Milford Sound Tour: Luxurious Small-Group Experience
5.0
27 Ratings
Te Anau
Embark on a luxurious full-day tour from Te Anau to Milford Sound. Enjoy a comfortable ride, guided commentary, nature walks, and a two-hour nature cruise with dining options. Leave no footprints as the tour offsets its emissions with native tree planting.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Te Anau Downs - Following departure form Te Anau, we have a 25min drive to Te Anau Downs. If the weather is appropriate, we stop here for a photo and sightseeing looking across Lake Te Anau and down the Middle Fjord.
- Mirror Lakes Walk - Following a 20min drive, we arrive at Mirror Lakes. This short 2-minute nature walk on well formed tracks and boardwalks will have you at the tranquil Mirror Lakes, the backdrop of the Earl Mountains behind them. This is a challenge for any travelling photographer to capture the essence of the lakes - their mirror reflection.
- Eglinton Valley - Eglinton Valley is a 5min drive from Mirror Lakes and offers a stunning contrast of green, native bush covered mountains, against the foreground of tan fields. Guests will have a chance to explore the long lush fields. Beautiful at any time of the year.
- Lake Gunn - It is a 15min Drive from Eglinton Valley and we include a 5min toilet stop at Knobs Flat before arriving at Lake Gunn. Situated between the inflow and outflow of the Eglinton River, Lake Gunn is a perfect opportunity to stretch the legs again and enjoy the serene peace & quiet, only broken by surrounding birdsong.
- Lake Marian Track - A 15min drive from Lake Gunn, this is an optional nature walk of 25-minutes. From the carpark, we cross the roaring Hollyford River and walk up the track 10-minutes to the Marian Falls. You will enjoy stunning cascading falls & chasms.
- Monkey Creek - Monkey Creek is a 10min drive from Marian Falls carpark and is a common area to meet the Kea, a mountain parrot only found in the South Island of New Zealand. This is an opportunity to take a close up photo of these cheeky birds.
- Gertrude Saddle - 5mins drive from Monkey Creek, we stop at the start of the Gertrude Saddle track for a photo, stretch of the legs and hopefully another meeting with the cheeky Kea. This area is surrounded by tall mountains and on a wet day - cascading waterfalls.
- Milford Sound - We have a 30min drive to Milford Sound, but stop for another 20mins at The Chasm on the way. Our destination for the tour is the beautiful Milford Sound, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We spend 2.5 hours in Milford Sound, mostly aboard your nature cruise where you will experience the entire fjord, wildlife encounters, waterfalls and all the scenic beauty there is to see.
- Hollyford Track - On the return leg we have a 40min drive to this stop. We stop at the Hollyford Lookout, sitting high above the Hollyford Valley. Here you will get an appreciation for the glaciers that carved out these valleys. A photo opportunity and a chance to stretch the legs.
- Te Anau - After Hollyford Valley, we enjoy a quiet journey back to Te Anau, with an optional toilet stop again at Knobs Flat if needed. Our drive time is 70mins + drop-offs.
What's Included
- Bottled water
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Cruise ticket
- All fees and/or taxes
- Snacks
Additional Information
Travel the Milford Road in our luxurious & comfortable vehicle specially designed for small groups tours to Milford Sound. Modern comforts such as bucket leather seats, extended leg room, high performance air conditioning, small bag storage space, table trays & USB charging.
Guided by our local expert commentary, we take you to all the main photo & experience stops but also add in a couple of extra special ones not listed here. Three short & optional nature walks are included.
Upon arriving in Milford Sound, your two-hour nature cruise awaits you aboard our cruise partners premium boat. Boasting a full restaurant and bar, you can dine in comfortable seating enjoying local blue cod, wild venison or other NZ classics while the mountains, waterfalls and wildlife go by.
Our tour fully offsets its emissions with the planting of native trees for every guest and fully recyclable/compostable amenities. Our goal is to create memories, not footprints.
Location
Milford Road Merchant
Milford Road
This meeting point is at: Milford Road Merchant Cafe, 225 Milford Road, Te Anau.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(27 Ratings)
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724sandrad
Apr 6, 2024
Very best tour to Milford - Absolutely amazing day, really comfortable vehicle and Murray our tour guide and driver was amazing with his knowledge and great stops that big buses could not do.
Highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alex6028
Apr 1, 2024
THE BEST TOUR OPERATOR IN THE REGION - What a stunning day out with Luxe Tours. Murray was absolutely fantastic and very informative of the whole area. The bus is so comfortable and even has charging ports with cords for phones. Couldn't ask for a better day out. The best tour operator in the region. A huge congratulations to Toby & Katelyn
A Big thanks Ron & Sandy from Busselton WA Australia
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary_m
Mar 25, 2024
Memorable Day - This was the most comfortable excursion mini-van of my trip with thoughtful extras such as charging stations, towels, and water bottles. What I loved was stopping every 15 to 30 minutes to get out and experience the gorgeous landscape rather than just viewing through the window. Our guide was Murray, and he was entertaining, friendly, and helpful. Truly a memorable day.
Review provided by Viator
Olivinem
Mar 12, 2024
Milford Sound in style! - This was a fantastic day out. Luxe use small coaches (12 seater) but only take 9 passengers - so plenty of room for each person. There is great attention paid to comfort and detail with water and snack provided. There were plenty of stops on the way with excellent commentary by Murray (our driver and host) - his knowledge of the local area is extensive. The drive to Milford Sound was an adventure in its own right. Our cruise on Milford Sound was pre-organised with tables set aside specifically for Luxe customers and our pre-ordered meals delivered promptly. In all, a highly recommended tour. Murray our tour driver/guide delivered his commentary with humour and his apparent love of nature. Luxe Tours your company is amazing and you clearly have an understanding of what the customer wants and you clearly strive to achieve that and that you have done with flying colours. Murray you are awesome and I hope you and Luxe Tours continue to do great things. Wishing you a bright future in the travel industry.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Matt_t
Mar 8, 2024
Breathtaking experience - Murray was superb tour guide. Made us all feel welcome and relaxed, had a vast amount of knowledge of the areas we visited. Stopped of at some amazing places along the way to Milford sound which you would not get with the large tour buses, well worth doing this trip and I definitely would do it again. really enjoyed the surprise of the muffins, they were delicious:).
Review provided by Viator
Jeanne_w
Mar 7, 2024
Professional small group tour - Very knowledgeable, professional guide. Several stops on the way to Milford Sound and great to be in a small group. Muffins are amazing!
Review provided by Viator
Laurels746
Mar 4, 2024
A great Milford Sound experience - Murray,the tour driver went out of his way to make our trip informative and very enjoyable and the cruise was exceptional as well. Would highly recommend Luxe tours for the Milford Sound experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor