Rudyard Kipling thought of Milford Sound as stepping into a postcard come to life, which is probably why he crowned it the 8th wonder! Imagine towering waterfalls rushing down emerald forests, sheer cliffs reaching for the clouds, and a mirror-like fjord reflecting the scenery. Milford Sound tours are the perfect way to experience the raw beauty of New Zealand.
Choose between day trips, boat cruises, and scenic flights to get started on your Milford Sound adventure.
You have three locations from where you can take a Milford Sound tour: Queenstown, Te Anau, and Milford Sound. We've compared all three options to help you pick the perfect tour.
There are three different types of Milford Sound tours to choose from: day trips, boat cruises, and flight cruises. Let's break it down further, shall we?
You have the option to start day trips from Te Anau or Queenstown. These tours are great for folks coming from out of town to explore Milford Sound.
These tours are a great option for folks in Milford Sound to experience the beauty of the Fiordland National Park.
Scenic flight cruises start from Queenstown and are a good fit for folks who want a premium travel to and exploration of Milford Sound.
Explore the world-famous Milford Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks, with scenic landscapes and diverse ecosystems, attracting hikers from around the globe. You'll get to trek this track on your day trip tour.
Milford Sound tour prices start at NZ$125 and can go up to NZ$1,364, depending on the inclusions and type of tour you choose.
There are three types of Milford Sound tours you can choose from. Day trips are the most convenient way to explore the fjord, if you are starting from the city. It includes return transfers to and from the city, a tour guide, and a boat cruise of Milford Sound; prices start at NZ$245. Boat cruises are the most affordable option for folks who plan to drive to Milford Sound. You get a 2-hour cruise on a luxury boat and lunch onboard, starting at NZ$125. Flight cruises are a unique way to explore Milford Sound, with one-way or round trip flights to the fjord, boat cruise, and a tour guide. These tours are more expensive, with prices starting at NZ$645.
In most cases, you can cancel your tour up to 24 hours before your experience begins and get a full refund issued. Some tours require you to cancel up to 48 hours before the experience to get a refund.
A Milford Sound tour is the best way to experience the beauty of the 8th wonder of the world, without having to worry about commutes or missing out on special landmarks along the way. Most tours come with options for return transfer to Te Anau or Queenstown, a tour guide, and the opportunity to explore Milford Sound attractions like Homer Tunnel, Lake Gunn, Milford Track, Mitre Peak & more. Choose between day trips, boat cruises, and flight cruises depending on your budget, and get ready for a hassle-free exploration of New Zealand.
The duration of your tour depends on the tour type and inclusions. Day trips take an average of 12 hours, including returns. A flight cruise will take close to 5 hours, including returns. A boat cruise will take you 2 hours.
Yes, all Milford Sound tours are kid-friendly. Tours with hikes may not be the best idea for children under the age of 8, as they require mild to moderate physical activity for an extended period.
Flight tours and boat cruises are wheelchair friendly. However, Milford Track hikes that are part of some day tours are not recommended for folks with reduced mobility.
You will pass by several landmarks on your way from Queenstown or Te Anau to Milford Sound. Explore the Homer Tunnel, Lake Gunn, Mt. Aspiring National Park, and more on your Milford Sound tour.
The driver "Gordon" gave us a very pleasant trip with entertaining stories, stops with beautiful panoramas ... and a dream cruise that met our expectations . The schedules were all respected. Thank you, I highly recommend
Good evening, a little difficult to find the meeting point and especially to find the bus company. It should be specified that the meal is included in the day. Very nice experience and fabulous day. Thank you for everything. Yours sincerely, Dominique Jean-Jacques and Sandra
Great activity. Lovely place and Brendon was really informative and funny.
Ticketing was excellent and the scenery was magnificent
EXCELLENT DRIVER AND BREATHTAKING VIEWS
Very punctual tour. The driver was happy and knowledgeable with her commentary and a very good driver. Foggy day but we saw the waterfalls on the way back. Great day and recommend everyone do at least once in their lives.
It was an amazing experience cruising through the beautiful mountains and waterfalls.
It was a good day! Cruise was 2 hours, not 3, but that was adequate. Bus travel was somewhat shorter than advertised. All that aside, it was a very good day. RealNZ was a great provider! Thanks.
Bus driver friendly and informative. Felt very safe with his driving. Majestic scenery and so many interesting land formations on both bus and boatrip.
Amazing nature, good information! Good to go there early in the morning before it gets to crowded. Some hints: - the meeting at 8.30 am is a bit to early, we only left from Te Anau at 9 am. - I didn't know about the included lunch, would have been good to announce it.
The bus driver Scarlet was exyremely informative and made us feel welcome. The boat trip was great even though it was drizzling
It was a unique experience. The bus trip to Milford Sound with stops in between, e.g. Mirror Lakes, was a great opportunity to take some unique photos. The boat trip in Milford Sound in fine weather was great. We sailed very close to a waterfall. Simply fantastic
Great weather, great buys driver who gave out fantastic information.
Bus driver was excellent giving us excellent commentary on the area, cruise was excellent as again was the commentary,
Inclusions
Full-day tour to Milford Sound from Te Anau
2-hour Milford Sound cruise
English-speaking driver/guide
Round-trip transfers with stops for short walks
Complimentary tea & coffee on-board
Loved the small boat and that we could get close to the waterfall. My husband and I were happy to be able to stand in front of the boat while the boat was turning. Best experience of our trip! Thanks so much and for the skipper for all the information given during the tour.
A pro tip for future visitors
Ticketing was very easy and fhe small boat ride was really worth the amount paid.
The most surreal experience. Highly recommend. So so beautiful!!!!
Absolutely fantastic the smaller boat so much better and the crew where the best ticketing was so easy and they even kept in touch to let us know when we where expected aboard x our friends did it a few days earlier and had the same wonderful experience xx I recommend you go on the small boat you get closer to nature 👏❤️
It's a spectacular experience, a wonderful adventure in the heart of Mildford Sound! What's more, we were lucky enough to see some dolphins!
Crew was fantastic both in their knowledge and hospitality. They even helped us spot dolphins in the crazy rainy weather. Captain especially made sure everyone stayed safe onboard and the hot chocolate was like icing on cake. Ticketing experience and check in was quite smooth and hassle free
The entire experience was great starting from the booking to the ease of navigation to the place and check in.
really good !! Would recommend anytime. We saw Dolphins and the guide was amazing.
Wonderful trip in extraordinary scenery. Smaller ship, lesser people, better views.
Inclusions
2-hour Milford Sound cruise
Complimentary tea and coffee on board
Small boat cruise of up to 75 people
Live commentary on cruise
Milford Track Guided Walk (if option selected)
3.5-hour Milford Track guided walk
English-speaking guide for walk
Small group of up to 12 people for guided walk
Round-trip water taxi transfers from Deep Water Basin to Sandfly Point
Safety gear for guided walk
Smoothly driving Stunning view Nice service on the board
Informative commentary, such a beautiful, magical place to visit.
Well organized, super driver/guide Food could be better Coordination on WhatsApp would be appreciated to avoid misunderstandings for the pick up
Brian, the bus driver! A font of knowledge about what we saw along the way plus extra info on farming & fishing, very very interesting to get an insight on that aspect. Great sense of dry humour too. He is a very experienced driver! The ride and the boat trip were spectacular but Brian was the cherry on the cake! 🙂
Inclusions
Exclusions
All went perfectly. The drivers were cool and drove safely. We got good informations about the region and the Doubtful Sound. The stay in quiet without machines were fantastic.
Easy to buy tickets. Helpful and friendly staff
Inclusions
Full-day Doubtful Sound Wilderness tour
Cruise across Lake Manapouri
Coach trip over Wilmot Pass
Knowledgable nature guide
Informative commentary
Interpretation hand-out sheets in 5 languages: English, German, French, Spanish & Japanese
Complimentary tea & coffee
Exclusions
The nature was the best. Flight was fantastic. Cruise was OK, but better and bigger cruises also were available, but in more cost. The experience was incredible during my trip in New Zealand 😊😊. Thanks for headout for making everything better.
The flight was absolutely unique and we had two great pilots in Nikita and Jake. We found the cruise rather boring because there was simply too little to see. We've seen more exciting fjords.
Amazing experience, one of our favorite from the trip so far. We had perfect weather for the flight and boat trip and were able to see fur seals, penguins and get up close to the waterfalls.
Great experience. I would recommend to anyone.
Inclusions
Full-day or half-day tour of Milford Sound from Queenstown (based on option selected)
Small-group experience
Round-trip flight transfers from Queenstown (if option selected)
One-way coach to Milford Sound (if option selected)
Return flight transfer to Queenstown (if option selected)
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Live commentary
2-hour Milford Sound cruise
Complimentary tea, coffee, & water on cruise
Exclusions
Well organized, super driver/guide Food could be better Coordination on WhatsApp would be appreciated to avoid misunderstandings for the pick up
Tour was great and tour guide was exceptional. Full of interesting facts and humerous as well. He really made the tour for us. Please thank him. Luke
Absolutely wonderful! It was so nice to be a smaller group for this adventure. The little van was really confortable for the trip. Our guide Collin was awesome. His explanations on the culture and the region made the 5 hours to get there fly by and the stops were great to relax and enjoy fjordland park. 100% recommended.
Beautiful enrobe to Milford. The lady driving the our van was also very sweet
Inclusions
Small group guided tour
Tour guide
Round-trip transfers
Milford sound cruise
Cruise entry
Minibus
Start from Queenstown.
The following stops will be included on the way to and back from Milford Sound.
Minibus
Cruise
These are the sights you can look out for during the cruise:
Milford Sound
Mitre Peak
Pop's View Lookout
Return to Queenstown
The cruise itself was lovely along with a small group and lovely food and champagne. Highly recommended for a more intimate experience.
We enjoyed the whole experience starting with the lovely lady who helped me organise transport after I said I didn't need it. The driver Hygi was awesome dealing with an older vehicle and a non working headset. The people on the cruise were excellent and friendly and the cruise was awesome. The hardest part was that as I am a larger person, the seatbelt was extremely tight and very uncomfortable. Please remember that not everyone is tiny.
The entire day from the pickup in Queenstown to return. The cruise team were excellent. The scene fantastic. Plus our driver to and from Queenstown
Everything was is wonderfull and magical. Thank you
Awesome experience. Very comfortable. Excellent guide.
Best explanations blue sky and lots of dolphins. What luck
Wonderful way to experience the beauty of the Fiords!
Inclusions
2.5-hour Milford Sound cruise
Expert nature guide
Small group experience
Live commentary on cruise
Curated canape menu
A glass of Mumm Champagne
Reserved seating
Round-trip transfers from Queenstown or Te Anau (based on option selected)
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
