An extended and leisurely cruise of Milford Sound to the Tasman Sea on a cruise designed for the free, independent traveler. Nature cruises have a relaxed and flexible itinerary designed to allow guests to see and experience what makes Milford Sound world renowned. Spend around two hours nudging into waterfalls, spotting wildlife and listening to the informative commentary from our specialist Nature Guide who mingles with guests. Keep a look out for wildlife including seals, dolphins and penguins.
If you wish to pre-purchase a picnic lunch, please contact the supplier directly after making your booking.
In total, the coach travel from Queenstown to Milford is around 5 hours. This includes with some viewing spot breaks along the way and a 20-30 minutes stop in Te Anau. For those travelling from Te Anau the journey is around 2.5 hours to Milford (one way). The cruise is 2 hours long.
Please note, the cruise will take place on board a wide selection of purpose built RealNZ boats.
Posted By : O3178QLkimberlyd
We took the coach from Te Anau. The scenery was beautiful and we made a few stops along the way. The cruise was just as outstanding, just an amazing place to see. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is because of the employees at the Te Anau Visitor's Center where we checked in. We had taken the Glow Worms tour the day before and arrived a little late from Queenstown due to traffic and parking in Te Anau. The older woman at the center was not friendly, she seemed annoyed that we were late, even though we arrived before anyone had boarded the boat. The next day we made sure to arrive an hour before the Milford Sound coach departed. We were told by the same person that we would board the bus at 9:40am and leave at 9:50am. When we hadn't left or even boarded by 9:50, I asked her why we hadn't boarded yet and she just said, not very politely, that we had to wait by the door and that we would board when they were ready. No explanation, no apology. I started to walk outside and she told me not to go outside, we had to wait inside, even though I saw other people walking around outside. She was just not very nice for someone in the tourism business. So overall, I would give five stars for the tour itself and the tour guides and two for the customer service we experienced at the visitor's center.
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Posted On : 2024-01-01 10:06:51 
Posted By : leamorsuryavanshi
A memorable experience for my family. A nice ending for year 2023. More to come :) The place is one worthy experience. Very peaceful and hope to see this again in the future.
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Posted On : 2023-12-31 12:56:47 
Posted By : Navigator26989938637
We were lucky enough to have Luke from Colorado, who was one of the best tour guides and coach drivers we've ever encountered. He was always polite, professional and personable. His commentary and knowledge was bang on and informative and he knew when to let us just rest and enjoy the extraordinary views. The tour itself was perfect in length, with the pitstops being just frequent enough and the sights spectacular. We will tell others of our great experience. Please pass on our thanks to Luke from the six Aussies from SA, that we really appreciated his time and efforts today.
Happy New Year to all!
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Posted On : 2023-12-30 02:24:58
Posted By : NyenKhing_L
We were in Milford sound about 28 years ago and this time, brought our daughters to visit. Then, we were told we ran into a typical rainy and foggy Milford Sound day with thousands of waterfall coming down after the rain. This time around, we were greeting by beautiful clear sunny day. Very different weather but each was uniquely beautiful.
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Posted On : 2023-12-30 01:41:44
Posted By : Karl_L
We really enjoyed the trip to Milford sound. The description we read about the trip weren’t complete. We didn’t realize there would be a 4 hr bus ride 2hr to and 2hr from get there. Our bus driver Nathan was great and we stopped a few times for photo ops. We would have liked more time on the boat. Overall it was a good experience.
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Posted On : 2023-12-24 16:23:17
Posted By : Michelle B
Fantastic bus driver/guide Pumbaa - he was funny, knowledgeable and highly skilled/experienced. The stops were brief and scenic.
The cruise was breathtaking. The only downside was the cruise narration was boring in comparison - and hard to hear.
The 50+ amazing waterfalls made up for it though!
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Posted On : 2023-12-24 04:37:28
Posted By : P9074XJdennisw
The coach ride to Milford sound from te anau was excellent with many stops for photos.The views were out of this world!The weather was great and the commentary by Danny the driver was also very informative and funny.The boat cruise was also very interesting and informative with a great commentary.We got lots of photos and had a great time.Would recommend going there when you are in the area!!Thankyou to RealNZ for great experience ???
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Posted On : 2023-12-05 21:01:59
Posted By : Veronica_W
The scenery was stunning, cruise was fantastic with a sky blue day ! Peanut the bus driver was a wealth of knowledge, caring and diplomatic when he needed to be. Excellent day thankyou !!
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Posted On : 2023-12-01 13:51:30
Posted By : izzyw704
Worth the 10 hours in a bus! Our guide Brian kept us entertained and informed the whole time. Couldn’t recommend it more. Milford Sound is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen
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Posted On : 2023-11-28 03:38:10
Posted By : 573pippah
Stunning! Milford sound is such a beautiful location filled with incredible wildlife, and this tour was a great way to experience so much. The bus was super comfortable, and I loved the big glass windows and roof. The driver was incredible giving just the right amount of interesting facts/commentry as we drove, and tips for what to do while in NZ. Stopped briefly in Te Anau for a great pie, then straight to Milford sound with a toilet stop and some great photo spots along the way. The boat tour was also excellent, plenty of space to sit, I would recommend sitting on the top, but make sure to bring some layers as it's a bit windy. The captain points out interesting landmarks and animals along the way. Would for sure go with RealNZ again to get to experience this incredible place.
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Posted On : 2023-11-16 02:39:21
