Glacier Experiences & Tours
From short scenic helicopter flights to full-day ice climbing adventures, New Zealand offers glacier experiences for every adventure level and budget.
Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike
Franz Josef is the fastest-moving commercially guided glacier in the world, advancing up to several meters per day. This creates constantly changing ice formations and means no two heli-hikes are ever the same. Fly over stunning rainforest and land high on the glacier where expert guides lead you through narrow ice crevasses, towering ice formations, and possibly blue ice caves.
- Duration: 4 hours total, 2.5 hours on ice
- Helicopter: Scenic flight in, thrilling flight out
- Ice Features: Crevasses, seracs, ice caves, blue ice
- Fitness: Moderate - ability to walk 2 hours
- Gear Provided: Boots, crampons, jacket, poles, helmet
- Group Size: Small groups for personalized experience
Your adventure begins at the Franz Josef Glacier Guides base where you're fitted with specialized glacier boots, waterproof gear, and receive a safety briefing. A short helicopter flight whisks you over pristine rainforest and up the dramatic icefall, offering panoramic views of the West Coast and Southern Alps including Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
After landing on the glacier, your guide equips you with crampons (ice-hiking spikes) and leads you into the heart of the ice. You'll navigate between towering ice walls, squeeze through narrow passages, explore ice caves illuminated by brilliant blue light, and witness the raw power of this living glacier. Guides expertly navigate the terrain, cutting steps with ice axes and ensuring safe passage through this ever-changing frozen wilderness.
Franz Josef Glacier Guides have exclusive landing access to Franz Josef Glacier, making them the only operator able to land on this spectacular ice. The experience includes opportunities for photos at stunning ice formations, and guides share fascinating information about glacier formation, movement, and the unique ecology of Glacier Country.
Fox Glacier Heli-Hike & Ice Climbing
Fox Glacier receives New Zealand's highest annual snowfall (approximately 5.5 meters), creating spectacular ice conditions and dramatic features. Fox Glacier Guiding's flagship "Flying Fox" heli-hike won TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Award 2021 as the world's #1 "out of the ordinary" experience. Their all-day "Extreme Fox" offers up to 7 hours on the ice with technical ice climbing.
- Flying Fox: 3 hours on ice, spectacular features
- Extreme Fox: Full day, 7 hours on ice, ice climbing
- Terrain: Steep upper icefall, dramatic crevasses, ice caves
- Unique: More freedom to explore varied terrain
- Experience: 50+ years guiding expertise
- Climate Positive: 120% carbon offset certified
What sets Fox Glacier apart is the incredible variety of terrain and the freedom guides have to explore different routes daily. Because Fox Glacier Guiding has extensive guiding terrain and doesn't require ropes and harnesses like some operators, every trip can follow a unique route tailored to the group's abilities and the day's best ice features. You might ford crevasses using ropes, be lowered into moulins (glacier waterfalls), climb short ice pitches using ice axes and crampons, or abseil down ice walls.
The helicopter flight alone is breathtaking—swooping over Fox Glacier's steep upper icefall with views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman, New Zealand's two highest peaks. Once on the ice, your highly experienced guide explains glacier dynamics while forging unique trails through dramatic terrain. Fox tends to have more water features and dramatic ice formations compared to Franz Josef's larger ice caves, making it ideal for those seeking varied and challenging glacier exploration.
For ultimate adventure seekers, the Extreme Fox all-day heli-hike includes ice climbing instruction, rappelling, and the chance to tackle vertical ice walls and traverse challenging terrain using technical equipment. This intensive experience is perfect for those who want maximum time on the glacier and aren't afraid to push their limits in this extraordinary frozen environment.
Helicopter Scenic Flights
If you prefer aerial views or have limited time, helicopter scenic flights offer spectacular glacier experiences from above. These tours provide breathtaking perspectives of Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, often including both in a single flight, plus views of the Southern Alps, rainforest, and usually a snow landing on pristine névé fields.
- Duration: 20-40 minute flight options
- Snow Landing: 10 minutes on pristine glacier snow
- Views: Both glaciers, Mt Cook, Mt Tasman, rainforest
- Perfect For: Limited time, physical limitations, families
- Cost: From NZD $330-550 depending on length
- Weather Dependent: Clear conditions required
Scenic flights depart from both Franz Josef and Fox Glacier townships and offer different route options. The standard 20-minute flight typically covers one glacier with a snow landing, while longer 30-40 minute "Twin Glacier" flights showcase both Franz Josef and Fox, flying over the divide between them and offering views of multiple peaks in the Southern Alps.
The snow landing is a highlight—stepping out onto pristine white névé fields with 360-degree mountain views and absolute silence except for the wind. It's a surreal, peaceful moment that contrasts beautifully with the dramatic helicopter flight. Everyone gets a window seat in the helicopters, ensuring perfect photo opportunities throughout the journey.
Scenic flights are ideal for those with mobility limitations, families with young children (who may be too young for heli-hikes), or travelers on tight schedules. They're also a more budget-friendly option while still providing incredible glacier experiences and that once-in-a-lifetime feeling of landing on a glacier.
Tasman Glacier Lake & Mount Cook
The Tasman Glacier is New Zealand's largest glacier at 27 kilometers long. While you can't walk on the ice itself due to extensive rock cover, boat tours across the glacier's terminal lake offer unique experiences floating among massive icebergs that have calved from the glacier face. The Mount Cook region also offers world-class mountaineering, heli-skiing, and glacier exploration.
- Glacier Boat Tour: Float among icebergs on glacier lake
- Tasman Glacier: New Zealand's longest (27km)
- Mount Cook: Aoraki, NZ's highest peak (3,724m)
- Heli-Hikes: Available on Tasman Glacier upper reaches
- Hooker Valley: Spectacular glacier valley walks (free)
- Stargazing: International Dark Sky Reserve
The 1-hour Glacier Explorers boat tour navigates across the milky turquoise waters of Tasman Glacier Lake, approaching massive icebergs and the glacier terminal face. Guides explain glacier formation and the dramatic retreat of the Tasman Glacier, which has created this ever-growing lake over recent decades. You'll see ice chunks ranging from car-sized to house-sized, all brilliantly blue due to compressed ice that absorbs all colors except blue.
The Aoraki/Mount Cook region offers numerous free walking tracks including the spectacular Hooker Valley Track (3 hours return) leading to Hooker Lake at the base of Mount Cook with views of the Hooker Glacier and floating icebergs. For more adventurous experiences, heli-hikes and mountaineering expeditions explore the Tasman Glacier's upper reaches and Mount Cook's dramatic alpine terrain.
This area is also an International Dark Sky Reserve, making it one of the best stargazing locations on Earth. Many visitors combine glacier experiences with evening astronomy tours to see the Southern Hemisphere's incredible night sky.
Ice Climbing & Technical Glacier Experiences
For experienced adventurers or those wanting to learn ice climbing, specialized tours teach vertical ice climbing techniques on glacier ice walls. Under expert instruction, you'll use ice axes, crampons, and ropes to scale stunning blue ice formations—an exhilarating combination of physical challenge and spectacular scenery.
- Duration: Full day (up to 7-8 hours on ice)
- Skills Taught: Ice axe technique, crampon use, climbing
- Equipment: All technical gear provided
- Experience Required: None - full instruction given
- Fitness: Good fitness and agility required
- Safety: Expert guides, small groups, certified gear
Ice climbing tours begin with helicopter access to the glacier's upper reaches where guides teach fundamental ice climbing techniques. You'll learn how to use ice axes effectively, kick crampon points into ice, and move efficiently on vertical or near-vertical ice walls. The instruction is progressive—starting with lower-angle ice before attempting steeper challenges.
The experience of climbing a glacier ice wall is extraordinary. The ice is incredibly strong and provides secure placements for axes and crampons, but requires technique and confidence. As you climb, the brilliant blue ice surrounds you, and reaching the top of a pitch provides immense satisfaction and spectacular views across the glacier and surrounding peaks.
These tours also include elements of glacier mountaineering including rope work, crevasse navigation, and possibly rappelling down ice walls. It's an intensive, full-day experience that provides real mountaineering skills while exploring some of the most dramatic glacier terrain in New Zealand.
Glacier Valley Walks & Viewpoints
If helicopter costs are prohibitive or you prefer ground-level experiences, both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers have excellent free walking tracks through the glacier valleys. While you can't access the ice from these walks, they offer spectacular views of the glaciers, terminal faces, ice falls, and the unique landscape shaped by thousands of years of glacier movement.
- Franz Josef Valley Walk: 1.5 hours return to viewpoint
- Fox Glacier River Walk: Through rainforest to glacier view
- Lake Matheson: Mirror lake reflecting Mt Cook (Fox area)
- Chalet Lookout: Views over Fox Glacier icefall
- Cost: Free, no bookings required
- Suitable: All fitness levels, self-paced
The Franz Josef Valley Walk follows the rocky Waiho River bed through a landscape of moraines (rock debris left by glacier movement), waterfalls, and unique geology. The track leads to a viewpoint approximately 750 meters from the glacier terminal face—as close as safety permits. You'll see the dramatic ice face, hear the crack and rumble of ice movement and calving, and gain perspective on the glacier's massive scale.
At Fox Glacier, the River Walk Track winds through lush native rainforest featuring rata and kamahi trees, passing moraine formations before reaching glacier viewpoints. For the best glacier reflection photographs, Lake Matheson (5 minutes drive from Fox Glacier township) offers mirror-like views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman framed by native forest—one of New Zealand's most photographed scenes.
These walks are perfect for families, budget travelers, or those wanting to experience glacier landscapes without the helicopter cost. They also provide excellent opportunities to understand glacier geomorphology, see how glaciers shape the land, and enjoy the stunning contrast between ice, rock, rainforest, and mountains.