Begin your experience with a thorough pre-flight briefing with your pilots on the sights to be encountered during the 1hr Scenic flight.
After takeoff, view Coronet Peak, one of New Zealand's premiere ski fields.
Fly over the Shotover river and Skippers canyon, this is where gold was discovered in the 1860's. This river became the world's 2nd highest gold bearing river in the world, next to the Klondike in Alaska.
Head North out of the Wakatipu basin and into Mt Aspiring National park, with the larger mountains and glaciers emerging as you track north.
View Mount Aspiring, often known as the Matterhorn of the South, it sits at 10,000ft / 3,030meters and has six related glaciers, the largest being the Upper Volta Glacier.
Begin to head West, over the main divide of the Southern Alps and into Fiordland National park, before exiting Mt Aspiring National park fly down 'glacier alley' with the Olivine Ice Plateau, a unique glacial amphitheater. One of the first sights you will encounter on arrival in Fiordland National Park is Mt Tutoko, at over 8,900ft / 2,700meters it is Fiordland's highest peak. There are two main glaciers to view here the Donne and the Age.
Your scenic flight will then take you of an overhead of Milford Sound itself. Milford Sound is Fiordland's most northerly of 14 fiords and also it's most dramatic.
Experience the beauty of Milford Sound
View the highest peak in Milford Sound, Mitre Peak. It impressively rises directly out of the water of the fiord, to it's summit at 5,560ft / 1,690 meters, which is just over a mile of vertical gain!
The flight path then begins to track east over the Southern Alps and back towards Queenstown. New Zealand's second largest lake, lake Te Anau can be viewed stretching out to the south.
After once again crossing the main divide of the Southern Alps, the route traverses the beech forest filled Greenstone valley, before emerging above Lake Wakatipu. Lake Wakatipu is New Zealand's longest lake, with Queenstown nestled on it's shores.
View the Remarkable mountain range and Queenstown, before landing back at the Air Milford base for your drop-off back to your accommodation by approximately 9.30am.
After leaving Milford Sound the flight path tracks south, down the Arthur valley. At the head of this valley, the Sutherland falls can be viewed, this is New Zealand highest waterfall, falling impressively 1,900ft / 580 meters to the valley floor below.
A truly incredible experience! The 5 Glaciers and Milford Sound scenic flight with Air Milford was worth every single penny. The scenery over the glaciers and fjords was unreal, and the whole team made us feel completely safe and well looked after. Highly recommend booking with them!
Amazing experience with Air Milford this morning. Stunning views of the glaciers and Milford Sound. Our pilot Emma was amazing and made the flight even more special. Highly recommend
What a great experience and guide. Five stars!!! Beautiful views and very informative throughout the flight. Our family will remember this experience for years to come!
I don’t think you can praise them enough. Total professionalism. I was initially booked on a flight and cruise to Milford Sound, it had to be cancelled as they were unable to land there due to the weather conditions. They tried every way to fly us to Te Anau and get us a coach from there, just didn’t come off. When I was in Te Anau a few days later I did the coach trip. On my return to Queenstown they took us up on the Milford Sound and five glacier flight instead which was awesome. I was refunded the difference in cost before I even got back to my accommodation. Thanks so much to the pilot Antony and all involved. Robert.
Well worth the time and expense, such an amazing visual experience that is hard to explain. The Flight just shows how beautiful and absolutely pristine this country is.
We took the 5 Glaciers and Milford Sound. The weather was good when we took the flight. Emma is a really good pilot, with a smooth flight and landing, a very good experience for those who want to experience Milford Sound from the air. The clouds are the highlight of the flight, feels like we are floating in cotton balls! A must-do experience when you visit Queenstown! Tom and Emma are very warm and friendly.
The views of the mountains were awesome, the pilot was friendly and provided a great flight. The office staff were helpful and friendly.
After several postponements due to weather (fortunately we were in town for several days), with staff staying in contact and keeping us up to date (thanks so much!), we finally got our flight. And what a flight. Pilot Antony was great, very friendly, explained everything quickly and simply, and took us on such a good flight. Due to small group (just four of us), we got the Cessna 206, so got live interactive commentary. Weather in our favour so we could see for miles, got to see everything and more. Highly recommend.
Highly recommend to anyone that is looking for a thrill and what an experience. Staff are super friendly right from the start till we landed back at the base. Definitely will be doing this AMAZING 👏 EXPERIENCE
Just returned home after a one and a half scenic flight. I thought it would good but wasn't prepared for how incredible it was. We had Hank the owner as our pilot and I was his co-pilot, he explained what everything was. The vision of Milford Sound brought tears to my eyes. My partner Sean was a bit apprehensive but he loved it to. And they pick you up if you are in Queenstown. Highly recommend 👌
Unreal views of the mountains and fjords. We got lucky with very good weather so it was a nice smooth ride with good viewing
Given the hefty price tag for airplane or helicopter rides, we dithered about booking this one but decided to take it as a ‘Birthday Gift’… and are glad we did so! The views from up high are so different from those below and the route taken by the pilot covered a geography not possible from a car. The hour long flight was of just the right duration. We each had good seats but I wonder if the people sitting in the middle of a row of three had a good view.
Anthony was a great guide providing all the info needed and equally a fantastic pilot.
We booked the Glacier Tour and it was amazing. Definitely worth the investment. Thanks to the whole team!
Outstanding - worth every penny.
The whole expirience was stunning. The personal was very friendly. The booking was easy. And the flight over the southern alps was one of the most scenic things I did in my 5 weeks in New Zealand.
It was excelent and well worth the money, we only had 6 on our flight, so plenty of space, pilot very informative
Very beautiful, a must do when you're in Queenstown! Air Milford is a family owned business, Anthony was our pilot, explained everything so excellent and in detail! Very good flying also, he really is a good and safe pilot also. Thanx for the wonderful experience Anthony.
The pilot made sure we had an amazing experience. I feel very priveleged to view the incredible scenery. High recommend!
Highly recommend! We’ve avoided small planes in the past but this flight was very smooth, 2 pilots, super friendly staff from booking to round trip pick to answering all of our questions over the phone. The pilots adapted to the incoming weather, gave us an absolutely spectacular view and experience while avoiding the rain clouds. What an amazing way to see all the beautiful places and more we hiked and rode through from above!!! Highly recommend it to cap your trip to Queenstown.
A fantastic experience - amazing views and stunning scenery. Air Milford were very well organised and the whole experience was very reassuring for the more nervous fliers amongst us.
Excellent, the scenery was spectacular, the route out to see all the glaciers and then into Milford Sound was an experience i will never forget. I was slightly nervous on a small plane but the pilots were exceptional - they were incredibly professional but also very reassuring and checked in with my throughout to ensure I was comfortable. The plane was immaculate I would definitely recommend using Air Milford and this hour long flight over the most beautiful country in the world.
We flew a day earlier than scheduled because when I called for the 24 hours prior check in, the weather forecast for the next day wasn't so promising but today's was beautiful. In discussing options with Sarah, she recommended flying today if I could rearrange some other events, which I did and I'm oh so glad I did. Our pilot Thomas gave a detailed briefing on our route and aircraft specific items like boarding and safety considerations. He was thorough, methodical and professional in his piloting duties, and friendly, knowledgeable and easy to listen to as he pointed out the sights. And such sights! Looking down on the Big 5 and Milford Fjord was fantastic! Our flight ended way too soon, but our trip time was up and we had to fly back to the airport.
Probably one of the best flights we’ve done anywhere in the world. Yes, the weather was fantastic- clear blue skies and sunny skies, but the team at Air Milford were fantastic. Communication great and they are also friendly. “Just do it !”
Breathtaking experience, views were incredible, hard to take in the scale, awesome trip around the bottom of the South Island. Great for if you dont have the whole day for sight seeing. Enjoyed our flight with Emma Penney 100% recommend!
We were a family of 8 and couldn’t fault a single thing!!! This was an amazing experience!! Anthony was exceptional and made the flight such an enjoyable experience! Highly recommend this flight… and this company!!
It’s a good journey. The pilots are very friendly and professional and they are pretty knowledgeable about the geography and geology along the flight routes. The service staff are very communicative.
Fantastic experience, Air Milford moved the departure time to ensure the cloud cover had lifted. The actual flight was amazing, with a great commentary from the pilots. Saw the mountains and sound in a way that will live with us for ever. Best part of our holiday to date.
We‘re just back from our „Milford Sound & Big Five Glaciers“ scenic flight with our incredible pilot Antony and wow……. Just w o w!!!!! The scenery…. I just have no words for it! Welcome to paradise! This was the perfect combination of views of beautiful Queenstown, mesmerizing Milford Sound AND the breathtaking Mt Aspiring National Park, including these stunning glaciers! Antony is such a heartwarming and sympathetic person and what I really, really, really like about trips and tours operated by companies is when the operator is really into the tour with all his heart and Antony is a perfect example for that! Although he had already done over 3.500 commercial flights in this region, he is as in love and astonished with the scenery as it was his first flight and you definitely feel the love and passion and get infected! He provided us with a whole lot of information and - as the planes are so small - could fly with us really close to the mountains, glaciers and snowfields! As I said before: Wow……….. HIGHLY recommend 10/10!!!!!!! Or even 12/10!!!
Just fantastic view of mountains and fiords between Queenstown and Tasman Sea. Company was courteous and helpful. Pick up and drop off from in town.
Magical experience in the clouds taking in the most beautiful landscape you will ever see. The glaciers are magnificent. Snow all around, a truly spectacular view that will make your day. Milford sound should be one of the wonders of the world
We enjoyed a memorable experience this morning: the Big Five Glaciers Overflight. Kudos to our pilot Tom. His expertise in the Captain’s Chair along with an abundant knowledge of the area made for a marvellous flight. Tom, who speaks fluent NZ English, passed on details of the lay of the land – clearly – as we flew over this most magnificent natural landscape. It was fortunate that our flight occurred on a fine November day. Not too many clouds. We highly recommend this awesome New Zealand experience and thanks again to Tom and the team at Air Milford. Jan and Wayne McCardell Port Stephens, NSW AUSTRALIA
Absolutely amazing. Great trip, great service. Couldn’t recommend them more highly. A must do if you are in Queenstown!
I initially wrote a review of my family's recent experience. I was quickly contacted for more information than received a call from CEO, Hank. He immediately apologized and took responsibility for our experience, and took steps to make it right. Air Milford offers a shuttle service from Queenstown to Milford Sound in addition to sight seeing tours. We signed up and paid for one and basically received the other. Nonetheless, my opinion of the integrity of the company has changed in a positive direction as a result of Hank reaching out. They could have easily disregarded my review. But they chose to reach out in an effort to learn from what happened and attempt at making things right.
We really enjoyed both the trip there and of course the boat ride. We rode with Ian and he was great. He explained things well and had a great sense of humor. The trip was more enjoyable because of him.
Awesome views but a shame I and others couldn’t hear commentary. The pilot talked a lot but because the plane was so noisy we couldn’t hear about 90% of what he said. The plane had speakers but nothing came out of them ! So we had no glue as what he was saying for the whole trip. Not worth the money
This is a very well run operation that cares about your ability to view the fabulous sights and above all about your safety. We had to reschedule our booking due to bad weather and they worked to get us onto a flight the next day. The equipment is excellent and the pilot pointed out all the sights and maneuvered the plane so that everyone was able to get photos and a great view. Definitely the way to view this fantastic terrain.
The best scenic fixed wing Cessnas and flight in Queenstown. 100% safety record. All seats are window seats-all below the wing which provides you with un-obstructed panoramic views of the big 5 glaciers. Our flight was Milford Sound-Queenstown after the Milford Sound Cruise. Beneficial as we saved a 4-5 hour drive on the return journey back on the coach and instead were back and at dinner within 90 minutes and dropped to our door or in town. Epic experience, epic service- thank you.
We had an incredible day for this “must do” in Queenstown! The views are truly out of this world. We cannot recommend this enough, highlight of our whole trip! Thank you to the staff for being incredibly accommodating for our tight schedule. And thank you to Anthony for being a wonderful pilot and all your knowledge! This is a third generation, family run business that is the absolute best place to do this type of excursion. Their planes are safe and top of the line. Anthony let us know they do carbon offsets as well! If you are planning a trip to South Island NZ, this is a MUST DO.
From start to finish this experience was amazing. Firstly our pilot Oz was fantastic and a credit to the company. The ladies and gents in this company are amazing too. You will never find a happier bunch of people. The flight we booked was cancelled so we were upgraded without hesitation to another flight. Picked up and dropped off. They are very safety conscious. Seriously this company is just brilliant. We will be back. Thanks for a wonderful flight.
An absolutely magical experience. Tom, our pilot made this is experience of a lifetime. The team worked to ensure we got to fly, even changing flight times to get us the best possible experience. I cannot recommend this experience more highly
The flight was replete with breathtaking views for a lifetime of memories. Our pilot Tommo was exceptionally competent, safe, knowledgeable and approachable all at once. The Ops manager Anthony and the rest of the staff were kind, accommodating and knowledgeable. They made the right decisions for customer safety, given the day's weather conditions. We couldn't have asked for better. The airplane was warm and comfortable as we feasted our eyes on the most amazing views of fjords, glaciers, majestic mountains, rivers and lakes, complemented by the information in Tommo's commentary. We highly recommend Air Milford to visitors to the area looking for exceptional value and safety in a scenic aerial tour.
The whole experience was just amazing. It was a belated Birthday present for my partner and he was over the moon that he got to sit in the co-pilots seat, for a birds eye view! The scenery was incredible, didn't even know there were other glaciers around other than the big two, so it was really breathtaking! Our pilot was so knowledgeable and the flight was so smooth. Luckily we picked the best day to go and got some amazing pictures. Would highly recommend the flight and Air Milford, they were so friendly and professional at the same time and we would definitely use them again! THANK YOU TO ALL AT AIR MILFORD!!
Thoroughly enjoyed the flight and the pilot (Thomas) is really cool. Pity we couldn’t see the Milford Sound as there was a dense cloud.
Recently took my wife, 5 year old and 2 year old on the Big Five scenic flight with Air Milford - cannot recommend highly enough! We booked direct and found the team friendly and informative. Upon arrival checkin was done by Mary and we were informed of all of the safety precautions required under level 2. Tom our pilot then took us for our briefing before taking to the skies. As Queenstown locals, we sometimes forget the beauty of the area that surrounds us, and this trip was the perfect reminder to appreciate our special corner of the world! Tom was extremely informative and full of interesting trivia about the region. Flight was also smooth and comfortable. Kids had a ball as well - highlight for the 5 year old was being able to watch the pilot. Many thanks for making this such a memorable flight!
What a great flight with Antony in the 'classic' Cessna 185. We have done numerous 'Southern Alps' flights at different locations in both fixed wing and helicopters, without a doubt this one was the most spectacular. Antony tailored the flight to fly close to some of the peaks we were interested in, and close means 'close', but at no time did it feel unsafe. The other thing that was obvious was the companies passion for sharing their amazing part of the world which was all done in a relaxed manner which I think stems from the fact they are a family business. From the time we met Jo at reception and saw Hank out washing one of the planes, it just enhanced the experience that we were flying with a business that really enjoys what they do. Thanks guys.
Absolutely breathtaking experience and should be top of every persons list. You really have no appreciation how vast and wonderful the NZ southern alps are until you've flow them with Air Milford. Really refreshing to see a true local family run business that loves what they do and treats all guests well and appreciates them. Cant speak highly enough of this experience and worth every cent.
After living in Queenstown for 20 years completing this trip has to be the best thing I have done. Seeing some of the most beautiful mountain ranges, alpine lakes and glaciers from above is unreal followed by then dropping into milford sound was incredible. We are very lucky to have this opportunity to see out backyard from another perspective. Highly recommend this trip the team at Air Milford are the best
Having done many scenic flights in various countries this one stands out. It gets my vote too for best scenic flight ever experienced.
We looked at other options and was recommended to take this flight, the day before all flights were cancelled due to weather conditions. We flew with another couple and found the James Hill, the pilot great. He was informative, had a lovely manner and definitely an experienced pilot. From start to finish we totally enjoyed this experience!! My husband sat in the front seat next to pilot as he's an avid 'wannabe pilot'. Top Marks - don't give this one a miss!!
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