Southern Discoveries - Queenstown Visitor Centre

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 driving and tour!

The best sail out on lake Wakatipu. On board restaurant, great facilties. Excellent views. Outside and inside views. Enough seating. A great price. Staff are great and knowledgeable. Thanks and see you again.

We went for the lunch cruise and everything was just so lovely. The beautiful scenery was stunning. The staff were fantastic, and the lunch was amazing. The photos are of the vegetarian option for 2. Sorry wasn’t quick enough to take a pic of the meat option as it was being instantly demolished! Huge servings. The captains’ commentary was very informative. Highly recommend. Thanks team for looking after us.

Highly recommend. Great crew, skipper and commentary. Great food and drinks range on board. The wine was good and cheese board was a bit skimpy for a group.

Our day trip to Milford Sound was spectacular. Keith, our driver, was a wealth of information about the areas on the way to Milford Sound. He was professional, friendly and helpful. He stopped along the way for some incredible scenery for us to capture.I recommend getting the buffet lunch, which was adequate. The Captain of the boat was funny and let everyone know when photo opportunities were coming. We were even very lucky to see dolphins. Loved our day and would recommend Southern Discoveries to everyone.

The cruise itself was nice and we saw seals and bottlenose dolphins. The waterfalls were also beautiful. The person narrating the trip spoke so softly no one could hear him. Also, his enthusiasm was that of an energy vampire. So monotoned. Sadly everyone seemed to miss about 90% of what was said. Also, the boat smelled like fried food they were cooking for the crew. We were on the top deck and found the smell overwhelming. That was a bummer. It was my third time to Milford Sound. I would still recommend this boat trip but just hope the host speaks up for others.

Roland our host was awesome, he provided us with informative commentary about spots along the way to Milford Sound and he cracked a couple of jokes along the way too. Milford Sound was absolutely spectacular, would recommend the buffet lunch on board the cruise. It was sensational. The cruise ship was 3 stories with spectacular views everywhere you look. Highly recommend.

Really fun journey! The driver was very friendly and educational on the coach and stopped us at various places along the route. Even saw two Kia! Very memorable.