Making a Milford Track Booking
You may or may not be aware that booking the Milford Track is notoriously hard to book – at least, you’ve got to be fast – but do NOT let that put you off! Dubbed “The Finest Walk in the World”, it is a must-do on your New Zealand itinerary and well worth doing.
I made my booking for our group in 2019, and it was booked out in fifteen minutes, so I felt really relieved to have gotten it for all six of us. The following year, when New Zealand’s international borders shut, kiwis looked to our own backyard for domestic adventures instead, and this meant that the Great Walks of New Zealand got very popular, and were significantly faster to book out from this point onward. That’s okay though; you have this guide to ensure you know what you are doing in order to get the chance to go on this beautiful adventure.
The What Track?
The Milford Track is a multi-day tramp – or ‘hike’ if you’re not from around here – which leads walkers through the Darren mountains and over MacKinnon Saddle on their way from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a stunning glacial fjord in the bottom left corner of the South Island of New Zealand, which all falls into the bounds of Fiordland National Park. The 53 kilometre (or 33 miles) walk goes in just the one direction and is completed over four days and three nights.
Because of the track’s popularity with domestic and international walkers alike, it is imperative that you have your spot booked before you walk the track. You will need to show proof of booking to the hut warden. The Department of Conservation has three huts along the track for walkers, and, because of the multi-day nature of the walk, you’ll be staying at all three – and probably making friends along the way that you will see each night!
Booking Your Huts
The three huts that you will stay at are Clinton Hut, Mintaro Hut, and Dumpling Hut. They are all very comfortable and quite large for Department of Conservation huts.
Department of Conservation Huts
The Milford Track huts accommodate 40 walkers each night – on the larger size, but then again, this is possibly our most popular walk. People are very friendly and I would definitely recommend sharing tables and cooking hobs with others and getting a conversation going. People come from all over the world and it can be so interesting hearing about others’ travels when on the track.
Tell Me About The Cooking Facilities
Milford Track is well maintained and the huts actually have cooking gas provided – one less thing to carry! Some walkers will still bring a gas cooker, however, for a cup of tea on the track, or to avoid the chance of having to wait in order to cook your meal. However, there are more than a few gas hobs to accommodate the number of people sharing the space.
Tell Me About The Sleeping Arrangements
Plastic mattresses in shared bunkrooms is the standard sleeping situation for these sorts of walks, so if that really isn’t your style, you might want to consider a guided walk option, where you pay QUITE a bit more to have your packs transported for you and to stay in a comfortable lodge. I can only share experiences of my walk, which was unguided, but if guided sounds a bit like you, go straight to the bottom of the page for some more information on that!
As for camping, this is one Great Walk where you cannot just take a tent and pitch it.
Tell Me About The Toilets
Yes, the huts have toilets – not long drops, but actual flushing toilets! I was shocked. In Great Walks season, the wardens are maintaining the track, huts and their facilities more regularly, and so ensure that supplies like toilet paper are stocked up. I always pack a roll though. You never know.
Step One: Making a Great Walks Booking Account
Before you can make a booking for the Milford Track, you will need to have an account with the Department of Conservation Booking Service. The booking itself needs to be done fast on the day that bookings open, so it’s pretty much a given that you will need to create your account with the booking service beforehand, a few days before, if you do not have one already. If you’ve already done a Great Walk of New Zealand and you have an account already, make sure that password is correct so you are not fumbling around on the day!
The link to the Department of Conservation Booking Service is https://bookings.doc.govt.nz/. You’ll need to sign up with your email and make a password. Previously there was one booking system for the Great Walks of New Zealand (of which there are ten) and another booking system for all other hikes. They have now been combined, so that makes life easier!
Step Two: Booking through your Great Walks Booking Account
The actual booking for the Milford Track needs to be done the moment bookings open. The date is announced in advanced each year, and typically the bookings open at 09:30am. The majority of people seek to book the track in Great Walks season – October to May – which is our spring/summer/autumn period, as walking the track in winter would require a more substantial set of outdoor skills.
Great Walks season offers about 7500 spots; that is, 7500 people can get hut bookings and complete the walk each Great Walks season. To my knowledge, the last two seasons have had 10,000 and 11,000 people respectively try and book the track, so a lot of people missing out. Spaces are gone within minutes (in 2019, when I booked, it was fifteen minutes). The booking system actually crashed the last couple of times, but this should have been sorted for the upcoming season.
Know Your Party
Walkers completing the Milford Track over the 2024/2025 season booked it on 28 May 2024, and walkers for the 2025/2026 season will need to similarly book around the end of May – date to be announced. It may seem futile attempting to book, reading the numbers above, but it is definitely worth a try. Know your dates that you are going for, know who is in your group, know their ages (or be prepared to guess) and have the money ready to go on a credit card. The system should hold your booking while the payment is processing.
Know Your Dates
It is helpful to have your dates written down in front of you and what hut corresponds with what date, as it is easy to make mistakes under stress. For example, if you are wanting to walk from April 9-12, it is the night of April 9th that you will spend in Clinton Hut, the night of April 10th that you will spend in Mintaro Hut, and the night of April 11th that you will spend in Dumpling Hut. April 12th is your walking out date, so obviously you won’t need a hut booking.
Run Your Search
Be logged in and ready to go at 09:30am, and keep refreshing the page in your browser so that when the clock rolls over, you are one of the first on the page. Use the calendar to enter your dates, select the track you are walking, the number of nights (that’s THREE, although I think it pre-selects this), and the number of people. Click Search, and hope you see some green spaces in the grid that presents itself.
Select Your Dates
The squares all turn red when they are booked. The huts are listed in order, so the three spaces you select will go in a diagonal line down to the right, as you need select the square that matches the right hut (down the left) and matches the right date (along the top). Click Reserve as quickly as you can, and hopefully you will have had success. You’ll then need to enter names and ages for the people in your party, and get the payment processed.
Make Your Payment
Huts on the Milford Track have increased in price recently – unfortunately for you, yet to do it, but I promise, it’s worth doing it once. Each night will cost New Zealanders $92 NZD 🇳🇿 ($57USD 🇺🇸) in peak season (October-April) and international visitors $130NZD 🇳🇿 ($77USD 🇺🇸) in peak season (October to April). But going in May, June or September will mean anyone can stay for $25NZD 🇳🇿 ($15USD 🇺🇸) a night, regardless of whether they are a New Zealander or an international visitor – so a significant saving.
Tips And Tricks
1️⃣ Don’t even bother trying to book a long weekend or a public holiday, as you will miss out and won’t get the chance for a do-over.
2️⃣ My second tip would be to have a member of your group on the phone to the Department of Conservation office at the same time, so if the system fails, you can be one of the first in line to book over the phone.
3️⃣ The bigger your group, the harder it will be to get a booking, so if there are any people in your group who are a ‘maybe’, or less committed, get someone else to book for them, while you book for those who are adamant they are going. Hopefully one of you succeeds, and the spots that you ARE able to get can be passed to the people who want to go the most.
Cancellations and Refunds
We have had to do this before, and Department of Conservation staff are helpful and can be reached by phone or by email. This page of theirs goes into detail about cancellations and refunds.
Booking Your Transport
Congratulations! You’ve succeeded in booking one of those elusive 7500 spots on the Milford Track in Great Walks season!! That was the first priority; the second is to work out getting into the start of the track and getting back afterward.
Getting In
The Milford Track is a little unique in that it requires you to take a boat to the trail head and a water taxi out at the end! This is because the trailhead is at Glade Wharf, which is accessed from the northern end of Lake Te Anau. If you are staying in the township of Te Anau before and after the Milford Track, you will be staying down the southern end of the lake and need to travel up to Te Anau Downs before you can get the boat to Glade Wharf.
🚌 Te Anau Township to Te Anau Downs
It’s a 33.3 kilometre (or 20 miles) drive up to Te Anau Downs, and will take half an hour by road. You can take your own vehicle, and park for free at Te Anau Downs, but you will need to pay for transport back up there or for your vehicle to be relocated. The other option is to take a coach/shuttle/bus up there, often booked as part of a package. Six transport operators are listed below.
🛥️ Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf
The boat ride from Te Anau Downs to Glade Wharf is a 50 minute trip. In Great Walks season there is an 11.30am trip and a 2:00pm trip. Different transport companies will get you to the wharf on time for those.
Getting Out
After you’ve completed the Milford track, you finish up at Sandfly Point. It’s where the Arthur River meets Milford Sound (the fjord), and you’ll need to take a water taxi to get to Milford Sound village.
🛥️ Sandfly Point to Milford Sound Village
This is a 15 minute trip by a small water taxi. It shuttles continually over the course of the afternoon, finishing at 4:00pm.
🚌 Milford Sound Village to Te Anau Township
This is a 117 kilometre (or 73 mile) drive back, and takes 1 hour 40 minutes.
Operators
👉🏻 Cheeky Kiwi Travel have all the single leg or multi leg options you can think of, which you will find here, with prices. Cheeky Kiwi Travel will charge $253NZD 🇳🇿 ($150USD 🇺🇸) for all your transport to and from Te Anau, and $344NZD 🇳🇿 ($205USD 🇺🇸) if you’re going to and from Queenstown.
👉🏻 Easy Hike have boat options, bus options, and vehicle relocate options, all listed here, with prices. Easy Hike will charge $253NZD 🇳🇿 ($150USD 🇺🇸) for all your transport to and from Te Anau, and $332NZD 🇳🇿 ($198USD 🇺🇸) for the Queenstown option. Having your vehicle relocated by them from Te Anau Downs to Milford Sound Village will cost you $330NZD 🇳🇿 ($196USD 🇺🇸).
👉🏻 If you book through someone like Tracknet, they will sort your bus to Te Anau Downs, boat to Glade Wharf, boat to Milford Sound, and bus back to Te Anau, with one package booking. They also have options to and from Queenstown. Their Milford Track page is here. If you book all your transport to and from Te Anau through Tracknet, you’ll pay $232NZD 🇳🇿 ($138USD 🇺🇸). If you go to and from Queenstown instead, you’ll pay Tracknet $327NZD 🇳🇿 ($195USD 🇺🇸).
👉🏻 Another operator is Fiordland Outdoors and they will also do those legs for a package price – or help you with a vehicle relocate if you would like to drive to Te Anau Downs and utilise the free parking there. Their Milford Track page is here. Fiordland Outdoors will charge $238NZD 🇳🇿 ($142USD 🇺🇸) for all your transport to and from Te Anau, and $332NZD 🇳🇿 ($198USD 🇺🇸) to and from Queenstown.
👉🏻 Real NZ also have this page here with all their Milford Track transport options laid out nice and clearly. Real NZ charges $232NZD 🇳🇿 ($138USD 🇺🇸) for all your transport to and from Te Anau. To and from Queenstown, they charge $327NZD 🇳🇿 ($195USD 🇺🇸).
👉🏻 Trackhopper also lay it all out here, with all your options and pricing. They are your best bet if wanting to do a vehicle relocate. Trackhopper actually specialises in vehicle relocates and will do this for you for $370NZD 🇳🇿 ($220USD 🇺🇸).
Air Transport
Air transport is something to think about if you are coming in from another part of New Zealand! The airport you will fly into is Queenstown Airport (ZQN). Amongst the Milford Track transport operators above, you will be able to find someone who will do transport from Te Anau and transport from Queenstown, depending on what you prefer.
The Guided Walk Option
One operator you can go with for the guided option is Ultimate Hikes, whose Milford Track page is here. For $2750NZD 🇳🇿 ($1638USD 🇺🇸), you can have a guide, accommodation in a lodge, an additional night’s accommodation at Milford Sound after the walk, transport to and from Queenstown or Te Anau, a cruise in the sound, and it also includes all your food on the track.
What Will It Cost Me?
If you’re an international visitor wanting to walk the Milford Track in peak season (October-April), you’ll be paying $130NZD 🇳🇿 ($77USD 🇺🇸) per hut – that’s $390NZD 🇳🇿 ($232USD 🇺🇸) for your huts. If you’re a New Zealander, that’s $92NZD 🇳🇿 ($55USD 🇺🇸) per hut in peak season – which is $276NZD 🇳🇿 ($165USD 🇺🇸) for your huts. If you opt for a cooler, shoulder month (avoid June and July), it’ll be $25NZD 🇳🇿 ($15USD 🇺🇸) per hut, regardless of who you are, totalling $75NZD 🇳🇿 ($45USD 🇺🇸) for your hut fees.
The six Milford Track transport operators listed above are all very similar with their pricing. To get in and out from Te Anau, a transport package (two trips by road and two trips by boat) will cost you between $232NZD 🇳🇿 ($138USD 🇺🇸) and $253NZD 🇳🇿 ($150USD 🇺🇸). To get in and out from Queenstown, which is further away, a transport package will cost you between $327NZD 🇳🇿 ($195USD 🇺🇸) and $344NZD 🇳🇿 ($205USD 🇺🇸), depending on who you go with.
Having your vehicle relocated so that you can drive your own car or a rental car/van will cost you between $330NZD 🇳🇿 ($196USD 🇺🇸) and $370NZD 🇳🇿 ($220USD 🇺🇸), depending on your transport operator.
Going for a guided experience on the Milford Track will cost you upward of $2750NZD 🇳🇿 ($1638USD 🇺🇸), but for some, this is preferable, for all the service and comfort you get.
Factor in your food for the tramp (if unguided), and flights in and out of Queenstown if you’re needing to do that. The Milford Track alone will cost you somewhere between $307NZD 🇳🇿 ($183USD 🇺🇸) and $734NZD 🇳🇿 ($437USD 🇺🇸) for huts and transport. It does add up, but the Milford Track is incredibly special and you will not be sorry you did it!
