Only 3 stars due to lack of coordination on the back-end…read more..
This review is purely and solely for Milford Sound Scenic Flights (MSSF) as the tour operator (not the underlying attractions of Milford Sound, Glenorchy, and boating the Dart River - all of which were stunning, just truly awesome!!)
We took the full-day package of flying a plane out to Milford Sound, then taking the boat cruise up the sound, then taking a helicopter ride back to Glenorchy, then riding jet boats up the river. The plane and helicopter rides were provided in-house by MSSF and outstanding on every level. Mitre Peak provided the cruise up/down the sound, which was also outstanding on every level. Jet boating was provided by Dart River Adventures and was excellent.
The only issues occurred on the back-end, in trying to get the ride back to Queenstown. The very costly price of this tour included hotel pickup AND drop-off, but there was considerable confusion of logistics in taking the coach back to Queenstown from Glenorchy, approx. 40 km. What started out nicely in the morning as 10 people in a van for initial hotel pickup, ends with over a hundred people trying to herd onto 2 buses with little direction. When multiple customers, including ourselves, asked about which bus we were supposed to take, the driver, clearly irritated over the lack of internal coordination and communication, barked out at a group of about 15 of us "just get on the damn bus!" While I understand the frustration, one should not be in a customer-facing business if they can't handle their emotions.
To make matters worse, they attempted to drop us in the middle of town, NOT back at the hotel which was clearly in the scope of what we purchased. Luckily, one of the guys from the boating group was there, saw what was happening, and helped us grab a taxi - at no additional cost - back to our hotel.
So while I'd like to give Milford Sound Scenic Flights a 5 star review, they get docked a star for poor back-end execution. I expect that they will claim that this was a different organization that provided the ride back and thus not their fault, BUT we paid a small fortune for this tour and Milford Sound Scenic Flights, as the ones we paid and thus as the primary coordinator, bears responsibility to make sure that all aspects of the tour have been properly executed, and this one aspect was not well performed. It's a bit unsettling to be in a foreign country, out in the middle of the wilderness, 40 km from your hotel, and have a bus driver yelling at you because of planning and communication inadequacies of his organization.
