RealNZ day and overnight cruises into Doubtful Sound, via Lake Manapouri and Wilmot Pass. Nine-hour day trip from $359; overnight from $749.
Doubtful Sound is the quieter fiord, and getting there is part of it. Every trip starts at Manapouri with a cruise the length of Lake Manapouri, then a coach over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove, where you board the boat. There is no road in.
RealNZ (formerly Real Journeys) runs two options:
- Wilderness Day Cruise - a nine-hour day from Manapouri, from $359. Bottlenose dolphins, fur seals and rare seabirds are the things to watch for.
- Overnight Cruise - one night and two days, from $749, with a buffet dinner, continental breakfast, and time out on the water in kayaks or a tender boat.
Manapouri is two and a half to three hours' drive from Queenstown and about half an hour from Te Anau; coach connections run from both, so you can do it without your own car.
