Southern Discoveries - Queenstown Visitor Centre — Attraction in South Island

Milford Sound Coach and Cruise + Kayaking Experience from Queenstown Package: Awesome tour bus driver full of knowledge and great story teller. Amazing views of the mountains especially during the rain. The kayaking experience was the best decision because we got to be closer to the wildlife and it gave you that much more appreciation of the place. We were able to see the rare Fiorland Crested Penguin and even a seal who caught a barracuda and was playing around with it in the water! The views were breathtaking and definitely worth spending a day of your vacation!

TIME SPENT: We were picked up from our Hilton hotel at 7am and was dropped off at the Frankton bus terminal to be picked up by the Southern Discoveries coach bus by 7:30am. Stopped at Te Anau for a coffee break and arrived at Milford Sound for our 1pm cruise at about 12:30pm. The cruise was 2 hours long plus some time spent at the Underwater Observatory. With kayaking, we were picked up by another SD bus by about 5pm and dropped off back in Queenstown by 9:30pm. Yes, it's a long day. About 12 hours if just doing a cruise, and about 15 hours with kayaking. Worth it, though!

SUGGESTION: DO NOT CANCEL if rain is in the forecast for your tour date. In fact, PRAY THAT IT RAINS even just a little because you'll see so many more natural beauties on the way to and during your cruise on Milford Sound! The mountains are sooooo beautiful when it's active with thousands (literally) of waterfalls of all...

I did not have pleasant experience with this tour agency. Quick tip, whenever you book through a third party agency, make sure you go directly to the actual agency page to make sure that everything lines up with what the terms are with the actual tour agency you will be working with. The reason I say this is because from start to finish, this tour was disorganized. There was so much miscommunication between the third party that they used to attract customers and their actual website. Unfortunately, this company fails to warn buyers on these third-party sites of the possibility that the flight back will be canceled if enough individuals are booked to make it financially beneficial. The flight was "canceled" because of the "weather not being suitable to fly the plane," but in the same breath, tried to sell me a helicopter ride back for 995 NZd (~650 USD). No problem with this tactic as it is a business, but the lack of transparency is a serious issue as it displays a lack of respect for patrons' time and money. Otherwise, you are stuck riding a 5-hour bus ride back to Queenstown, looking at the same sites you did on the way up there. Did not get back to 8:30 pm when most of the other activities are long closed. Moreover, they don't offer a breakdown of how much will be returned if this happens. Therefore, they can choose to return whatever amount they deem suitable for them. Very disappointing day better off doing a shorter tour with...

The whole tour experience was great! Booked directly with Southern Discoveries and they handled all the transport from hotel to their visitor centre and then we're off to Milford Sound with a quick pick-up stop at Te Anau. We had the friendly Mr Roland who doubled up as both our coach driver and tour guide and he made sure we were all comfortable and enriched with trivia about some of the locations and in-nature viewpoints we drove pass/to.

After a long and close 3-4 hour drive, we reached the cruise centre and gosh - we were entranced by the beautiful natural spectacle of Milford Sound. As we boarded the cruise at lunch, we kicked off with the buffet spread and it was all delectable (note that I am Muslim and sought clarification if the meats were halal prior to booking, and thankfully they serve halal meat on board - though consumption is at your own discretion!).

We spend a good 1h 45mins on the cruise passing by all the waterfalls and fjords and came across dolphins too. The weather on that day was temperamental as we braved through light rain with heavy winds but that didn't stop many of us onboard from coming up to the viewpoints on the boat. It was a marvel and felt surreal to be up close to the waterfalls and Southern Discoveries made it all more comfortable thanks to their hospitality and great customer care. Don't miss this out if you're in Queenstown and want a day-free of...