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.
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
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.
Reviews
926 reviews
Great boutique tour!
839electrag,Jul 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Hannah was wonderful and super informative. The stops were lovely, loved that we were part of such a smaller group. The boat tour was amazing!
Great tour guide, she had...
Leo H,Jul 7, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Great tour guide, she had loads of cool knowledge. Smooth journey, comfy bus and the most amazing views.
Awesome day out!
scottmM1527MV,Jul 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Shura was an awesome, friendly and info packed guide. The trip, drive, scenery to the boat was great. The trip out on the sound was incredible. Great experience for the family and no hassle, issues at any stage. Wonderful day, not adding photos as don’t want to ruin any of the adventure ahead for those about to book!
Great experience and guide
143danea,Jul 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great experience and visit of Milford sound. Small group a plus and our guide who I believe was named Barry was also great. He was very friendly and informative
Excellent day trip, well organised.
Elizabeth C,Jun 30, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent experience! Our guide, Andy, was brilliant from the start; welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. From the outset, Cheeky Kiwi’s communication was great. We travelled from Te Anau and on the day of pick up Cheeky Kiwi WhatsApp’d to let us know they would be ten mins late due to traffic from Queenstown. We were picked up from our accommodation and the vehicle was very comfortable with spacious leather seats and large windows to aid the views. The company faded even thought of providing squeeges and cloths even to help clear windows in case they steamed up during the drive - great forward planning! The seats all had our packed lunches on the seat when we arrived, including the various dietary arrangements annotated on luggage labels - nice attention to detail. The lunches themselves were great too. The journey to Milford Sound was smooth and informative with well timed photo stop opportunities. On arrival at Milford Sound, Andy collected the boat tickets and escorted us to the boat ensuring we all got there with zero stress. We were lucky with the weather but the boat trip was super. Informative and beautiful. The skipper and boat host were really helpful. It’s worth taking plenty of warm kit because it can be VERY chilly (if you go on deck) when you turn around to head back to port. Free tea, coffee and biscuits on the boat were great. Similarly, we had an efficient and interesting road trip back after the boat journey. I would highly recommend this company and also their guide, Andy.
Magical Milford Sound
Rhonda M,Jun 29, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Amazing! Our tour guide, Jess, provided lots of informative commentary about Milford Sound and New Zealand as the bus made its way to what is tagged as one of the eighth wonders of the world. We were so fortunate to experience snowfall and to make fantastic family memories. The sun came out as we arrived at the dock for our cruise on the Sound. Just breathtaking beauty. It was magical to spot rainbows in the waterfalls. This is a definite must do on any New Zealand itinerary.
Excellent small tour
davidmW7839EO,Jun 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing experience, Danny the guide was awesome and very entertaining. Excellent soundtrack! The smaller cruise ship was not cramped or overcrowded so we could enjoy the outdoor experience more.
The best way to do Milford Sound
jacobgoodlet,Jun 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Danny and Nicky were great guides (Nicky’s first day and she was already incredible!) and made the trip much more special. We left from Te Anau at 9:30am and were back by 5pm - definitely the way to go. We had a group of about 14, everyone was introduced to each other and we all chatted for a bit on the way to Milford. We made some great friends, it was definitely refreshing from the standard tours going around. The cruise was also great (about 2 hours in length), and the views and sights on the drive towards the cruise itself were spectacular. Would highly recommend for anyone and everyone wanting to experience Milford Sound.
Local knowledge makes the experience
samanthatravelbuggin,Jun 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our tour with Jeremy was amazing. The tour itself was lovely, but how could it not be driving from Te Anau to Milford Sound: Jeremy being our driver made it that much more special. Having a guide with such rich and varied experience in the region is an absolute asset to the trip, and his personal stake in the area, its biodiversity and conservation took the whole package to the next level. 10/10
We highly recommend this...
Laura A,Jun 18, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We highly recommend this tour. We’ve been before to Milford Sounds, but driving up ourselves. The experience is different when you’re going on a small tour, you have the time to see all the scenery, stop in beautiful spots recommended by the guide. And not worry at all, just enjoy.
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