Milford Sound Overnight Cruise on the Milford Mariner

What the Milford Sound overnight cruise involves

The Milford Mariner cruises the full length of Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) and then anchors for the night in sheltered Harrison Cove. The trip is listed as 2 days, from NZ$1,398 per adult, and rated 4.7 (167 reviews). Prices are in New Zealand dollars.

You get a private cabin with an en suite bathroom, dinner in the evening and breakfast the next morning. Once the vessel is at anchor, kayaks and tender boats come out, so you can get down to the waterline while the day boats are already back at the wharf. There is a licensed bar on board, and drinks are paid for separately.

Timing is the real reason to do this rather than a day sailing. Most coaches reach the terminal around the middle of the day, so a boat that stays out covers the fiord in the late afternoon, overnight and again at first light. Mitre Peak rises 1,692 m straight out of the water, and the walls carry on below the surface to depths of up to about 265 m.

Rain is normal here. Milford Sound averages over 7 metres of rainfall a year, which is also when the waterfalls run hardest, so pack proper rain gear whatever the season and do not treat a wet forecast as a lost trip. These overnight sailings are sold on final-sale terms, so choose your date carefully before you book.

Check in at the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal 30 minutes before departure. Hotel pickup is not included, so you need your own transport, a coach or a shuttle to Milford Sound; overnight passengers park in the coach park for a flat NZ$30. Mobile coverage along the Milford Road is very limited, with phones at Knobs Flat, the Homer Tunnel for emergencies and Milford Sound itself.

Meeting point, pickup and cancellation

• Meeting point: the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal. Check in 30 minutes before departure; check-in closes 15 minutes before, and the gates close 5 minutes before departure.
• Hotel pickup and drop-off are not included; plan your own way to and from Milford Sound.
• Parking is not included: overnight passengers use the coach park at a flat NZ$30, with card payment at the machines.
• Cancellation: all sales are final, and no refund is available for cancellations.
• Ages: travellers 0 to 120.

What is included

The two overnight cruises compared

Two overnight options sail from the terminal. The Milford Mariner is the larger vessel of the pair and the lower starting price, with en suite cabins, dinner and breakfast, and kayaks or tender boats at anchor. The Fiordland Jewel sailing runs 17.5 hours from NZ$1,449, rated 4.8 (135 reviews), takes just 20 passengers a night, and adds a three-course dinner, a tender-boat excursion and a top-deck hot tub after dinner; you meet at the Fiordland Discovery desk in the terminal, transport is not included, and the NZ$30 overnight parking rate applies from 2pm with the hourly rate before that.

Pick the Mariner if you want the longer listed trip and the lower price. Pick the smaller vessel if having only 20 passengers on board matters more to you than the cost.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 21 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

More ways to plan your visit

All the cruises on this site, compared

All the cruises on this site, compared

Visitor terminal, check-in and parking

Visitor terminal, check-in and parking

Milford Sound weather through the year

Milford Sound weather through the year