Queenstown: Milford Sound Flight & Cruise with Lunch
Two hours in the air and water, seeing Milford Sound from both sides
You fly 35 minutes over the Southern Alps to Milford Sound, seeing Coronet Peak, the Shotover River, and Fiordland's highest peaks. After landing, you board a nature cruise capped at 150 passengers that explores the fiord's edges, passing Bowen Falls and Mitre Peak from the water. Lunch and hotel pickup are included, and the return flight retraces the route back to Queenstown. Plan for a full day out: the flight and cruise together take most of your daylight hours.
Step-by-step itinerary
Milford Sound flight and cruise
- Meet pilot at Air Milford base
- Pre-flight briefing
- Scenic flight over Southern Alps
- View Coronet Peak ski field
- Fly over Shotover River and Skippers Canyon
- Fly over Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu
- Fly over Routeburn and Hollyford valleys
- Fly over Southern Alps main divide
- View Mt Tutoko and glaciers
- Fly full length of Milford Sound fiord
- View Mitre Peak
- Land at Milford Sound
- Board Milford Sound Nature Cruise
- Cruise full length of fiord to Tasman Sea
- View Bowen Falls waterfall
- View Sutherland Falls from flight
- Flight back over Southern Alps and valleys
- Fly over Lake Te Anau
- Fly over Walter Peak station
- View Remarkables and Queenstown
- Land back at Air Milford base
- Coronet Peak passing by
- Routeburn Track passing by
- Fiordland National Park passing by
- Milford Sound passing by
- Mitre Peak passing by
- Bowen Falls 5m
- Lake Wakatipu passing by
- Lake Te Anau passing by
What’s included
Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from centrally located Queenstown hotels, the 35-minute scenic flight to Milford Sound with live pilot commentary, the Milford Sound Nature Cruise with reserved seating (capped at 150 passengers), lunch, and coffee and tea. The return flight retraces the route back to Queenstown, with an optional short bush walk through native beech forest if time allows.
Times
- Every day 11:30
Before you book
Operated by Air Milford
Prices and times updated today
Traveler reviews
The experience
The moment the small plane lifts off from Queenstown, you realize how different this view is going to be. Coronet Peak slides beneath you first (one of New Zealand's main ski fields), and then the Shotover River comes into focus, the same river where gold was discovered in the 1860s and became the world's second-richest gold-bearing waterway after Alaska's Klondike. Your pilot narrates the whole thing live, so you're not just looking down. You're learning as you go. The 35-minute flight path traces over the Routeburn and Hollyford valleys, dense beech forest that hikers spend three days crossing on one of New Zealand's great walks, and then you cross the main divide of the Southern Alps into Fiordland National Park.
That's when the scale hits you. Mt Tutoko rises over 8,900 feet, and the Donne and Age glaciers spread across the high country like something from another planet. Then the fiord itself comes into view: Milford Sound stretches out below, and you can see why people come here. The cliffs rise over a mile high in places, sheer rock faces that drop straight into water, and Mitre Peak sits at the center of it all, a 5,560-foot needle of stone rising directly out of the fiord with over a mile of vertical gain. The pilot descends the full length of the sound, right out toward the Tasman Sea, before turning back to land at the dock.
After you step off the plane, your pilot walks you to the boat. The Nature Cruise keeps numbers capped at 150 passengers, which means the boat can actually move into the nooks and crannies along the fiord's edge: nudging up to sheer rock faces so you can see the flora and fauna in detail. During the cruise you'll pass Bowen Falls, one of Milford Sound's two permanent waterfalls at 530 feet, and if there's been recent rain, you might spot hundreds of temporary waterfalls pouring off the cliffs. The boat traverses the full length of the fiord again, this time from the water, so you get the landscape from a completely different angle. Lunch is included, along with coffee and tea, and the whole day (flight there, cruise, flight back) gives you both perspectives on the same extraordinary place.
The return flight retraces the route in reverse. You pass the Sutherland Falls, New Zealand's highest waterfall at 1,900 feet, then cross back over the Greenstone and Caples valleys, their dense forest a reminder of how much of this landscape is untouched. Lake Te Anau appears to the south, New Zealand's second-largest lake, and then Lake Wakatipu comes into view (46 miles long and up to 1,250 feet deep) with Queenstown sitting on its shores. The Walter Peak high country station, one of New Zealand's largest merino sheep farms, passes below, and then the Remarkable mountain range and the town itself before you land back at the Air Milford base for drop-off to your hotel.
Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to see Milford Sound from both the air and the water in one day without arranging transport or managing the timing yourself. The flight and cruise together take most of your daylight hours, which is what makes both perspectives possible in a single outing.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (2 to 12 years); Infant (under 2): free.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
How long is the flight to Milford Sound?
35 minutes each way. The total experience (flight there, cruise, and flight back) takes most of the day.
What's included in the price?
The scenic flight with live pilot commentary, the Milford Sound Nature Cruise, lunch, coffee and tea, and hotel pickup and drop-off from centrally located Queenstown hotels.
How many people go on the cruise?
Numbers are capped at 150 passengers, which allows the boat to move into smaller areas along the fiord and examine the landscape in detail.
What if the weather is bad?
The tour is subject to favorable weather conditions. If it's cancelled due to poor weather, you can choose an alternative date or get a full refund.
Do I need to be fit for this tour?
No, it's suitable for all physical fitness levels. The tour is wheelchair accessible, and infants can travel on a parent's lap with an infant lap belt.
What should I bring?
Bring a jacket and your camera. The weather can change quickly in Fiordland, and you'll want to capture the views from both the air and the water.
Can I see waterfalls on the cruise?
Yes. Bowen Falls, one of Milford Sound's two permanent waterfalls at 530 feet, is visible during the cruise. After rainfall, hundreds of temporary waterfalls cascade down the cliffs.
Is there a dietary option for lunch?
Yes, advise any specific dietary requirements when you book.
Queenstown: Milford Sound Flight & Cruise with Lunch
5h · EN
from NZ$ 957.69 per person
≈ US$ 550 in your currency
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