Should I choose the Fly Cruise Fly
or Coach Cruise Fly?
Both tours end the same way. You’ll cruise beneath Mitre Peak. Waterfalls drop straight into the fiord around you.
It’s how you get there and back that makes these two tours feel completely different.
Here’s how they compare and why a Milford Sound Fly Cruise Fly is the one most popular adventure travellers book.
Fly Cruise Fly vs Coach Cruise Fly at a glance
Total time
About 4.5 hours
About 9-10 hours
Getting to Milford Sound
Scenic flight
Coach along the Milford Road
Getting back to Queenstown
Scenic flight
Scenic flight
Best for
Making the most of your time
Wanting the road trip and the flight
Fly Cruise Fly: the fastest and most popular way to experience Fiordland
Fly Cruise Fly is our most popular Milford Sound tour. Both legs are in the air aboard New Zealand’s most modern scenic flight fleet. Your return flight usually follows a different route to the outbound one. This means you see two distinct sides of Fiordland instead of retracing the same view twice.
In under five hours you’ll enjoy two scenic flights and a full Milford Sound cruise. You’ll be back in Queenstown with the rest of your day still ahead of you. It’s the easiest way to fit the very best of Fiordland into a single relaxed day.
Coach Cruise Fly: the classic Milford Road journey
Some travellers want the open road as much as the destination. Coach Cruise Fly is built for exactly that. You’ll travel to Milford Sound along the Milford Road. Your driver guide shares stories about the Eglinton Valley, Mirror Lakes and the Homer Tunnel, with key stops to take photos along the way.
After your Milford Sound cruise, you’ll skip the long drive home. Instead you’ll fly back to Queenstown. You get the classic road trip and a scenic flight in the same day. Just plan for a full day, closer to ten hours.
Which Milford Sound tour should I choose?
Ask yourself one simple question. Do you want to drive the Milford Road, or would you rather spend that time seeing more of Fiordland from the air?
If the drive is the appeal, Coach Cruise Fly is built for you. If you’d rather skip hours on the road and see more of Fiordland in less time, Fly Cruise Fly is the better fit.
Travelling for a special occasion? Our Private Charter Flight and VIP Cruise takes the Fly Cruise Fly experience and makes it entirely your own.
Continue planning your trip. Explore our complete Milford Sound Travel Guide for travel tips, tour comparisons, and expert advice.
Fly Cruise Fly and Coach Cruise Fly are two of the most popular Milford Sound tours from Queenstown. Fly Cruise Fly combines two scenic flights with a Milford Sound cruise in about four and a half hours. Coach Cruise Fly travels the Milford Road one way and returns to Queenstown by scenic flight in about nine to ten hours. Both tours include a Milford Sound nature cruise past Mitre Peak. Glenorchy Air operates both tours from Queenstown Airport. View all of our Milford Sound flights here ⟶
