Discover Milford Sound: Scenic One Day Tour from Queenstown

I booked a Milford Sound Cruise+Coach day tour (departing from Queenstown) on the Realnz official website, and the overall experience was great. On the way back, we temporarily switched from the bus to a small plane, which greatly shortened the travel time, and the scenery was absolutely stunning! Here’s a brief account of the trip～[Recommend]

When booking the day tour, you can choose the pick-up point. I originally chose the Frankton Bus Shelter, but after booking my accommodation, I found it was too far. The day before departure, I went to the Realnz office (88 Beach St) to change to the nearest pick-up point, and the staff there were very enthusiastic and efficient.

The bus picked us up on time in the morning. There were nearly 40 people on the bus, and with those who boarded later in Te Anau, there were more than 50 people in total, quite full. However, the seats were very comfortable, slightly tilted towards the windows, and the roof was also glass, offering beautiful views all the way [Not Recommended] The journey is quite long, from 7:05-12:45, with several stops for bathroom breaks/photo spots.

The driver and guide was an American guy named Luc, who was super nice. Probably due to his environmental science background in college, he shared a lot of knowledge about ecology and flora and fauna along the way.

We arrived at the port at 12:45, and our ship, the Sovereign, departed at 13:15. We first boarded the ship for lunch (boxed meal, the food was average, Western-style light meals, with an apple), then we could go up to the top deck. Today, there were only two waterfalls with not much water in Milford because it hadn’t rained for a long time [Disappointed] But under the sun, the lake color was very clear blue, the wind was not strong, and it felt comfortable.

The return trip by bus would take over four hours, but on the way, the driver mentioned that we could also choose to take a fixed-wing small plane (45 minutes, $499 per person) or a helicopter (90 minutes, landing three times for photos, possibly $1000 per person) back to Queenstown, and I was tempted! Although it was a sunny day with no significant waterfalls, the small plane could fly on a sunny day!

The helicopter required a minimum of four people, and we didn’t have enough, so we couldn’t take it [Laughing and Crying]

So, I tried a fixed-wing plane for the first time in my life, and really, strongly, recommend it! The scenery was absolutely stunning! The small plane wasn’t very shaky, and for those prone to motion sickness, I suggest wearing anti-motion sickness wristbands, which I tested and found effective.

The payment was made upon returning to Queenstown, with the staff coming up with a POS machine [Laughing and Crying]

It was a day full of surprises [Not Recommended][Not Recommended][Not Recommended]