What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Was an amazing experience...

  Candy W,May 1, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Was an amazing experience staff went above and beyond do yourself a favour and do it won’t regret it

• Doubtful Sound wilderness Overnight trip

  DonJamesNZ,Apr 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Wow wow wow. Unforgettable cruise of a lifetime. Weather was perfect in that it rained really hard for about 4 hrs then was beautifully fine for the rest of the time. We travelled with Realnz by bus 8.30am pickup,from Queenstown to Manapouri (2hrs), then by boat across Manapouri (3/4hr) which was really interesting. Bus over the Wilmont pass (in the rain 40mins) then onto the boat. We had a cabin with 2 single beds which was really comfortable and great value for money. The food on board was exceptional and the crew were very friendly, accomodating and knowledgeable. We arrived back in Queenstown 3:30pm the following day. My wife & I are in our 70’s and for us having travelled all around the world it was one of our highlights.

  

  

  

• Amazing overnight trip.

  Clay T,Apr 27, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Truly excellent experience. Being out in such remote beauty for evening sunset, overnight and early morning is amazing. The crew was excellent, food was very very good, cabins were clean and comfortable. Amazing! Even the bus ride across the pass was entertaining, informative and beautiful.

• Outstanding!

  Gabriele K,Apr 23, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  The team even organised perfect weather. We needed the sunhats rather than raincoats. The boat was opulently fitted out and the kitchen staff kept us well fed. Gabe's commentary was both entertaining and informative. Any and all questions were fully answered. This is a trip we would highly recommend.

  

• This was the trip of a...

  Robert J,Apr 23, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  This was the trip of a lifetime. Such a unique experience. The staff were wonderful; very pleasant and knowledgeable about Doubtful Sound. The food and drink offerings were phenomenal Highly recommended!

  

  

  

  

• How experience New Zealand's beautiful and remote Fiordland in comfort

  Greenfielder,Apr 13, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Doubtful Sound is longer than Milford Sound and much less accessible as to get to there you need to take a boat across Lake Manapouri and then a bus (which will form part of your travel package) over Wilmot Pass. For these reasons an overnight cruise package is preferable to a day trip as the latter will be rather rushed. Our cruise was with RealNZ aboard the Fiordland Navigator. Although it seems quite a large boat you are accommodated in private cabins and the maximum number of passengers is 52. We believe our trip was with a full complement of passengers and the boat never felt crowded. This was of course helped by the glorious (and we believe rather untypical) weather which meant that people happily spent a lot of time out on deck. The cabins are quite compact but still comfortable. The lack of space means that you are asked to only bring a small piece of hand luggage each on board and it is worth considering this in your planning. In our case we were able to leave the rest of our luggage in our parked hire car. Food and drink provision on board is good, with an excellent buffet dinner. Tea and coffee are available at all times - even through the night should you need them then. The itinerary will vary according to conditions, but involves travelling down the full length of Doubtful Sound and into several of the branches (or "Arms"). In our case we went part way down the sound and visited Crooked Arm first. This was where we had the opportunity to get closer to the water in one of three ways - tender, kayak or swimming. We took the tender but the kayaks were very popular, helped no doubt by the calm conditions. Photography can be more challenging from a kayak as there is a much higher risk of your camera getting soaked, so if you want to do both you need to have a waterproof bag or similar in which to keep your camera. One advantage of going on a tender boat is that the crew member on board also acts a guide so you have a much better understanding of what you're seeing. To temper expectations we have to say that we didn't see a lot of wildlife, possibly a downside of the really good weather. You should see seals, we had a single encounter with a dolphin, but unfortunately it was in the morning and the low sun was reflecting off the water just where the dolphin was, making it difficult to see. However, we were too busy soaking up the magnificent scenery to miss the wildlife too much and we most certainly did not come away disappointed. The thing about this trip is that you will have a different experience in different conditions, but it will still be enjoyable and dramatic. One big plus point of the trip, maybe helped by the weather, is it was a very friendly trip. At different times we ended up in conversations with different groups of fellow travellers and the trip was much enhanced by this. The crew were also friendly and helpful. To conclude our itinerary, we went down to Nee Islets at the point where the sound meets the Tasman Sea. Although the sky was blue the sea was a lot livelier there as there was a moderate wind. The Nee Islets are where you will find the seal colony, although it is possible in rougher conditions the boat may not go so close (and you aslo may not feeling like standing out on deck either!). From there we went into First Arm, a sheltered location where the boat was moored overnight. In the morning as we were having our breakfast we moved up to Hall Arm and at the end of that Arm the boat moored, shut down engines and generators and we all kept quiet to listen to the "Sound of Silence", broken only by a small waterfall and the sounds of Kea high in the mountains. Magical! This was a most memorable trip is highly recommended.

  

  

  

  

• Marvelous adventure and must do when in New Zealand

  rochelleforster,Apr 11, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This overnight cruise of the Doubtful Sound was the highlight of our 2 month trip to New Zealand. We went on the Wanderer, the small Real NZ boat that had about 28 passengers. This ship is the smaller one. We did have to share a bathroom but it worked out fine. Real NZ is very organized from leaving our car in the right overnight parking area to information, serving food etc. They told us to pack our own lunch if we wanted one as the cruise departs midday. We took a boat across Manapouri Lake for 50 minutes to then get on the correct bus (there is only 1 road built for the power station) to take us to our ship. The driver made a few stops, pointing out various views, trees, and so it took 45 minutes to the ship. Upon arrival, the crew served us cheese biscuits and tea/coffee, showed us our assigned rooms and reviewed safety tips. We started across Doubtful Sound and saw magnificent mountains, and it started to rain. There were lots of overhand so we could be outside but not be rained on. We were in room 15, which had twin beds. It was compact but comfortable with lots of hooks. Shortly thereafter, the staff served a cheese and appetizer platter with salamis, olives and lots of other small snacks. We continued past numerous waterfalls. While it was raining, the excursions to kayak, or get in the small boat and tour up close was still ongoing. I decided to go in the boat and was glad to have brought water shoes, a raincoat and lots of extra clothes as I got soaked all the way through. It was still great as our Naturalist, Alex was wonderful and showed us local plants, a 500 year old Rimu tree and tried to review under the trees so we would not get as wet. Dinner was served upon our return at 7:15 pm, a lovely meal of salmon and stargazer fish with potatoes, veggies, salad and pasta sides. We played cards, had a drink and went to bed early. On the next morning, we were up at 6:30, for coffee and watch clouded below the mountains, the sky turn dark to lighter and the mist move away as the sun came out. It was magical!. We spotted a fur seal, 2 sets of the endangered Fiordland crested penguins and even a dolphin pod. Alex said that this morning rated a 10 and was a rare occurrence. As the sun came up the scenery kept changing with majestic views of the mountains. Stupendous trip and a must do!

• Not to be missed!

  Mary F,Mar 31, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  It was an amazing experience. From start to finish very well organised. We were well looked after. Great information from Gabe. Amazing food. Great scenery. Not to be missed!

• Wow a NZ "must do", see my "hindsights"

  breta2015,Mar 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Wow...traveled the last 5 weeks from Cape Reinga to here....unbelievable!!! Gabe our host was terrific...food was great, beds were great, service was awesome. Below are my hindsights from a 1st timer. 1. Bring a bathing suit...kayaking, boat touring, or just jumping in to warm water....did not know these options so were left "high n dry" 2. Bring cash for tips...charges are card only so we did not bring cash with us and felt bed the crew put out a much deserved tip jar at the end of the trip. 3. For older folks like us, the parking lot is .5 mile away from the departure area so wear good shoes...on a hill..... 4. Bring waterproof, not water resistant clothes, regardless of what the weather forecast is. 5. Find a seat on the side of the boat crossing lake Manapouri facing front. 6. Sit in the front of the bus to Doubtful Sound. 7. Sandflies are bad everywhere EXCEPT on the cruise. 8. The cautionary advice about bringing snacks, we feel, are unwarranted because they have so much food!!!! 9. Have a water proof cover for your phone as the photography is best when it is wettest! 10. There are several live maps on the boat so you can see exactly where you are. 11. There is a dry room to hang your clothes.

  

  

  

  

• Magical

  tanyafB3823OJ,Mar 28, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was absolutely amazing words can’t express the beauty and photos just don’t do it justice Heaven on Earth 🥰🥰

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