Small Group Travel, Captain's VIP Cruise & Heli Flight 

The Captain's VIP Lounge is Southern Discoveries' exclusive Milford Sound experience. Southern Discoveries is the only Milford Sound operator with a private onboard room and viewing deck. Guests receive priority boarding, dedicated hosting and access to private onboard spaces, with all-inclusive hot and cold dishes and a range of beverages served throughout the cruise, while still being free to move around the vessel.

The Captain's VIP Lounge includes priority boarding, dedicated hosting throughout your cruise, exclusive access to the private lounge and private viewing deck, and all-inclusive hot and cold dishes with a range of beverages. You're free to enjoy your private spaces or move around the vessel as the fiord unfolds.

The helicopter flight from Milford Sound back to Queenstown takes approximately 35-45 minutes and includes an alpine landing. The route is subject to conditions on the day.

A helicopter offers incredible proximity to the terrain. You fly level with jagged mountain ridges, look down into isolated hanging valleys and past hanging glaciers, and cross the alpine passes between Milford Sound and the Wakatipu Basin on the way back to Queenstown.

Both take you back to Queenstown over Fiordland's mountains, the difference is the style of flying. The helicopter flies closer to the terrain, moving through valleys and around peaks and includes an alpine landing. The fixed-wing scenic flight offers wide window views across a broader sweep of the Southern Alps. It's a choice of how you'd like to see the landscape.

The road and flight legs are the same, a glass-roof Mercedes Sprinter to Milford Sound and a helicopter back to Queenstown. The difference is the cruise. This experience includes the Captain's VIP Lounge: a fully hosted cruise with private onboard spaces, priority boarding and all-inclusive hot and cold dishes with a range of beverages. The Discover More option is our longest cruise at two hours 15 minutes, with a Nature Guide and a picnic lunch. It's a choice of experience style.

Helicopter flights are weather dependent. If conditions aren't suitable for flying, you'll return to Queenstown by road instead.

Your road journey is in a glass-roof Mercedes Sprinter with a maximum of 12 guests, so there's plenty of room and closer interaction with your driver-guide. On the fiord, the Captain's VIP Lounge gives you private onboard spaces with dedicated hosting, while you're free to move around the vessel.

Allow approximately 8–9 hours for the full experience, including the road journey to Milford Sound, your Captain's VIP Lounge cruise and the helicopter flight back to Queenstown.

Current pricing is shown on this page and at checkout (live from our booking system). Your fare includes the small group glass-roof Mercedes Sprinter journey with driver-guide commentary, the Captain's VIP Lounge cruise with priority boarding, dedicated hosting and all-inclusive hot and cold dishes with a range of beverages, and the helicopter flight back to Queenstown.