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Full Day Milford Sound Tour: Small Group Experience from Queenstown
4.9
1,580 Ratings
Queenstown
Experience the breathtaking beauty of Milford Sound on a full-day small group tour from Queenstown. Travel in comfort, enjoy scenic stops, and take a small uncrowded cruise to admire the stunning scenery.
Duration:
13 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Lake Wakatipu - Start your day by meeting our friendly local guide at or near your Queenstown accommodation. You’ll travel in style in a premium Mercedes van designed for touring with only 16 seats onboard. The first leg of our journey to Milford Sound transports you from Queenstown through the picturesque Southland farming country and the charming town of Te Anau, where we’ll make a brief stop by the lakeside for refreshments.
What's Included
- On-board WiFi
- Convenient pick up and drop off locations around Queenstown
- Knowledgable and friendly local driver/guides
- 2-Hour nature cruise on Milford Sound
- Off-the-beaten track scenic photo stops en route
- Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
- Additional Snacks
- Bottled water
Additional Information
Milford Sound is arguably the most scenic destination in New Zealand and a must-see for any traveller. Whether seen in sunshine or rain, the incredible views are guaranteed to leave you awestruck. This is a small group tour for travellers seeking an all-inclusive, uniquely-kiwi, personalized trip to Milford Sound.
We keep things personal using our fleet of modern Mercedes vans. Enjoy your journey with only 16 people, in a vehicle with premium features such as leather seats, panoramic scenic windows, Wi-Fi and Spotify.
Let your Altitude Tours guide entertain you with in-depth knowledge of the area, as we travel from Queenstown through Te Anau and into the Fiordland National Park on the famous Milford Road. Enjoy many scenic photo stops at both famous locations, as well as our guide’s favourite off-the-beaten-track spots.
Enjoy a 2-hour small uncrowded cruise while taking in the incredible beauty that Milford Sound has to offer! You can also add on a picnic lunch to enjoy onboard.
- Please bring walking shoes, warm clothes and rain jacket.
- Please be aware that Milford Sound is a 5 hour drive from Queenstown (one-way with sightseeing stops). This is a full day excursion, and including the 2 hour cruise on the fjord, allow approximately 13 hours door to door.
- There is an option to include a packed picnic lunch. The default choice is chicken, however you can request a vegetarian lunch until 5pm the day prior.
- Please bring a reusable waterbottle on tour with us. There are multiple locations to refill during the day.
Location
Lake Wakatipu
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(1580 Ratings)
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Robin_w
Jun 23, 2024
Best possible way to spend the day - We only booked this guided tour two days in advance, having chosen to just go with whatever we could on short notice. What incredibly good luck that we ended up choosing Altitude! Our tour guide Shelly was absolutely incredible, she has a rich family history in the area and a clear passion for her work that made her an amazing guide, and she made sure we got to see all the best spots on the drive to the Sound. It’s a beautiful drive, I’m so glad I didn’t spend it cooped up in a noisy tour bus with thirty other people. The quick stop to meet the Kea was one of my personal highlights, they’re such beautiful and friendly birds and they were walking right up to us to say hi!
The cruise was no less astounding - we had dolphins swimming next to our boat and seals watching us from the rocks, and the views are genuinely unmatched. Our captain provided really wonderful commentary and got us up close to Sterling Falls - my absolute favourite part! Make sure to pack gloves and maybe an extra jacket for the ride home if you want to stand up at the front of the boat. It’s so worth it, but you will definitely get wet! (And cold.)
I really could not be happier with my experience, I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to see Milford Sound or even just get a feel for Queenstown and its surroundings and history.
Review provided by Viator
Michelle
Jun 22, 2024
1-2-3 WOW-ser!! - This was truly an amazing experience made all the better by our local guide Shelley. The scenery on the bus trip to Milford was simply “1-2-3 WOW”. On the sound itself we were fortunate to have up close encounters with bottle nose dolphins and baby fur seals. Shelley provided us with secret vantage points along the way and her personal connection to the Milford area made the trip all the more special. We learnt about the history and the significance of Māori culture while enjoying the scenery. Commentary was entertaining, funny and engaging. Great music choice for the return. It’s a long day trip but it went fast and all worth it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zoe_f
Jun 21, 2024
Great day trip from Queenstown - What a great day trip from Queenstown. Our tour guide Sinchan was upbeat and positive and made our tour to Milford Sound a great one! We were right on schedule all day. I appreciated the structure, small group size, and the way that Sinchan tailored the trip to each individuals’ needs. The boat ride was scenic and we were lucky it wasn’t raining. There were plenty of bathroom breaks and coffee stops built into the long drive to the Sound. Highly recommend this trip!
Review provided by Viator
Ashley_z
Jun 21, 2024
Peace and quiet - Such a beautiful landscape, well worth the drive out. Nev, our guide, was knowledgeable and very catering. I really like that it is a small group tour also.
Review provided by Viator
Lyndon_s
Jun 16, 2024
Small but awesome - Awesome trip to Milford Sound from Queenstown. We arranged for pickup at a bus stop close to our hotel. The tour starts early at around 6:30am and arrived back at around 7pm. We were able to stop and view/photograph some fantastic scenery before our boat trip. We even stopped to fill up our water bottles with flowing glacial water. No toilet in the van, but we stopped for toilet breaks along the way. Tommy our driver was very knowledgeable, informative and accommodating. He offered us umbrellas to use and to take pictures of us when we stopped for the scenery. The boat ride was stunning with a lot of waterfalls because of the rainy weather, but it was cold and foggy. There was only free coffee and cookies on the boat. You should bring your own snacks and lunch or buy their lunch, but it is only chicken sandwich. I would highly recommend this small group tour.
Review provided by Viator
Virgilio_g
Jun 16, 2024
Wonderful tour - Amazing tour! A must-do when in the Queenstown area. Skip the big-group tours- the extra money you may spend for this tour is money well-spent. We had a wonderful small group experience- it felt like a private tour. The boat tour of Milford Sound was also with a small group- so much better than the huge groups we witnessed on other, larger boats. Our guide James had a wealth of knowledge of the area, answered all our questions and made sure to stop at plenty of picturesque sights allowing us time to soak up the scenery and take photos. We would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Queenstown.
Review provided by Viator
Aaronko2541tz
Jun 14, 2024
Small group tour , roughly ten of us in a very comfortable van - Honestly one of, if not THE best , tours going out of Queenstown , Nev was outstanding and a constant source of fascinating information and laughs.
Goes without saying the scenery is world class and 100% worth it , you will spend your entire day going “ooooo , aaaahhh” and have a sore neck from looking around so much !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Skye_b
Jun 14, 2024
Scenic experience - This was a great experience, giving the chance for a lot of scenic stops with a friendly knowledgeable guide.
Review provided by Viator
Trek552571
Jun 19, 2024
Beautiful Trip - Great experience - beautiful views along the trip and at Milford Sound! We were a little disappointed that it was drizzling/raining during out trip but our guide had umbrellas for each stop and the rain allowed us to see lots and lots of waterfalls! The only suggestion I have - lots of windy roads driven pretty quickly so if you're prone to motion sickness, take medicine/a spit-up bag. Also, might want earbuds and your own music for the trip back. The Altitude tour was definitely the way to go!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabeth_s
Jun 17, 2024
Timing is everything! - Excellent day! Had sunshine, saw dolphins and kea’s. Drivers were very knowledgeable and a good storytellers. Would recommend this tour to others.
Review provided by Viator