Guide · The heli-hike

Fox Glacier heli-hike: a day on the ice, step by step

A short flight lifts you past the steep lower ice to a part of the glacier you cannot reach on foot. Here is how the day runs, what you wear, who can join and what the weather decides.

Check availabilityfrom $467 · cancel for free

Editorial team, foxglaciertours.comUpdated October 25, 2026read in 7 minutes5 sources

The tour that goes with it Fox Glacier heli-hike 4.9 (359 reviews) 4 hoursUp to 3 hours on the iceBoots, crampons and poles included from$467per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01How long: 4 hours in all, with up to 3 hours walking on the ice.
02The flights: Two helicopter flights of about 5 minutes each way.
03Gear: Boots, socks, crampons, poles and a rain jacket and overtrousers are included.
04Who can go: Not for children under 9, wheelchair users or people over 115 kg.
05Price: From $467, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

What a heli-hike is, and why it starts with a helicopter

A heli-hike joins two things that used to be separate: a scenic helicopter flight and a guided walk on glacier ice. You fly up, land on the ice, walk in crampons with a guide, and then fly back down to the valley. At Fox the reason for the helicopter is the glacier itself rather than any fashion in tourism.

Fox Glacier is 13 km long, one of the longest of the many glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.¹ Its terminal face sits less than 300 metres above sea level, unusually close to the coast.² Down at that face the ice is broken, dirty and unstable, and DOC's viewpoints stand hundreds of metres back from it.³ The helicopter skips all of that and puts you on cleaner, more solid ice higher up the valley.

That also explains why the walking itself is slow. On guided glacier walks the route is chosen on the day and steps are cut where the surface is steep, so you move in a line, stop often and look closely. If you imagine a Fox Glacier hike as a long trek across a frozen plain, adjust the picture: this is a careful exploration of a small area of moving ice, with crevasses, ridges and the odd ice cave close enough to touch.

How the day runs

From Main Road to the ice and back

Check-in

Briefing and kit

A 30-minute safety briefing at 44 Main Road, then boots and rain gear.
Transfer

Bus to the pad

About 5 minutes by bus to the helicopter.
Flight up

Over the icefall

About 5 minutes in the air to the landing site on the ice.
On the ice

Walk with the guide

Up to 3 hours of walking, photo stops and sightseeing.
Flight down

Back to the valley

A 5-minute flight, a 5-minute bus ride and a 10-minute break.

The day from check-in to the last helicopter

Everything starts at 44 Main Road in the township, where you check in and sit through a safety briefing of 30 minutes. This is where you are fitted with the leather boots, socks, wet weather jacket and overtrousers that come with the trip, so allow time to change and to store your own things. Listen to the briefing properly; it covers how to walk in crampons and how to move around the helicopter.

A bus takes you to the helicopter in about 5 minutes, and the flight onto the glacier lasts about 5 minutes too. It is short, but it is spectacular: you rise over the rainforest and the gravel river bed, then over the lower icefall that blocks the valley, and come down onto the ice. Front seats are luck of the draw, so keep your camera ready wherever you sit.

On the ice you have up to 3 hours for hiking, photo stops, a guided tour and simply looking around. The return mirrors the start, with a 5-minute flight, a 5-minute bus ride and a 10-minute break before you are back at Main Road. The whole trip is listed at 4 hours. Plan nothing tight around it, because the clock moves with the clouds.

Kit list

Provided on the day, or pack it yourself

Item	Who brings it	Why it matters
Leather boots & socks	Provided	Crampons fit them
Crampons & poles	Provided	Grip on hard ice
Rain jacket & overtrousers	Provided	Wind and showers
Warm layers & gloves	You	Cold breeze on the ice
Sunglasses & sunscreen	You	Glare off the ice
Snack & water	You	Not included

Items as the GetYourGuide listing states them; jeans and drones are not allowed.

Heli-hikes compared

Three ways onto the ice by helicopter

Fox Glacier: Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter Transfer

Booked here

Fox heli-hike

From Main Road, Fox Glacier

On the ice: Up to 3 hours
Total: 4 hours
Minimum age: 9 years

Check dates

Franz Josef: 2.5 Hour Glacier Hike with Helicopter Transfer

Next glacier north

Franz Josef heli-hike

From Cron Street, Franz Josef

Flight: About 4 min each way
Total: 4 to 8 hours
Minimum age: 10 years

Check dates

From Queenstown: Franz Josef Glacier Hike & Scenic Flight

Longest day

Franz Josef from Queenstown

Plane, then helicopter

Hiking: 2 hours
Total: 6.5 hours
Weight limit: 115 kg

Check dates

Decision helper

Is the heli-hike right for you?

Weigh the ice against your own plans

I want to stand on real glacier ice I travel with a child of 9 I only want the view from above I have one night in town I use a wheelchair

Book the heli-hike

You get up to 3 hours on the ice with a guide.

Fox works

The Fox listing excludes only children under 9.

Take a scenic flight

A Fox snow landing flight lasts 25 minutes in all.

Book the first slot

The provider advises your first available day for flexibility.

Choose a flight

The heli-hike is not suitable; the Fox snow landing flight is listed as wheelchair accessible.

To view the massive snowfields of the upper neve you need to take a flight in a helicopter or ski plane.

Department of ConservationSource 4

Walking on the ice in crampons

Crampons and walking poles are part of the kit, and they change how glacier ice feels underfoot. On the first steps the spikes feel clumsy; after a short while most people trust them. Walk with your feet a little apart so the points do not catch your trousers, plant your whole foot rather than the toe, and use any steps cut into the slope. On slopes you go up and down in a slow rhythm rather than in a hurry.

The listing asks for a reasonable level of fitness and agility, because the glacier terrain is variable and reasonably challenging. That does not mean an athletic test. It means you should be comfortable stepping up and down uneven ground for a few hours, standing in a cold breeze between moves and keeping your balance on a surface that is never quite flat. If stairs or long periods of standing are hard for you, a scenic flight with a snow landing may suit you better.

What you see depends on the week. Meltwater carves channels and holes, ridges rise and collapse, and the blue colour is strongest in fresh, clean ice. You may get to look into crevasses and, when conditions allow, into short ice caves or under arches. None of these features is promised, and a guide will not take a group into ice that looks unsafe, however photogenic it is.

Checklist

Before your heli-hike

Book and plan

Book your first available day in Fox Glacier
Keep a spare half day after your slot
Check the weight and age limits

Wear and bring

Thin warm layers, hat and gloves
Sunglasses and sunscreen
Your own snack and water
Quick-drying trousers, never jeans

Cost for your group

Heli-hike prices for your party

Pick a trip and the number of people

Fox heli-hikeUp to 3 hrs on icefrom $467 Franz Josef heli-hikeCron Street startfrom $529 Franz Josef extendedSmall group of 4from $911

People 2

Total from$934

pp from $467

Check availabilityfree cancellation

We take the lowest GetYourGuide fare for each trip, multiply it by the people in your party and show it in your currency at European Central Bank rates; your date sets the real total.

Video

A day on the Fox Glacier heli-hike

We only contact YouTube after you tap the play button.

Who can join, and the weight and age limits

The listing marks this heli-hike as not suitable for children under 9, wheelchair users or people over 115 kg. Its notes add that people over 116 kg are subject to restrictions that can include cancellation, so if you are near the line, ask before you book rather than on the morning. Helicopter seating depends on weight balance, which is why operators ask these questions so directly.

Jeans and drones are not allowed. Jeans soak up water and stay cold and heavy, which is the last thing you want on ice, so wear quick-drying trousers or leggings under the overtrousers you are given. Drones are banned on this trip, and DOC also prohibits flying a drone on conservation land without a permit.³

Families with older children do well here, and so do travelers who have never been near a glacier. The time on the ice is about looking and learning as much as covering ground. If someone in your party is nervous about heights, the flight is the steepest part of the day; on the ice itself you are on your feet, not on ropes or ladders.

Weather, delays and the first available day

Every trip depends on favourable weather. On the West Coast that is a real condition, not small print. Westland Tai Poutini National Park lies in the path of the prevailing westerlies, which can bring heavy rain at any time of year.⁵ Low cloud can sit over the glacier while the township looks bright, and the opposite happens too, so the decision to fly is taken on the day, sometimes slot by slot.

The provider recommends booking the first available day you are in Fox Glacier, which gives you room to move if your slot is cancelled. It also says the confirmed date and time may differ from the one you requested and will reach you by email. In practice this means arriving the evening before, booking an early slot and keeping the next day open if your itinerary allows it.

If the weather beats you, the free cancellation window helps: pull out with a full day to spare (24 hours) and the whole fare comes back to you, and you can hold a place now and pay later. A lost slot is disappointing, but staying a second night in Fox Glacier is rarely wasted, because the walks to Lake Matheson and along the river have their own rewards in the rain.

Fox or Franz Josef for a heli-hike

Franz Josef, half an hour north, runs heli-hikes of its own, and the choice confuses many travelers. The Franz Josef glacier hike with helicopter transfer on GetYourGuide is listed at 4 to 8 hours, with about 4 minutes of flying each way, and starts from Cron Street in Franz Josef. It needs at least 4 people per departure. It is rated 4.77 from 391 reviews and starts from $529.

The Fox heli-hike booked here is rated 4.86 from 359 reviews and starts from $467. Its limits are also stated plainly, from age 9 and up to 115 kg, while the Franz Josef trip lists a minimum age of 10, a weight of at least 35 kg and a height of at least 137 cm. For many families that age line alone settles the question.

Beyond the numbers, choose by where you sleep and by your route. If you drive up from Haast or Wanaka, Fox comes first; if you arrive from Hokitika, Franz Josef does. Both glaciers flow down from the same stretch of the Southern Alps, and from the ice the scale feels similar. Our page on choosing between the two glaciers goes through the walks, flights and towns in more detail.

What to wear and bring on the ice

Its packing list names warm clothing, sunglasses, a hat, a camera, food and drinks, sunscreen, gloves and personal medication. Food and drinks are not included, so pack a snack and water in a small bag; there is no café on the glacier. Glare off the ice is strong even under cloud, which makes sunglasses and sunscreen as important as the warm layers.

Dress in thin layers you can open or close as you warm up and cool down, because you alternate between walking and standing still. A thermal top, a fleece and the jacket you are given usually work better than one thick coat. Gloves matter: you will touch ice, hold poles and handle a camera, and cold fingers end photo sessions early.

Phones work as cameras on the glacier, but keep yours on a wrist strap or in a zipped pocket when you lean over a crevasse. A guided walk on Fox Glacier is not the place to try new boots or untested gear of your own; the boots are provided for good reason. Hotel pickup is not part of the trip, so walk or drive to Main Road in good time.

Pick your day