Milford Sound Premium Small-Group Tour with Cruise from Queenstown

Queenstown to Te Anau through Southland

The day begins with pickup at selected hotels and stops in Queenstown and Frankton, then the van heads south along Lake Wakatipu and across the rolling farmland of Southland. Your guide shares stories of the region, its sheep and deer farms and its early settlers during this scenic two-hour drive, a calm start before the drama of the mountains.

The first break is in Te Anau, a lakeside town on Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the South Island and the gateway to Fiordland. You have about half an hour for coffee, a stroll by the water and photographs. Many travellers compare a Milford Sound tour from Queenstown with one from Te Anau; this route gives you both the long scenic approach and a relaxed stop in town on the way there and back.

Fiordland National Park and the Milford Road

Beyond Te Anau you enter Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest national park and part of the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Area. The Milford Road, about 120 km long, is often called one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It follows the wide, glacier-carved Eglinton Valley with its golden meadows and beech forest, passes the Mirror Lakes and climbs through alpine scenery to the Homer Tunnel, cut through solid granite.

Your guide stops at the best lookouts along the way, depending on weather and road conditions, for short walks and photos of snow-capped peaks, waterfalls and rainforest. The kea, New Zealand's cheeky alpine parrot, is often seen near the tunnel. With a small group, stops are quicker and easier than on large coaches, which leaves more time to enjoy the scenery.

Milford Sound nature cruise

Milford Sound, Piopiotahi in Māori, is a fiord carved by glaciers and running about 15 km from the deep head of the inlet to the Tasman Sea. Here you board a boat for a 1 hr 45 min nature cruise, longer than the standard short cruises, which takes you along the full length of the fiord past Mitre Peak, rising almost straight out of the water, and sheer cliffs covered in rainforest.

The boat goes close to powerful waterfalls such as Stirling Falls, where you can feel the spray on deck, and a nature guide on board explains the geology and wildlife. Your picnic lunch is enjoyed during the day. Many visitors ask the best time to visit Milford Sound: sunny days show the peaks clearly, while rainy days create hundreds of temporary waterfalls, so the fiord is beautiful in any weather.

Wildlife and scenery of the fiord

Milford Sound shelters New Zealand fur seals, which often rest on the rocks near the entrance of the fiord, and bottlenose dolphins are regularly seen swimming alongside boats. In some seasons you may also spot Fiordland crested penguins on the shore. The deep dark water, coloured by tannins from the forest, creates a layer of fresh water above the sea water that supports unusual marine life.

Above the water, the walls of the fiord rise more than a kilometre, with hanging valleys and long ribbons of water falling from the heights. Wildlife sightings depend on nature and are never guaranteed, but the scenery alone makes the trip one of the highlights of any visit to New Zealand. Keep your camera ready throughout the cruise and on the return drive.

Return journey and choosing your option

After the cruise you rejoin the van for the return along the Milford Road, with a 15-minute break in Te Anau and time to rest as the landscape slowly changes back to farmland. The full day can last up to 13 hours, and you are dropped off at the same point where you were picked up in Queenstown.

Three options are available. The default option departs at 7:30 in a premium van. The glass-roof option departs at 6:30 in a custom-built van with a glass roof, for wide views of peaks and waterfalls on the Milford Road. The late departure at 8:30 runs from 21 December to the end of February. All include the same cruise, guide and picnic lunch, so choose the one that suits your plans.