Te Anau is a town of about 2,900 people on the south east shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the South Island and second in the country only to Taupō. It sits 171 km south west of Queenstown and about 120 km from Milford Sound, on the edge of Fiordland National Park, and it is the last place with fuel, a supermarket and phone signal before the Milford Road. The name is usually pronounced "teh AH-now". The town itself is small and practical: motels, a lakefront strip of cafes, the national park visitor centre and a cinema. What people come for is on the far side of the lake and over the mountains.
Of the itineraries we sell, 179 pass through Te Anau and 166 of them stay the night, which makes it one of the most slept-in towns in our whole catalogue. Two nights is the most common stay (92 itineraries), with 65 staying one. The day most of them build around is Milford Sound: 57 itineraries do the return trip from here. The other thing they book is the glowworm caves across the lake, on 65 itineraries.
- From Queenstown
- 171 km, about 2 h
- From Dunedin
- 290 km, about 3 h 30
- From Invercargill
- 155 km, about 2 h
- From Milford Sound
- 120 km, about 2 h
- Nearest airports
- Invercargill (IVC), 155 km, Queenstown (ZQN), 171 km
Why stay in Te Anau instead of Queenstown
Because Milford Sound is two hours away instead of four. A coach day from Queenstown to Milford Sound runs about thirteen hours, most of it sitting down. From Te Anau you leave after breakfast, stop at the Mirror Lakes and the Homer Tunnel without watching the clock, cruise before the Queenstown coaches arrive around midday, and are back for an early dinner. The same logic applies to Doubtful Sound, which starts at Manapouri, 21 km south of town.
The trade is nightlife and choice. Te Anau has a handful of good places to eat and a pub or two, and it is quiet by nine. Most of our itineraries come here from Dunedin (80) or Queenstown (45) and go on to Queenstown afterwards (114), so you get Queenstown anyway, just not as your Milford base. Our guide to a day trip or an overnight at Milford sets out the timings side by side.
Things to do in Te Anau
Here is what our itineraries book, with counts, and what else is worth your time.
- Milford Sound for the day: the reason most people are here. The RealNZ cruise with lunch is on 50 itineraries and the Fiordland Discovery luxury lunch cruise on 19. The Milford Sound page covers the fiord itself.
- Te Anau Glowworm Caves (65 itineraries): a boat across the lake to the Te Ana-au Caves on the western shore, a walk in on steel walkways beside an underground river, then a small punt drifting in silence under the glowworms. The caves were found in 1948 by Lawson Burrows after a three year search, and they are loud, with a river pouring through them. The evening departure fits well after a Milford day.
- Ata Whenua, Shadowland (21 itineraries): a short aerial film of Fiordland at the Fiordland Cinema in town. It sounds like a filler and it is not; it shows the parts of the national park you cannot reach, and it is good on a wet evening.
- Punanga Manu o Te Anau, the bird sanctuary: a free DOC sanctuary on the lakefront, about 20 minutes on foot from the visitor centre, where takahē, the flightless rail once thought extinct, raise chicks for release into the wild. Kākā, kākāriki and whio live there too. There are no kiwi.
- Jet boating: 14 of our itineraries add the Pure Wilderness jet boat trip with Fiordland Jet.
- Doubtful Sound: the full day cruise from Manapouri, a lake crossing and a coach over Wilmot Pass before the boat on the fiord itself. It is on 5 of our itineraries; our guide to Milford against Doubtful Sound helps you pick.
The Kepler Track and other walks from town
The Kepler Track is one of the Great Walks, and you can walk to its start from the town centre along the lakefront. It is a loop of about 60 km, usually walked in four days and three nights, climbing onto the tops above the lake and down through beech forest. DOC runs the Great Walk season from late October to the end of April; outside it the alpine section has avalanche risk and the huts have fewer facilities. Bookings open months ahead and the summer dates go fast. Our Great Walks guide covers how the booking works.
You do not have to do the whole thing. The lakefront path from the visitor centre to the control gates, where the Kepler starts, is flat and easy. From the Kepler car park, 5 km from town, the walk through forest to Brod Bay takes about an hour and a half each way, and fit walkers carry on up to Luxmore Hut and the bushline for the view over the lake, a long full day there and back. On the Milford Road, Key Summit and Lake Marian are the two best half day walks.
How to get to Te Anau
By road. Te Anau has an airport 15 km south, but it has no scheduled flights, so everyone arrives by car or coach. From Queenstown the drive follows the southern end of Lake Wakatipu through Kingston and across farmland, then turns west at Mossburn on State Highway 94. It is an easy road with long straights. The Dunedin route, which most of our itineraries use, crosses Southland through Gore.
| From | Distance | Driving time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queenstown | 171 km | About 2 h | The usual way in and out |
| Dunedin | About 290 km | About 3 h 30 | Via Gore; the most common arrival on our itineraries |
| Invercargill | 155 km | About 2 h | Via Lumsden or the Southern Scenic Route through Manapouri |
| Milford Sound | About 120 km | About 2 h, 3 h with stops | The Milford Road, State Highway 94, the only road out west |
| Manapouri | 21 km | About 20 min | For the Doubtful Sound cruises |
Is the drive to Milford hard? Not in summer. It is sealed all the way, with one lane through the Homer Tunnel controlled by lights and a set of switchbacks down the far side. The difficulty is winter: from about May to November the road runs through avalanche paths, chains must be carried, and the NZ Transport Agency closes it after heavy snow. The nearest airports with scheduled flights are Invercargill and Queenstown.
How many days to spend in Te Anau
Two nights is right for most people, and it is what most of our itineraries give it. The first evening is arrival and a walk by the lake, the full day in between is Milford Sound, and the second evening is the glowworm caves. With one night you can still do Milford, but you arrive, sleep and leave at seven, and if the Milford Road is shut that day you miss the fiord altogether. A second night is also your weather buffer.
Three nights or more is for people adding Doubtful Sound, walking part of the Kepler, or fishing: the lake and the Waiau River have brown and rainbow trout, and guides in town take people out. 9 of our itineraries stay three nights. If you want to compare with the other southern bases, Queenstown is two hours away and Manapouri is twenty minutes.
Weather and when to go
Te Anau is much drier than the fiords it serves. The town gets about 1,200 mm of rain a year, while Milford Sound, on the other side of the Main Divide, gets more than five times that. Summer highs are around 20°C and winter nights drop close to freezing, with hard frosts. The MetService forecast for Te Anau tells you about the town; for Milford, check the Milford one as well, because the weather changes at the Homer Tunnel.
December to February is busiest, with every motel full and the Kepler booked. March and April are our pick: calmer, fewer people, autumn colour in the beech and the Great Walk season still open. Winter is quiet and cheap and the town stays open, but plan around possible Milford Road closures. Sandflies are part of every season near water from spring to autumn; bring repellent.
Where to stay in Te Anau
Most accommodation is along or just back from Lakefront Drive, and nearly everything is a motel, a lodge or a mid-sized hotel. There are no large resorts. These are the places our itineraries use:
- Lakefront Lodge (45 itineraries): motel units on Lakefront Drive, walking distance to the cafes.
- Distinction Te Anau Hotel & Villas (23): a larger hotel on the lakefront with a restaurant, and the Distinction Luxmore (7) in the centre of town.
- Kingsgate Hotel Te Anau (11): a mid-sized hotel near the lake.
- Fiordland Lodge (10) and Te Anau Lodge (10): the smaller lodge stays, for itineraries that want something quieter than a motel.
Book early for summer. Te Anau has a fixed number of beds and every Milford trip in the region wants one of them. You can see every trip that stays here on the tours through Te Anau, from NZ$2,400.
What the itineraries do in Te Anau
179 of our itineraries reach Te Anau and 166 sleep there: 65 for 1 night, 92 for 2 nights, 9 for 3 nights. Counted from the day by day of every tour, so the numbers move with the catalogue.
- Te Anau Glowworm Caves with RealNZ on 65 itineraries
- Te Anau to Milford Sound, returning to Te Anau on 57 itineraries
- Milford Sound Cruise with Real NZ - Lunch Included on 50 itineraries
- Ata Whenua - Shadowland Film at Fiordland Cinema on 21 itineraries
- Milford Sound Luxury Lunch Cruise with Fiordland Discovery on 19 itineraries
- Pure Wilderness Jet Boat with Fiordland Jet on 14 itineraries
- From the moment you step outside today, nature rules on 11 itineraries
- Milford Sound Cruise from Te Anau including lunch on 8 itineraries
Where they stay: Lakefront Lodge (45), Distinction Te Anau Hotel & Villas (23), Kingsgate Hotel Te Anau (11), Fiordland Lodge (10), Te Anau Lodge (10), Distinction Hotel Luxmore, Te Anau (or similar) (7). Every property is named on its tour page, with the room grade.
Most arrive from Dunedin (80), Queenstown (45), Invercargill (10) and carry on to Queenstown (114), Dunedin (30), Manapouri (11).
