Milford Sound bus tours from Queenstown are the big coaches that run the whole road for you, glass roofs overhead, with a cruise waiting at the fiord. They are the cheapest way there without a car.
The most-booked coach of all: pickup in central Queenstown, lunch for everyone but infants, tea and hot water, and three viewing decks on the boat. Twelve hours out and back.
From $151 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Departs 88 Beach Street in an air-conditioned glass-roof coach. A nature guide narrates in English, and you get the 2-hour Signature cruise. Bring snacks, or buy them at the bar on the boat.
From $168 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Leaves from the InterCity stop. A local driver-guide, a glass roof and free WiFi, then a 1 hour 45 minute catamaran cruise. Add lunch when you book if you want it; tips are extra.
From $170 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 7:20am start from Athol Street, with hotel transfers from selected places. Short stops on the way in, a scenic cruise and a picnic lunch at the fiord. The coach seats up to 48.
From $201 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Rated 4.7 on 4,145 reviews, with lunch, tea and hot water, photo stops, short walks and three viewing decks on the boat.
Check availabilityA bus tour here is a full-size coach, with a driver who narrates as you go, on a fixed timetable from a stop in town. It leaves early, drives round the lake to Te Anau and up the Milford Road, and puts you on a cruise at the fiord. You are back in Queenstown 12 to 13 hours after you left.
The coaches are built for the road. Several have glass roofs, so you can see the peaks straight above you in the valleys, and some carry WiFi. One takes up to 48.
It is the cheapest way to see the fiord from Queenstown without driving yourself. Fares run $151 to $201 a person, with the cruise in every one.
A 15-seat van from Queenstown costs $215 to $250. The coaches cost $151 to $201 for the same road and a cruise of about the same length. For a family of four, that gap pays for a night in Te Anau.
The glass-roof coaches were designed for this road. You look up at the walls of the valley rather than out at the first hundred metres of forest.
Coaches keep to a timetable, and the operator books the cruise for you. If snow or a slip closes the road, the operator refunds or moves you.
The best-selling coach and the 7:20am coach put lunch in the fare. Ellie S. called the picnic on the 7:20am coach decent, and the stops before the fiord worth the long day.
The route and the boat are often the same. The difference is how many people share the day, and what that does to the stops.
| A coach | A 15-seat van | |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | Up to 48 on one | 15 at most |
| Pickup | A stop in town, or selected hotels | Hotels and stops around town |
| Stops | Fixed by the timetable | More often, and chosen by the guide |
| Roof | Glass on most | Glass on one |
| Lunch | On some, or as an option | On every one |
| Fare, per person | $151 to $201 | $215 to $250 |
If price matters most, take the coach. If you want the guide's attention and fewer people at each stop, compare Milford Sound small group tours.
An air-conditioned coach from Beach Street, commentary in English from a nature guide, a 30-minute break in Te Anau and a 2-hour cruise.
Check availabilityOur guide to beating the crowds explains why coaches arrive together, and what that means at the boat.
Every other way to go from town is on Milford Sound tours from Queenstown.
Would a van or a flight suit you better? Every tour is compared on Milford Sound Tours.