How to Visit Doubtful Sound: Getting There, Fares and What to Bring

Quick facts

• Entry fee: none. Fiordland National Park is free to enter.
• Road to the fiord: none. Every trip starts at the jetty in Manapouri.
• Manapouri: 21 km, about 20 minutes' drive, from Te Anau.
• From Queenstown: allow about 2.5 hours' drive to Manapouri.
• Check-in: 20 minutes before at Manapouri; 15 minutes before in Queenstown.
• Day fares: from $207 to $277 a person.
• Rain: around 6 m a year, so pack for it.

There is no ticket, only the journey in

Doubtful Sound lies inside Fiordland National Park, and the park charges no entry fee. What you pay for is the way in. There is no road to the fiord, so every day trip carries you across Lake Manapouri by boat, over Wilmot Pass by coach, and onto a cruise boat at Deep Cove. The fare covers all three legs, both ways.

One charge comes before you arrive in the country. Most visitors on a visa or an NZeTA pay the NZ$100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy. Australian and New Zealand passport holders do not. What each fee covers is on the Doubtful Sound visitor guide.

Getting to the start

Every boat leaves from Pearl Harbour in Manapouri, a small town at the foot of Lake Manapouri. It is 21 km from Te Anau, about 20 minutes by car. From Queenstown, allow about 2.5 hours to drive. So where you sleep decides your day: stay in Te Anau or Manapouri and the fiord is a 7 to 9 hour trip; stay in Queenstown and it is 12 to 13 hours.

If you drive yourself, check in at the RealNZ office on Waiau Street 20 minutes before your start. If you take the coach, be at Lakefront Drive in Te Anau or at 88 Beach Street in Queenstown 15 minutes early. The towns, the jetty and the route are all on the Doubtful Sound map.

How long to allow

The listings disagree slightly on the cruise itself, from about 2 hours to 3 hours on the fiord. What changes the length of your day far more is where you start.

If you have one day and a car, the day cruise from Manapouri gives you the fiord for the least time on the road. If you have no car, the coach and cruise from Te Anau adds the coach from the town, for $216. From Queenstown, the long day from Queenstown does everything for you, and every way to go from that town is on Doubtful Sound tour from Queenstown.

What to bring, and what to leave

The day boats sell food and drink, and they are cashless: you pay by card. Most people bring lunch as well, and a reviewer who packed nothing wished they had. There is a coffee shop at the jetty. Pack for every kind of weather:

• A waterproof jacket and a warm fleece, even in summer.
• Non-slip shoes for wet decks and the wharf.
• Insect repellent: the sandflies are the bite visitors complain about.
• Sunscreen and sunglasses for the clear spells.
• A camera, and a dry bag or pocket for it.

On the overnight cruise you may bring only one overnight bag each, so leave the rest in your car or your hotel.

Access and mobility

None of the boat trips is wheelchair accessible. The day involves a lake boat, a coach, a fiord boat and a floating wharf, so you need a reasonable level of mobility to change between them. The helicopter flights from Te Anau Airport are listed as wheelchair accessible, so a flight is the way to see the fiord if you use a wheelchair.

Booking and refunds

The day trips and the helicopter flights refund in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start, so you can book early and still watch the forecast. The overnight cruise and the 3-day trip from Queenstown are different: both are non-refundable, and the overnight cannot be changed for any reason. If the operator cancels a trip for weather, you are offered another date or a refund.

The overnight is also sold in twin cabins, at most two people to a booking. If you are three, you book a twin and a single. For a night at anchor, see the overnight cruise, and book it only once your dates are fixed.

The best time to go

Trips run all year, and the fiord is open in winter unless the weather closes it, which Visit Fiordland says is not often. Winter, June to August, is the most settled season, often with clear blue days. Summer brings the longest days and the red flowers of the southern rata. Spring is the wettest and most unsettled.

What to add nearby

Te Anau is the base most people use, and it has more to do on the evening before or after. The Te Anau Glowworm Caves sit on the far shore of Lake Te Anau, reached by boat. The Kepler Track, one of the Great Walks, starts 5 km from Te Anau, and its first stretch along the shore makes a good half-day walk. The Waiau River, which runs out of Lake Manapouri, stood in for the River Anduin in The Lord of the Rings. Ideas for a second day are on things to do near Doubtful Sound, and the questions visitors ask most are answered on the Doubtful Sound FAQs.

Day trips that start where you are staying

Doubtful Sound Wilderness Day Cruise from Manapouri

Seven hours from the jetty in Manapouri: the lake by boat, the pass by coach and about 2 hours on the fiord with nature guides. You drive yourself to the start.

From $207 per person

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From Te Anau: Doubtful Sound Coach & Cruise

Eight and a half hours from Lakefront Drive in Te Anau: the coach to Manapouri, the lake, the pass and a 3-hour cruise. Food on sale on board, card only.

From $216 per person

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From Queenstown: Doubtful Sound Wilderness Day Trip

Thirteen hours from 88 Beach Street in Queenstown, with the coach, both boats and the pass in the fare, and a 3-hour cruise on the fiord.

From $271 per person

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