Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Which Should You Visit?

When we were planning our 3 week trip to New Zealand, there were a few things I knew I wanted to do. I wanted to eat a meat pie, I wanted to walk around Hobbiton and I wanted to cruise on a beautiful fiord. But then came the question, which fiord? It was a showdown: Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound!

Milford Sound is one of the most popular places to visit in Aotearoa New Zealand, featured prominently on promotional materials and travel bucket lists around the world. It’s the wettest inhabited place on earth and often called the 8th wonder of the world. Even the drive to Milford Sound is scenic and stunning – I actually think it’s the best part of the trip!

Doubtful Sound is Milford’s lesser-known but longer sister. This fiord is known as the Sound of Silence, famous for its remote location and still waters. Like Milford Sound, it boasts lots of rain and stunning views, but doesn’t see nearly as many visitors.

So which to choose? Piopiotahi Milford Sound or Patea Doubtful Sound? Spoiler alert: We chose both! And since I’ve personally cruised on both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, I’m going to help you choose the best one for your trip.

Below I’m breaking down everything you need to know to settle the Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound debate on your trip to New Zealand! 

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Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Journey to the fiord

First up when comparing Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound is the journey to the fiords (yes, both Milford and Doubtful Sound are actually fiords, not sounds). Both fiords are open year-round and within a few hours’ journey of Queenstown.

At first glance, it may seem like Milford Sound is farther to get to; it’s 287 km (3-4 hours) from Queenstown compared to Manapouri (where Doubtful Sound cruises leave from), which is only 172 km (2 hours) from Queenstown. But Milford Sound is actually a lot more accessible.

For starters, you can visit Milford Sound without a tour. You can drive from Queenstown, Te Anau or Invercargil right to Milford Sound and explore the fiord on your own. You can hike, stay in the luxurious Milford Sound Lodge, visit the underwater observatory, kayak, scuba dive and, of course, get on a Milford Sound cruise. And if you don’t want to drive, you can hop on a tour bus from Queenstown or Te Anau to Milford Sound.

Best of all, the journey to Milford Sound is actually part of the experience! There are incredible scenic stops you can make on the drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound, including waterfalls, hiking trails, mirror lakes, viewpoints and my favourite pie shop in Te Anau (get the venison!). I’d argue that half of the fun of cruising on Milford Sound is actually the drive there.

Doubtful Sound, on the other hand, is not directly accessible to the public. There’s no public road, so you can’t drive or even take a tour bus right up to the fiord. Instead, you need to drive or take a tour bus to Manapouri. From there, you’ll join your Doubtful Sound cruise which begins with a one hour boat ride across Lake Manapouri followed by a 40 minute bus ride across the Wilmot Pass.

About two hours after leaving Manapouri, you’ll reach Doubtful Sound. And while the boat and bus to reach Doubtful Sound are nice and include commentary, they’re not nearly as scenic as the drive to Milford.

Winner: Milford Sound

Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Crowds and busy-ness

Next up in the Milford vs Doubtful showdown is crowd levels. Milford Sound is one of the most popular and well-known attractions in New Zealand. Many bus tours in the South Island visit Milford Sound, resulting in almost one million visitors descending on the fiord each year. Milford Road can get congested with tour buses and self-drive cars, the parking lot can fill up, and the Milford Sound Terminal can be crowded with passengers looking for their cruise ship.

All that to say, Milford Sound is a busy place! However, because it is so popular, there is infrastructure in place to deal with the crowds. There is a large area for drivers and tour buses to park, a paved path to the terminal, and facilities, like a washroom and cafe. There are also more choices when it comes to which tour or cruise you want to get on.

Hint: Want to visit Milford Sound without the crowds? Aim to get on the first sailing of the day or the last! We took a 3:55 pm cruise with Mitre Peak Cruises and were the only tourists on the sound as every other company had finished sailing for the day.

Doubtful Sound, while not a hidden gem, is certainly less popular than Milford Sound. I believe because it’s more remote, requiring a bus and boat to reach, and not as prominently featured in New Zealand promotional material, it is still a little under the radar. So if you’re looking for smaller crowds, you’ll prefer Doubtful Sound.

The terminal at Doubtful Sound, Pearl Harbour, is much smaller than the terminal at Milford Sound. There is still a cafe and washrooms, as well as a little gift shop, but it feels much more off the beaten path than the large operation at Milford. As well, there are fewer cruises that sail on Doubtful Sound. When we boarded our Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, it was the only tourist boat I could see.

Winner: Doubtful Sound

Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Cost

Obviously cost is going to be a big factor in the Milford vs Doubtful debate, so let’s break it down. You can visit both fiords by self-driving (keeping in mind that for Doubtful Sound, you would only self-drive to Manapouri and then get on a boat/bus to reach the sound) or by taking a tour bus from Te Anau or Queenstown.

As you’ll see below, Milford Sound cruises are generally more affordable than Doubtful Sound cruises. This has to do with how remote Doubtful Sound is. However, you do get to spend more time on the fiord with Doubtful Sound, as Doubtful Sound day cruises are three hours long compared to Milford Sound cruises that are usually only two.

Prices below are current as of Sep 2023 and quoted per adult

Day cruise

• Milford Sound day cruise (2 hours): $125 NZD
• Doubtful Sound day cruise (7 hours): $229 NZD

Note that while the Doubtful Sound total cruise time is longer (7 hours vs 2 hours), the cruise on the fiord is 3 hours while getting there and back across Lake Manapouri and the Wilmot Pass takes 2 hours each way. While not on the fiord, these scenic boat and bus rides are still part of the experience and include guided narration.

Day cruise with tour bus transfer from Queenstown

• Milford Sound cruise from Queenstown (12 hours total, 2 hour cruise on fiord): $219 NZD
• Doubtful Sound cruise from Queenstown (12.75 hours total, 3 hour cruise on fiord): $289 NZD

With the tour bus transfer added, the cost for the two cruises becomes much more similar. That’s because while the Doubtful Sound cruise gives you more time on the fiord (3 hours vs 2 hours), it’s not as far for the tour bus to drive from Queenstown. Whereas Milford Sound is farther away and the drive there includes scenic stops.

Overnight cruise

• Overnight Milford Sound cruise (4:00 pm to 9:15 am): from $499 NZD
• Overnight Doubtful Sound cruise (12:30 pm to 12:00 pm): from $499 NZD

I was very surprised to find that the cost for an overnight cruise on Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound is the same! In fact, the Doubtful Sound cruise gives you more bang for your buck as it’s longer, even if you don’t count getting to the fiord from Manapouri (2 hours each way) as part of the cruise. Doubtful Sound is also a longer fiord, meaning you’ll have more to discover on an overnight stay.

Winner: Milford Sound (unless you’re going overnight)

Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Weather & conditions

Let’s move onto weather. Fiordland, where both Piopiotahi Milford Sound and Patea Doubtful Sound are located, is known for its rain, seeing almost 200 rainy days per year. In fact, Milford Sound is the wettest inhabited place on earth! It receives an average of seven metres of rain per year, but has seen up to nine, compared to Doubtful Sound’s average six metres of annual rainfall.

So both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound are known to be rainy, with Milford usually getting more rain than Doubtful. However, that wasn’t the case on our April 2023 New Zealand trip. Our cruise in Milford Sound was bright and sunny without a rain drop in sight. But when we boarded our Doubtful Sound cruise the next day, it was grey and pouring!

Luckily, rain isn’t a bad thing in Fiordland. All that rain means more powerful waterfalls cascading off the cliffs! Plus, because we were cruising overnight on Doubtful Sound, we did enjoy a change of weather. The next morning the sun was shining and we got to spend lots of time on the outside decks.

Winner: Doubtful Sound (just not for us!)

Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound: Experience on a fiord cruise

It’s time to get on the water and compare the Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound cruise experience. We visited Milford Sound first on a day cruise and then boarded a Doubtful Sound overnight cruise the next day. So this won’t exactly be apples to apples since we went on a day cruise on one fiord and an overnight cruise on the other.

Getting on the water in Milford Sound was absolutely stunning. The scenery was jaw-dropping, we had nice sunny weather, and we even got to see some dolphins! Because it was sunny, we didn’t see as many waterfalls as you might see on a rainy day. But we did get to enjoy sitting on the outer deck not getting wet. We also chose the last cruise of the day with Mitre Peak Cruises, meaning we were the only tourist boat out on the fiord.

You can learn more about my Milford Sound cruise experience here!

While the scenery in Milford Sound was epic, you did get a bit of a taste of it walking around the terminal before boarding your cruise. This is unlike in Doubtful Sound, where you have to get on a boat and a bus just to reach the fiord, and therefore can’t spoil the view for yourself until you get there. The audio commentary on our Milford Sound cruise was also very garbled and paled in comparison to the guided nature talk we got on our Doubtful Sound cruise.

Our first night on board our Doubtful Sound cruise was a little grey, rainy and rocky. But the next morning, everything changed. The sun came out and we got to experience the complete magic of waking up on a fiord and watching the clouds rise up above the cliffs. Everything was so still and so peaceful, especially when the captain turned off the engine and all we could hear were waterfalls and bird calls. It’s also one of the longest and deepest fiords in New Zealand, meaning there’s a lot more to discover on a Doubtful Sound cruise.

You can learn more about my Doubtful Sound overnight cruise experience here!

Sadly, we didn’t see any dolphins, seals or penguins on our Doubtful Sound cruise, but they can be spotted in this fiord. And while the cliffs in Milford Sound might have been a bit more impressive, the overall experience cruising Doubtful Sound and waking up on the water absolutely wins for me.

Winner: No objective winner but for me, it’d have to be Doubtful Sound!

Conclusion: Should you visit Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound?

Well, it depends! I think it’s fair to say there is no objective winner in the Milford vs Doubtful debate.

Both Piopiotahi Milford Sound and Patea Doubtful Sound are stunning and you’re going to have an amazing time no matter which one you choose to add to your South Island itinerary.

You truly can’t go wrong in Fiordland! It all comes down to what you value most.

Milford Sound might be better if you:

• Are short on time or money
• Enjoy a scenic drive with lots of stops
• Want to check a big item off your Kiwi bucket list
• Don’t mind the crowds of a popular tourist attraction

Doubtful Sound might be better if you:

• Have a bit more time and money
• Prefer smaller crowds
• Crave something more remote
• Prefer an overnight cruise (more bang for your buck & more to see)

You’ll also want to factor the weather, if you want to self-drive or join a tour bus, what time of day you’re cruising, what season you’re visiting during and your overall New Zealand trip budget into your decision.

If I had to choose just one fiord to cruise on based on my experiences of both, I would go with Doubtful Sound. The experience was more unique and remote, we learned a lot, and the moment of silence we had on the fiord is still one of the most magical things I’ve ever experienced in two decades of travel.

But that’s not to say Milford Sound would be a bad pick. It was an awesome experience and I really did love the drive to Milford, plus spotting the dolphins. Truly, you can’t go wrong with a cruise on either fiord!

Bonus: Cruise both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound!

Of course, the best answer is to see both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. You might think it would be kind of repetitive to visit both but I disagree. We cruised both fiords and both were highlights of our trip to New Zealand. It was so cool to compare the two experiences and be wowed by both Milford and Doubtful Sound.

We got the best of both worlds: We experienced the fiords on a sunny day (Milford) and a rainy day (Doubtful), we got to see local wildlife (dolphins in Milford) and learn more about the area (nature talk in Doubtful), we did a day cruise (Milford) and an overnight cruise (Doubtful), and we enjoyed both a scenic self-drive to Milford, and the boat and bus journey to Doubtful.

Are there similarities between Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound? Of course. They’re in the same geographic area and were both formed the same way. However, I still found both experiences very enjoyable and I have different memories from both. I think if we had just chosen one, I would’ve wondered what I was missing.

Nothing will compare to watching the sunset over the cliffs of Milford Sound while dolphins jumped up along our boat. Just like nothing will compare to waking up on Doubtful Sound with nothing but water, clouds and cliffs all around us.

In my opinion, if you have the time and money, visit both Milford and Doubtful Sound!

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All right, if you had to choose, who’s winning the Milford Sound vs Doubtful Sound battle? And once you’ve cruised on a New Zealand fiord, don’t forget to check other things off your Kiwi to-do list like a tour of Hobbiton or visiting a geothermal park in Rotorua.

Need more info to make your decision? Check out my other posts on Milford and Doubtful Sound:

• What’s It Like to Cruise in Milford Sound?
• 28 Scenic Stops on the Drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound
• What to Expect on a Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise