A trip on the Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise is an incredible way to experience the remote feeling that the Fiordland region is famous for.

A visit to Doubtful Sound isn’t as popular as Milford Sound which means the information isn’t shared in general conversations so much. So this post will cover many of the questions people have about planning their trip.

For $199 (at the time of writing), the Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise is a great deal for what you get. And there are often deals you can take advantage of.

This post will go over my Doubtful Sound experience with Real Journeys. I’ll answer some common questions, and of course, there’ll be plenty of photos.

But if you’re short on time watch these 30 seconds of video clips from the trip.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. My Doubtful Sound Experience
2. Common Doubtful Sound Cruise Questions
3. More Doubtful Sounds Photos

1. MY DOUBTFUL SOUND WILDERNESS CRUISE EXPERIENCE

After hearing some great trip reports from friends who had been to visit Doubtful Sound, the chance to take up a locals deal in June 2021 was too good not to ($99).

So a couple of other friends and I decided to go and experience the place on the Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise with Real Journeys.

The cruise starts at 10 am which is great, no super early start for us. We know some people will do this as one of several day trips from Queenstown, but we stayed close to Manapouri the night before.

It was nice to not be so rushed and wander around Manapouri before heading to the Real Journeys visitor centre to start the tour.

Ideally get there at least 30 minutes before the tour starts so you can get one of the better parking spots.

The check-in process was straightforward and we were quickly guided onto the first transport of the day.

The ferry is rather nice and we found a seat near the windows. I’d recommend you get onboard first to get your preferred seating choice. In saying that, there’s not exactly a bad seat to be had.

We were then told about the free hot water that was available onboard. It was time to make tea!

As we made our way across Lake Manapouri the low cloud was lingering and we really couldn’t see many of the 30+ islands on the lake. The staff on board said we still should be okay for views by the time we got to Doubtful Sound.

Along the way the commentary was great…it was informative without being annoying.

Once we arrived at the West Arm, the hydro station was the centre of attention. It’s an impressive piece of engineering!

We popped into the visitor centre while we waited for everything to get sorted. We spent about 20 minutes here which was just enough time to read the information boards and learn more about the area.

The Real Journeys staff were great at letting us know what was going on at all times.

We then boarded the bus to take us over the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound. It’s a short ride with amazing views, and snow-flanked forests on our visit.

If possible, sit towards the back on the left-hand side of the bus on the way over for the best views.

It was when we got towards the top of the pass that I began to trust what the guides were saying earlier about us getting a cracking weather day for the main part of the Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise.

The bus dropped us off and we were straight onto the boat. The one was even nicer than the previous one on Lake Manapouri. With massive windows to show off the incredible scenes out from the warmth inside.

Not that we were planning to spend most of the trip inside.

We didn’t have a full ferry with 51 on board of a maximum capacity of 200 (because of travel restrictions), but we made sure to find a good spot to sit near the windows. Not that it really matters again.

As we took off we had the pleasure of seeing a seal playing around with a fish which was a great way to start the main event of the tour. We then set off and for the next three hours, we were in for a treat.

There are a few spots where you can stand outside to take in the scenery, and given we were there during a cold snap in winter, most people were happy with taking in the sights from the warmth of the interior.

The three of us braved the top deck for 90% of the trip, warming our hands with hot cups of tea. We really wanted to get the full experience.

You do cover quite a bit of time on the trip, and there’s regular commentary from the staff about what you’re looking at as you make your way through the sound.

I was surprised at how much history there is to the place considering how remote the region is. That said, it definitely feels more or less untouched which is awesome.

I’ll let the photos do the talking, but some of the highlights include:

• Brown Falls
• Seymour Island
• Chamberlain Falls

The turnaround point will vary based on the weather conditions, but we were able to make it out to the rocks where some seals were hanging out.

This did mean we ventured into the Tasman Sea a little bit where the swell was suddenly massive. It was crazy how different it was compared to the flat waters we had in the sound.

We moved down to the front of the boat for this section having fun balancing on the ups and downs.

This was the turnaround point of the trip, and it was time to make our way back up the sound. The route is different which is nice and on the way back we went into one of the arms of the sounds for the sound of silence and a unique waterfall experience.

I really enjoyed the sound of silence. I won’t tell you exactly what it is 😉

And before we knew it we were back on the bus after a magical three hours on the Doubtful Sound Cruise. What an epic experience!!!

Now that the clouds had lifted the bus stopped off at the top of Wilmot Pass for our last views of Doubtful Sound. Magical.

The bus dropped us off at the ferry and the Lake Manapouri cruise was magical with the fading daylight starting to put some colour into the skies. What a way to cap off an epic seven hours exploring Fiordland.

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2. COMMON DOUBTFUL SOUNDS CRUISE QUESTIONS

You can click on the questions to go straight to the answer.

How long is the Doubtful Sound Cruise
Is Doubtful Sound better than Milford Sound?
How do you get to Doubtful Sound?
Where can I stay near Doubtful Sound?
Is Doubtful Sound open?
Why is it called Doubtful Sound?
How far is Manapourti from Te Anau?

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How long is Doubtful Sound Cruise?
With a departure time of 10am, you’ll return at ~5 pm for a 7 hour trip.

The breakdown by hour (within reason) is:

• Hour 1: Ferry across Lake Manapouri to the West Arm visitor Centre
• Hour 2: Time at the visitor centre and take the bus across Wilmot Pass
• Hour 3: Cruise on Doubtful Sound
• Hour 4: Cruise on Doubtful Sound
• Hour 5: Cruise on Doubtful Sound
• Hour 6: Bus back over the Wilmot Pass
• Hour 7: Cruise back across Lake Manapouri to Manapouri

Is Doubtful Sound better than Milford Sound?

That’s debatable. There’s a reason why many consider Milford Sound to be the 8th wonder of the world.

I haven’t experienced the traditional cruise on the Milford Sound to be able to do a side-by-side comparison, yet. But from those that have, Doubtful Sound gets the win.

Mainly because of the extra effort it takes to get there. And there are no helicopters/planes or plans flying in and out all the time. And there’s only a couple of ferries, not the several options on Milford.

How do you get to Doubtful Sound?

I’ll give some more info soon, but you can book a Queenstown departure with Real Journeys.

Where can I stay near Doubtful Sound?

The most logical answer to this is Manapouri, the gateway to Doubtful Sound. I’ve written about things to do in Manapouri previously, and at the bottom of that post you can learn about the various accommodation options there are in Manapouri.

The other option would be Te Anau, with the plan to head to Manapouri in the morning before your journey to Doubtful Sound. Or there are a couple of accommodation options right by Doubtful Sound if you really want to experience some wilderness feelings.

That would mean a longer trip, not that that’s a bad thing.

Is Doubtful Sound open?

Yup! Sure is. There are two reasons you might be asking this question.

1. The weather is horrendous.

Occasionally tours to Doubtful Sound will be canceled due to the weather. If the weather is horrendous and damage to the Wilmot Pass has occurred, you’ll know that Doubtful Sound is ‘closed’ in advance.

But sometimes you won’t know your trip has been postponed or canceled until the day of. That’s can be inconvenient, but it’s the way of the land in the remote parts of the world.

2. You’ve noticed there’s no way to drive to Doubtful Sound.

You would be correct!

The Wilmot Pass is landlocked, hence you need to get the ferry across Lake Manapouri to access Doubtful Sound.

Why is it called Doubtful Sound?

Origianlly called Doubtful Harbour by Captain Cook in 1770, it was later renamed Doubtful Sound by whalers and sealers.

Interestingly Cook never entered the inlet as he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to navigate the space with the sails on his boat. As he contined north he came across Milford Sound.

Note: The Maori name for Doubtful Sound is Patea.

How far is Manapourti from Te Anau?

Not far at all 🙂

It’s ~22km between Te Anau and Manapouri on a pretty straight road. As long as you can get to Te Anau, you’re close to Manapouri from there.

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3. MORE DOUBTFUL SOUNDS PHOTOS

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If you have any more questions about the Doubtful Sound day trip, let me know in the comments below or email jub@churnewzealand.com, I’m happy to help!

And let others know what you thought in the comments too.

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