Milford Sound Fly Cruise Fly Ex Queenstown Review: Is It Worth It?

So, you’re thinking about seeing Milford Sound, that pretty famous place in New Zealand, and maybe you’ve looked at doing the “Fly Cruise Fly” thing from Queenstown? Well, you’re not alone! It’s almost a really popular option for good reason. But, is it seriously all it’s cracked up to be? That is what this is all about.

What is the ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ Experience?

Basically, the ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ option gets you from Queenstown to Milford Sound and back mostly in one piece. It involves a small plane flight to Milford Sound, a boat tour going around the fiord itself, and then almost another flight taking you back to Queenstown. This way you do skip, very much, a good long bus trip on those curvy roads, giving you lots more time to just gawk at some seriously incredible views. It’s, apparently, supposed to give you amazing scenery both coming and going, with, of course, that boat tour kind of smack in the middle.

The Scenic Flight: Prepare for Awe

The flight, like, itself is a massive draw for most people. Imagine looking down and seeing the Southern Alps stretching below you, so covered in snow or looking very dramatic with jagged rock faces. Then the plane flies right through the mountain valleys themselves – that are a little low at some points, apparently – before dropping right into Milford Sound. Very, very few experiences seriously beat that entrance. So, you would like your camera very, very ready, for good reason. Try and snag a window seat, if you can. Also, you could even hope for nice weather, you know?

The Cruise: Getting Up Close and Personal

The cruise is almost definitely your chance to feel like you’re a part of this immense landscape that is, like, bigger than you are. Tour boats are generally fairly comfortable, they will provide you views on the waterfalls tumbling from high places, keep an eye out and watch those seals lounging on the rocks, or you can get right up next to cliffs that look so smooth from the water running all the time. Many trips involve lunch – usually that’s, apparently, a buffet thing – and so commentary filling you in on the place you are seeing, too. Pick the smaller boat if that sounds nice. Large tour boats aren’t quite as exciting in getting closer, more personable viewing!

Is it Worth the Extra Cost? Things to Think About

Okay, so here is where it gets, like, a little trickier. The ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ is more expensive, of course. But you should really figure out a few things about how it impacts your plans to tell if that extra price will buy you more of what you want. A couple things, seriously, jump right out:

Time Savings: Do you want to trade the best part of a day each direction just sitting there to see the scenery on the road? Or, you know, do you only have that one day open in your whole itinerary to even see Milford Sound at all? If time presses you or you have a bit more budget leeway, the ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ might just be the right one, yes?
The View from Above: Maybe your budget will stretch or even just be alright, because the flight is apparently a huge attraction. You could get just that epic feel when you’re gliding over mountain peaks, alright? That kind of vantage point actually adds heaps for how much it means, though
Are you okay with small planes? I mean, do you like flying, or are you nervous up in smaller planes? Little planes, naturally, can have bumpier rides sometimes – very dependent upon conditions too it’s almost – so you could ask the operator their views of whether or not the day has generally stable and okay flights?
Weather, though. All the time. Weather actually will throw monkey wrenches right into travel itineraries! Flights rely on good enough weather, of course. Maybe ask before when things might cancel because forecasts do say bad weather, so you actually could work some flexibility just a little, instead, into things in general just in case it’s not as planned that day.

Other Options: Consider the Alternatives

If you find out a ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ doesn’t sound too interesting now, there are alright other avenues open. A bus journey, too, would give different scenes entirely plus cost you very much less too, of course. Doing one way up there or down the other may allow for things instead perhaps too?

Personal Reflections: My Experience

So, from my side, I almost found that ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ thing worth what it did offer. Yes, spending feels kinda painful for a moment, too it’s almost, however having saved very many driving hours definitely meant using almost that bit extra time for, you know, activities over Queenstown instead basically? Basically you actually get this great opening and that really feels important there!

In short, will you fly, cruise and fly?

In short, so the ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ from Queenstown is that kind of way, clearly, you might splurge more for those lasting scenes from places up in the skies, however, if getting more travel time saved trumps other stuff? That’s why doing it may almost just suit yourself then!

Key considerations before booking your ‘Fly Cruise Fly’ experience

Budget for premium pricing because you get less travel time, so spending may become pretty costly!
Be totally okay while boarding/flying on a small aircraft
See and read over cancellation conditions on poor conditions