Fox Glacier or Franz Josef heli-hike?
Fox gives up to 3 hours on the ice from age 9; Franz Josef up to 2.5 hours from age 10, with more summer departures. Compare prices, towns, flights and walks.
Book the heli-hike at the glacier you are sleeping beside. The two trips are close relatives: each is run by the one guiding company on its glacier, each takes about 4 hours from check-in, and the two towns are about 24 km apart, roughly 25 minutes on State Highway 6. Fox Glacier (Te Moeka o Tuawe) gives you up to 3 hours on the ice from age 9, from $483 per person. Franz Josef (Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) gives you about 2 to 2.5 hours on the ice from age 10, from $511, with three departures a day in summer to Fox’s two.
If one standard hike feels too short, Franz Josef also sells the Franz Josef: Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch (Small Group): up to about 5.5 hours on the ice, a picnic lunch on the glacier and at most four guests, for ages 14 and up, from $881 per person. It has a single GetYourGuide review so far, and a 5.0 from one review tells you little yet.
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Time on the ice, departures and age limits
Fox Glacier Guiding sells its heli-hike on GetYourGuide as the Fox Glacier Heli-Hike: Up to 3 Hours on the Ice. You check in at 44 Main Road in Fox Glacier township 20 minutes before departure, take a 5-minute bus ride to the helipad and a 5-minute flight onto the upper glacier near the icefall, then walk for up to 3 hours in crampons on steps your guide cuts, depending on the weather. Departures are 8:50am and 11:50am all year. It is not suitable for children under 9, anyone over about 115 kg, or wheelchair users, and jeans are not allowed. It is rated 4.9 from 370 GetYourGuide reviews, the highest rating of the heli-hikes here with more than 30 reviews. One lower-rated reviewer felt the time on the ice was too short.
At Franz Josef, the Franz Josef 2.5-hour heli-hike is run by Franz Josef Glacier Guides. Check-in is 15 minutes before departure, then a short walk to the helipad and a flight of around 4 minutes each way onto the main icefall. The listing says up to 2.5 hours on the ice; the operator’s own FAQ says up to 2. Plan on about 2 to 2.5 hours. Summer departures are 7:30am, 10:00am and 12:30pm. You must be at least 10 years old, 35 kg and 137 cm tall, and no more than 115 kg, and pregnant women cannot join. The operator works with 1 guide to 11 guests and says it needs a four-hour window of clear weather. It has the most reviews of the heli-hikes on this site, 4.7 from 404. Among the low-star reviews, one trip was called off minutes after landing, and another reviewer found the walking much shorter than expected once briefing and waiting were counted.
Both companies supply boots, crampons, poles, waterproof jacket and overtrousers, and gloves. Neither promises ice caves or any other feature, because features on the ice form and disappear quickly.
The two towns
Fox Glacier township is small: 189 people at the 2023 census. It has a service station (Fox Glacier Motors), a store and a clinic on Main Road, and the InterCity coach stops on Main Road outside the Fox Glacier Guides building, the same place you check in for the heli-hike. Lake Matheson is about 5 minutes away. If you are driving up from Wanaka or Queenstown through Haast, Fox is the first glacier town you reach: Wanaka is about 3 hours 14 minutes away (262 km).
Franz Josef has more accommodation and facilities. DOC’s Westland Tai Poutini National Park Visitor Centre is at 69 Cron Street, and the West Coast Wildlife Centre, with kiwi and tuatara, opens 8:30am to 6pm, Christmas Day included. Coming from the north, Franz Josef comes first: Hokitika is about 1 hour 43 minutes away (135 km), and Fox is about 25 minutes farther south.
The coach between the two towns takes about 35 minutes. If you have a car, sleeping in one town and hiking at the other is easy; without a car, book the hike in the town where you sleep. Our where to stay in Fox Glacier page covers the beds, and how to get to Fox Glacier covers the drive and the coaches.
The two heli-hikes side by side
| Fox Glacier heli-hike | Franz Josef heli-hike | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing | Fox Glacier Heli-Hike: Up to 3 Hours on the Ice | Franz Josef Glacier: 2.5-Hour Heli-Hike with Helicopter Transfer |
| From (GetYourGuide, per person) | $483 | $511 |
| Operator’s own price | NZ$849 (Fox Glacier Guiding) | NZ$899 (Franz Josef Glacier Guides) |
| Time on the ice | Up to 3 hours | About 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Total time | About 4 hours | Up to about 4 hours |
| Flight onto the ice | About 5 minutes each way | Around 4 minutes each way |
| Departures | 8:50am and 11:50am, all year | 7:30am, 10:00am and 12:30pm in summer |
| Check-in | 20 minutes before, 44 Main Road, Fox | 15 minutes before, Franz Josef |
| Minimum age | 9 | 10, plus 35 kg and 137 cm |
| Weight limit | About 115 kg | 115 kg |
| Minimum group | 3 | 4 |
| Guide ratio | Not published | 1 guide to 11 guests |
| Rating | 4.9 from 370 reviews | 4.7 from 404 reviews |
GetYourGuide prices are US dollars on a real date, checked October 2026; the NZ$ figures are each operator’s own published price. More in our price guide.
Longer days on the ice
The extended Franz Josef trip lands at around 1,200 m and keeps you on the glacier for over five hours, with lunch and drinks served on the ice. It takes 8 hours in all, needs at least 4 guests to run, and excludes children under 14 and anyone over 115 kg. See our breakdown of the extended heli-hike.
Fox Glacier Guiding has longer trips of its own that are not sold on GetYourGuide. Its Extreme Fox All Day Heli Hike gives up to 7 hours on the ice, for ages 13 and up and good fitness, at NZ$1,049 on the operator’s site.
Helicopter flights from each town
Two of the flights on this site leave from Fox itself. The Fox Glacier: Scenic Helicopter Flight with Snow Landing takes 25 minutes from the Glacier Helicopters base in the township, in a group of up to 6, from $225, rated 4.7 from 129 reviews. The Fox Glacier and Mount Cook Helicopter Flight leaves from The Helicopter Line base on Main Road; its listing plans a snowfield landing and a pass by Aoraki/Mt Cook in about 35 minutes, from $281, rated 4.5 from 44 reviews. Our Fox helicopter page compares them.
The three twin-glacier flights on this site, which cross both Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, all depart from Franz Josef, about 25 minutes’ drive from Fox. The Twin Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers Helicopter Trip takes 30 minutes with a 10-minute landing, from $262, rated 4.9 from 154 reviews; check your voucher for the meeting point. The Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers Helicopter Flight & Snow Landing takes 35 minutes, from $281, rated 4.7 from 410 reviews. See the twin-glacier flights page. Every flight here depends on the weather, and no landing is guaranteed.
Seeing each glacier on foot
Nobody walks onto either glacier without a helicopter and a guide; on foot you reach viewpoints.
At Franz Josef, a 4 km unsealed road leads to the glacier car park, where DOC charges for parking. Glacier Country, the regional tourism body, gives the valley walk as 1.7 km return, about 30 minutes, to a viewpoint about 3 km from the terminal face. The track sometimes closes for ice collapse, flooding or landslides.
At Fox, the old valley road was damaged by floods and a landslide in early 2019 and has been closed since. DOC’s South Side Walkway starts 2 km south of the township across the Fox River bridge: about 40 minutes to the first viewpoint and about 10 more to the last, which DOC puts hundreds of meters from the face. At both glaciers DOC warns that ice collapse and rockfall can happen at any time near the face, so stay behind the barriers and the end-of-track signs.
Lake Matheson is 5 minutes from Fox and 30 minutes from Franz Josef. Its 4.4 km loop takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, and the reflections of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman are best at dawn and dusk on a fine, windless day. Two guided half-day walks, one at Fox Glacier and one at Lake Matheson, start from Franz Josef or pick you up in Fox. Our Fox walks page has the details.
Which one to book, by traveler
- A family with a 9-year-old: Fox. Franz Josef starts at 10, with height and weight minimums as well.
- The most time on the ice in a standard hike: Fox, up to 3 hours against about 2 to 2.5.
- A full day on the ice: the Franz Josef extended trip if everyone is 14 or older, or Fox Glacier Guiding’s all-day hike booked direct for ages 13 and up.
- Staying in Franz Josef without a car: Franz Josef, since check-in is in town.
- Driving north from Wanaka or Queenstown: Fox comes first, and you can hike the morning after you arrive.
- More choice of start time on a summer day: Franz Josef, with three departures to Fox’s two.
- The lower price: Fox, $28 less per person on GetYourGuide.
Whichever you pick, book it for your first full day in town and keep the next day free; our weather guide explains why. If your Fox trip is canceled and you still have time, the Franz Josef hike is 25 minutes up the road with its own departure times, subject to availability. For a verdict on whether to spend the money at all, read our Fox Glacier heli-hike verdict. Coming from Queenstown for a single day? See heli-hikes from Queenstown.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, the Fox Glacier or Franz Josef heli hike?
They are close. Fox gives up to 3 hours on the ice from age 9 and costs $28 less on GetYourGuide; Franz Josef gives about 2 to 2.5 hours from age 10, with three summer departures. Book the one in the town where you sleep.
Which is bigger, Fox or Franz Josef Glacier?
They are similar. Published figures put Franz Josef at roughly 12 km and Fox at roughly 12 to 13 km, and the figures vary with the year measured. Fox covers about 32 square km including its tributaries.
Can you walk to Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier without a helicopter?
You can walk to viewpoints at both, but not onto the ice. The Franz Josef valley walk ends about 3 km from the face; Fox’s South Side Walkway viewpoints are hundreds of meters from it. Walking on the ice needs a helicopter and a guide.
Is it better to stay in Fox Glacier or Franz Josef?
Franz Josef has more accommodation and facilities; Fox is smaller and quieter, with Lake Matheson 5 minutes away. Stay where you will hike if you have no car.
Can you do both glaciers in one day?
Yes, with a car. Hike one glacier and take a flight from the other town, or take a twin-glacier flight from Franz Josef that crosses both.
Ready to pick a date? Check the Fox heli-hike’s availability, or read our Franz Josef heli-hike page for the alternative.
Related reading:
Pick Your Day on the Ice
Heli-hikes run on the weather, so book an early day of your stay and keep one free. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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