Cheapest seatNo landing
18 min18-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→ Two villages, two glaciers
Franz Josef or Fox Glacier: which one to base yourself in
They are twenty-five kilometres apart and most flights cross both. The choice is not really about which glacier is better — it is about beds, aircraft and what happens when the weather compresses everyone into one clear morning.
Quick answer
The short answer. Base yourself in Franz Josef. It has more accommodation, more operators and more aircraft, which matters enormously when three cloudy days end and everyone tries to fly at once. Fox is quieter and its valley is longer, and you will fly over it anyway from Franz Josef on the eighteen or thirty-five minute flights.
The two side by side
- Distance apart
- 25 kmabout 25 minutes by road
- Franz Josef glacier length
- 11 kmsteeper, more broken
- Fox glacier length
- 13 kmlonger, straighter
- Beds
- More in Franz Josefa larger village
- Helicopter operators
- More in Franz Josefmore capacity after bad weather
- Heli-hikes
- BothFranz Josef has the larger operation
- Flights that cover both
- Twothe 18-minute and the 35-minute
The glaciers themselves
Genuinely different from the air
Franz Josef is the steeper of the two. It drops out of the Alps in a chaotic icefall that fills the frame, and the flight up it is a sequence of things happening. Fox is longer and flatter, a legible river of ice you can see most of at once, in a wider valley with more forest around it.
If you have to pick one to fly over, Franz Josef is the more dramatic and Fox is the more beautiful. You do not have to pick: the eighteen-minute and thirty-five-minute flights from Franz Josef both cross to Fox, and the whole hop takes about five minutes.
Where to sleep
This is the decision that matters
Franz Josef village is bigger. More accommodation, more places to eat, more aircraft on the pad and more operators competing for your booking. Fox is smaller, quieter and cheaper, and there is genuinely less to do there when the cloud is down.
That last point is the whole argument. On this coast you will lose mornings. When a clear window opens after two grey days, every grounded booking in both villages tries to fly at once, and the village with more machines gets more people into the air. That is Franz Josef.
The counter-argument is real but narrow: if you are travelling in peak season and Franz Josef is full, Fox will have beds, and it is twenty-five minutes' drive to fly from the other pad.
Every flight, current fare
Flights from Franz Josef that cover both glaciers
The eighteen and thirty-five minute flights cross to Fox.
| 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 |
Book direct
The flights that cover both glaciers
Two glaciersSnow landing
35 min35-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→ 
Our top pickMost booked
25 min25-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→ Common questions
Franz Josef or Fox
Which is better, Franz Josef or Fox Glacier?
Franz Josef is steeper and more dramatic from the air; Fox is longer and easier to see whole. For a base, Franz Josef — more beds, more operators and more aircraft when the weather clears.
Can you see both glaciers on one flight?
Yes. The eighteen-minute and thirty-five-minute flights from Franz Josef both cross to Fox. The hop over the divide takes about five minutes.
How far apart are Franz Josef and Fox Glacier?
Twenty-five kilometres by road, about twenty-five minutes' drive. By air it is a few minutes.
Is it cheaper to fly from Fox?
Broadly the same. Operators in both villages publish similar fares for similar durations, and neither discounts.
Can you walk on Fox Glacier?
Not onto the ice, for the same reason as Franz Josef — the terminal face has retreated and the ground below it is unstable. Guided access is by helicopter.
Which village should I stay in?
Franz Josef, unless it is full. More aircraft means a better chance of flying in the one clear window a wet week gives you.
Go deeper
More on flying at Franz Josef
On the ice
The Franz Josef heli-hike
What it is, what it costs, and whether it is worth it
What it costsFranz Josef helicopter prices
All seven flights, and the column that decides value
CompareWhich flight is best
Which of the seven to actually book
The glaciersGlacier helicopter tours
Franz Josef, Fox and Tasman from the air
The landingThe snow landing
Which flights land, and what it is like
WeatherWeather and cancellations
How often flights go, and what happens to your money