Milford Sound Travel Answers

I'm not aware of an entry fee for MS. But you probably have to pay for one of the cruises up the sound if you wish to see it and not just the pier? You can also probably drive down on a camper but I've no idea where you can park. Ask Kakapo2 - she knows all about NZ! :-)

We parked our van in a village, and hired a daytrip to the sound. I was a bit tired of driving "on the wrong side of the road" ;-) I think our driver paid nothing, no toll roads there. When we reached the port, we rode a boat. There were some of them, so I guess that if you reach there you can choose any of them. I am glad because we did it that way, the road to the sound is a mounty one. Spectacular landscapes that you are going to miss if you are driving...and a bit "scary" road too. I am pretty sure there was a campsite in the area too. Have fun!

Right, there were no tolls anywhere Veronica, my friend from Mossburn (whom I met on an overland trip of Scandinavia from London 28 years earlier!)drove me in South Island. And we drove to MS from Gunn's Camp on NY's day last year. OP, you can go to Gunn's Camp enroute and camp at farms if you decide to drive a campervan - Veronica's farm is on the list. I think Kakapo2 has information on this? Meantime (since it's 4am in NZ now) you can check out my NZ pages on MS and Gunn's Camp, if you wish! And Kakapo2's VT pages on NZ! Cheers!

Thanks, Shehezerad, for recommending me and my knowledge ;-) So I do not want to disappoint. In fact, I have listed the Milford Sound Lodge on my Milford Sound page. They have campervan sites, so this would the place to stay at. Unpowered sites cost NZ$ 18pp per night. http://www.milfordlodge.com/ Freedom camping is not allowed in Fiordland National Park - and I do not support it anywhere because New Zealanders are sick of tourists leaving human waste and rubbish just everywhere. I think it is a very good idea to stay at Milford Sound. You will have for yourself in the early morning and in the evening when the tour buses have left. Well, for yourself and the zillions of sandflies the region is infamous for. Never travel there without insect repellent, one bottle or spray can for you, one (RapidKill or KillRaid, etc.) for the van. The road to Milford Sound is a public road, so no tolls. And there is no entry fee to the national park. A cruise on the fiord, of course, costs some money, about NZ$ 70 pp. I recommend Mitre Peak Cruises because they go out to sea, have the longest tour, and cater for individual travellers, and if you go on the first cruise in the morning you save money and avoid tour groups.

> Thanks, Shehezerad, for recommending me and my knowledge ;-) Welcome! :-) > So I do not want to disappoint. I know you won't! :-)

Fantastic, genuinely so helpful. Sounds like the best plan would be to head for a campervan site and then treat that as base camp, spending each day enjoying the sound and definitely going on a cruise! Also insect repellent is a great tip. One of those little things we might not have realised had we not known! Thanks very much guys!

That's it! Be prepared, enjoy the scenery and have fun. Fingers crossed for good weather. (Although waterfalls are best in case of heavy rain ;-)))

No fee for parks and such in NZ. If you plan to hike in and stay the night at one of the thousands of hut scattered across the country, they have a nominal fee (most are5 or10 a night). Its cheap to be a tourist in NZ (once you get there of course). All most every little town and village will have a backpackers and campgrounds that would be happy to put up a campervan. Like anywhere else, the closer you are to the main tourist destinations, the more things cost, but all in all NZ is pretty cheap for a 1st world country. If you plan to take a cruise in the milford area, I highly recommend doing Doubtful Sound over Milford Sound. It is much more scenic and quiet. Yes, Milford peak is quite iconic, but there is so much more to a cruise than one peak...