Premium Milford Sound Small Group Tour, Cruise & Picnic Lunch from Te Anau
Overview
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Milford Sound Tour from Te Anau, this small group, fully-guided day trip combines the amazing return journey to Milford Sound with a boutique Milford Sound Cruise aboard the No.1 Trip Advisor rated cruise company, Cruise Milford. 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 packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety.
Description
Highlights:
Milford Sound Cruise with Cruise Milford
Fiordland National Park
Lake Te Anau, Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Hollyford River, Homer Tunnel & Mitre Peak
Wildlife Spotting
Itinerary:
1. Te Anau - Your tour starts in stunning idyllic town of Te Anau, after maybe meeting some of the local animals or wildlife we continue along the lake. Stopping at Te Anau Downs, the starting point for the Milford Track, you will be able to hear the stories and admire the views.
2. 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.
3. 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 will be able to tell which way is the right way up for the photo.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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) likes to live. Start keeping an eye out for these large, cheeky and colourful birds that never fail to thrill and entertain when found.
7. 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 hundreds of waterfalls can be seen cascading down the mountain side.
8. Milford Sound – Following the valleys to the sea we arrive at Milford Sound where you will board your cruise with Cruise Milford (the No. 1 Cruise operator in Milford Sound on TripAdvisor). The Cruise Milford experience offers a boutique cruise on a smaller boat which is less crowded and a crew that offers a much more informative and personal tourof 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 the ancient rainforest high in the mountains. This cruise is unbeatable.
9. 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.
10. The Chasm – After your cruise, do not fear the adventure is not over, there is the return journey with many more amazing stops. One of the stops during this journey (weather and timing dependent) is The Chasm. A spectacular bush walk and dramatic views of powerful waterfalls and water sculpted shapes in the rocks.
11. 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.
12. Te Anau – Sadly we must start to head back to Te Anau but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip and many stops and breaks along the way.
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
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Reviews
764 reviews
Definitely dressed in...
Dave M,,Feb 5, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Definitely dressed in layers and take your rain suit Our driver, Steve was very informative and quick to address our needs and tell us all about the Milford sound
Amazing scenic tour
Colette M,,Feb 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Scenic tour. Our guide is passionate of Te Anau so he provided a lot of information and made several stops for viewing and taking photos. A healthy lunch was provided.
Great tour. Highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi.
SteveKilpin,,Feb 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour, we had a great day. Our guide, Jeremy from Cheeky Kiwi, was really knowledgeable and had a good sense of humour. Even the rain could n’t spoil the day. Well chosen pull overs for views and photos. Plus a toilet stop. The Sound was breathtaking. Really good lunch provided by Cheeky Kiwi.
A great day out
Jill P,,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00A great day out . Stops on way to Milford Sound were good . Boat trip was really memorable . We had been told in advance that the weather was likely to be wet and chilly so had the right clothing . Our driver / guide was incredibly knowledgeable about the local area and NZ in general . Yummy picnic too .
Great day out.
Karen B,,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Pick up was on time. Our driver/guide, Steve, was excellent, sharing knowledge about the area and all we saw. Lots of stops and photo opportunities. Snacks and water were also provided along the way. The cruise was super, the smaller boat was able to get really close to the waterfalls and wildlife, we saw seals. The picnic lunch provided was excellent and hot drinks were complimentary on board the cruise. All in all we had an excellent experience and would highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi for a smaller more intimate tour.
Awesome guide and tour
lewisbW5620OX,,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Steve was an absolutely incredible guide. So knowledgeable, engaging, great driver, and made us feel looked after. Awesome tour overall
A Great Day Out
jillp495,,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a great day out . All very efficient . Stops on the way , a yummy picnic lunch and lovely boat trip . The weather was not brilliant , but we were warned and went with waterproofs and warm clothes so were fine. Our driver/guide Steve was really good , we all came back knowing so much more about the area and NZ in general .
A wonderful day out
karenbZ1495KR,,Feb 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The whole experience was fantastic from the start. We were picked up from our accommodation by our driver/guide Steve who was great. He was so knowledgeable about everything and really easy to listen to. There were only sixteen of us and we stopped a few times en route to Milford Sound but could have stopped more if we had asked. We were also suppled with water and snacks for the journey. At Milford Sound we were provided with a delicious picnic lunch, given our boarding passes and even shown to our boarding gate on the quay, what service! The cruise itself was super. We were on a smaller boat which wasn’t too busy. Our pilot kept us informed about what we were seeing. The weather wasn’t kind to us and the rain closed in as the cruise went on but the mist and clouds being so low made it so atmospheric. There was also complimentary hot drinks onboard which were very welcome as it was quite cold in the rain on the Sound. Coming back we made another few stops and then were dropped off at our accommodation. All in all it was an excellent day.
A super, well-planned...
Sarah K,,Jan 31, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00A super, well-planned tour and feel lucky to have had Steve as our guide. Super knowledgeable and provided lots of opportunities to capture the amazing landscape. The cruise was awesome and we were very lucky to have a lovely sunny day. Overall, a really fabulous day!
Great tour! Highly recommend!
Yen W,,Jan 30, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Steve our guide was very knowledgeable about the Fiordland National Park and provided great insights about what we saw on route to Milford Sound. We all had a lovely time with our small tour group. We saw dolphins playing near the hull of the boat, saw fur seals chilling on rocks and got up close and wet with the waterfalls. Lunch provided was also excellent!
From A$261.45
Te Anau, New Zealand
- Free cancellation
Reserve Now & Pay Later - available
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