Premium Milford Sound Small Group Tour, Cruise & Picnic Lunch from Queenstown

Overview

Available languages

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Milford Sound Tour & Cruise, this small group, fully-guided day trip combines the amazing return journey to Milford Sound with a boutique Milford Sound Cruise. Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge, and run in modern, comfortable minibuses that are packed with extras, ensuring your comfort and safety.

Description

Highlights:

Boutique Milford Sound Cruise
Fiordland National Park
Lake Te Anau, Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Hollyford River, Homer Tunnel & Mitre Peak
Wildlife Spotting

Itinerary:

1. Queenstown - Your tour starts in the stunning city of Queenstown. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.

2. Lake Wakatipu & Devil's Staircase – Departing Queenstown we wind our way around Lake Wakatipu and through Devil's Staircase, with amazing views of ‘The Remarkables’ Mountain Range and the lake.

3. Lake Te Anau – After more amazing mountain, river and farmland views we arrive in Te Anau, home to Lake Te Anau, New Zealand’s second largest lake. While in this idyllic town we will stop for a break and maybe meet some of the local animals or wildlife. Continuing along the lake we stop at Te Anau Downs, the starting point for the Milford Track, to hear the stories and admire the views.

4. Eglington Valley – Leaving Te Anau and entering Fiordland National Park we stop in Eglinton Valley. With views worthy of Lord of the Rings, this valley follows the path of an ancient glacier through Fiordland. One of the first major attractions as you enter the park, it really sets the scene for a journey that only get more impressive the deeper you get.

5. Mirror Lakes – Our next stop on this epic adventure is Mirror Lakes for a short stroll to see the famous reflections of the Earl Mountains. Get the right day, take a good picture and no one with be able to tell which way is the right way up for the photo.

6. Lake Gunn – Continuing along the Milford Road we come across Lake Gunn. Named after a famous explorer and popular for fishing, often we will stop at Lake Gunn for some photos and to enjoy the peace.

7. Hollyford River & Falls Creek – A short drive away we start passing the Hollyford River a gorgeous and powerful river full of large boulders and rapids. Feeding into the river at Falls Creek is the first of our extremely impressive waterfalls of the area, one of many to come.

8. Darran Mountains – Climbing in altitude we go deeper into the Darran Mountains and these views require another stop to admire and take photos. We are also entering the area where Kea (the world’s largest alpine parrot) like to live. Start keeping an eye out for these large, cheeky and colourful birds that never fail to thrill and entertain when found.

9. Homer Tunnel – To make our way back down towards the sea we enter the mind-blowing hand-built Homer Tunnel, hearing the incredible history and stories. Emerging from the tunnel the valley descends sharply towards Milford Sound and on a rainy-day you will see hundreds of waterfalls cascading down the mountain side.

10. Milford Sound – Following the valleys to the sea we arrive at Milford Sound where you will board your cruise! Our Milford Cruise partners offer a boutique cruise on a smaller boat which is less crowded and a crew that offers a much more informative and personal tour of Milford Sound. The smaller boat means you get closer to the wildlife and nature including the New Zealand fur seals basking on the rocks, massive rock faces rising for hundreds of metres out of the sea and the waterfalls cascading from an ancient rainforest high in the mountains. This cruise is unbeatable.

11. Mitre Peak – While on the boat cruise you will be able to marvel at the awe-inspiring Mitre Peak, the iconic Milford Sound mountain, with its steep triangular peak rising high up above the reflective waters of the Milford Sound.

12. Pop's View Lookout – Next we pull over to admire the elevated amazing views of the divide in the Southern Alps, close to the start of the Routeburn Track. While here the guide will tell you the stories of ancient Maori explorers.

13. Queenstown – Sadly we must start to head back to Queenstown but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip and many stops and breaks along the way.

Please note: Individual and total weight restrictions apply to specific aircraft and flights. Maximum weight limit 116 KG

Cancellation Policy

Terms: Tours will only run if at least 5 people have booked on the tour, we reserves the right to alter the tour due to weather or operational needs.

A full refund will be issued for cancellations made a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Small Group & Fully Guided Tour

Cruise Entry

Picnic Lunch

Water available & snacks provided

Picnic lunch for infants (0-3)

Pickup from hotels not listed

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Options

Reviews

4.92

3,028 reviews

2845

143

10/10 highly recommend
catherinesZ1992DC,,Feb 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Our Milford Sound Trip was an absolute highlight of our New Zealand travels. Faolán was a brilliant tour guide, who made sure everyone felt included and informed. It was clear he was passionate about the area and was very informative about local history, while having a funny edge that made the long journey feel short. The boat itself was fantastic, due it being a small vessel which insured no one was fighting for the perfect picture - there was even complimentary drinks!! Highly recommend to anyone! Thanks 🙏🏻
Scenic Adventure, Amazing Guide, and Milford Wonders
joy2026,,Feb 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
I love Cheeky Kiwi! This was my second time using this tour service, and my group went to Milford Sound with Joseph. He is a wonderful guide—skilled at driving, attentive, and full of knowledge. Along the way, he pointed out highlights, shared fascinating stories behind the scenery before we reached Milford, and even introduced us to the local birds. It was such an awesome experience. To top it off, Joseph arranged a delicious picnic lunch for us, which made the day even more cool. The boat ride was also incredible—we got to see seals and dolphins along the way. Truly unforgettable! A must visit destination in the South Island and take a tour if you are not driving there.
Fabulous visit to Milford Sound
John O,,Feb 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Excellent experience overall, we really enjoyed our visit to Milford sound. The tour was very professionally run, with lots of stops to catch the beautiful scenery on the route as well to get a coffee. A very good lunch was provided with snacks and water. The cruise was on a smaller boat, with drinks provided. This was really good, we got lots of chances to take photos of the sensational views in Milford Sound. It was a long day but very worthwhile.
Well worth it
Nishan J,,Feb 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Faolin was a fantastic driver and tour guide, highly recommended ended! Everything ran on time and the Milford sound cruise itself was very nice.
Beautiful scenery along the way in addition to the legendary Milford Sound. Excellent tour.
lynnesA4691XQ,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Wonderful guides full of information & anecdotes. The sun didn’t smile on us, so we missed out on the scenic flight return, but the Sound was stunning even in the mist.
Great Tour Guide and Experience
126katez,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
It was great experience, beautiful and stunning views! Mary is very informative and friendly also a great story teller. We stopped at multiple nice view spots along the way to Milford Sound. The van was comfy and lots of drinks and snacks provided. Do remember to gear up for the weather and water fall and keep warm. Highly recommend the tour and trip!
Great day trip
sanjeev k,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
Wonderful boat ride in the fjord. Well organized trip although the drive was long (4 hours each way) but lots to see along the way.
It’s a long day but the...
Nancy W,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00
It’s a long day but the scenery and learning about the geological history is well worth it. The timing of stops for bathroom breaks and photo ops are well distributed. If I’m ever back in Queenstown, I do it again.
Great time, Benny was Great
Scenic56383837479,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Fantastic time with Benny was great took very good care of all the customers! Very informative and very friendly, comfortable seating as well. The trip was also planned very well all in all a good trip even with tough weather
Awesome experience! Great customer service.
N6724ZWleslies,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
This tour was awesome. The small size made it very nice and it was great to be in a nice van rather than a huge bus. Rob was an excellent guide with lots of information to share about the area and all the things we were seeing in Milford Sound and the Fiordland. Had a stressful experience of leaving my wallet on the bus, because it had fallen out, special shout out to Matilda who emailed me back right away in the morning and put out the message to the team. Another huge shout out to Glen who found my wallet in the van he was driving and gave me great direction on when to meet for pickup. I appreciate all of you!