Rated 4.8Glacier Valley
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
$63$21.00 / hour
Check availability→ New Zealand
Glacier walks in New Zealand: the two kinds, and what each one costs
A glacier walk in this country means one of two different days. One is a walk up a glacier valley through rainforest to a lookout, which costs about the price of a good lunch and asks nothing of you but a morning. The other is a guided walk on the ice itself, reached by helicopter, which costs several hundred dollars and depends on the weather. Both are on this page, priced from the live listings, and the difference matters more than the brochures suggest.
Quick answer
The short answer. If you want to walk a glacier valley, book the Franz Josef Glacier Lookout walk at $63 or the Fox valley walk at $63 — half a day each, guided, in rainforest. If you want to stand on the ice, that is a helicopter trip: $514 on Franz Josef, $455 on Fox. The West Coast pair are the most accessible glaciers in the country for both.
Glacier walking in New Zealand, at a glance
- Two kinds of day
- Valley or icethey are not versions of each other
- Valley walks
- Half a dayguided, through rainforest
- Valley price here
- $63the lowest walk price on this site
- On the ice
- By helicopterthe transfer is the access
- Ice price here
- $455–$886three trips compared
- Most-reviewed trip
- 399 reviewsthe Franz Josef ice hike, rated 4.8
- Most-reviewed walk
- 188 reviewsthe Fox valley walk, rated 4.7
- Where
- West CoastFranz Josef and Fox, thirty minutes apart
- The park
- Westland Tai PoutiniUNESCO World Heritage Area
- Forest to ice
- Rainforest valleysthe reason the walking is gentle
The distinction
Walking to a glacier and walking on one
One day is a forest walk with a glacier at the end of it. The other is a flight with a glacier under your boots.
Almost every question about glacier walks in New Zealand comes down to this one distinction, and the sooner it is clear the easier the booking gets.
A valley walk goes up the glacier valley on foot. At Franz Josef the guided walk follows ancient podocarp rainforest and a glacial-fed river to the lookout, and takes three hours. At Fox it is a gentle, gradual climb through the rainforest of Westland Tai Poutini National Park with views of the glacier and Mount Tasman, and takes three and a half. Both are described by their operator as accessible to all ages and fitness levels. Neither puts you on ice, and both cost $63.
An ice walk starts with a flight. The helicopter puts the group down high on the glacier, crampons go on, and the guide cuts steps — the listings describe blue ice caves, crevasses, icefalls and arches. On Franz Josef that is $514 for up to two and a half hours on the ice, on Fox $455 for up to three, and there is an extended day at $886 with up to five and a half hours on the ice and a glacier picnic lunch.
The price gap between the two kinds is large, and it is not a matter of comfort. It buys access: the ice itself is reached by helicopter, and the flight is most of what you are paying for.
Where
The glaciers you can actually walk in New Zealand
Three names come up, and they are not equally easy to reach.
- Franz Josef Glacier — valley walk and ice walk
The busiest of the three and the one with the most choice. The guided Glacier Valley walk runs three hours at $63; the guided hike on the ice, with a helicopter transfer, runs $514 and is the most-reviewed trip on this site with 399 reviews at 4.8. Its listing calls this one of the world’s fastest-changing glaciers.
- Fox Glacier — valley walk and ice walk
Thirty minutes from Franz Josef and quieter. The half-day walking and nature tour at $63 carries 188 reviews at 4.7, the most of any walk here; the ice trip at $455 gives up to three hours on the glacier with ice caves and arches, and holds 363 reviews at 4.9.
- Tasman Glacier — the third name
On the other side of the Main Divide, in the Aoraki / Mount Cook area rather than on the West Coast. It is a different trip with a different base, and it is covered properly elsewhere rather than half-covered here.
- Everything else
Most New Zealand glaciers are high, remote and reached by mountaineering rather than by walking. The West Coast pair are the exception, and that is precisely why they are the ones in every itinerary: the rainforest valleys bring the ice down to where ordinary walking shoes work.
Every trip, current fare
Every trip on this site, priced
Twelve trips sorted by price, from the forty-five-minute hatchery tour to the long day on the ice. The cost-per-hour column is the honest way to compare a three-hour valley walk with a flight.
| Tour | Length | Price | What you walk | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiwi VIP Backstage Pass Tour -Booking EssentialBehind the scenes at the kiwi hatchery | 45 min | $57 | Kiwi hatchery | $76.00 | 4.4 · 47 |
| Half-Day Walking & Nature Tour with Local GuideThe Fox valley on foot, and the most-reviewed walk here | 3.5 h | $63 | Fox valley + rainforest | $18.00 | 4.7 · 188 |
| Franz Josef Glacier Lookout Guided WalkThe Franz Josef Glacier Valley to the lookout | 3 h | $63 | Glacier Valley + lookout | $21.00 | 4.8 · 169 |
| Half-Day Guided Tour to OkaritoThe old township of Okarito, guided | 4 h | $63 | Okarito township | $15.75 | New |
| Half-Day Nature Tour to Lake MathesonLake Matheson and its reflections | 4 h | $69 | Lake Matheson track | $17.25 | 4.8 · 17 |
| 2-Hour Scenic Lake Mapourika CruiseLake Mapourika by boat | 2 h | $71 | Lake cruise | $35.50 | 4.8 · 145 |
| 3-Hour Kayak Tour on Lake MapourikaLake Mapourika by kayak | 3 h | $85 | Lake kayak | $28.33 | 4.9 · 137 |
| 2.5-Hour Lake Mapourika Cruise and WalkA lake cruise with a rainforest trail | 2.5 h | $85 | Cruise + rainforest trail | $34.00 | 4.8 · 77 |
| Kayak & Walking Tour to Okarito Kiwi SanctuaryKayak and the sanctuary trail at Okarito | 4 h | $102 | Kayak + sanctuary trail | $25.50 | 4.9 · 73 |
| Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter TransferFox Glacier ice, reached by helicopter | 4 h | $455 | Flight + 3 h on the ice | $113.75 | 4.9 · 363 |
| 2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter TransferFranz Josef ice, reached by helicopter | 4 h | $514 | Flight + 2.5 h on the ice | $128.50 | 4.8 · 399 |
| Extended Heli‑Hike with Lunch (Small Group)The long day on the ice, with lunch | 8 h | $886 | Flight + 5.5 h on the ice | $110.75 | 5 · 1 |
Choosing
Which of the two days is yours
Book a valley walk if you have half a day, you want the rainforest and the river as much as the ice, you are travelling with mixed ages or fitness, or the forecast is uncertain. The operator describes these walks as suitable for all ages and abilities, and a grey day in this forest is still a good one.
Book an ice walk if standing on a glacier is the thing you came to New Zealand for, you have a spare morning in reserve in case the weather moves, and the price is one you are comfortable with. Everything that makes it expensive — the flight, the small groups, the guide cutting steps — is also what makes it the trip people remember.
Do both if you have two nights here, which is the number this area really wants. They are complementary rather than competing: the valley gives you the scale of the place from below, and the ice gives you the surface of it. Between them they cost less than a lot of single-day trips elsewhere in the country.
Book direct
The four that answer the question
Two valley walks and two ice walks, which is the whole decision in one row.
Our top pick188 reviews
3.5 hHalf-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
$63$18.00 / hour
Check availability→ 
363 reviewsOn 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$113.75 / hour
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$128.50 / hour
Check availability→ Staying more than a day? The lakes are what fills the evenings.
Lake Matheson and the rainforest walks→Common questions
Glacier walks in New Zealand, answered
Where can you walk on a glacier in New Zealand?
On Franz Josef and Fox on the West Coast, where guided trips land on the ice by helicopter and walk it with crampons and a guide — $514 and $455 respectively.
Can you do a glacier walk without a helicopter?
You can walk the glacier valleys on foot: the guided Franz Josef Glacier Valley walk at $63 and the Fox valley walk at $63, both half a day through rainforest to the viewpoints. The ice itself is reached by helicopter.
How much does a glacier walk cost in New Zealand?
On this site the valley walks are $63 for half a day. The ice trips run from $455 to $886 for the extended day with lunch.
Which glacier is better to walk, Franz Josef or Fox?
They are half an hour apart and similar in character. Franz Josef has the most-reviewed ice trip here, with 399 reviews at 4.8; Fox has the most-reviewed walk, with 188 at 4.7, and it is the quieter of the two valleys.
Are glacier walks suitable for beginners?
The valley walks are described by the operator as accessible to all ages and fitness levels, with a gentle, gradual climb. The ice walks are guided throughout, with the guide cutting steps into the ice and equipment supplied.
How long do glacier walks take?
The valley walks take three hours at Franz Josef and three and a half at Fox. The ice trips run four hours door to door, of which up to two and a half or three are on the glacier; the extended day runs eight hours with up to five and a half on the ice.
Go deeper
More on walking here
Every walk
Every Franz Josef Glacier walk
All the walks compared — the valley tracks, the guided walks and the ice.
Can you walk to it?Can you walk to the glacier?
How far the valley track goes on foot, and where the ice begins.
Glacier ValleyThe Glacier Valley walk
Rainforest, river flats and the lookout at the head of the valley.
Fox GlacierWalking at Fox Glacier
The quieter valley thirty minutes down the road, and the walk that covers it.
Without a helicopterHiking without a helicopter
What you can walk on the ground, guided or on your own.
Walk or heli hikeValley walk or heli hike
The two kinds of day here, priced side by side.
