Told previous day to be there about 6am coach to leave at 6.20. Coach arrived at 6.45 , boarded and left after 10 mins .Disappointed the front 2 rows and 1 behind were reserved , we saw no notice of this when booking on website .Is it only available for bookings from certain countries ? The driver /guide Ben was very informative and gave an interesting view of New Zealand history and nature ..he’s an asset . Coach was cold for first couple of hours , warmed up when sun came out and was then fine . Didn’t like the first cafe stop ..had to wait for ages to get hot drink and not a very inviting selection of snacks .the boat trip was excellent.. plenty of good food at buffet . Interesting commentary. On journey back on coach the videos were both similar and not appealing to the majority of passengers ... I think most of them snoozed ( I did ) The toilet stop on return journey was in a much better cafe than the outward journey. It would be good for driver to sell bottled water .

Much to see, even on the way there through scheduled photo stops. But the large panorama windows in the bus are also very suitable for quick snapshots while driving. The bus driver had a lot of information to tell, not too much, not too little. You can almost say the outward journey flies. Then comes the cruise on Milford Sound itself - which is really spectacular. Many spots are approached very close, e.g. seals, who enjoy lazing on the rocks or waterfalls that you can get so close that you can get completely wet if you want to (I would recommend it!). The food on board, which is offered in the form of a buffet, is very nicely put together and enough of it. After about 2 hours on the boat it goes back into the bus, which then takes 4 hours without further stops (except for a toilet break). That’s a little bit of tubing. Nevertheless, it was an all-round successful day and highly recommended!

It was very convenient taking the bus and our driver was very knowledgeable and provided great background information about what we were seeing. The cruise was relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. The buffet lunch was excellent. We changed our plans and flew back and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing views of the mountains.