Cheapest here3 hours
3 hGlacier Lookout Guided Walk
★ 4.8 · 169 reviews
- A guided walk up the valley to the viewpoint
- The free track, with someone who knows the ice
- Stops about a kilometre short of the face
- Free cancellation
Franz Josef heli hike
A helicopter drops you high on the ice and leaves. What follows is two and a half hours of walking on a glacier in crampons behind a guide who cuts the steps as you go — through blue tunnels, past crevasses, in a place that was not there last season and will not be there next. Since the terminal face collapsed in 2012 there has been no walking route from the valley, so this is not the expensive version of the glacier walk. It is the only version.
Heli hike, per person
3 heli hikes compared$497
Two and a half hours walking on the ice, gear included
Average rating
Across all 12 trips4.8 ★
Across 1,759 verified reviews
Time on the ice
Boots on the glacier2.5–4 h
Two helicopter transfers with the walk in between
Free cancellation 24 h
Refunded if weather cancels
Mobile voucher
Boots and crampons supplied
Instant confirmation
Small guided groups
Everything you can book here
Every Franz Josef heli hike and what people book around it
Three guided heli hikes onto the ice, two scenic flights over it, and seven things to do with the days the weather takes away — from a $61 valley walk to a kayak on a lake that reflects the whole Southern Alps. Sorted by price, cheapest first.
Fox valleyHalf day
3.5 hFox Glacier Half-Day Walk
★ 4.7 · 188 reviews
- Half a day in the Fox valley with a local guide
- Rainforest, moraine and the terminal face
- The quieter of the two glacier valleys
- Free cancellation
On the water3 hours
3 hLake Mapourika Kayak
★ 4.9 · 137 reviews
- Three hours on Lake Mapourika
- Mirror water with the Southern Alps in it
- The best thing to do on a grounded morning
- Free cancellation
Boat, not paddle2.5 hours
2.5 hLake Mapourika Cruise & Walk
★ 4.8 · 77 reviews
- A cruise on Lake Mapourika plus a rainforest walk
- No paddling — someone else drives
- Kahikatea forest and glacier meltwater
- Free cancellation
Okarito4 hours
4 hOkarito Kiwi Sanctuary Kayak
★ 4.9 · 72 reviews
- Kayak and walk into the Okarito kiwi sanctuary
- The lagoon, the forest and the bird
- The one wildlife day on this coast
- Free cancellation
Two hours326 reviews
2 hOff-Road Quad Bike Tour
★ 4.9 · 326 reviews
- Quad bikes on the riverbed and rainforest trails
- Two hours, no experience needed
- Runs in weather that grounds the helicopters
- Free cancellation
$138
Check availability→ 
13,000–18,000 ftTandem
3 hFranz Josef Skydive
★ 4.9 · 129 reviews
- Tandem skydive over the glaciers and the sea
- Three altitudes, up to 18,000 feet
- The other way to be above this coastline
- Free cancellation
$193
Check availability→ 
Scenic flightSnow landing
20 min20-Minute Snow Landing Flight
★ 4.9 · 190 reviews
- Twenty minutes over the ice with a snow landing
- Ten minutes out of the machine on the snow
- The look-at-it version, not the walk-on-it one
- Free cancellation
$199
Check availability→ 
Two glaciersMount Cook
35 minFox Glacier & Mount Cook Flight
★ 4.5 · 44 reviews
- Thirty-five minutes over Fox and Aoraki
- Crosses the Main Divide to Mount Cook
- The longest scenic flight on this page
- Free cancellation
$268
Check availability→ 
Our top pick398 reviews
4–8 h2.5-Hour Heli-Hike
★ 4.8 · 398 reviews
- Two and a half hours walking on the glacier
- Boots, crampons, jacket and overtrousers supplied
- Blue tunnels and crevasses, cut fresh that morning
- Free cancellation
$497
Check availability→ 
Small groupWith lunch
8 hExtended Heli-Hike with Lunch
★ 5.0 · 1 reviews
- A full day on the ice with lunch on the glacier
- Small group, further up than the standard hike
- More time in the blue features and fewer people
- Free cancellation
$857
Check availability→ 
From QueenstownOne day
6.5 hHeli-Hike from Queenstown
★ 4.8 · 28 reviews
- Scenic flight from Queenstown, then the heli hike
- The whole thing in one day, no five-hour drive
- Over the Main Divide both ways
- Free cancellation
$995
Check availability→ Two questions
Which day is yours?
Seen the twelve above and still torn? There are really only four answers here. Walk on the ice for two and a half hours. Look at it from the air for twenty minutes. Spend a whole day up there with lunch. Or spend nothing much and walk the valley. Pick what matters and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
What two and a half hours on the ice looks like
The clips below are the hike, not a promo reel. The machine puts you down on the névé, lifts off, and the noise goes with it. Then you follow a guide with an ice axe through a landscape that is being rebuilt every day — pressure ridges, moulins, tunnels with light coming through two metres of blue ice. Nothing you walk on today was in the same place last month.
Side by side
Heli hike, scenic flight or the valley walk
Three completely different days, and most people book the wrong one. The heli hike puts you on the ice for two and a half hours. The scenic flight shows you the whole glacier in twenty minutes and lands on snow beside it. The valley walk is free and stops at a rope a kilometre short of the terminal face. They are not cheaper and dearer versions of one thing.
Swipe the table sideways →
| 20-Minute Snow Landing Flight | TOP PICK2.5-Hour Heli-Hike | Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $199 | $497 | $857 |
| Time on the ice | 10 minutes on snow | 2.5 hours walking | About 4 hours |
| Cost per hour on the ice | $603.03 | $198.80 | $214.25 |
| You are | In the machine | In crampons | In crampons, all day |
| Gear supplied | None needed | Boots, crampons, jacket | Boots, crampons, jacket |
| Group size | 5 – 6 in the machine | Up to 11 per guide | Small group |
| Lunch | No | No | Yes, on the glacier |
| Rating | 4.9 · 190 | 4.8 · 398 | 5.0 · 1 |
| Best for | Seeing the whole glacier | Walking on it | Having it to yourself |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
TOP PICK
2.5-Hour Heli-Hike
$497- Time on the ice
- 2.5 hours walking
- Cost per hour on the ice
- $198.80
- Gear supplied
- Boots, crampons, jacket
- Group size
- Up to 11 per guide
- Lunch
- No
- Rating
- 4.8 · 398
- Best for
- Walking on the glacier
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
20-Minute Snow Landing Flight
$199- Time on the ice
- 10 minutes on snow
- Cost per hour on the ice
- $603.03
- Gear supplied
- None needed
- Group size
- 5 – 6 in the machine
- Lunch
- No
- Rating
- 4.9 · 190
- Best for
- Seeing the whole glacier
Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch
$857- Time on the ice
- About 4 hours
- Cost per hour on the ice
- $214.25
- Gear supplied
- Boots, crampons, jacket
- Group size
- Small group
- Lunch
- Yes, on the glacier
- Rating
- 5.0 · 1
- Best for
- Having it to yourself
Verdict
Book the 25-minute flight
It is the only trip here that puts you on the glacier for longer than a photograph, and that is the whole decision. The scenic flight at $199 shows you the same ice from four hundred feet and gives you ten minutes standing beside the machine. The heli hike gives you two and a half hours inside it — the tunnels, the moulins and the pressure ridges that simply are not visible from the air.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
You cannot walk up to it any more
Every photograph of a guided party in the ice of Franz Josef that you have seen since 2012 was taken by somebody who flew there. The terminal face collapsed that year, the walking route went with it, and the glacier has retreated further since. The valley track now ends at a roped viewpoint about a kilometre short of the face. There is no cheaper way onto the ice and no harder way either — there is simply no way that does not start with a helicopter.
Two-minute check
Will your heli hike actually go?
More heli hikes here are lost to weather than to anything else, and the number of nights you have in the village decides your odds more than the operator you pick. Answer three questions and find out now instead of at the base.
How many nights are you in Franz Josef?This decides your odds more than anything else
How is your fitness?You will walk on uneven ice for two to three hours
How long do you want on the ice?This is the only real variable
Answer the three questions above
You'll get a straight yes or no, the flight that fits your day, and the specific thing that would trip you up at check-in.
Six ways onto the ice
1,759 reviews across twelve Franz Josef trips
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 1,759
verified reviews
5 ★88%
4 ★9%
3 ★2%
2 ★1%
1 ★0%
All twelve Franz Josef flights on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 1,759→🥾
2.5-Hour Heli-Hike
From $497 · 398 reviews
★★★★★
The only way to walk on this glacier
A helicopter puts you high on the ice and leaves. Two and a half hours in crampons behind a guide who cuts the steps, through blue tunnels and past crevasses. Rated 4.8 across 398 reviews — more than every other heli hike here combined.
🏔
Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch
From $857 · small group
★★★★★
If you want the ice to yourself
A full day up there with lunch on the glacier and a small group, going further into the blue features than the standard hike reaches. Twice the money and roughly twice the time on the ice.
🚁
20-Minute Snow Landing Flight
From $199 · 190 reviews
★★★★☆
The look-at-it version
Twenty minutes over the icefall with a snow landing and ten minutes out of the machine. Less than half the price of the hike, and a completely different day: you photograph the glacier rather than walk on it.
🚶
Glacier Lookout Guided Walk
From $61 · about 3 hours
★★★☆☆
The version that costs almost nothing
A guided walk up the riverbed to the viewpoint with someone who can read the valley for you. It is worth doing and it has an honest limit: the barrier sits about a kilometre short of the terminal face.
⛔
Walking onto the glacier from the valley
No longer possible · since 2012
★☆☆☆☆
The thing every old guidebook still describes
Guided walks used to start at the terminal face and climb onto the ice. After the face collapsed in 2012 and the glacier retreated, that route stopped existing. Anything describing a guided ice walk that starts from the car park is out of date.
✈
Heli-Hike from Queenstown
From $995 · one day
★★★★☆
If you are based in Queenstown
A scenic flight over the Main Divide, the heli hike on the ice, and back to Queenstown the same day. It removes eleven hours of driving, and it costs about twice what the hike costs on its own.
What it really costs
Why a heli hike costs four times a scenic flight
You are not buying a longer helicopter ride. You are buying two helicopter transfers, a guide for a small group, boots, crampons, jacket and overtrousers, and a route that someone cut into the ice that morning because yesterday’s route has moved.
Swipe sideways →
| What you buy | Price | What is included | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided heli hike, 2.5 hours on the ice | $497 | Two flights, guide, crampons, boots, jacket | Free up to 24 hours |
| Scenic flight with a snow landing | $199 | One flight, ten minutes out of the machine, no gear | Free up to 24 hours |
| Glacier valley walk from the car park | Free | Nothing — and it stops a kilometre short of the ice | n/a |
What the listing doesn’t show you
- The quoted duration is not walking time. A four-hour trip is roughly an hour of boot fitting and briefing, ten minutes of flying and two and a half hours on the ice.
- How much of it is the gear. You spend the first hour of the day being fitted, and it is not optional — the boots have to take a crampon.
- The blue tunnels are seasonal. Meltwater opens them in late summer and closes them again. The photographs in the listing were not taken in September.
- Cancellation odds. A hike needs a longer settled window than a flight, because the machine has to come back for you. Nothing on a booking page says how often that fails.
What is genuinely included
- Two helicopter transfers — up to the ice and back down again
- Two and a half hours walking on the glacier with a guide
- Boots, crampons, a waterproof jacket, overtrousers and a small pack
- A route cut fresh that morning, so nobody has walked exactly where you walk
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and a full refund if weather stands you down
The honest answer
Is a Franz Josef heli hike worth it?
Five hundred dollars is a lot of money for half a day and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What you are buying is the only way to walk on this glacier at all. The valley track stops at a rope, and it has done since 2012. Nobody comes back saying it was too expensive; plenty come back saying they wish they had allowed a second day for the weather.
What makes it worth it
- It is the only way to walk on this glacier — the valley route has been gone since 2012
- Two and a half hours on the ice, not ten minutes beside the machine
- Boots, crampons, jacket and overtrousers are supplied; you bring a jumper
- The route is cut fresh each morning, so nobody has walked exactly where you walk
- Blue tunnels and moulins that simply cannot be seen from the air
Keep in mind
- It is $497 against $199 for a scenic flight over the same ice
- Weather cancels trips here more often than anywhere else you will book
- One night in the village is a coin toss; two is a plan
- You need to be steady on your feet for two to three hours on uneven ice
- The weight limit is lower than on a scenic flight, because of the harness and gear
The day, hour by hour
Base to névé and back
Check the forecast, not the app
The base watches cloud base and wind on the névé, not rain in the village. A wet morning in town is often a workable morning up top, and a bright one can be grounded.
Check in and get kitted out
Boots, crampons, a jacket, overtrousers and a small pack, all supplied. Bring your own warm layer and a pair of thick socks. Allow the full hour; the fitting is not quick.
Briefing and the walk to the pad
How to approach the machine, how to walk in crampons, and what to do if the weather turns while you are up there. Then the doors close.
Five minutes up the valley
Over the terminal face, over the grey rubble the glacier left behind, and up past the icefall. Short, loud and completely worth the ticket on its own.
The machine leaves without you
It sets down on the névé, you get out, and it lifts off again. The noise goes with it and what is left is silence and a guide with an ice axe.
Two and a half hours on the ice
Crampons on, single file, following steps that were cut this morning. Blue tunnels, pressure ridges, moulins, and a route that will not exist next week.
The pick-up
The machine comes back to the same spot, or to another one if the ice has moved. Five minutes down, and you are peeling off crampons in the village by mid-afternoon.
Best time of day
The first departure, every time
A heli hike needs two clear windows, not one: the machine has to drop you and it has to come back. That is why the afternoon departures are stood down more often than the morning ones, and why an operator will happily fly a scenic flight in conditions that will not carry a hike. The first slot of the day flies in the stillest air, gets the low light in the tunnels, and leaves the rest of the day behind it if the weather closes in. Book it on the first full day of your stay, not the last.
On the ice
What the ice actually looks like
The walk
Single file behind a guide, on steps cut that morning. Nobody has walked exactly here before.
The tunnels
Meltwater carves them and they close again. This is the part a scenic flight cannot show you.
The scale
Those dots are people. There is nothing else in the frame to measure the ice against.
The gear
Boots, crampons, jacket and overtrousers come with the ticket. You bring a warm layer.
What it's like
The helicopter leaves, and that is the moment
The first thing that goes wrong is the weather, and the second is your understanding of it. You look out of the window in the village, see rain on the road and assume the day is lost. The base is looking at something else entirely: cloud base at two thousand metres and wind on the névé. Those two things decide it, and they are frequently not what the valley is doing.
So the morning goes like this. You ring, they say hold, they say come in at ten, and at ten you spend the best part of an hour being fitted. Boots that are heavier than anything you own. A jacket and overtrousers because it will be raining somewhere on that ice at some point. Crampons handed over in a bag, because you do not put those on until you are up there.
The briefing is short and mostly about walking. How to place a crampon so the points bite. Why you keep three metres behind the person in front. What happens if the weather closes while you are on the ice, which is that you stand still and wait for the machine.
The flight is five minutes and it is the least interesting five minutes of the day, which is a strange thing to say about a helicopter. It goes up over the terminal face, over the grey rubble the glacier left behind, past the icefall, and puts you down on a flat patch of névé.
Then it leaves. That is the moment. The machine lifts, the noise goes with it, and you are standing on a glacier with eleven other people, a guide and an ice axe, and no way down that does not involve someone coming back for you.
The walking is not hard, but it is not nothing either. Crampons make you walk flat-footed and wide, and for the first ten minutes you feel ridiculous. Then it clicks, and after that you can go almost anywhere the guide has cut steps — which is the other thing nobody tells you: the route is cut fresh. Somebody was up here at seven with an axe, because last week’s route has moved.
The features are what you came for. Pressure ridges the height of a room. Moulins — vertical shafts where meltwater disappears into the glacier and does not come back. And the tunnels: blue passages carved by water, two metres of ice overhead, lit from outside so the whole thing glows a colour that does not exist anywhere else on earth.
Two and a half hours later the machine comes back, sometimes to the same spot and sometimes not, because the ice has its own opinions. Five minutes down. You peel off the crampons in the yard, hand back the boots, and it is only mid-afternoon.
While you're in the village
The three things people do with the other days
Nobody gets one morning here and flies. You need a spare day for the weather, and this is what people do with it: a lake that reflects the whole Southern Alps, a rainforest lagoon with a kiwi in it, and quad bikes that run in weather that grounds everything else.
Practical
Plan the heli hike
Five things decide how the day goes: how many nights you have here, the hour you book, the weight and fitness rules, what you wear under the supplied jacket, and whether you read the cancellation policy before you paid.
Cloud base, not rain
The base watches the ceiling at two thousand metres and the wind on the névé. Rain in the village means very little.
A hike needs a longer window
Three hours on the ice needs more settled conditions than a twenty-minute flight. Heli hikes are stood down more often than scenic flights.
Morning beats afternoon
Air is usually calmest early and the pick-up matters as much as the drop-off. The first departures are the ones that go.
They ring you
Leave a number when you book. Cancellations and call-backs both come by phone, often at short notice.
Cancelled means refunded
If they scrub the trip you get the money back. What you do not get back is the day.
Do not book the last morning
A single-night stay is a coin toss. Two nights turns it into a plan.
You walk for two to three hours
On uneven ice, in crampons, with some step-ups. No climbing, but it is not a stroll either.
Boots and crampons are supplied
So are a jacket and overtrousers. You bring thick socks and a warm layer to go underneath.
The weight limit is lower than a flight
Around 115 kg including harness and gear on most operators, because you are moving in it.
Age limits apply
Most operators set a minimum around eight to ten years. Check the listing rather than assuming.
Sunglasses matter more than gloves
Glare off wet ice at two thousand metres is severe. Take them even on a grey morning.
Bags stay behind
A small pack is provided for a water bottle and a camera. Everything else stays in the yard.
One price everywhere
Base, platform or hotel desk, the fare is the same. Booking ahead buys a slot, not a discount.
Free cancellation to 24 hours
Standard on every trip on this page.
Book the first morning of your stay
If it scrubs you still have days in hand. If you book the last one you have nothing.
The small-group day sells out first
Fewer departures, fewer seats, and the people who have done the standard hike book it.
Ask how long you actually get on the ice
Listings quote a total that includes fitting, briefing and both flights. The walking is the smaller number.
Check the group size
Up to eleven per guide on the standard hike; the extended day runs smaller.
Franz Josef village
On State Highway 6, about five and a half hours from Christchurch and the same from Queenstown.
The base is in the village
You do not go to an airport. Everything leaves from the main road.
No transfer needed
Walkable if you are staying in town.
Fox is 25 minutes south
A different valley with its own heli hike onto its own glacier.
Nothing runs late
The last departures are early afternoon in winter. Do not plan an evening arrival.
Fuel up before you come
The stretch of highway either side of the village is long and empty.
Best time
When to hike
Heli hikes run all year and the West Coast weather decides how often. What changes is the number of flyable mornings in the month and what the ice is doing, not the price.
Feb – Apr
The window
The most settled air of the year and the best ice. Late summer melt opens the tunnels and the blue features that everybody photographs, and the mornings are the most reliable.
Nov – Jan
Long days, busy village
Long daylight and the fullest schedule, but this is peak season. Book ahead, and expect the first clear morning after a bad spell to be completely committed.
Sep – Oct
Spring, deep snow on top
Deep snow covers the crevasse field and the route is simpler and whiter. Fronts still come through quickly, so keep a spare day.
May – Aug
Winter gamble
Short days, cold, and the lowest proportion of flyable mornings. When it is clear the light is the best of the year, and it is clear less often.
Worth knowing
Six things that aren't in the listing
01
The walking route onto the glacier has not existed since 2012. The terminal face collapsed and the ice retreated; guided walks from the valley floor stopped. Any page describing one is out of date.
02
The quoted duration is not time on the ice. A four-hour trip is roughly an hour of fitting and briefing, ten minutes of flying and two and a half hours of walking. Read the listing for the walking figure.
03
Book the first morning of your stay, never the last. A heli hike needs a longer weather window than a scenic flight, so it is stood down more often. This one decision changes your odds more than anything else.
04
Everything except socks and a jumper is supplied. Boots, crampons, jacket, overtrousers and a small pack. Buying gear before you come is money wasted.
05
The route is cut fresh every morning. Somebody was up there at seven with an ice axe, because last week’s steps have moved. Nobody has walked exactly where you will walk.
06
The blue tunnels are seasonal. Meltwater opens them in late summer and they close again. February to April is when the ice is at its most interesting on foot.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
Go deeper
More on heli hiking Franz Josef
Common questions
Franz Josef heli hike, answered
How much is a Franz Josef heli hike?
The standard two-and-a-half-hour heli hike is $497, including two helicopter transfers, a guide, boots, crampons, jacket and overtrousers. The extended small-group day with lunch is $857, and the version that starts and ends in Queenstown is $995.
How long are you actually on the ice?
About two and a half hours of walking on the standard trip, and closer to four on the extended day. The four-hour figure in the listing includes the gear fitting, the briefing and both five-minute flights.
Can you walk onto Franz Josef Glacier without a helicopter?
No. The terminal face collapsed in 2012 and foot access to the ice was closed. The valley walk ends at a roped viewpoint about a kilometre short of the face, and every guided hour on the glacier now begins with a flight.
How fit do you need to be?
Fit enough to walk on uneven ground for two to three hours with some step-ups. There is no climbing and no rope work, but crampons make you walk differently and the surface is never flat. If you walk regularly you will be fine.
What is supplied and what do I bring?
Boots, crampons, a jacket, overtrousers and a small pack are supplied. You bring thick socks, a warm layer to go under the jacket, and sunglasses. Buying gear before you come is money wasted.
How often are heli hikes cancelled?
Often. This is one of the wettest inhabited places in New Zealand, and a heli hike needs a longer settled window than a scenic flight because the machine has to come back for you. Book the first morning of your stay and keep a spare day.
Heli hike or scenic flight — which should I book?
The heli hike if you want to walk on the glacier; the scenic flight if you want to see it. They are not cheaper and dearer versions of the same day. Twenty minutes in the air at $199 shows you the whole glacier; two and a half hours on foot shows you the inside of it.
Free · no account needed
Two days on the glacier coast — the plan we'd follow
One PDF: which morning to hold for the ice, what to wear under the supplied jacket, and what to do with a rained-out afternoon. Built from the same sources as this page.
- Which of the three heli hikes actually suits your day
- Heli hike against scenic flight, decided, with both sets of numbers
- The wet-weather list — what still runs when nothing flies
- What to pack, and what not to buy because it is supplied
Check your inbox
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Durations, group sizes, gear lists and prices are read off the live listings. The glacier retreat figures come from the Department of Conservation and from NIWA’s annual end-of-summer snowline survey.
How we pick
Every heli hike bookable from this village is on the page, along with the scenic flights and the things people do on a grounded day. Nobody pays to be featured.
Written for one decision
This page answers one question: whether to walk on the glacier or look at it, and which trip to book. If a section did not help with that, we cut it.
The walking route, stated plainly
The terminal face collapsed in 2012 and there has been no walk-on route since. We say so rather than leave people to find out at the car park.
The answer
Two and a half hours on the ice
At $497 it is the most expensive half day on this coast and the only one that puts you inside the glacier rather than above it. Boots, crampons and a guide who cut the route that morning, in tunnels that will have closed by next season. Take the first departure of the day and keep a spare morning behind it.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay later