Milford Sound Scenic Tour & Cruise
Small Group Milford Sound Day Tour
Join Altitude Tours for a top-rated small group Milford Sound Day Tour from Queenstown. Escape the crowds and get up close and personal with some of the most iconic scenery and wildlife in Fiordland.
Your Adventure Begins
Start your day by meeting our friendly local guide at or near your Queenstown accommodation. You’ll travel in style in a premium Mercedes van designed for touring with only 16 seats onboard. The first leg of our journey to Milford Sound transports you from Queenstown through the picturesque Southland farming country and the charming town of Te Anau, where we’ll make a brief stop by the lakeside for refreshments.
Welcome to the Fiordland National Park
From here, we welcome you to the Fiordland National Park and the renowned Milford Road. This corridor to the fjord unveils a different side of New Zealand, with its majestic mountains, winding rivers, and the cheeky Kea bird. Throughout the journey, your guide will make multiple stops for photo opportunities, short walks, and will entertain you with fascinating local facts and stories.
Milford Sound Adventure & Cruise
Upon reaching Milford Sound, embark on a nature cruise that takes you beneath the towering peaks of the fjord. This small boat cruise, accompanied by a knowledgeable onboard nature guide, allows you to explore the edges of the fjord, revealing its impressive waterfalls and unique wildlife, which may include dolphins, penguins, fur seals, and native birdlife.
The Journey Back
After your cruise, rejoin the van and enjoy the return journey to Queenstown. Sit back, relax, and take in the views. This day tour spans approximately 12-13 hours, and our smaller vehicles and attentive guide ensure your comfort and entertainment throughout the journey.
Choose to travel back to Queenstown by road, or upgrade to a scenic fixed-wing plane or helicopter flight for a spectacular 45-minute experience over the Southern Alps back to Queenstown.
Choose your departure from Queenstown:
- Departure One: 6.30am (Glass Roof Upgrade)
- Departure Two: 7.30am
7:30am Departure
6:30am Departure (Glass Roof Upgrade)
Spectacular Milford Sound day experience from Queenstown with glass roof van upgrade
TRANSPORT
Travel in premium Gold-class comfort.
Our Mercedes vans are fully equipped with panoramic windows extended legroom, leather interiors, and panoramic windows.
Our 6:30am departure includes a Glass-Roof upgrade maximising your views on this incredible day tour.
Milford Sound Tour FAQ's
Our Milford Sound Day Tours travel in premium Mercedes Sprinter vans with only 16 seats onboard. These vans have been designed for long-distance touring with extended legroom, modern interior, and those ever-important panoramic windows for amazing views!
Glass Roof Upgrade
The 6:30 a.m. departure guarantees travel in custom-built glass-roof top vans that have superior viewing at all angles. Choose this time slot to travel in these vehicles.
Yes of course! We can offer a pick-up in Te Anau and you can select this from the pickup list when you are going through the booking process online.
6:30am departure from Queenstown will pick up in Te Anau at 9:15am
7:30am departure from Queenstown will pick up in Te Anau at 10:15am
Traveling with kids is a lot of fun, and helps you embrace your inner child as you visit new places around the world.
Kids are able to travel with us to Milford Sound, however, as many of us in the team have children ourselves, this is not something we actively recommend. You will be traveling in the van for approx. 10 hours which can be a long time for small humans who love to run around, or may be prone to car sickness.
Our vehicles are 16 seaters, so this will be your maximum group size on the van, making for a more personal, small group experience.
Once you arrive in Milford Sound, we join a small boat nature cruise that can take up 60-75 people onboard, depending on the weather.
No, this is not true at all. We added this for some entertainment, good on you if you have spotted this and opened the answer. Here is a special promo code that will give you 10% off any tour. Use promo code ALT10.
There is no minimum age for this tour. It is of course a long day of travel which can be challenging for babies, and young children.
We can provide a pre-booked packed picnic lunch for $30 per person which will include a sandwich, fruit, and a range of snacks.
If you don’t choose this option we suggest bringing your own lunch. We do stop in Te Anau on the way, however, we cannot guarantee their lunch supplies and there is no food in Milford Sound or on the boat.
We partnered with two cruise operators, who are both small boat experiences in Milford Sound. They’ll provide a 2-hour cruise through the sound, getting up close to the towering waterfalls and providing informative commentary.
We make multiple stops enroute for coffee, at a cafe and bathroom stops, and there are bathroom facilities in the terminal at Milford Sound and on the boat.
We don’t want to give too much away! You’ll make a couple of cafe stops before getting to Fiordland, and along the Milford Road we’ll make multiple stops at scenic points. Our guides know the best spots on the day and will choose these based on being away from the crowds.
The wildlife changes each day and season, but if you’re lucky you’ll see seals, kea and an array of birdlife. We also quite commonly see dolphins and also have seen a baby humpback whale!
The road is very well looked after so is always in great condition. The conditions can change per season, in winter there will often be snow around at points that don’t see the sun – making it even more beautiful!
Absolutely! Our guides will explain the options for flybacks, and you can book on the day. Of course it would have to be a day where there is a flight going or enough people book to get a flight going, so booking in advance is the best way to guarantee availability.
If you were to drive straight there it would take approximately 4 hours, but how boring would that be? We make multiple stops enroute to take breaks and enjoy the stunning scenery so our journey to Milford Sound takes approximately 6 hours. Why not entertain yourself with our Milford Sound Car Bingo?!
We pick up from select Queenstown hotels and the main bus stop routes in Queenstown town centre and along Frankton Road. When booking, type in your accommodation and it will suggest the closest bus stop. If it doesn’t come up just check in with us and we’ll let you know where is closest for you!
Due to this being one of our most popular tours and wanting to be fair to all who join us we do not offer reserved seating. If you have a request we will do our best to accommodate but we cannot guarantee.
