Our top pick188 reviews
3h 30mHalf-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local Guide
★ 4.7 · 188 reviews
- Three and a half hours, Gentle valley hike through rainforest
- Views of Fox Glacier and Mount Tasman
- Day trip
- Free cancellation
Franz Josef Glacier walk
A Franz Josef Glacier walk gives you a guided route to the valley lookout. We compared 12 tours, with prices from $63, free cancellation, and the top tour rated 4.7 across 188 reviews. The path climbs through rainforest to a lookout above the riverbed.
Price from
Guided walk$63
Today's lowest guided walk fare across all 12 walks
Average rating
All 12 walks48
1,616 verified reviews across 12 walks
Your day
Shortest to longest45min–8h
Shortest: Kiwi VIP Backstage Pass
Longest: Extended Heli‑Hike & Lunch
Free cancellation 24 h
Small groups
Mobile voucher
Hot drinks on the walk
Instant confirmation
The valley track is free
Everything you can book here
Every guided walk at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier
Twelve trips out of Franz Josef township — guided valley walks to both glacier lookouts, rainforest and lake tours in the same UNESCO World Heritage area, and three heli hikes for the people who want to stand on the ice itself. Walks first, ice at the end.
169 reviews1:10 guide ratio
3 hFranz Josef Glacier Lookout Guided Walk
★ 4.8 · 169 reviews
- Three hours, Guided walk in the glacier valley
- Rainforest trail, 1:10 guide ratio
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
145 reviewsEco-cruise
2 h2-Hour Scenic Lake Mapourika Cruise
★ 4.8 · 145 reviews
- Two hours, Eco-cruise with Southern Alps views
- Local skipper shares wildlife insights
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
137 reviewsSmall group
3 h3-Hour Kayak Tour on Lake Mapourika
★ 4.9 · 137 reviews
- Three hours, Paddle into a hidden rainforest creek
- Photos of your tour included
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
Cruise and walk77 reviews
2.5 h2.5-Hour Lake Mapourika Cruise and Walk
★ 4.8 · 77 reviews
- 2.5 hours, Lake cruise plus rainforest walk
- Private trail in a kiwi sanctuary
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
Kayak and walk73 reviews
4 hKayak & Walking Tour to Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary
★ 4.9 · 73 reviews
- Four hours, Kayak, then walk a rainforest trail
- Photos of your tour included
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
$102
Check availability→ 
Shortest here47 reviews
45 minKiwi VIP Backstage Pass Tour -Booking Essential
★ 4.4 · 47 reviews
- 45 minutes, Behind the scenes at a kiwi hatchery
- See live tuatara
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
Mirror lakeHalf day
4 hHalf-Day Nature Tour to Lake Matheson
★ 4.8 · 17 reviews
- Four hours, Mirror views of Aoraki and Mount Tasman
- Gentle track with bridges and streams
- Day trip
- Free cancellation
New activitySmall group
4 hHalf-Day Guided Tour to Okarito
- Four hours, Old mining township and its history
- Mountain views and native birds
- Day trip
- Free cancellation
363 reviewsLands on the ice
4 hUp to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter Transfer
★ 4.9 · 363 reviews
- Four hours, Land on the ice by helicopter
- Ice caves and arches on foot
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
$455
Check availability→ 
399 reviewsLikely to sell out
4 h2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter Transfer
★ 4.8 · 399 reviews
- Four hours, Helicopter transfer onto the glacier
- 2.5 hours hiking with guides
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
$514
Check availability→ 
Longest on the iceMeal included
8 hExtended Heli‑Hike with Lunch (Small Group)
★ 5.0 · 1 reviews
- Eight hours, Up to 5.5 hours on the ice
- Glacier picnic lunch included
- Longest walk here
- Free cancellation
$886
Check availability→ Two questions
Which walk is yours?
Seen the twelve above and still torn? There are really only four answers on this coast. Walk a glacier valley with a guide who can read it. Walk up to the Franz Josef lookout and watch the ice from across the riverbed. Put crampons on and let a helicopter take you to the glacier itself. Or spend the morning on the water instead. Pick what matters and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
What the valley and the ice actually look like
Two different days, filmed. The valley walk is a graded track through podocarp rainforest that opens out onto a riverbed with the glacier at the head of it. The ice is the other film: blue tunnels and crevasse walls that a helicopter drops you into, because the terminal face now sits well back up the valley.
Side by side
The free track, the guided walk, and the walk on the glacier
Three different days, and most people book before they know the difference. The valley track costs nothing and ends at the lookout. The guided walk adds the rainforest sections, a guide who can name what you are looking at, and hot drinks. The heli hike is the one that puts crampons on your feet.
Swipe the table sideways →
| Franz Josef Glacier Lookout Guided Walk | TOP PICKHalf-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local Guide | 2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter Transfer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $63 | $63 | $514 |
| Total trip length | 3 hours | 3.5 hours | 4 hours |
| Time on your feet | ~3 h walking | ~2.5 h walking | ~2.5 h on the ice |
| Cost per hour of walking | $21.00 | $25.20 | $205.60 |
| Where you walk | Franz Josef valley | Fox Glacier valley | On the glacier |
| Gear supplied | Bring a rain jacket | Bring a rain jacket | Boots, crampons, jacket |
| Transfer | Starts in the township | 30 min each way, included | Helicopter both ways |
| Rating | 4.8 · 169 | 4.7 · 188 | 4.8 · 399 |
| Best for | Seeing Franz Josef itself | A gentle valley walk with transfer | Standing on the glacier |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
TOP PICK
Half-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local Guide
$63- Total trip length
- 3.5 hours
- Time on your feet
- ~2.5 h walking
- Cost per hour of walking
- $25.20
- Where you walk
- Fox Glacier valley
- Gear supplied
- Bring a rain jacket
- Transfer
- 30 min each way, included
- Rating
- 4.7 · 188
- Best for
- A gentle valley walk with transfer
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
Franz Josef Glacier Lookout Guided Walk
$63- Total trip length
- 3 hours
- Time on your feet
- ~3 h walking
- Cost per hour of walking
- $21.00
- Where you walk
- Franz Josef valley
- Gear supplied
- Bring a rain jacket
- Transfer
- Starts in the township
- Rating
- 4.8 · 169
- Best for
- Seeing Franz Josef itself
2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter Transfer
$514- Total trip length
- 4 hours
- Time on your feet
- ~2.5 h on the ice
- Cost per hour of walking
- $205.60
- Where you walk
- On the glacier
- Gear supplied
- Boots, crampons, jacket
- Transfer
- Helicopter both ways
- Rating
- 4.8 · 399
- Best for
- Standing on the glacier
Verdict
Walk the valley first
It is the walk almost everyone here should do first, and it is the one you can do for nothing. The public track takes you up the valley floor to the lookout with the ice across the riverbed. The guided version adds the rainforest the track skirts and a guide at one to ten. Only after that does the helicopter question become worth asking.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
The ice is reached by helicopter
Both glaciers have retreated a long way up their valleys, and the guided walks now finish at a lookout on the valley floor with the ice in view across the riverbed. To stand on the glacier itself you take a short helicopter transfer to a landing site and hike from there, with boots, crampons and a guide supplied. That is why the two kinds of “glacier walk” on this page differ so much in price.
Two-minute check
Which Franz Josef walk fits your day?
Three things decide it: how long you are in the township, how you are on your feet, and whether you want to see the glacier or stand on it. Answer three questions and find out before you pay rather than at the meeting point.
How long are you in Franz Josef?Weather here moves fast, and a spare day changes your options
How are you on your feet?The valley walks are gentle; the ice is uneven under crampons
What do you want out of the day?This is the only real variable here
Answer the three questions above
You'll get a straight yes or no, the flight that fits your day, and the specific thing that would trip you up at check-in.
Six ways to see it
1,616 reviews across twelve Franz Josef trips
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 1,616
verified reviews
5 ★88%
4 ★9%
3 ★2%
2 ★1%
1 ★0%
All twelve Franz Josef and Fox Glacier trips on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 1,616→🚶
Half-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local Guide
From $63 · 188 reviews
★★★★★
The guided valley walk most people book
Three and a half hours in the Fox Glacier valley with Glacier Valley Eco Tours: rainforest in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, the glacier and Mount Tasman above the valley floor, and a hot drink at the turnaround. The transfer from Franz Josef is in the price. Rated 4.7 across 188 reviews.
🌲
The valley track on your own
Free · an afternoon
★★★★★
The track to the lookout costs nothing
Both valleys have a graded public track from the car park to a lookout, and walking it needs no booking, no guide and no fee. It gives you the glacier across the riverbed rather than under your boots, and for a lot of people that is the day they wanted.
👁
Franz Josef Glacier Lookout Guided Walk
From $63 · 169 reviews
★★★★★
Franz Josef itself, with someone reading it for you
Three hours through podocarp rainforest and along a glacier-fed river to the Franz Josef lookout, at one guide to ten guests. The operator says it plainly: stunning in clear skies and magical in misty rain, which on this coast is an honest thing to put in a listing.
🧊
2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter Transfer
From $514 · 399 reviews
★★★★★
The only way onto the ice itself
The glacier has retreated up its valley, so time on the ice starts with a helicopter. Two and a half hours hiking on Franz Josef Glacier with Franz Josef Glacier Guides, boots and crampons supplied, through blue ice caves and crevasse walls. Rated 4.8 across 399 reviews.
🚤
2-Hour Scenic Lake Mapourika Cruise
From $71 · 145 reviews
★★★★★
The glacier from the water instead
Two hours on Lake Mapourika, the largest lake in South Westland, inside the UNESCO World Heritage area, with the Southern Alps along the far shore. The kayak version paddles into a hidden rainforest creek in the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary and includes your photos.
⛰
Half-Day Nature Tour to Lake Matheson
From $69 · half a day
★★★★☆
The mirror, 30 minutes down the road
Lake Matheson sits in ancient forest near Fox Glacier and on a still morning it holds Aoraki and Mount Tasman on its surface. A gentle track with bridges and streams, and a guide who knows which hour the water goes flat. Honest limit: the reflection needs calm air.
What it really costs
The valley track is free. The ice is the part you pay for.
This is the part no booking page leads with. Walking up the valley to the lookout on your own costs nothing and needs no booking. What money buys here is either a guide through the rainforest sections of the same valley, or the helicopter that puts you on the glacier.
Swipe sideways →
| What you do | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley track to the lookout, on your own | Free | The graded track and the view of the ice, no booking needed | n/a |
| Guided valley walk with a local guide | $63 | Rainforest sections, a guide, hot drinks, transport at Fox | Free up to 24 hours |
| Heli hike onto the glacier | $455 | Helicopter both ways, boots, crampons, guide, up to 3 hours on the ice | Free up to 24 hours |
Costs the listing doesn't show you
- The track itself is free. No booking page mentions that the valley track to the lookout costs nothing. What you are buying is the forest, the guide and the transfer.
- The quoted hours are not all walking. Three and a half hours at Fox includes an hour of driving, split between the two ends of the day.
- Two valleys, two drives. Franz Josef and Fox are 30 minutes apart. Doing both valleys unguided means an hour behind the wheel on top of the walking.
- Rain is normal here. The walks run in it and the guides plan for it, but a waterproof jacket is the difference between a good day and a long one.
What is genuinely included
- A local guide through the valley, at one guide to ten guests
- The rainforest sections of the route that the public track skirts
- Tea, coffee or hot chocolate at the turnaround point
- At Fox, the 30-minute transfer from Franz Josef township each way
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, with a full refund
The honest answer
Is the guided walk worth it when the track is free?
Sixty-three dollars, in a valley where the track to the lookout costs nothing — so the question is fair. What the ticket buys is the parts of the rainforest the public track does not reach, a guide at one to ten, and at Fox a thirty-minute transfer each way that saves you the drive.
What makes it worth it
- Rainforest sections of the valley that the public track does not go through
- One guide to ten guests, reading the ice, the rock and the birdlife as you walk
- At Fox, a 30-minute transfer each way from Franz Josef, both ways included
- A hot drink at the turnaround, which on this coast earns its place
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours, so an early booking costs you nothing
Keep in mind
- The public track to the lookout is free, and it is a good walk on its own
- These walks reach the valley and the lookout; the ice itself is reached by helicopter
- This is temperate rainforest — plan for rain and the walk still runs
- Fox and Franz Josef are two different valleys, 30 minutes apart
- Morning departures fill first in summer, when every bed in the township is taken
The walk, hour by hour
Township to lookout and back
Look at the forecast, then book anyway
The valley walks run in rain and the guides say so in the listings. It is the helicopters that need a window, so if the ice is your plan, keep a spare morning.
Meet in the township
Glacier Valley Eco Tours start from their base in Franz Josef for both valleys. Bring a rain jacket and shoes you do not mind getting wet; nothing else is needed.
The drive to the valley
For Fox it is a 30-minute transfer each way, included in the price. For Franz Josef the walk starts much closer to the township.
Into the rainforest
Podocarp forest, moss, and the sound of water everywhere. This is the part the public track skirts and the guided walk goes through.
Out onto the riverbed
The forest opens and the valley widens into grey gravel and braided water, with the glacier at the head of it and Mount Tasman above.
The lookout, and the hot drinks
The turnaround point, where the ice is in full view across the valley. Tea, coffee or hot chocolate comes out of the pack here.
Back in Franz Josef
Back at the base by early afternoon, which leaves the light for Lake Matheson or the lake cruise if the day is still holding.
Best time of day
Walk the valley early, keep the lake for the evening
These two work in opposite directions, which is why you can do both in a day. Cloud tends to build against the Alps as the day warms, so the first walks of the morning get the cleanest view up the valley to the ice. Lake Matheson is the reverse: the reflection needs still air, and the stillest air on this coast usually comes in the last hour before dark, once the coaches have gone and the surface goes flat. Walk at eight, stand at the lake at seven, and the day has done what you came for.
On the ground
What this coast actually looks like
The valley
Three hours with a guide, and the public track through it costs nothing.
The forest
Podocarp rainforest in a UNESCO World Heritage area, wet most weeks of the year.
The mirror
Lake Matheson holds both mountains on a still morning, 30 minutes down the road.
The ice
The glacier itself, reached by helicopter, with crampons and a guide.
What it's like
Two valleys, one free track, and the ice above both of them
Most people arrive in Franz Josef with one picture in their head: themselves, on the ice, in crampons. Then they find out how the valley is laid out, and the plan changes on the first afternoon. It is worth knowing the shape of it before you book anything.
Both townships — Franz Josef and Fox, thirty minutes apart on the same coast road — sit below a glacier that runs down a steep valley out of the Southern Alps. From each of them a graded public track leads up the valley floor to a lookout, and that track is free. No permit, no guide, no booking. You park, you walk, and at the end of it the ice is in front of you across a riverbed of grey gravel.
That walk is the reason the phrase “glacier walk” means two completely different things here. On the valley floor you are looking at the glacier. On the ice you are standing on it. The first costs nothing and takes an afternoon; the second starts with a helicopter.
The guided version of the valley walk is the middle answer, and it is the one most people on this page book. Glacier Valley Eco Tours run both valleys from their base in Franz Josef: three hours at the Franz Josef lookout, three and a half in the Fox valley with the transfer included each way. What the ticket buys is the rainforest — sections of ancient podocarp forest, mossed and dripping, that the public track skirts around and the guided route goes through.
It also buys someone who can read the place. One guide to ten guests, naming the rock that the ice carried down, the birds in the canopy, the line on the valley wall where the glacier used to sit. The listing for the Franz Josef walk describes the valley as stunning in clear skies and magical in misty rain, which is an unusually honest sentence to put on a booking page in a rainforest.
The ice itself is reached by helicopter. The glacier has pulled back up its valley over the past decades, so the route onto it now starts from a pad rather than from the end of the track. Franz Josef Glacier Guides fly you up for two and a half hours of hiking, Fox Glacier Guiding for up to three, and both supply the boots, the crampons and the jacket. It is a different day, a different price, and for a lot of people it is the whole reason they came.
What surprises most visitors is how much else is here. Lake Mapourika is the largest lake in South Westland, and a two-hour eco-cruise or a three-hour kayak takes you into a hidden creek inside the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary. Lake Matheson, near Fox, holds Aoraki and Mount Tasman on its surface when the air is still. Okarito itself is an old gold-mining township on a lagoon full of birds. All of it is inside the same UNESCO World Heritage area.
So the plan that works is usually two days rather than one. Walk a valley on the afternoon you arrive — free, or guided if you want the forest and the commentary. Keep the next morning for whichever of the two you did not do: the other valley, the lake, or the helicopter onto the ice. This coast gives up its weather in windows, and two days is how you catch one.
While you're on the coast
The three things people do with the other half-day
You want a spare day here for the weather, and this is a good place to lose one. A kayak into a kiwi sanctuary, the lake that holds two mountains on its surface, and forty-five minutes behind the glass at a kiwi hatchery — all of them inside half an hour of the township.
Practical
Plan the walk
Five things decide how it goes: which valley you walk and in what order, what you wear on a coast that gets rain most weeks, when you book, how you get between Franz Josef and Fox, and whether you want the ice as well as the view of it.
Franz Josef Glacier Valley
The classic: a graded valley track from the car park to a lookout with the ice across the riverbed. Free on your own, three hours with a guide.
Fox Glacier valley
The quieter of the two, thirty minutes down the coast road. Three and a half hours guided, with the transfer from Franz Josef both ways.
Lake Matheson
Ancient forest, a gentle track with bridges and streams, and the mirror view of Aoraki and Mount Tasman when the water is flat.
Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary
Reached by kayak or by boat across Lake Mapourika, with a private rainforest trail at the far end.
Okarito township
An old gold-mining settlement on a lagoon, four hours with a guide, and some of the best birdlife on the coast.
On the ice
Up to three hours walking on the glacier itself, with a helicopter transfer, crampons and a guide.
A rain jacket, every month
This is temperate rainforest. The walks run in the rain and the guides expect it; you should too.
Shoes you can get wet
The valley tracks are gravel and can be damp. Trainers are fine in summer, walking shoes better.
A warm layer for the lookout
The wind comes off the ice down the valley, and the turnaround point is colder than the car park.
The ice gear is supplied
Heli hikes provide boots stiff enough for crampons, the crampons, and a jacket. You bring socks and a warm layer.
Insect repellent
Sandflies are part of the West Coast. They are worst at the car parks and along the rivers.
Something for your camera
Rain and glacier spray are hard on lenses. A dry bag or even a plastic bag earns its place.
The public tracks need no booking
No permit, no fee, no guide. Drive to the car park and walk up the valley.
Guided walks fill in the mornings
Summer mornings go first, and there are two valleys competing for the same guides.
Free cancellation to 24 hours
Booking early costs nothing, so hold a slot as soon as your dates are firm.
Book the ice for your first morning
If the helicopter is stood down by weather you still have a day in hand to try again.
One price everywhere
Operator office, platform or hotel desk — the fare is the same. Booking ahead buys the slot, not a discount.
Check what the hours include
Quoted durations cover transfer, briefing and gear as well as the walking itself.
Franz Josef township
On State Highway 6 on the West Coast of the South Island, with everything on this page inside 40 minutes of it.
Fox Glacier
Thirty minutes south on the same road. The Fox valley walk includes the transfer, so you need not drive it yourself.
From Queenstown
Around six hours by road over the Haast Pass, and one of the best drives in the country.
From Christchurch
Over Arthur’s Pass and down the coast, a long day at the wheel. Most people split it.
Fuel and food
Both townships are small. Fill up when you can, and do not count on late kitchens.
Lake Matheson and Okarito
Both need a short drive from the townships, or come with the guided tours that include transport.
Best time
When to come
The valley walks run all year and they run in rain — this is temperate rainforest and the operators say so in their own listings. What changes month to month is daylight, how busy the township is, and how often helicopters get a window onto the ice.
Feb – Apr
The window
Late summer into autumn: the most settled weather of the year, warm enough for the long rainforest walks, and the January crowd has gone home. Best odds for the heli hikes too.
Nov – Jan
Long days, full township
Fifteen hours of daylight and every walk running, but every bed in Franz Josef booked. Guided walks fill first in the mornings. Book ahead — cancellation is free to 24 hours.
Sep – Oct
Spring, loud rivers
Snowmelt fills the rivers and the waterfalls in the valley are at their best. Cooler on the track, quieter guides, and fronts that come through the Alps fast.
May – Aug
Winter, and the clear days
Short days and cold mornings, but the clearest air of the year between fronts — the days when Aoraki and Mount Tasman stand in Lake Matheson without a ripple. Walks still run.
Worth knowing
Six things that aren't in the listing
01
The valley track to the lookout is free. It needs no booking and no guide, and it is a good walk in its own right. Anyone charging you for access to the track itself is selling you something else.
02
“Glacier walk” means two things here. On the valley floor you look at the ice from across the riverbed. On the ice you walk on it in crampons, and that version starts with a helicopter.
03
The guided walk buys you the rainforest. The public track skirts the forest; the guided route goes through the podocarp sections, which is the part people describe afterwards.
04
Fox and Franz Josef are two valleys, not one. They are thirty minutes apart, they look different, and the Fox walk includes the transfer both ways in the price.
05
The walks run in the rain. This is a rainforest coast and the operators plan for it. It is the helicopters, not the walks, that wait for a window.
06
Keep the afternoon light for Lake Matheson. The reflection needs still air, and the lake is thirty minutes from Franz Josef near the Fox township.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
Go deeper
More on walking at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier
Common questions
Franz Josef Glacier walks, answered
Can you walk to Franz Josef Glacier?
You can walk up the valley to the lookout, and that walk is free. A graded public track leads from the car park along the valley floor to a viewing point where the ice stands across the riverbed. Going onto the ice itself is a separate trip, by helicopter, with a guide and crampons.
Is the Franz Josef Glacier walk free?
The valley track to the lookout is, yes — no permit, no booking, no guide needed. The guided walk, from $63, adds the rainforest sections the public track skirts, a guide at one to ten, and hot drinks at the turnaround.
How long is the Franz Josef Glacier walk?
The guided Franz Josef Glacier Lookout walk runs three hours, and the Fox Glacier valley walk three and a half including the 30-minute transfer each way. Walking the public track on your own is an afternoon, depending on how long you stand at the lookout.
Can you walk Franz Josef Glacier without a guide?
The valley track, yes. It is public, marked and free, and thousands of people walk it unguided every week. A guide is what gets you through the rainforest sections off the main track, and a guide plus a helicopter is what gets you onto the glacier.
Can you walk to Fox Glacier?
Same answer as Franz Josef: there is a valley track from the car park to a lookout, and it is free. The guided Fox walk, from $63, is three and a half hours with the transfer from Franz Josef in the price, and it takes in the rainforest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park and the view of Mount Tasman.
Can you hike on the ice without a helicopter?
Standing on Franz Josef or Fox ice is a flown trip now — the glaciers have pulled back up their valleys, so guides fly you to a landing site and hike from there. Fox Glacier Guiding run up to three hours on the ice from $455, and Franz Josef Glacier Guides two and a half from $514.
Is the Franz Josef heli hike worth it?
If walking on a glacier is the reason you came to this coast, it is the only trip that does it, and both operators are rated 4.8 and above across several hundred reviews. If you mostly want to see the ice and walk in the forest, the valley walks give you that for a fraction of the price, and they run in weather that grounds helicopters.
Free · no account needed
Two days on the glacier coast — the plan we'd follow
One PDF: which valley to walk on which day, when to book if you also want the ice, and what to do with the afternoon when the cloud comes in. Built from the operators’ own listings and the same live prices as this page.
- Both valley walks, free and guided, with times from the listings
- The order to do them in, so the light and the weather work for you
- Valley walk against heli hike, decided, with both sets of numbers
- What to wear on a coast that rains most weeks of the year
Check your inbox
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Durations, inclusions and operator names come from the live GetYourGuide listings for each trip. Prices and ratings are read off the same listings and updated with the page.
How we pick
Every guided walk bookable at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier is on this page, and so is the free track that competes with them. Nobody pays to be featured.
We say when it is free
The valley track to the lookout costs nothing, and we lead with that. A page that hides it is selling you something you already have.
The ice, stated plainly
The glaciers have pulled back up their valleys, so time on the ice begins with a helicopter. We say so rather than leave people to work it out at the car park.
The answer
Walk the valley. Fly only if you want the ice.
Do a valley walk on the afternoon you arrive — free on the public track, or $63 with a guide through the rainforest and hot drinks at the lookout. Then keep the next morning for the other valley, the lake, or the helicopter that puts crampons on your feet.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay later