# Milford Sound Tourism

> Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, Fiordland National Park, Southland, New Zealand. Published routes only; route admission is not verification of every claim.

## Guides
- [/blog/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/)
- [Best time to visit Milford Sound: season by season](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/best-time-to-visit-milford-sound/): When to visit Milford Sound: the warmest and busiest months, the quiet winter, rain, the road's hardest season, the Great Walks and wildlife, by source.
- [Doubtful Sound / Patea: getting there, dolphins and rules](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/doubtful-sound-patea/): DOC on Doubtful Sound / Patea: no road access, the boat and coach route from Manapouri over Wilmot Pass, resident dolphins and how it differs from Milford.
- [Fiordland's European history: Milford Track, Homer Tunnel, Manapouri](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-history/): Fiordland's European history by source: Cook, Sutherland and McKinnon, Milford Track dates by DOC page, the Homer Tunnel, and the Manapouri campaign.
- [Fiordland huts and campsites: categories, booking and rules](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-huts-and-campsites/): DOC huts and campsites in Fiordland: the categories, what a hut is like, how booking and passes work, fires, and the freedom camping rules. No prices.
- [Fiordland National Park: size, gateways, rules and safety](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-national-park-guide/): Fiordland National Park by DOC: its size on each DOC page, Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage, getting there, the visitor centre, park rules and safety.
- [Fiordland through the year: a seasonal nature calendar](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-through-the-year/): A month by month calendar of Fiordland: tawaki season, alpine flowers, Great Walks dates, avalanche windows and winter road, each from DOC.
- [Fiordland weather and seasons: rain, temperatures and packing](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-weather-and-seasons/): Fiordland rain and rain days by source, temperatures, the seasons, avalanche windows and what to pack, from DOC, Visit Fiordland and Tourism New Zealand.
- [Fiordland wildlife: takahē, kea, tawaki, seals and dolphins](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fiordland-wildlife/): Fiordland's wildlife from DOC: takahē, kea, tawaki, kākāpō, fur seals and bottlenose dolphins, the marine reserves, and how to behave around them.
- [Fishing and hunting in Fiordland: permits, didymo and wapiti](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/fishing-hunting-and-freshwater-pests/): What DOC requires to fish or hunt in Fiordland: Clean Gear Certificates, Check Clean Dry, rivers with their own rules, hunting permits and the Wapiti Area.
- [The Kepler, Routeburn and Hollyford tracks: a DOC comparison](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/kepler-routeburn-hollyford-tracks/): DOC on the Kepler, Routeburn and Hollyford tracks: length, days, the 2026/27 season, huts, avalanche windows by source and transport at each end.
- [Driving the Milford Road: distance, time, closures and chains](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-road-driving-and-safety/): State Highway 94 is the only road to Milford Sound. Drive times by source, fuel, closures, chains and the Homer Tunnel, and where to check the live status.
- [Short walks on the Milford Road: times, grades and stops](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-road-short-walks/): Milford Road walks in road order: Mistletoe, Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn, Key Summit, Gertrude Saddle, The Chasm and Milford Sound, with DOC times and grades.
- [The Milford Road in winter and wet weather](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-road-winter-and-wet-weather/): DOC says winter on the Milford Road can be extremely challenging. Chains, the avalanche no-stopping zone, when to leave and rainfall by source.
- [How to choose a Milford Sound cruise](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-sound-cruises-how-to-choose/): Milford Sound cruises compared by source: time on the water, small boat or large, nature guides, overnight, rain, parking and how to avoid the busy period.
- [A Milford Sound day trip from Te Anau or Queenstown](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-sound-day-trip-from-te-anau-or-queenstown/): A Milford Sound day trip by road, coach and cruise, or air: drive times by source, the length of the day, when to leave, stops and what to bring.
- [Milford Sound in summer: weather, crowds, walks and what to pack](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-sound-in-summer/): Visiting Milford Sound in summer: temperatures and rain by source, when to arrive, the Great Walks season, the best walks, wildlife and what to pack.
- [Milford Sound / Piopiotahi: the fiord in figures](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-sound-the-fiord/): DOC says Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is 16 km long and 265 m deep in places. Mitre Peak, the marine reserve, and where both names come from.
- [Milford Track basics: day by day, huts, season and transport](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/milford-track-basics/): The Milford Track is 53.5 km one way over 3 nights and 4 days. DOC on each day, the huts, Sutherland Falls, the 2026/27 season and who it suits.
- [Plan a trip to Milford Sound: timing, weather, cruises and rules](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/plan-a-trip-to-milford-sound/): When to arrive at Milford Sound, how much it rains, how long walks and cruises take, and the rules at the fiord, with DOC and operator sources.
- [Southern Fiordland: Dusky Sound, the Dusky Track and the lakes](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/southern-fiordland-dusky-sound/): Tamatea/Dusky Sound from DOC: Cook's 1773 stay by each page, Richard Henry, the Dusky Track, George Sound Route, and Lakes Hauroko and Monowai.
- [Te Anau and Manapouri: Fiordland's gateway towns](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/blog/te-anau-and-manapouri/): DOC on Te Anau and Manapouri: the visitor centre, takahē at the bird sanctuary, both lakes, short walks, and what to do before the Milford Road.

## Pages
- [/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/)
- [/about/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/about/)
- [/affiliate-disclosure/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/affiliate-disclosure/)
- [/for-agents/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/for-agents/)
- [/privacy/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/privacy/)
- [/terms/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/terms/)
- [/today/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/today/)
- [/widgets/](https://milfordsoundtourism.com/widgets/)

## MCP tools

Read only, from this site's own files. The tool list is at https://milfordsoundtourism.com/.well-known/mcp.json. Connect over Streamable HTTP at https://milfordsoundtourism.com/mcp.

- `get_site_info`: The site name, address, place, language and time zone.
- `ask_about_place`: A grounded answer from reviewed passages with their sources and dates, or a refusal (price, availability, live conditions and medical questions are never answered; a refusal names the live tool to use instead, where there is one).
- `list_claims`: Reviewed, non volatile, unexpired claims about the place with their source and the date until which each was checked; a claim with status conflicted is shown alongside the claims it conflicts with, never as settled fact. Optional topic filter.
- `list_content`: The published records of one content type: slug, title and address. Guides and place records also carry their review status (draft, reviewed-draft with its date, or accepted for a guide the owner signed off) and place records their indexable flag.
- `get_record`: One published record of a content type by slug. A community page or place record is returned through the same consent safe projection as get_place, never as the raw file.
- `live_conditions`: Weather, river levels, flood alerts, weather warnings and events from the location's conditions pack, each judged against its freshness limit now: a reading past its limit, undated or missing reads "checking", never a saved value. A forecast is not a path, road or access condition, and a river gauge height is not the depth of water on a road.
- `search_experiences`: Bookable experiences from the location's catalogue with their tier, tier basis and larger area (the field the location names as its regionField). Optional tier and area filters. Each result carries its price state: a price only when the price rule allows it (from the booking partner, in the site currency, checked within the limit and confirmed by the weekly test), otherwise "Check price on the booking page". Booking links are commission links.
- `get_place`: One community place page (village, town or group) by id: council and larger area with its label (both null where the location's words keep them off that kind of page), hamlets only when sourced, community links only with the organiser's recorded consent and a recent check, the events, news, guides and experiences that name it, whether the page is indexable (a kind with no consent route never is), and the record's review status (draft, or reviewed-draft with its date). Only while the page is indexable, also what its page shows from the record: the short version, key facts (each with its claim ids, source and capture date, or labelled derived with its method and date), sections as quoted text with their claim ids, questions with their sources and the links the page shows by type. A page that is not indexable gives none of the record (contentWithheld says so). Never a contact role, channel or named person.
- `today_news`: Local news inside its current window now (published, not expired, not due for a recheck), with the original source and its date. May be empty; zero stories is a normal answer.

## Data for answer engines

- https://milfordsoundtourism.com/for-agents/geo-answers.json: questions and answers as the guides show them, each with its page and review status
- https://milfordsoundtourism.com/for-agents/verified-content.json: reviewed facts, each with its source and the date it was checked until
- https://milfordsoundtourism.com/for-agents/knowledge-graph.json: the places, topics and activities this site covers, each place with the ids of the reviewed facts it rests on
- https://milfordsoundtourism.com/llms-full.txt: the full guide text