Premium Milford Sound Tour, Cruise and Lunch from Te Anau

based on 289 reviews

Duration:9 hours (approx.)
Location: Fiordland & Milford Sound, South Island

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Premium small group tour including boutique Milford Sound cruise onboard TripAdvisors No.1 rated cruise operator, Cruise Milford, and picnic lunch from Te Anau. There is no better way to see this famous attraction.

Highlights:
• Milford Sound Cruise with Cruise Milford
• Fiordland National Park
• Lake Te Anau, Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes, Hollyford River, Homer Tunnel and Mitre Peak
• Wildlife Spotting

While the destinations you will be visiting are truly spectacular, Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, guides, the journey and the little details that set our tours well apart. Secret stops, wildlife viewings, specially designed vehicles and many other pleasant surprises ensure our tours are an experience to remember.

Our tours are 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.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

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. Eglinton 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 Walk
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.
4. 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. 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.
5.
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.
Climbing in altitude we go deeper into the Darran Mountains where the views require another stop to admire and take photos. We are also entering the area where Kea (the world 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 while hearing the incredible history and stories. Emerging from the tunnel the valley descends sharply down 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 Milfo
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. Pops View Look Out
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.
11. 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.
12. Milford Sound
rd (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 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 meters out of the sea and the waterfalls cascading from the ancient rainforest high in the mountains. This cruise is unbeatable.

ADDITIONAL INFO

CANCELLATION POLICY

Posted By : Pinaki_R
The vehicle was too small fr 16 people ! I had to sit in the corner if the last row and thts not a good place fr a 3 hour drive through the mountains 😡 we were two persons and they shld hv kept a separate seat for us as we were getting up in the last pickup in Te Anau

Everything else was as normal nothing special ! Food was ordinary .

Colin our guide was excellent nd extremely knowledgable . Awesome driving skills too 👍🏻
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-09 16:52:03

Posted By : Diane R
We thought this tour originated in Te Anau, the advertising certainly suggests that but we were the last aboard a tour from Queenstown. To start the tour ran 35 minutes late. Passengers had spread out with bags and coats on seats and we took the only seats available at the back where we had no windows to see out of. I raised this with the driver at our first stop at Mirror Lakes and he just shrugged and said we don’t allocate seats and I don’t know the layout of all the buses. Another passenger offered to sit up front and one of us got to sit beside a window in a single seat. Have a look at the photo for my view for the entire trip in. We had one quick toilet stop at Knobs Flats and another quick stop at Monkey Creek. All other stops we just drove past with no explanation obviously because the bus was late setting out. Four passengers chose to fly home and we both had a window seat on a very quick drive back to Te Anau with no stops at all. This tour was a gift from our daughter and we took it to have a break from driving and to access all the secret stops we were promised. That didn’t happen and the seats were small and uncomfortable for a long stint without a stop. The cruise and lunch were fine but I was so disappointed it was hard to enjoy it. We are both in our 70’s and this will be our last trip to NZ. So disappointed that it was spoiled and we missed out on seeing what we were told is possibly the most scenic drive in NZ.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-30 16:24:19

Posted By : kenneth1968
Jeff. A true trooper of a guide who goes well out of his way to ensure we are all well take care of and all our interests are met. He takes extra care, time, warmth and willingness to take really nice pictures of all the families withing rhe group.
A most appreciated gentleman with a heart of gold and a great nature and spirit.
I would highly recommend this small group tour with a Goldern Guide like Jeff.
Many thanks for the most memorable family trip we have had since we started coming to the South island in 2007. See you next visit for Doubtful Sound!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-30 06:15:17

Posted By : RobertG_K
Great tour !! Ted was great and we were very glad we started the tour in Te Anau ad it was a VERY long day for the folks coming from Queenstown. Highly recommend
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-25 18:22:19

Posted By : Boya_W
The view was great but unfortunately we went on a sunny day… Great weather means less waterfalls. We only saw 4-5 waterfalls along the way. My friend went to the Milford Sound in the rainy season and saw thousands of waterfalls.

My parents and I will have to do this tour again someday in the rainy season. But we were also very lucky to see 6 or so dolphins on our way back on the boat.

Very nice tour guide though. Thanks to him we got to know about the ruby red kiwi fruit and we bought a lot of them to eat during our travels. Yum yum.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-23 00:20:41

Posted By : Miodrag_P
We had a great time on smaller busses and boats, which allowed for a quieter trip, and allowed us to make more steps closer to beautiful views.

Huuuuuge props and thank you to Collen (hope I spelled that right, the Welsh guide and driver) who was with us the whole way, being super enthused about everything, being very informative and fun! He made this into a 5 stat experience (give this man a raise!)

With that said:
Milford sound is advertised as the greatest thing in NZ, perhaps the world - and we did have a great time, truly, but I do think there are better experiences in NZ.
Still if you want to do one tour, this is the one(we did doubtful the day before and this was much better). I'd imagine an overnight trip is even better - you get to sleep on the water, stargaze, go kayaking maybe.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-19 16:34:04

Posted By : Liz_B
Absolutely fantastic!! Lots of stops along the way for photo opportunities and the scenery is spectacular. Small group was great as not too many people getting on and off the bus each time. Lunch provided in individual bags had a good selection and was more than enough. Snacks also provided. Abby our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information along the way. Would definitely recommend this tour!!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-06 14:18:55

Posted By : ashutosh67
Loved the experience. Very professionally run. The guide, Mr Abhi who also drove the bus was friendly, knowledgeable and extended a helping hand when the tourist needed one. I
I strongly recommend this particular tour to the tourists.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-05 20:42:02

Posted By : Dina_S
We had a great tour there and back! We had twelve people in our van, which was a manageable number. Our guide, Courtney, stopped along the way for us to take pictures, trying to avoid the huge numbers of big tour buses. The cruise itself was on a smaller boat, allowing us to get close to the waterfalls (even spinning so people on both sides could get photos.) Be prepared for rain in Milford Sound, but that makes better waterfalls.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-27 14:40:08

Posted By : rfloresb
A wonderful experience, the place is very beautiful, and our guide was perfect!! The car is very comfortable and all activities were well coordinated
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-04-27 02:47:18