Premium Milford Sound Small Group Tour & Cruise from Queenstown
Description
Premium small group tour including a boutique Milford Sound cruise designed for an immersive viewing experience, and picnic lunch from Queenstown. There is no better way to see this most famous of attractions! Highlights: • Milford Sound Cruise • Fiordland National Park • Lake Te Anau, Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Hollyford River, Homer Tunnel & Mitre Peak • Wildlife Spotting While the destinations you will be visiting are truly spectacular, Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, our guides, the journey and little details that set our tours apart. Secret stops, wildlife viewings, specially designed vehicles and other pleasant surprises ensure our tours are an experience to remember. Our tours are led by our passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing stories and background knowledge, and run in modern, comfortable minibuses that are packed with extras, ensuring your comfort and safety.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour starts in the stunning city of Queenstown. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.
Departing Queenstown we wind our way around Lake Wakatipu, with amazing views of ‘The Remarkables’ Mountain Range and the lake.
Continuing around the lake we will pass through Devil’s Staircase. This elevated windy part of the road is famous for dramatic photos and setting the scene for the day to come.
After more amazing mountain, river and farmland views we arrive in Te Anau, home to Lake Te Anau, New Zealand’s second largest lake. While in this idyllic town we will stop for a break and maybe meet some of the local animals or wildlife. Continuing along the lake we stop at Te Anau Downs, the starting point for the Milford Track, to hear the stories and admire the views.
Leaving Te Anau and entering Fiordland National Park we stop in Eglinton Valley. With views worthy of Lord of the Rings, this valley follows the path of an ancient glacier through Fiordland. One of the first major attractions as you enter the park, it really sets the scene for a journey that only get more impressive the deeper you get.
Our next stop on this epic adventure is Mirror Lakes for a short stroll to see the famous reflections of the Earl Mountains. Get the right day, take a good picture and no one with be able to tell which way is the right way up for the photo.
Continuing along the Milford Road we come across Lake Gunn. Named after a famous explorer and popular for fishing, often we will stop at Lake Gunn for some photos and to enjoy the peace.
A short drive away we start passing the Hollyford River a gorgeous and powerful river full of large boulders and rapids. Feeding into the river at Falls Creek is the first of our extremely impressive waterfalls of the area, one of many to come.
Climbing in altitude we go deeper into the Darran Mountains and these views require another stop to admire and take photos. We are also entering the area where Kea (the world’s largest alpine parrot) like to live. Start keeping an eye out for these large, cheeky and colourful birds that never fail to thrill and entertain when found.
To make our way back down towards the sea we enter the mind-blowing hand-built Homer Tunnel, hearing the incredible history and stories. Emerging from the tunnel the valley descends sharply towards Milford Sound and on a rainy-day hundreds of waterfalls cascading down the mountain side.
Following the valleys to the sea we arrive at Milford Sound where you will board your cruise with Cruise Milford (the No. 1 Cruise operator in Milford Sound on TripAdvisor).
While on the boat cruise you will be able to marvel at the awe-inspiring Mitre Peak, the iconic Milford Sound mountain, with its steep triangular peak rising high up above the reflective waters of the Milford Sound.
Next we pull over to admire the elevated amazing views of the divide in the Southern Alps, close to the start of the Routeburn Track. While here the guide will tell you the stories of ancient Maori explorers.
Sadly we must start to head back to Queenstown but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip and many stops and breaks along the way.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
*If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point. You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minutes prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Flights are always 'On Request' until confirmed with our partner airline
- Scenic flights cannot be confirmed without full names and weights of all travellers. Scenic flight weight restrictions are 130 KG
- If our regular flight operator is unavailable, we may be able to arrange an alternative operator; however, this could be at an additional cost
- Children aged 7 years and below are required to travel in a child safety car seat. You can hire seats ($20NZD per seat) or you can provide your own
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
- Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair.
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Please advise any dietary requirements per person at time of booking
Reviews(3,466)
Our guide Shu was amazing and everything was really well planned. Really enjoyed the tour!!! Being in a small group also made it nice and easy :)
We really enjoyed this tour, it is worth the money. It is the best tour, can be rated number 1.
Very fun, Danny was very entertaining and made the long ride go by fast with his great soundtrack. Beautiful sights that you have to experience with your own eyes.
Kristina was a wonderful guide and the entire experience was breathtaking, informative and a lot of fun. Meataxe the Kea was the icing on the cake! Thankyou
One word amazing, too good from booking to pick up till drop off, made memorable experience, Kristina is an awesome tour guide, very knowledgeable and friendly. Will book with Cheeky kiwi again in future
Great experience, Kristina is a friendly guide with great driving skill and awesome story teller also
We had a really good day on the Milford Sound Tour What we loved most was our tour guide (an easy-going Indian gentleman whose name I unfortunately can’t recall). He was genuinely lovely, relaxed, and we had some great chats along the way, which made the long drive feel really enjoyable rather than just transport. The scenery is obviously next level—absolutely stunning the entire way there. The trip was well organised, with enough stops to break things up, comfy seating on the bus, plenty of water and snacks provided, and solid driving throughout. The little bonus stop at a secluded beach to skim stones was a highlight and a really nice unexpected touch. The onboard WiFi was a nice idea too, even if it didn’t work brilliantly. Only minor downside was the lunch—it was fine, but the chickpea salad situation wasn’t exactly a crowd favourite. Still, overall a great experience and well worth doing for the scenery and the ease of the whole day. Thanks
This tour was spectacular! Milford Sound is a must! We had perfect weather! Stunning waterfalls! Thus tour was perfect!
Totally worth the trip. We saw beautiful sites throughout the tour leading to the main attraction Milford sounds and at each stop our tour guide who was experienced using cameras was eager and more than happy to take gorgeous pictures of us and the scenery.
Enjoyed a lovely day visiting fiordland with Danny. Van was comfortable, sites magnificent and tour guide was informative and efficient. Picnic lunch was substantial and delicious.
