New Zealand · MILFORD SOUND CRUISES
Everything on the fiord is a boat, but they are not the same boat: two hours or four, two hundred passengers or twenty, coach in or fly in. These 15 are compared on what you actually get — deck space, how close the skipper takes you to Stirling Falls, and what the day costs from $44.
Premium small-group Milford Sound day trip from Queenstown with UNESCO Fiordland stops, included cruise, and a picnic lunch.
“Excellent small group tour . Felt more intimate Excellent guide Drop off and pick up excellent Guide Dean was excellent”
2-hour small-boat Milford Sound cruise with live skipper commentary, close waterfall spray, and wildlife sightings, from $101 per person.
“Great operator, plenty of room on the boat to move around. Milford Sound is amazingly beautiful.”
Small-group Milford Sound day from Queenstown by premium Mercedes, with scenic stops, a picnic lunch, and an included 1h45 cruise.
“Amazing day visiting Milford sound! We were blessed with a rare sunny day and our guide made extra stops for us to admire the beauty! At the end they also offer for you to fly back via Venice flight if weather permits, DO IT. Absolute highlight of the experience and trip!”
Fly from Queenstown to Milford Sound, enjoy a 1h45m cruise, then fly back with Southern Alps views.
“True South was extremely professional, well organized and out pilot was fantastic. They did a great job of communicating in advance (multiple times) including the same day reminder. They add plenty of details along the journey regarding the scenery and then they connect it back to the greater area of New Zealand and its history. But probably the most important thing to note is that they were safe. As a former aviation mechanic for a larger commercial airline, this is very meaningful to me”
Queenstown to Milford Sound by glass-roof coach and 2-hour cruise, with photo stops, wildlife-spotting, and live guiding.
“The trip started from the main office of RealNZ with check in and introduction of our guide Brandon. He was just the right guy for that journey. During the trip he shared curious and historical facts, provided us with the beautiful opportunity to get photos of the stunning scenic nature along the way to Milford Sound, which additionally enriched the whole experience. At Milford we embarked the “Milford Monarch” cruise ship, on which we could experience the ultimate beauty of Milford Sound. The sceneries were just stunning. Its hard to describe what the eyes could see and the heart could feel at that beauty…simply captivating. Thank God for the nice…”
Cruise Lake Manapouri, ride over Wilmot Pass, then sail Doubtful Sound on a guided day trip from Manapouri in Fiordland National Park.
“The commentary was valuable and informative, the views were amazing, staff all pleasant and helpful.”
Fly from Queenstown to Milford Sound with guaranteed window seats, then enjoy a 2-hour cruise close to waterfalls and wildlife.
“One of the best experiences of our holiday. only way to do Milford sound i think. Amazing”
2-hour Milford Sound cruise on a smaller boat with Bowen Falls views, wildlife chances, and free hot drinks in Piopiotahi.
“Friendly staff and very clean and spacious boat. So glad we went with mitre peak cruises as boat wasn’t crowded so everyone had plenty of room to move around and take in the sights. It was raining lightly but that makes tge waterfalls flow too which was a highlight. We caught a fur seal sunburning on rocks and some penguins enjoying the wet weather. Good commentary from the captain, complementary tea and coffee was welcome. Highly recommend this tour”
Milford Sound day trip from Te Anau with small-group stops, a 2-hour cruise, and wildlife spotting, plus hotel pickup and morning tea.
“Small group, we saw many full size bus tours and we were glad to be on our small Mercedes Sprinter Van. Our tour guide Gary was great. He is very knowledgeable about geography and the area. We enjoyed his commentary a lot. The tour stoRead more”
Cruise Milford Sound on a modern catamaran with indoor-outdoor decks, live skipper commentary, wildlife chances, and waterfall closeness.
“The boat was really comfortable with lots of seating options both inside and out. We initially sat inside on the lower deck at the front of the boat then after only a few minutes the doors were opened to allow access to the external front viewing area which provided fabulous views. I'd highly recommend this, weather permitting of course. There was plenty of close up visits to various waterfalls and we actually went out quite a distance into the Tasman sea as conditions were good. We even enjoyed getting a soaking at one waterfall on the way back. There was great running commentary from the Skipper, complimentary tea and coffee…”
Premium glass-roof coach to Milford Sound from Queenstown, with scenic stops, a 2-hour cruise, wildlife spotting, and multilingual commentary.
“Our guide Yoda was phenomenal and was a walking encyclopedia. Definitely recommend this amazing experience !!!”
Boutique Milford Sound small-boat cruise for wildlife and close-up waterfalls, with hot drinks included and an informative skipper.
“Amazing scenery. A must do. It rained while we were on board and this, I feel, improved the experience as we got to witness hundreds, if not thousands of flowing waterfalls. Staff were friendly, complimentary hot drinks on board which was very welcome in the cool weather.”
Te Anau to Milford Sound by coach and catamaran, with photo stops, nature walks, and a picnic lunch included.
“well organized, nice bus and boat. affordable way to experience this magnificent place. there were at least two buses of 50-60 people that met up with boat. so there are a lot of people but it's a very large boat. bagged lunch provided with chicken pie. free hot drinks. overall good value. I got on at Te Anau. queenstown is an extra 4-5 hours on bus!!! I suggest spending a night or two in Te Anau, nice little town.”
Small-group Milford Sound day from Te Anau with a 2-hour cruise, native-forest walks, and short scenic stops, all with expert guides.
“I thoroughly enjoyed this day trip to Milford Sound and highly recommend Trips and Tramps. We had a small group of 7 people which was great. It was a stunning blue sky sunny day. Phil, our driver and guide was awesome, helpful, friendly, good sense of humor and knowledgable about the area and fauna. He took us on a couple of lovely nature hikes, and we had some great photo stops along the way. Overall, a well organized and relaxing day and fun to meet the other guests. I highly recommend this trip!”
Ride from Queenstown to Milford Sound by coach, then cruise the fiord by catamaran with lunch, coffee, and plenty of photo stops.
“Driver gave a very monotonous and zero energy tour. Seems like he’s overworked. Poor guy. Other than that the sites were good however raining. He also mentioned that he was indeed overworked and couldnt wait to go home 😂 honest of him. Wished we had a different driver so we can have a better experience.”
From the fiords to the geothermal belt, sorted by what you want to do with the day.
