How much is a Franz Josef helicopter tour?

Seats run from $232 for the eighteen-minute flight and the twenty-five-minute alpine landing, through $235 and $291 for the thirty and thirty-five minute flights, to $529 for a guided heli-hike and $911 for the full-day version with lunch. Those are per person and they are the same at every desk in the village.

Can you still walk onto Franz Josef Glacier?

Not onto the ice. The valley track was cut back after the terminal face retreated and became unstable, and it now ends at a viewpoint well short of the glacier. Guided access to the ice itself is by helicopter only, which is why the heli-hike exists as a product at all.

What is a heli-hike, and how is it different from a scenic flight?

A scenic flight puts you over the glacier and, on most options, down on the snowfield above it for ten minutes. A heli-hike flies you onto the ice, hands you boots and crampons, and a guide walks you through the crevasse field for two and a half hours or more before flying you out.

Do all the flights land?

No. The eighteen-minute flight stays in the air. The twenty-five, thirty and thirty-five minute flights all include a landing on the snow, usually ten minutes. If the landing is the reason you are booking, read the duration line before you pay.

How often are flights cancelled?

Often enough that it should change how you plan. This is one of the wettest inhabited places in New Zealand. Operators fly when the cloud base is above the tops, refund you when it is not, and cannot promise you a seat the next day. Book the first morning of a two-night stay.

Franz Josef or Fox Glacier — which flight is better?

They are twenty-five kilometres apart and most flights from Franz Josef cross both. Franz Josef has the steeper icefall and the bigger operation; Fox is quieter and the valley is longer. For a base, Franz Josef has more beds and more aircraft, which matters when the weather compresses everyone into one clear morning.

Is it worth it if I have already seen the glacier from the road?

The road viewpoint shows you the valley and the end of the ice from about a kilometre away. The flight shows you the icefall, the crevasse field and the névé, and puts you on top of them. They are not the same view of the same thing.

The honest comparison

The best Franz Josef helicopter tour: which of the seven to actually book

There is no single best Franz Josef helicopter tour — there is a best one for an hour of your day, a best one for a full day, and one that is a false economy. Here is which is which, with the operators' own ratings.

8 min read Ratings taken from the operators' listings, September 2026

Two passengers standing on the snow beside a helicopter above Franz Josef

Quick answer

If you read nothing else. Book the $232 twenty-five-minute alpine landing. It is the cheapest flight that puts you on the snow, it has more reviews than anything else here (693, averaging 4.8), and it takes an hour of your day. Upgrade to the thirty-five-minute flight if you want a second glacier and Aoraki / Mount Cook. Book the heli-hike instead if walking on the ice is the point.

The four that matter

Best overall: 25-minute alpine landing$232 · 4.8 · 693 reviews
Best if you have longer: 35-minute two glaciers$291 · 4.9 · 527 reviews
Best for being on the ice: Heli-hike, 2.5 hours$529 · 4.8 · 398 reviews
Best per minute: Shackleton 50 minutes$468 · the longest flight
The false economy: 18-minute twin glacier$232 · does not land
Most expensive: Extended heli-hike with lunch$911 · up to 5.5 h on the ice

The decision

It comes down to one question

Do you want to stand on the glacier, or look at it?

If looking is enough, the twenty-five-minute flight is the answer and there is not much more to say. You get the icefall from above, the crevasse field, and ten minutes on the snowfield at the top. An hour of your day, the cheapest landing on the page, and the flight the most people here have actually taken.

If you want to be on the ice — walking in it, between walls of it, with crampons — then no scenic flight will do and you are looking at a heli-hike. That is a different budget and a different day, and the reason people fly to the West Coast at all.

Why not the cheapest

The eighteen-minute flight is the one to skip

It is the same headline price as the twenty-five-minute flight and it stays in the air. You see Franz Josef and Fox from above, which is genuinely good, and then you land back in the village.

Almost nobody who has done both would take it over the alpine landing. Forty dollars is not the difference between a flight and no flight; it is the difference between watching the glacier and standing on it. If the budget truly stops at $232, take the alpine landing at the same price and skip a meal in Queenstown.

Every flight, current fare

All seven, side by side

Duration, landings, cost per minute and the operators' ratings.

Flight	Time in the air	Price	Lands on the ice	Cost per minute	Rating
18-Minute Twin GlacierFranz Josef and Fox, no landing	18 min	$232	None	$12.89	New
25-Minute Alpine LandingIcefall, then a landing on the snow	25 min	$232	One	$9.28	4.8 · 693
30-Minute Franz Josef & TasmanFranz Josef and Tasman, with a landing	30 min	$235	One	$7.83	4.8 · 84
35-Minute Two GlaciersTwo glaciers plus Aoraki / Mount Cook	35 min	$291	One	$8.31	4.9 · 527
Shackleton 50-Minute EnduranceFranz Josef, Tasman and Shackleton	50 min	$468	One	$9.36	5.0 · 2
Heli-Hike, 2.5 Hours on IceGuided walk on the ice	4–8 h	$529	Two (in and out)	$3.53	4.8 · 398
Extended Heli-Hike with LunchThe full day on the glacier	8 h	$911	Two (in and out)	$2.76	5.0 · 1

Full price breakdown →

Book direct

The flights, in the order we would book them

A helicopter flying low over the snowfield above Franz Josef

18-Minute Twin Glacier

Eighteen minutes over two glaciers
Franz Josef and Fox in one flight
The shortest flight on offer
Free cancellation

$232$12.89 / min

Check availability→

A blue helicopter parked on the snowfield above Franz Josef Glacier

25-Minute Alpine Landing

★ 4.8 · 693 reviews

Ice pinnacles and crevasses from above
Alpine landing in the Southern Alps
The cheapest flight that lands
Free cancellation

$232$9.28 / min

Check availability→

The long tongue of the Tasman Glacier from the air

30-Minute Franz Josef & Tasman

★ 4.8 · 84 reviews

Franz Josef and Tasman in one flight
Thirty minutes in the air
Glacier landing included
Free cancellation

$235$7.83 / min

Check availability→

Two glacier tongues seen from a helicopter over the Southern Alps

35-Minute Two Glaciers

★ 4.9 · 527 reviews

Franz Josef plus Fox or Tasman
Flies past Aoraki / Mount Cook
Ten-minute snow landing
Free cancellation

$291$8.31 / min

Check availability→

A single helicopter alone on a wide alpine snowfield

Shackleton 50-Minute Endurance

★ 5.0 · 2 reviews

Franz Josef, Tasman and Shackleton
The Shackleton expedition story
A taste of his whisky on the ice
Fifty minutes, the longest flight

$468$9.36 / min

Check availability→

Walkers on the ice below a helicopter on Franz Josef Glacier

Heli-Hike, 2.5 Hours on Ice

★ 4.8 · 398 reviews

Two and a half hours on the ice
Helicopter transfer both ways
Guided, with boots and crampons
The only way onto this glacier

$529$3.53 / min

Check availability→

Two walkers sitting on the snow beside a helicopter

Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch

★ 5.0 · 1 reviews

Up to 5.5 hours on the ice
Small group guiding
Glacier picnic lunch
The longest day on the glacier

$911$2.76 / min

Check availability→

Common questions

Choosing between the flights

Which Franz Josef helicopter tour is the best?

The twenty-five-minute alpine landing at $232. It is the cheapest flight that lands on the snow, it takes an hour of your day, and it carries 693 reviews at 4.8 — more than any other flight here.

Is the longer flight worth the extra money?

The thirty-five-minute flight adds a second glacier — Fox or Tasman — and a pass by Aoraki / Mount Cook, for $59 more. If the weather is clear, yes. If it is marginal, take the shorter flight and keep the money.

Should I do a scenic flight or a heli-hike?

A scenic flight if you want the views and an hour of your day. A heli-hike if you want to walk on the glacier, which is the only way to do it since the valley track was cut back.

Which flight has the best rating?

The thirty-five-minute two-glacier flight, at 4.9 across 527 reviews. The twenty-five-minute landing is 4.8 across 693.

Is the eighteen-minute flight worth booking?

Rarely. It costs the same as the twenty-five-minute flight and does not land.

Do any of these fly over Fox Glacier too?

Yes. The thirty-five-minute flight covers Franz Josef plus Fox or Tasman, and the eighteen-minute flight covers Franz Josef and Fox.

Go deeper

The best Franz Josef helicopter tour: which of the seven to actually book

The four that matter

It comes down to one question

The eighteen-minute flight is the one to skip

All seven, side by side