above and beyond to take care of us, help sort out our errors and mistakes. Making us feel welcome and at ease throughout our stay. Beyond this, all staff were lovely. Thank you to the Lodge team for a comfortable, fun and enjoyable stay!

While the surrounding area was nice, albeit filled with sandflies, reception wasn't overly welcoming, no map or WiFi code given, we had to just remember where to go and went back to ask for WiFi code. I asked about any facilities for children to which we were told there were none, I mentioned the website said there were DVDs to borrow and told that no, that's not correct. We also didn't see any campervan dump station while on site. We decided to cut our stay short and drive to a more family-friendly campervan park, forfeiting the second night (expensive) fee. Probably our most disappointing stay of all campervan parks across the north and south Island. Hopefully they can do something in future to be more welcoming to families.

Wi-Fi doesn’t work well and barely reaches the campervans. The sandflies are rampant and mosquitoes make enjoying the outside tough. There is no dump station. Bathrooms are clean. Clearly charges a premium because they can. If you don’t need to I would stay in Te Anau if I had to do it again.

Only an extra $20 from the cruise ticket. It adds an additional hour to the tour but this is good value if you love science. The instructor is very informative and passionate about the area. Very engaging with the audience

The underwater observatory is a very unique experience. It is exclusive to the Southern discoveries cruises. The walkway stairs down to the underwater sea is a majestic way to understand the local ecosystem. The tour guides are very nice and knowledgeable. A whole lot of trivia about how it was constructed, and related ecosystem facts are displayed in the observatory. We visited Milford Sound in December 2020 and luckily visited there when it hadn't rained in almost 3 past days. That made the water very clear to see the marine life undisturbed. It is a must do and highly recommended experience.

Reasonably worthwhile extension to the Milford Sound cruise. Descend 60 steps to view the underwater world and see fish, black coral and that's about it. However, the guy gave a really interesting talk about the geology and glacial process, plus facts about local wildlife.

It really is worth booking with the boat company that offers the underwater observatory as part of their cruise. Make sure you do read what company you book with as only ONE company is permitted to stop and let you explore this really unique experience. It’s called “Southern Discoveries” So much information to read and really amazing to see the conditions that allows this deep sea coral to grow so close to the waters surface. The whole complex of buildings are floating and connected to the mainland with some very cool engineering too, worth seeing from the back walkway

The tour including the observatory is close to 3 hours. I thought it was worth it if you got time, you don't get to experience building like this every day. And I learned a lot on top of the cruise!

Definitely do this tour with the under water experience, it's fantastic and so informative.

Quite small and cold but got to see all sorts, including black coral. What you see depends on the day.

Pretty cool. Lots of information to read. Take note: It's not an aquarium, it's an observatory so what you see depends on the day, there's no guarantee.

We did Milford Sound cruise tour and they dropped off us at underwater observation. I didn’t even know this place was included on our tour. But I really enjoyed the experience here. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend this place.

Underwater discovery is a total waste of time and money, there are few staffs that are mucking around and don’t even clean the place. There are so many flies and they bite you constantly as long as you are there. They don’t even bother to use insect spray or clean the place.

Small but well created/ maintained floating observatory 10 meters below the lake. We got an opportunity to see various types of fishes, corals etc. The guide was amazing as well informing us about the rich flora and fauna quite unique to milford and how it is preserved. It's worth a visit if you are visiting milford sound.

Great cruise and underwater observatory. We managed to see some dolphins on the cruise which was a bonus. The boat itself was nice, was not crowded as we were on the last cruise of the day, has ample seating inside, but only a number of seats outside on the boat we were on. We got complimentary tea and coffee. We also went for the observatory and lunch option, although we weren’t told we had to get our lunch on the boat before we got the observatory which was a bit annoying, however the staff organised for our lunch to be waiting for us back at the start. The observatory was pretty cool, you walk down a spiral staircase to a level underwater with windows all around. Loads of fish and black coral to look at which was nice. We were told that the tour before managed to spot the dolphins! For the cruise, observatory and lunch we paid €80 each which wasn’t too bad. There is plenty of parking there if you choose to drive (and I would recommend this as there are some nice sights to see on the way).

Grate experience! Friendly and skilled staff, well trained to provide biological knowledge about the nature system there.

Not particularly interesting. This was part of a package from Southern Discovery Cruises and it was not worth the time. The most interesting part is the under water observatory building. However, it was packed with tourists, The tour guide was quite monotonous and there was not a huge variety of specimens to observe. Overall, won't recommend it.