Is Milford Sound Worth the Cost? Exploring Value for Money in New Zealand

New Zealand 🇳🇿 is truly enchanting, especially the charming atmosphere of Christchurch with its expansive lawns and friendly wildlife. The snow-capped peaks, glaciers, and endless turquoise lakes of Mount Cook are simply breathtaking.

In stark contrast, Milford Sound left much to be desired in terms of value for money.

Firstly:
The time investment is significant. Departing at 6 am and not returning until 7 pm, the day is filled with long hours of travel. The main highlight seems to be a sore bottom from the prolonged sitting on the bus, followed by the boat, and then back on the bus again.

Secondly:
The financial cost is steep. Starting from Queenstown, the combined ticket price for the bus and boat tour is quite high, with a large portion going towards the bus fare. It feels almost like a typical domestic bus tour, and the English spoken by the guides is incredibly fast, as if they’re in a hurry to finish their spiel, leaving non-English speakers struggling to keep up.

Thirdly – the energy expenditure
Milford Sound’s waterfall, while impressive, ranks only as the tenth largest in the world. In comparison, Huangguoshu Waterfall in China is the third largest. The area is also frequented by many elderly visitors, making it less appealing for younger, more active travelers. The remote location and long journey add to the overall fatigue.

We decided to cancel our plans for the next morning, opting instead to stay home, rest, and cook a comforting meal to recover from the exhausting trip.

We booked our tickets through Ctrip, which turned out to be a disappointing experience. They failed to mention that we could book a pick-up point along the way, and they didn’t inform us about pre-ordering meals (which was the only option, as on-site purchases were not available). The bread served on the boat was all sweet, and even breakfast consisted of sweet bread, leaving us with little to eat and effectively going hungry for the entire day.

A simple bottle of cola or coffee cost a whopping 5 NZD.

My advice:
If you still want to book,
go directly through the official website.

Pre-order your meals in advance.

Find someone skilled in photography… If you’re going for the ambiance and portraits…
It’s challenging to capture good photos, and the scenery is somewhat limited.

I even suspect that many of the glowing posts on Little Red Book might be marketing ploys.
Would ordinary people uniformly call it the eighth wonder of the world?
After some research, it turns out this claim was made by a female writer without any authoritative backing.

Unbelievable,
Another day of feeling scammed.