Milford Sound Premium Coach & Cruise from Queenstown with Lunch

Overview

Available languages

German

Portuguese

Japanese

English

Chinese (China)

French

Spanish

12 hours 30 minutes

Mobile ticket

The best way to experience Milford Sound from Queenstown. We take care of the driving while you sit back and enjoy the stunning views from our premium coaches with panoramic windows, glass roofs, and USB charging ports. Your friendly driver shares stories about the area's history and unique ecology, with well-timed stops to snap photos of the amazing views. Our free multi-lingual commentary app is available on both the Coach and Cruise in eight languages.

Arrive in Milford Sound feeling refreshed and ready to cruise the fiord. Get ready for unobstructed views of thundering waterfalls and the towering cliff faces. Our premium Nature Cruise comes with options to pre-order a picnic lunch or choose the To Kai buffet on selected departures.

This trip takes care of all the transportation, including round-trip travel from Queenstown to Milford Sound and a seamless connection to your cruise. All you have to do is enjoy the experience.

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Please advise of your country of origin at the time of booking

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Sunscreen and insect repellent advisable

Appropriate child restraints are NOT provided by the operator. These must be provided by the parent or caregiver - without this you may be turned away and unable to travel - please be prepared.

Please make sure you arrive at least 15mins before your departure time.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Multi-lingual app for commentary available: App Store and Google Play search Southern Discoveries

Informative commentary provided by local coach driver

Return transport from Queenstown to Milford Sound on premium glass-roof coach

USB charging ports on board coach

Milford Sound Nature Cruise of up to 2 hours

FREE tea and coffee onboard the cruise

Spot diverse wildlife while on the cruise

Freshly prepared Lunch

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)

Appropriate child restraints are not provided by the operator and must be supplied by yourselves.

What To Expect

6.30am Coach pick-up from Southern Discoveries Visitor Centre (if you selected the 6.30am tour option) 7.00am Coach pick-up from Southern Discoveries Visitor Centre (if you selected the 7.00am tour option) • Travel on a premium glass-roof coach, equipped with reclining seats, extra legroom, air-conditioning •USB charging ports and onboard toilet • Experienced, local coach drivers provide engaging and informative commentary, and show you the best short walks and photo stops along the Milford Road • Coach connects with our Milford Sound Cruise • FREE tea and coffee

Admission Not Applicable

Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand, sits on the shores of the South Island’s Lake Wakatipu. It's from here you will set off on a day trip with Milford Sound's original Cruise operator, Southern Discoveries, from Queenstown into Milford Sound to enjoy a beautiful experience of Milford Sound on a premium, low-emission coach with a delicious & freshly cooked international style buffet onboard your cruise. Discover the native wildlife, towering waterfalls and majestic mountains of the fiords in Milford Sound.

15 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Options

7:00am Departure with Buffet

8:30am Departure with Picnic

6:30am Departure with Picnic

Reviews

4.67

519 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

415

Well worth it, bus was...
Danielle S,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Well worth it, bus was clean and comfortable, tour guide friendly and knowledgeable. Buffet was surprisingly good. Milford Sound is stunning!
Over-rated Milford Sound
Katherine C,
Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Viator
3.00
We felt like sheep herded along. So many people! Hand sanitiser would have been good to have on hand. The buffet lunch was definitely not worth the money. There was plenty of food and a good selection, but it was dry and tasteless. The best thing about the food was the fruit platter. Definitely needed another toilet stop on the way back. Many ladies were crossing their legs and then had to cue for toilets, but apparently nothing was open by the time we came back. The bus driver was very friendly and all of the staff were lovely and the captain of the boat was wonderful. I think there were much better ways to spend a day in Queenstown and Milford Sound was over-rated. I would recommend an over-night stop-over in Te Anau to make the journey more pleasurable if you are going to go. The bus will pick you up from there. It was much more relaxing to go by bus than having to navigate the roads. To be fair, the bus driver stopped 3 times on the way for photo opportunities which was nice.
Not sure if I’ll recommend
Rhonda I,
Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Viator
2.00
The cruise people: Charlotte & boat driver were very knowledgeable, professional & pleasant. They did an amazing job. Three people in the bus: Gary, Elli & Peter. Gary & Alice when not announcing the areas we passed by were so loud talking, we now know Ellie’s personal life. I believe it was not appropriate to loudly talk, non stop instead of telling us about the destination. If she has nothing to tell us about it, & if she wanted to talk to the driver non stop, do it appropriately without us; the customer would hear the loud talking & Laughing! Non stop. Elli was nice, but was very annoying with her personal story telling to Gary, the driver. I’ve traveled so many times, took tours with different merchants touring the destination, that was the 1st time I’ve experienced the tour guide was loud & behavior was not acceptable. It diminishes the goodness on her. Because of these two, the tour was become a two star.
Fantastic trip
Aravinda S,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Fantastic trip. Chris the driver was fabulous . He entertained us with a variety of stories about Arrowtown, Wanaka lake and Queenstown.
Awesome day quest
Robbie k,
Oct 31, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Amazing experience, if you ever come to NZ this needs to be done you won’t regret it. Absolutely breathtaking and our tour guy Stan was a bloody pissa of a bloke 🤣
If you want stunning...
Fabrizio M,
Oct 29, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
If you want stunning views and high quality food, this is the tour for you. Shael was a great tour guide and very informative.
Enjoyed trips
Johnny L,
Oct 28, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00
The bus driver is really nice, but it would be great if breakfast were included. Imagine starting the day with a warm croissant and a steaming cup of coffee as we roll down the highway. It would make the journey feel more comfortable and enjoyable. Plus, sharing a meal with fellow passengers could foster a sense of camaraderie. Everyone could exchange stories and laughter, making the trip memorable. A little gesture like this could turn an ordinary bus ride into a delightful experience for all.
Scenery is amazing. Good...
Karen C,
Oct 27, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Scenery is amazing. Good way to see the country on the coach trip to Milford Sound we were lucky to see a Kiwi in the wild
Poor Communication
Paige P,
Oct 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
1.00
The weather did not cooperate for us to take the trip. Completely understandable. I do not fault them for that and that is not contributing to my review. The poor review is due to the lack of communication with the cancellation. I received no e-mail, and no messages through the app. They stated that they called me - however all I received on my end was a call that rang for about half a second, not even allowing me to answer with no voicemail (and no indication it was them calling). Ourselves, and multiple other customers proceeded to show up packed and ready at 7am to be told it was cancelled. The most frustrating part was that I messaged the company leading up to the excursion trying to confirm… no response. The tickets for the booking were also sent to me the day before - which is after they said it was cancelled. Not being able to make the trip was disappointing, but being hit with the news when showing up made the ordeal all the more disheartening.
The road to Milford Sound
Janet A,
Oct 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
We had an excellent coach driver and cruise captain. Both very knowledgeable and kept us well informed.