MILFORD TRACK TRANSPORT OPTIONS

The most popular Milford Track transport option is to get a water taxi from Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf to start the hike, and a boat pick up from Sandfly Point to Milford Sound once you’ve finished. Most operators provide transport to Te Anau Downs from Te Anau and Queenstown if required.

But there are some other Milford transport options which might work better for you. I’ll detail these later in the post.

A few things to know about before booking your Milford Track transport:

• The two trailheads for the Milford Track are Glade Wharf and Sandfly Point.
• If you’ve booked your huts but plan on skipping one to leave the track early, you’re out of luck. You must spend the full 4 days and 3 nights on the Milford Track during the Great Walk season, otherwise there’ll be no boat to pick you up.
• You must carry a PLB on this hike as there’s no phone reception. The boat companies will usually check you have at least one per group before boarding.
• DOC Hut tickets only work on the Milford Track outside of the Great Walk season. You must book the huts online before booking your transport, and get in quick!
• It doesn’t matter what your transport mode is, there are times where you won’t be able to access the track due to weather. Don’t get upset at the boat drivers/companies etc. if your boat has been cancelled due to weather.
• Parking is free at Te Anau Downs if you aren’t getting a hiking shuttle from Te Anau or Queenstown.
• The boat ride from Te Anau to Glade Wharf takes 50 to 60 minutes.

THE MILFORD TRACK TRANSPORT OPTIONS

1. Booking With Fiordland Outdoors
2. Booking With TrackNet
3. Booking With Easy Hike
4. Real NZ’s Milford Track Transport
5. Hitchhiking
6. Day Walks On The Milford Track
7. Hiking In Via Dore Pass
8. Running The Milford Track
9. Milford Track Transport In Off Season

1. BOOKING WITH FIORDLAND OUTDOORS

Departure Points: Transfer from Queenstown, Te Anau, and Te Anau Downs.
Boat Departure Times: From Glade Wharf at 11.30am and 2.00pm. From Sandfly Point regularly between 12.30pm and 4pm (yes, there are sandflies here).
Other details:

• Contact them for a Price Match Guarantee.
• Free transport from Deepwater Basin to Milford Lodge to wait for the bus back to your starting destination.
• You can add a Milford Sound cruise to your itinerary for the afternoon after you finish the hike.
• They can relocate your car from Te Anau to Milford Sound if you’d like. Or you can fly back to Queenstown from Milford Sound.
• If you have a large group, you can contact them for private transport.

Read more and book at FiordlandOutdoors.co.nz.

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2. BOOKING WITH TRACKNET

Departure Points: Queenstown and Te Anau.
Boat Departure Times: From Glade Wharf at 10.30am and 2.00pm. From Sandfly Point regularly between 2:00pm and 3:30pm
Other details:

• You can add a cruise in Milford Sound after your hike, before returning to your departure point.
• If you’re booking from Queenstown, you can book accommodation at Te Anau the night before starting the hike.
• The boats departing Te Anau Downs are run by Real Journeys.

Read more and book at TrackNet.net.

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3. BOOKING WITH EASY HIKE

Departure Points: Te Anau or Queenstown.
Boat Departure Times: 11:30am or 2:00pm from Glade Wharf. From Sandfly Point, between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.
Other details:

• You can also book hiking gear and hiking food when booking your package.
• They offer Milford Track car relocations. They’ll collect your car from Te Anau Downs and leave it in Milford Sound so you can drive away once you finish the hike.

Read more and book with Easy Hike.

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4. REAL NZ’S MILFORD TRACK TRANSPORT

Departure Points: From Queenstown, Te Anau, and Te Anau Downs.
Boat Departure Times: 10.30am and 2.00pm.
Other details:

• Free cancellation and/or changes up to 24 hours before travel.
• Lowest price guaranteed. If you find a lower price, they’ll match it.
• You can add a Milford Sound Cruise (day or overnight) for after your hike.

Read more and book with RealNZ.com.

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5. HITCHHIKING

Hitchhiking in NZ is great, but it isn’t really ideal for the Milford Track as you’ll need to prebook your boat and you’d hate to miss your boat as you couldn’t get a ride in time. Stick with booking a Milford Track shuttle etc.

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6. DAY WALKS ON THE MILFORD TRACK

If you’re short on time, and want to get a glimpse of the Milford Track, it is possible to do a day hike at the Milford Sound/Sandfly Point trailhead. You’ll need to arrange this with a company of which there are two options:

• A guided walk with Trips & Tramps (departing Milford Sound or Te Anau).
• A non-guided walk with Fiordland Outdoors Co. (departing Milford Sound).

QUICK TIP: You can save $10 on certain departure times booking via BookMe.co.nz.

Both options allow for ~4 hours on the track. So a lot will depend on whether you want to hike with a guide who can give you lots of information about what you’re seeing, or if you prefer being independent.

Both companies suggest Giant Gate Waterfall as a good turn around point. The waterfall is 5.5km from Sandfly Point making for an 11km return journey.

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7. ACCESS VIA DORE PASS

Note: There are often winter conditions on Dore Pass, even in summer. If these are the conditions, mountaineering, navigation and avalanche skills are a must.

If you’re a fit experienced hiker with route finding experience, then you can access the Milford Track by foot via Dore Pass. BUT, this is not an easy route and the weather needs to be ideal to be able to do this safely.

Check out the video above!

From the Dore Pass Trailhead (on Milford Road), you cross the Eglington River straight away (no bridge) and then there is a trail over the pass.

The trail is faint and the track markers are few and far between so make sure you have the Dore Pass GPX file downloaded on your phone at minimum, and on your sports watch if you have one. I upload GPX files to the NZ topo 50 app which works a treat.

Once you get up and over Dore Pass, you’ll meet the track near Glade House, very close to the normal start of the Milford Track. If you’ve got hut bookings, then cool, you can continue on as you are. =

But if you’re planning to camp, then some preparations in advance are needed. There are no official campgrounds on the Milford Track, so you need to be at least 500 metres off the Milford Track to be able to wild camp. Research this in advance, and it’s another reason you need ideal weather for Dore Pass,

And don’t forget you need to get off the Milford Track to. That might mean having a boat pick you up
from Sandfly Point, or coming back via Dore Pass again.

8. RUNNING THE MILFORD TRACK

If you fancy yourself as a trail runner, then you can run the Milford Track which requires different logistics in terms of how to get to Milford Track.

During the Great Walk season, you can only run the track in the opposite direction to walkers (for safety). So you need to get a boat to Sandfly Point, and then a pick up from Glade Wharf. This is possible, but you’ll need to organise the boat privately.

Friends have done this with Fiordland Outdoors, and they’ve got a great article about how it works and costs involved.

9. MILFORD TRACK IN THE OFF SEASON

After the Great Walk season has finished (from May 1st), you can still access the Milford Track and huts. But the huts won’t be so well equipped, the track isn’t managed and there are fewer people.

Realistically, the off season opportunities for 99% of people are going to be from May to early June…beyond this you need massive back country experience and avalanche awareness and the like.

That said, going in May can be great. You don’t need to book the huts, they’re cheaper, and less busy.

The same operators operate the transport, but they’re more run on demand rather than guaranteed departures. But provided you’ve got a nice weather window and a slightly flexible schedule, getting onto the Milford Track isn’t too tricky.

Check out the details on these TrackNet and Fiordland Outdoors pages.

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There we go, there’s actually a fair few options for transport to Milford Track.

The easiest and most logical option is to book a bus to Te Anau Downs, get the boat to/from the Milford Track and then be taken back to your pickup point.

But one of the other Milford Track transport options might suit you better. If you have any questions about your Milford Transport, leave a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com and I’ll do my best to help.

WHAT TO READ NEXT

• HOW TO GET TO TE ANAU FROM QUEENSTOWN
• COMPARING THE ROUTEBURN TO THE MILFORD
• FACTS ABOUT MILFORD SOUND