Making A Routeburn Track Booking - Following Faultlines

The Routeburn Track: one of New Zealand’s prettiest! Not quite as famous as its sister, the world-famous Milford Track, the Routeburn Track offers an alternative adventure through the mountains in the southwest corner of the South Island, a little shorter, and just as beautiful.

The Routeburn Track straddles the boundary of Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park, so if you want to see the best of both on one trail? Routeburn is a must do! It’s incredibly popular and always sells out, but if you’re fortunate enough to land a spot on the track, the below guide is here to make sure you know everything you need to know about the process of booking this walk.

A mountain stream, the Route Burn (river) flows over boulders and rocks toward the camera. — The Route Burn (river), the namesake of the Routeburn Track.

What Do I Need To Know About The Routeburn Track?

The Routeburn track is a multi-day tramp (hike) which takes you along the Route Burn (river), across the Routeburn Flats, past Lake Harris, through the Harris Saddle, down the Hollyford Face and past Lake MacKenzie and Lake Howden. You’ll have jaw dropping views of both the Humboldt Mountains and the Darran Mountains, (which have the Milford Track hidden away in them.)

The walk is the shortest Great Walk of New Zealand (of which there are 10), at just 33 kilometres (or 20 miles).

It can be walked in either direction, and walked over two, three or four days – or even run in a day.

It’s a point to point walk, but it can be made into a loop by combining it with the Greenstone and Caples Tracks. The Great Walk is officially just the 33 kilometres one-way, however.

Party of twelve trampers stand at the Routeburn Shelter trailhead. — Twelve of us walked the Routeburn Track in April 2021.

Booking Your Huts/Campsites

There are three huts and two campsites on the Routeburn Track that you can stay at. Most people would pick one, and do the track over two days and one night, or they’d pick two, and do the track over three days and two nights.

The huts are Routeburn Flats Hut (one campsite is there, Routeburn Flats Campsite), Routeburn Falls Hut (at which there is no campsite) and Lake Mackenzie Hut (which is also the site for Lake Mackenzie Campsite).

They are on the larger size for Department of Conservation huts and well maintained.

Routeburn Flats, with Routeburn Falls Hut in the forest below the vantage point. — Routeburn Falls Hut, visible in the bush below.

Department of Conservation Huts

The Routeburn Track huts accommodate between 20 and 50 people each. There’s that range because on the ascent from the Routeburn Shelter start point, some will stop at Routeburn Flats, and some will go all the way to Routeburn Falls for that first night.

This is a very popular walk. People are friendly and it’s always good to get chatting to other trampers as they are always very friendly and have awesome travel experiences of their own.

Mist descends over the mountains and Mackenzie Hut. — Mackenzie Hut, on the shores of Lake Mackenzie.

Tell Me About The Cooking Facilities

Routeburn Track, being so popular, has well maintained huts and they have cooking facilities already there. That’s one less thing you have to carry!

Although if you can fit it, I’d still recommend bringing a small gas cooker in case you want a hot drink during the day, or don’t want to wait for your dinner. There are a few cooking hobs to go around, however, so you wouldn’t be waiting long. Lots of people just need boiling water for their dinners as they use dehydrated meals, so they don’t take long on the hobs.

With water, the official advice is always to boil it before drinking. Many don’t bother, and I’m one of them; you can see how pure the water is out in the wilderness when you’re walking past it every day.

Tell Me About The Sleeping Arrangements

Like all Department of Conservation huts, expect shared bunk rooms and plastic mattresses. Pack earplugs, as people need to come in and out and often have things right at the bottom of their pack that the need to rustle down to get. Have grace, you’d only be groping around at the bottom of your pack for a few minutes if you really needed the item, and it might be you in that situation next time!

If you’re camping, you won’t have power or lighting, but you will have a shelter to cook at and space to pitch your tent.

Tell Me About The Toilets

Huts have flushing toilets on the Routeburn Track! I thought this was amazing when I saw it, fully expecting a long drop.

If you’re staying at one of the campsites, then your toilet is a long drop, but again, facilities on the Routeburn Track are pretty well maintained, especially in-season.

Wardens are posted at each hut to care for it and tend to be on top of things. I’d recommend packing a roll of toilet paper regardless, as you never know when you might need it.

Mackenzie Hut, pictured in the valley next to Lake Mackenzie. — This is the warden’s hut. They keep everything pretty well maintained in-season!

Step One: Making a Great Walks Booking Account

Booking the Routeburn Track is not complicated, but before you do the booking you will have to register with the Department of Conservation Booking Service. If you’ve booked a Great Walk of New Zealand before, you’ll already have an account, just make sure you can still log in with the password you remember and have this all sorted before the day that bookings open.

The actual Routeburn Track booking needs to be done on the day bookings open, which is typically in late May (but with repairs needing doing on the track this off-season, the earliest date in the season that you can walk has been delayed until a bit later than normal.

The link to the Department of Conservation Booking Service is https://bookings.doc.govt.nz/. If this is your first time using the service, you’ll just need to use your email and create a password. It used to be that there was a booking system for the 10 Great Walks of New Zealand, and another booking system for all the other tramps that need booking. However, they’ve now been amalgamated, so if you had one of the other accounts, you can still use it for the Routeburn Track.

Ten of the twelve of us pose on the rocks in front of Lake Mackenzie on our last morning of the Routeburn Track. — Bookings are imperative on the Routeburn Track, due to its popularity.

Step Two: Booking through your Great Walks Booking Account

The Routeburn Track is really popular so try and make your plans ahead of the day that bookings open so that you can book it as soon as the Department of Conservation start taking bookings. Normally it’s a date in late May and it’s announced in advance, so keep an eye on the Department of Conservation website. Usually, bookings open at 09:30am on that day, and it may be that there are a few opening dates for different tracks, to avoid the system crashing, so just go with the date that applies to the Routeburn Track.

It’s an alpine walk, so most people will be walking it in Great Walks Season, which is November, December, January, February, March and April. (This season, the earliest you can walk is halfway through November, due to those repairs.)

The Department of Conservation really stress that if you are going to be undertaking the Routeburn Track in May, June, July, August, September or October (winter and spring), that you must know what you are doing. The track is more difficult and you will need to be mindful of more hazards, like extreme weather, snow, and avalanche risk.

Know Your Party

To be organised ahead of booking day, make sure you have a few details sorted, including who you are walking with, as you will need names and ages for your party.

A selfie of our party of twelve, all geared up in colourful raincoats, as we start day two of the Routeburn Track in the rain. — Our party, all geared up in raincoats for a wet start to day two of the Routeburn Track!

Know Your Dates

It’s a good idea to have your dates on a piece of paper in front of you, and where you’re staying each night. Know which direction you’re going in, and make sure you have your huts or campsites in the right order.

Routeburn Falls Hut and Routeburn Flats Hut have similar names, but they are not the same place. You walk across the flats before you ascend to the falls. If you stay at Routeburn Flats, your subsequent day will be longer, but if you power through to Routeburn Falls Hut, it’s the first day, the flatter day, that is longer.

Late afternoon sun breaks through moody clouds and shines down on the Routeburn Flats. — Sun peeking through rainclouds over the Routeburn Flats.

Or, you might go in the other direction, which is quite logical if you’re coming from Milford Sound, as the endpoint of the Routeburn Track, called The Divide, is out that way already.

Or you might choose to spread the walk over four days, if you have children joining you. If you’re a runner and want to do it in one day (not for the faint of heart) then you won’t need a booking.

Young woman looks back at Lake Harris, on the Routeburn Track. — Going at the end of the season (April) meant we took a risk and got some rainy weather.

Run Your Search

With all of the above details sorted, make sure that on the day bookings open you are logged in and ready to go, normally at 09:30am. Obviously check that is the time for the bookings that year. You will need to refresh your browser when it hits that time and then you’ll see a search engine.

Select the Routeburn Track, select your dates in the calendar, say whether you are staying 1, 2 or 3 nights, and in huts or campsites (or both), and how many people you are going with. Click Search and look for green spaces that align with your dates and your accommodation. Don’t take longer than you need to, as people are booking their spaces, too, while you work through it.

Select Your Dates

If your dates come up in red, then they are booked. If they are red with an exclamation mark, they are nearly booked, but not yet. Move fast.

If you need to move your plans forward or back a day, spend an extra day on the track, take one less day on the track, or reverse your direction, do whatever necessary to get everyone booked! If some people in your group are less bothered about missing out, you might compromise your group size to keep your original dates. Have all these what-if chats before the booking day!

Select your spaces and click Reserve. Hopefully you’ve been successful securing those! The booking system will hold your booking for a few minutes while you enter names and ages of your group and then you just have to pay.

Young woman in blue raincoat smiles at the camera with the rail for the ascent to Routeburn Falls behind her. — We picked dates in April, at the end of the season, which means the temperatures were quite brisk!

Make Your Payment

Accommodation on the Routeburn Track is more expensive than huts and campsites would normally be, and unfortunately it’s a bit more expensive again if you are visiting from overseas. It’s just to incentivise New Zealanders to explore our own backyard.

If you’re booking huts in-season (November to April), and most people will, then a New Zealander will need to pay $80NZD 🇳🇿 ($50USD 🇺🇸) per night and international visitors will need to pay $120NZD 🇳🇿 ($75USD 🇺🇸) per night.

If you’re looking to save money, you can camp, which is significantly cheaper. A New Zealander will need to pay $25NZD 🇳🇿 per night ($15USD 🇺🇸) and international visitors will need to pay $38NZD 🇳🇿 ($24USD) per night.

In the six month off-season period, it’s really cheap, and a night on the track will cost you between $10NZD 🇳🇿 ($6USD 🇺🇸) and $30NZD 🇳🇿 ($19USD 🇺🇸) regardless of who you are. Huts have a different rate for spring and a different rate for winter, but campsites have one rate for the whole off-season period.

It can be a really good idea to book the first week of May, which is going to be at the off-season rate but is not very long after the season has ended, and with a likelihood of weather that is still quite stable, but this also might be what other people are thinking and you might end up with a bit of booking competition!

Turquoise waters of the Route Burn (river) flow over white rock, visible glinting between the foliage. — Easy to see why it’s such a popular walk: the Routeburn Track is renowned for it’s beauty.

Tips And Tricks

1️⃣ If your group is bigger than, I’d say, four people, you might have to be a bit quicker about booking than a single or a couple would have to be. Put someone on the phone to the Department of Conservation to book at the same time as someone tries to do it online. In previous years the system has sometimes crashed due to everyone rushing to book and then the phone lines really jam up.

2️⃣ Or, you could have one person booking for half the group and another person booking for the other half of the group, if securing some spots is more important to you than it is for everyone to be together.

3️⃣ If you’re also going for a public holiday or long weekend date, cross your fingers! Be prepared to move your dates to the left or right and lock something in before you start analysing whether you’d rather leave on the Thursday or Friday, or whatever your case may be. Time is of the essence! Lock something in, get to the details page, breathe out, and then keep moving fast with your booking and payment.

Cancellations and Refunds

We missed our first chance at the Routeburn Track because it flooded in 2020! At other times, cancellation may be necessary because of your own circumstances. Just contact the Department of Conservation by phone or by email to chat about what has happened, the sooner the better. This page of theirs goes into detail about cancellations and refunds.

Booking Your Transport

Yay!! You’re booked! Well, hopefully you are if you are still going with this guide. Now, you’ll need to work out how you’re getting in and out of the Routeburn Track, as it’s not a loop, so you’ll need transport.

Condensation pools on the windows of the shuttle bus as the beauty of the mountains beckons from beyond. — We used one of the many shuttle operators to get from Queenstown to the Routeburn Shelter trailhead.

If you want to combine the Routeburn Track with the beautiful Greenstone Caples Track (I did a day on that trail and wow! You’re in for a treat), then you can turn it into a circuit. Technically, the Greenstone Track is one track and the Caples track is another, so you’d be combining three.

One end of the Routeburn Track is at The Divide. That’s near Milford Sound and the end of the Milford Track, if you are doing them back to back. The nearest town is Te Anau, which is 85 kilometres (or 53 miles) from The Divide. There are lots of shuttle options in, or you can drive your own vehicle, if someone can relocate the car for you.

Young woman takes a selfie at The Divide in front of the sign signposting the Routeburn Track trailhead. — The trailhead of the Routeburn Track at The Divide end, on the Milford Road.

The other end of the Routeburn Track, where we started, is Routeburn Shelter, and that’s 25 kilometres (or 16 miles from Glenorchy. You simply drive the Queenstown-Glenorchy Road to get there (which is one of the best drives in the world).

So, you can go from the township of Te Anau, to The Divide trailhead, walk to Routeburn Shelter, and take the road out to Glenorchy and then Queenstown,

or you could get a shuttle to and from Queenstown (which is what we did) so that you are coming and going from the same place. Queenstown is extremely walkable and has an airport so without your own vehicle, it’s an easy option.

🚌 Te Anau to The Divide

It’s an hour’s drive, an 85 kilometre (or 53 mile) drive from the township of Te Anau to the trailhead at The Divide (which is on the Milford Road out to Milford Sound, State Highway 94).

🚌 Queenstown to The Divide

Queenstown out to The Divide is a longer drive, but unless you have plans to do Milford Sound and the Milford Road, it might be the easiest way. As New Zealanders ourselves, we went south only for the Routeburn Track, so we just needed to come and go from Queenstown. There are operators whom you can book the return trip through, and although it’s a long drive, it’s a pretty drive. If it’s your return leg you might even be so tired you spend the time asleep.

Author looks up at Earland Falls cascading over the rockface on the Routeburn Track. — Earland Falls, three hours from The Divide, the end of the trail!

🚌 Queenstown to Routeburn Shelter

The Routeburn Shelter is in the small town of Glenorchy, and it’s an hour’s drive out from Queenstown on the Glenorchy-Queenstown Road. It’s 71 kilometres (or 44 miles) and one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

Trampers recede over the swingbridge at the Routeburn Shelter trailhead, with its signpost in the foreground of the photo. — The trailhead at Routeburn Shelter.

Operators

The six operators below operate shuttle services between Milford, Te Anau, The Routeburn Track, Glenorchy and Queenstown. It’s pretty common for international visitors to be seeing all these places at once, so there are lots of organisations who will service both the Milford Track, the Routeburn Track, all other trampers going to other trailheads in the area, and all your day visitors and regular tourists too!

👉🏻 Tracknet https://www.tracknet.net/tracks/routeburn make it really easy to select which direction you are walking the Routeburn Track in, and whether you need to get to and from Queenstown or Te Anau, and the page will present your package options. A Te Anau return trip to the track will cost you $153NZD 🇳🇿 ($95USD 🇺🇸) and a Queenstown return trip to the track will cost you the same, 153NZD 🇳🇿 ($95USD 🇺🇸).

It seems that this organisation will just do return packages, not a one-way leg between the track and Te Anau that you could add to a one-way leg between the track and Queenstown.

👉🏻 Fiordland Outdoors offer bus transport between the track, Queenstown and Te Anau, or all of the above, and they do vehicle relocates from either end of the track. They have quite a few combinations listed here. https://www.fiordlandoutdoors.co.nz/transport-and-experiences/routeburn-track-transport/ You can bus in from Queenstown, and bus out to either Queenstown or Te Anau, for $158NZD 🇳🇿 ($98USD 🇺🇸). You can still walk in the other direction by reversing the order, and it’ll cost you the same.

👉🏻 InfoTrack offer their Routeburn Track transport options here https://www.infotrack.co.nz/track-info/routeburn-track-transport/ Queenstown to Routeburn Shelter (or vice versa) will cost you $59NZD 🇳🇿 ($37USD 🇺🇸) and The Divide to Queenstown (or vice versa) will cost you $99NZD 🇳🇿 ($61USD 🇺🇸). They will also do pick ups and drop offs to and from Glenorchy, and for your convenience, even from the Routeburn Shelter end of the track to Queenstown Airport, for $94NZD 🇳🇿 ($58USD 🇺🇸).

👉🏻 Cheeky Kiwi Travel have all their Routeburn Track bus options laid out here https://www.cheekykiwitravel.com/routeburn-track-transport/ with return and one-way options, and all the prices listed clearly.

👉🏻 Easy Hike will relocate your vehicle from one end of the Routeburn Track to the other for $325NZD 🇳🇿 ($201USD 🇺🇸) and $40NZD 🇳🇿 ($25USD 🇺🇸) prepaid for fuel. https://www.easyhike.co.nz/car-relocation/

👉🏻 Trackhopper will do vehicle relates from either end for $335NZD 🇳🇿 ($207USD 🇺🇸) with $40NZD 🇳🇿 ($25USD 🇺🇸) prepaid for fuel.

Sunset captured over the mountains from inside our shuttle bus, heading from The Divide after the Routeburn Track, back to Queenstown. — Sunset visible on the horizon as we shuttled back from The Divide to Queenstown after our walk.

Air Transport

You might need to think about air transport if you are coming in from somewhere else in New Zealand! The airport you will fly into for the Routeburn Track is Queenstown Airport (ZQN).

Is There A Guided Walk Option?

Yes! If hut accommodation and camping is not for you, and you’d prefer a bit more comfort, then there are alternatives for you.

👉🏻 Ultimate Hikes offer a three day two night guided walk for the Routeburn Track. They charge $1390NZD 🇳🇿 ($860USD 🇺🇸) and include return transport from Queenstown, lodge accommodation, which is so much nicer than huts, all your food, a backpack and a guide.

👉🏻 Easy Hike offer a Routeburn Track Premium Package for $1295NZD 🇳🇿 ($801USD 🇺🇸). It’s three days and two nights and includes gear and food. Your hut bookings are taken care of and you can either use their bus service to where you’re going or they’ll relocate your vehicle.

Nomad Safaris, Trips&Tramps, Guided Walks New Zealand and Walk Into Luxury alloffer various half days and full days on the track, but nothing that is equal to the full Great Walk.

Something I’ll note here is the package by Great Walks of New Zealand. They offer a guided walk that takes you on little bits of each of the three Fiordland National Park Great Walks – that’s the Routeburn Track, the Milford Track, and the Kepler Track. Its a five day guided trip with all your food, transport, accommodation and boats covered, and includes a cruise on Milford Sound and a helicopter transfer. It’s $2590NZD 🇳🇿 ($1602USD 🇺🇸) but is an excellent way to see the best of the three if you’re short on time.

What Will It Cost Me?

If you’re an international visitor wanting to walk the Routeburn Track in peak season (November-April), you’ll be paying between $38NZD 🇳🇿 ($24USD 🇺🇸) – that’s for one night in a tent -, and $360NZD 🇳🇿 ($223USD 🇺🇸) for three nights in huts.

If you’re a New Zealander wanting to walk the Routeburn Track in peak season (November-April), you’ll be paying between $25NZD 🇳🇿 ($16USD 🇺🇸) for one night in a tent, and $240NZD 🇳🇿 ($149USD 🇺🇸) for three nights in huts.

If you opt to go off-season, it’ll be between $10NZD 🇳🇿 ($6USD 🇺🇸) for a campsite in winter, and $30NZD 🇳🇿 ($19USD 🇺🇸), for a hut, in spring, regardless of who you are, totalling somewhere between $10NZD 🇳🇿 ($6USD 🇺🇸) for just one night on the track, camping off-season, upward to $90NZD 🇳🇿 ($56USD 🇺🇸) for three nights on the track in huts, off-season.

The six Routeburn Track transport operators listed above are relatively similar with their pricing.

To get in and out of the track to and from Te Anau, transport will cost you somewhere between $106NZD 🇳🇿 ($66USD 🇺🇸) and $153NZD 🇳🇿 ($95USD 🇺🇸).

To get in and out of the track to and from Queenstown, transport will cost you somewhere between $118NZD 🇳🇿 ($73USD 🇺🇸) and $158NZD 🇳🇿 ($98USD 🇺🇸).

And if you’re enroute from Te Anau to Queenstown and doing the Routeburn Track on your way, transport from one end to the track, and from the track to the other end is likely to cost you somewhere about $99NZD 🇳🇿 ($61USD 🇺🇸).

Having your vehicle relocated so that you can drive your own car (or rental) will cost you between $325 NZD 🇳🇿 ($202USD 🇺🇸) and $345NZD 🇳🇿 ($213USD 🇺🇸), always with $40NZD 🇳🇿 ($25USD 🇺🇸) prepaid for fuel.

Doing the Routeburn Track with a guide will cost you anywhere between $1295 NZD 🇳🇿 ($801USD 🇺🇸) and $1390NZD 🇳🇿 ($860USD 🇺🇸), depending on who you go with.

Add your food to your budget (unless you are going with a guide) and the possibility that you may need to fly in and out of Queenstown.

The Routeburn Track may cost you possibly somewhere between $600NZD 🇳🇿 ($371USD 🇺🇸) and $1400NZD 🇳🇿 ($866USD 🇺🇸), but, my, it’s worth it! Treat it as a once in a lifetime adventure. I do think it may just be the one of the 10 Great Walks that I go back to for seconds, however, because we had rainy weather, and I’ve seen photos of how stunning it can be in clear weather. I’ve simply got to go back! You’ll see what I mean when you get on the track!