hla

We are planning a trip in August driving from Christchurch, down the west coast, to Queenstown. Will we regret not going onto Milford or Doubtful Sound, even at this time of year? This is our first trip to New Zealand. Thank you.

Melissa5

hla, it's hard to regret something you never saw. But I can tell you this...

Over 20 years ago my husband and I whipped through New Zealand, north and south island, with our 2-year-old. We were young and went far too fast. Lots of places in New Zealand I have forgotten entirely. But I will never ever forget our boat trip down Milford Sound...WOW! Nor will I ever forget driving all the way up to Mt. Cook, on a clear day, arriving too late in the day to do much more than walk 'round a bit and feel utterly amazed at the most complete and beautiful silence I have ever "heard"...(no tour buses at that time of day....) Then the next morning we had to leave early as my husband was all fired up to go off someplace else...

Those are 2 memories that stick with me, 20 years later...

So I say, do either Milford or Doubtful Sound. I have heard, though, that Milford Sound has become so touristy that it can be crowded on the sound! It wasn't like that over 20 years ago. So for our February 2007 trip we decideed to try doubtful sound overnite trip with Real Journeys...but we are still going to drive down Milford Road on a separate day and have a look at the Milford sound and decide whether we want to do another ride or leave that in our gorgeous memory...

Enjoy!

nzwalker

Definitely do one or the other. Doubtful is brilliant though if marginally more expensive. Do not be put off by the large numbers. Check the conversion rate for your own currency.

In August it can be quite rainy so you will see all the waterfalls at their best. Be prepared though with waterproof clothing as you should go out on the top decks of the boat and can get very wet.

hla

Thank you so much for your advice. I will look into adding to our trip. Thanks again.

ALF

I too think it is worthwhile to do one or the other. On a clear day (not likely in August), Milford may have the better scenery, but Doubtful is a more interesting trip, there will be fewer tourists, and at that time of year, the waterfalls will be great. One thing to do would be to drive to Milford, which is a great trip in itself, and then on another day, take a Doubtful Sound tour. If you have a few days in the area, it would also be great to wait on the weather and pick the best day (which still might not be great, but you could get lucky and have a clear day).

dktenor

Hi,
We're going to be there in mid-end April. Any specific comments about that time of year and which might be better for us? I had hoped to be able to do both, but looking at the amount of time that we have to spend, I think that it would be pushing it a bit too much.

thanks
doug

dktenor

bump (sorry). I added a question at the bottom of this with regard to a differeent time of year.

doug