Milford Sound tours from Queenstown take the whole road off your hands. You choose a long day by coach or van, with stops in the valleys, or a short one that flies over the mountains.
Fifteen seats, pickup at 6:30 or 7am, a boutique cruise and lunch, with water and snacks all day. Thirteen hours door to door. There is no restroom on the van, so the stops are planned for it.
From $215 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The best-selling big coach, collecting in central Queenstown or Te Anau: photo stops and short walks, a scenic cruise with three viewing decks, and lunch. Breakfast is yours to bring.
From $151 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A glass-roof coach from Beach Street with an English-speaking nature guide, a 30-minute break in Te Anau and a 2-hour nature cruise. Food and drinks are sold at the bar on board.
From $168 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A glass-roofed coach with free WiFi and a driver-guide, then 1 hour 45 minutes on a spacious catamaran. Twelve and a half hours in all. Lunch is an option you choose when you book.
From $170 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Leaves Athol Street at 7:20am in a glass-roof coach with WiFi, for up to 48 guests. About an hour and a half at the fiord, with the cruise and a picnic lunch. Tips are not in the fare.
From $201 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A premium Mercedes van for 15 at most, pickup around town, a nature cruise of 1 hour 45 minutes and a packed picnic. Thirteen hours out and back, with two hours of stops in the national park.
From $239 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The same 15-seat format in a glass-roof Mercedes Sprinter, so you see the peaks overhead. A 105-minute nature cruise and a packed picnic are in the fare; travel insurance is not.
From $250 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Swap the road for two 40-minute flights on different paths, with a 2-hour small-boat cruise between them. Hotel pickup, window seats promised, five hours in all. Food is not included.
From $428 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Fly from Queenstown airport, land at the fiord, walk a short stretch of beech forest, then a 1 hour 45 minute nature cruise and the flight home. A window seat for everyone; four and a half hours.
From $450 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four hours by helicopter from Queenstown, with a glacier or alpine landing on the way, in-flight commentary and a scenic cruise. A courtesy coach collects you from set points in town.
From $801 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Fifteen seats, a boutique cruise and lunch, rated 4.9 on 3,668 reviews. Pickup from selected hotels at 6:30 or 7am.
See this tourQueenstown is where most people stay, and it is a long way from the water. DOC puts the round trip at 600 km and 12 to 14 hours of driving. A tour from Queenstown takes that off your hands in one of two ways: a road day, most of them 11 to 13 hours, or a flight of about 40 minutes each way.
The road days follow the same route. You drive round the lake to Te Anau, stop for coffee, then take the Milford Road up the valleys and through the tunnel to the terminal. After about two hours at the fiord, most of it on the boat, you drive back the same way. The flights cross the mountains instead and put you on a cruise in under an hour.
Fares run $151 to $250 by road and $428 to $801 by air. Every road day includes the cruise, and most include lunch.
It is a mountain road with a one-lane tunnel, no fuel after Te Anau and little phone signal. Nathan said that letting someone else drive made the long coach day worth every cent. One traveller on the 15-seat day found the roads winding and the driver pushing hard to fit every stop in.
Road days stop in the Eglinton Valley and at the Mirror Lakes, and some at Monkey Creek. You do not have to know where to pull in, or where to park at the other end.
The operator books the sailing and it is in your fare, so you do not choose a boat or pay for parking. If the road closes, the operator moves or refunds the day.
A fly-cruise-fly day takes five hours, not thirteen. Some road days let you add a flight back; Mona paid extra to return by plane on the premium van day.
This is the choice most visitors from Queenstown face. It comes down to time, money and weather.
| A road day | A fly-cruise day | |
|---|---|---|
| Whole day | 11 to 13 hours on most | 4 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours |
| Getting there | Coach or van, about 4 to 5 hours each way | About 40 minutes each way |
| On the water | About 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours | 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours |
| Lunch | On most | Not included |
| If the weather turns | Usually runs | Flights may be rebooked or refunded |
| Fare, per person | $151 to $250 | $428 to $450 |
If you can spare only one day and want it to be light, fly. If you want the valleys and the lower fare, take the road, and read our guide to beating the crowds for when to arrive.
Photo stops, short walks, a scenic cruise with three viewing decks and lunch, rated 4.7 on 4,145 reviews. It also collects in Te Anau.
Check availabilityOur ranking of the best tours picks the strongest day from Queenstown in each format.
Would a Te Anau day or a cruise on its own suit you better? Every tour is compared on Milford Sound Tours.