Heli-hike or scenic helicopter flight at Franz Josef?
A scenic flight gives you 6 to 15 minutes on the snow; a heli-hike gives up to 2.5 hours on the ice. Compare time, cost, rules and weather at Franz Josef.
A scenic flight lands you on the snow for a short photo stop; a heli-hike flies you onto the glacier and a guide walks you across the ice for a couple of hours. Book the scenic flight if you have an hour, small children or a budget of about $200 to $280 per person. Book the heli-hike if you can give it about four hours, meet the age and weight rules, and want to walk among the ice formations in crampons.
The Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike with Helicopter Transfer from Franz Josef Glacier Guides is from $508 per person, rated 4.7 from 404 GetYourGuide reviews. A 25-minute scenic flight with a 10-minute landing, the Franz Josef Glacier: Helicopter Flight & Alpine Landing, is from $223, rated 4.8 from 696 reviews. Prices are per person in US dollars, checked October 2026.
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What you do on each
On a scenic flight you check in 30 minutes before departure, get weighed and briefed, and fly for 20 to 35 minutes up the Franz Josef valley, over the icefall and into the snowfields and peaks above it. Partway through, the pilot lands at a snow site and you have a few minutes outside for photos before flying back. The stop lasts around 6 to 8 minutes at Glacier Helicopters and around 10 to 15 at Glacier Country Helicopters, loading included. You stay in your own clothes and shoes; no operator lends boots or jackets for a scenic landing, so covered shoes and a warm layer are on you.
A heli-hike turns the helicopter into transport. At Franz Josef Glacier Guides you check in 15 minutes before, get fitted with boots, crampons and waterproofs, and take a short flight, around 4 minutes each way, that lands high on the main icefall. From there a guide leads your group, with up to 11 guests per guide, across the ice for up to 2.5 hours, on a route through crevasses and ice formations that varies with conditions. The Helicopter Line, which also sells this hike, calls it a 2-hour walk, so plan on about 2 to 2.5 hours on the ice and about 4 hours from check-in to the end.
The effort differs as much as the length. On a scenic flight you climb into the helicopter and stand on the snow. The heli-hike asks for moderate fitness: Franz Josef Glacier Guides says that if you can walk comfortably for 2 to 3 hours on uneven ground, including steps cut into the ice, you will likely manage. The rules on age, weight and height are on the heli-hikes page.
What you see from the air and on the ice
On a scenic flight you see the whole glacier. You fly over the terminal moraine, up the length of the ice and above the icefall to the snowfields of the upper névé, which the Department of Conservation says you can only see from a helicopter or ski plane. Longer flights add Fox Glacier, the Tasman Glacier on the far side of the Main Divide, and Aoraki/Mt Cook when the cloud allows. The landing puts you on snow among the peaks.
On a heli-hike you see one part of one glacier up close. The flight lasts only a few minutes, but once on the icefall you walk among the features a scenic flight passes over: the listing describes blue ice caves, crevasses and ice formations, with the route changing as the glacier moves. You do not reach the upper névé on foot.
There is no way onto the ice without a helicopter. Foot access from the valley ended around 2011 to 2012, and the regional tourism body says helicopters are now the only safe way to get people onto the glacier for guided walks. The free valley walk stops at a viewpoint about 3 km from the glacier face; our guide to seeing the glacier without a helicopter covers it.
Between the two sits Franz Josef Glacier Guides’ Scenic Helicopter Flight & Glacier Landing: a guided 15 minutes standing on the ice, about an hour from check-in, open from age 4, from $395. It has only 3 reviews so far, rated 4.2.
Side by side
| Scenic flight with snow landing | Franz Josef heli-hike | Fox Glacier heli-hike | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Helicopter Flight & Alpine Landing | Glacier Heli-Hike with Helicopter Transfer | Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter Transfer |
| Departs | Franz Josef | Franz Josef | Fox Glacier village, 24 km south |
| Time from check-in | About an hour | About 4 hours | About 4 hours |
| Time on snow or ice | 6 to 15 min, by operator | Up to 2.5 hours | Up to 3 hours |
| Time in the air | About 12 to 29 min on 20 to 35-min flights | About 4 min each way | About 5 min each way |
| From | $204 to $280 per person | $508 per person | $480 per person |
| Age | No minimum at Glacier Country Helicopters or Glacier Helicopters | 10 and over | 9 and over |
| Fitness | No fitness rule stated | Moderate; 2 to 3 hours on uneven ice | Reasonable fitness and agility |
| Gear lent | None | Boots, crampons, poles, waterproofs, helmet, gloves | Boots and socks, crampons, poles, waterproofs |
| Weather needed | A window for the flight; landing at the pilot’s call | Four hours of clear weather | Weather call before check-in |
| Rating | 4.8 from 696 reviews | 4.7 from 404 reviews | 4.9 from 370 reviews |
The scenic price range runs from the 20-minute HeliServices flight at $204 to the 35-minute twin-glacier flights at $280. Flight air times are derived from each operator’s landing figure; the flight times guide shows the working. The Fox heli-hike’s flight times come from its own itinerary.
Franz Josef Glacier Guides also runs an Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch (Small Group): up to about 5.5 hours on the ice, a picnic lunch on the glacier and a maximum of four guests, from $876 per person, closed to under-14s. It has one review so far.
Which one is more likely to go ahead
Both depend on the weather, and no operator publishes a cancellation rate. The difference is how much clear weather each one needs. Franz Josef Glacier Guides needs a four-hour window of clear weather for the heli-hike, and if the helicopter cannot fly, the hike does not run: there is no walk-in alternative. A scenic flight needs a far shorter window, and on a day when cloud keeps the pilot off the landing sites, Glacier Country Helicopters can still fly its 18-minute overflight of Franz Josef and Fox. So on a day of broken weather, a short scenic flight may go when the hike is called off.
Final calls come late either way. Glacier Helicopters and HeliServices decide at check-in, 30 minutes before departure, and Franz Josef Glacier Guides just before the trip leaves. When a heli-hike is called off, the company may offer its shorter Glacier Landing as an alternative. On GetYourGuide, a weather cancellation means a reschedule or a full refund through GetYourGuide.
Book whichever you choose for your first day in the area. Franz Josef Glacier Guides suggests keeping at least two days, so a cancelled morning can move to the next. If a hike is cut short with under 1.5 hours on the ice, the company’s direct-booking terms consider a partial refund. Our weather and refunds guide covers each operator’s rules.
Who each suits
Pick a scenic flight if you have young children: Glacier Country Helicopters and Glacier Helicopters set no minimum age, and infants under 15 kg sit on a knee. It also suits anyone short of time, unsure on their feet, or over the heli-hike’s 115 kg limit, and anyone who wants to see two or three glaciers. The snow landing page compares the short flights.
Pick the heli-hike if your group is 10 or older (9 at Fox), between 35 and 115 kg and at least 137 cm tall, and the walk on the ice is the reason you came. It costs a little over twice a 25-minute flight, for up to 2.5 hours on the ice against about 10 minutes on the snow. If you want both the walk and the wide view, fly a twin-glacier flight one day and hike the next, weather allowing. Franz Josef Glacier Guides says anyone more than 12 weeks pregnant cannot join, and The Helicopter Line says pregnant clients cannot take part at all.
Frequently asked questions
Is a heli-hike harder than a scenic flight?
Yes. A scenic flight only asks you to step into the helicopter and stand on the snow for a few minutes. A heli-hike asks for moderate fitness: Franz Josef Glacier Guides says you should be able to walk comfortably for 2 to 3 hours on uneven ground, including steps cut into the ice, wearing crampons.
Do you walk on the glacier on a scenic flight?
You step out onto snow at the landing site for about 6 to 15 minutes, depending on the operator, but you do not hike. Scenic flights lend no boots or crampons, so you stay near the helicopter. To walk on the ice with a guide, book a heli-hike or Franz Josef Glacier Guides’ 15-minute Glacier Landing.
Which is cheaper, a heli-hike or a scenic flight?
The scenic flight. Short flights with a landing start at $204 per person on GetYourGuide, and two-glacier flights run $260 to $280. The Franz Josef heli-hike is from $508 and the Fox Glacier heli-hike from $480. The full breakdown by flight type is on the prices page of this site.
Can a scenic flight go when the heli-hike is cancelled?
It can. The heli-hike needs a four-hour window of clear weather, while a scenic flight needs much less time, and Glacier Country Helicopters flies an 18-minute overflight when cloud blocks the landing sites. Nothing is guaranteed either way, so book early in your stay and keep a spare day.
Ready to walk on the ice? Check heli-hike dates, or compare all three heli-hikes on the heli-hikes page.
Related reading:
Pick a Morning Above the Glacier
Flights run on the weather. Book early in your stay so a cancelled slot can move to the next day.
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