Question 1

How much is a Franz Josef helicopter tour?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

Can you still walk onto Franz Josef Glacier?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 4

Do all the flights land?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 5

How often are flights cancelled?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 6

Franz Josef or Fox Glacier &mdash; which flight is better?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

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 n&eacute;v&eacute;, and puts you on top of them. They are not the same view of the same thing.

Vlucht	Tijd in de lucht	Prijs	Landt op het ijs	Kosten per minuut	Beoordeling
18-Minute Twin GlacierFranz Josef en Fox, zonder landing	18 min	€213	Geen	€11.83	Nieuw
25-Minute Alpine LandingIJsval, daarna een landing op de sneeuw	25 min	€213	Eén	€8.51	4.8 · 693
30-Minute Franz Josef & TasmanFranz Josef en Tasman, met een landing	30 min	€216	Eén	€7.18	4.8 · 84
35-Minute Two GlaciersTwee gletsjers plus Aoraki / Mount Cook	35 min	€267	Eén	€7.62	4.9 · 527
Shackleton 50-Minute EnduranceFranz Josef, Tasman en Shackleton	50 min	€429	Eén	€8.59	5.0 · 2
Heli-Hike, 2.5 Hours on IceBegeleide wandeling op het ijs	4–8 u	€485	Twee (heen en terug)	€3.24	4.8 · 398
Extended Heli-Hike with LunchDe hele dag op de gletsjer	8 u	€836	Twee (heen en terug)	€2.53	5.0 · 1

Wat te dragen tijdens een Franz Josef helikoptervlucht

De essentie

Twaalf minuten, twintig graden

De operator kleedt je aan, tot op zekere hoogte

Gewicht en kleine cabines

Vluchten die je op de sneeuw zetten

Vragen over kleding

Meer over vliegen bij Franz Josef

De Franz Josef heli-hike

Franz Josef helikopterprijzen

Welke vlucht is het beste

Gletsjerhelikoptertochten

De sneeuwlanding

Franz Josef of Fox Glacier