Pick Fox Glacier for a heli hike: up to 3 hours on the ice, NZ$50 cheaper and open to children from 9. Pick Franz Josef for a quick look on foot, a 30-minute walk, and the bigger village to stay in. They are about half an hour apart, so many people see both.
Choose Fox Glacier for a heli hike and Franz Josef for a short walk and a place to stay. Fox’s guided trip gives you more time on the ice for less money and takes younger children. Franz Josef has the quicker viewpoint walk and the larger village. The two are about half an hour apart on State Highway 6, so if you have a night on the West Coast, you can see both.
Both glaciers come down from the Southern Alps into Westland Tai Poutini National Park, and both retreated quickly through the 2010s. On either one, the only way onto the ice is a guided trip by helicopter.
| Franz Josef Glacier | Fox Glacier | |
|---|---|---|
| Māori name | Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere | Te Moeka o Tuawe |
| Main free walk | Glacier walk, 1.7 km return | South Side Walkway, 6.4 km return |
| Walk time | About 30 min | About 2 h |
| Start | Car park 4 km from the village | Car park 2 km south of the village |
| Parking | NZ$2.50 per half hour, NZ$20 a day | No DOC fee listed |
| Heli hike operator | Franz Josef Glacier Guides | Fox Glacier Guiding |
| Time on the ice | Up to 2.5 h | Up to 3 h |
| Heli hike price | NZ$899 adult or child | NZ$849 adult or child |
| Minimum age | 10 | 9 |
| Departures | 7:30 am, 10:00 am, 12:30 pm in summer | 8:50 am, 11:50 am year round |
| Big day hikes | Roberts Point, Alex Knob | Copland Track to Welcome Flat |
| Lake Matheson | About 30 min drive | About 5 min drive |
| Village | Bigger, more places to stay | Smaller, quieter |
Checked November 2026. Sources: DOC, franzjosefglacier.com, foxguides.co.nz. Heli hike prices are valid to 30 September 2027.
A heli hike is a short helicopter flight onto the glacier, then a guided walk in crampons. Both companies supply boots, crampons and poles, and both rate the walking as moderate.
On paper, Fox wins. Up to 3 hours on the ice against up to 2.5, NZ$849 against NZ$899, and a minimum age of 9 rather than 10. Fox also has a family price: NZ$3,050 for two adults and two children aged 9 to 16. For a longer day, Fox Glacier Guiding runs an all-day heli hike with up to 7 hours on the ice.
Franz Josef’s case rests on the glacier itself and on timing. Franz Josef Glacier Guides calls it “the fastest moving commercially guided glacier in the world” and says it alone holds the right to land guided groups on the ice there. It also runs three departures a day in summer to Fox’s two.
Our verdict: book whichever has space on the day you’re there, and if both do, book Fox.
Short on time? Franz Josef’s walk is 1.7 km return and takes about 30 minutes, through rainforest to a view up the Waiho valley. DOC says the river has cut off access beyond it. Sentinel Rock, a 20-minute climb nearby, adds a second angle with photos of the retreat.
Fox’s South Side Walkway is a proper outing: 6.4 km return, about 2 hours, through podocarp forest on the south bank of the Fox River. You can cycle the first part. It ends at a viewpoint hundreds of metres from the ice, past which DOC says not to go because of extreme flood hazard.
Neither walk gets you close to the ice. Both valleys flood quickly in heavy rain, and both tracks close for rockfall or flooding. Check the Glacier Country daily glacier access update before you drive out.
Franz Josef is the bigger village, with accommodation from hostel beds and holiday parks to a five-star hotel. Fox Glacier is smaller, with a boutique hotel, motels and a TOP 10 holiday park, and it sits 5 minutes from Lake Matheson, where the reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman are best at dawn. Westland’s draft freedom camping bylaw lists Fox Glacier township as a no-camping area (whether it is in force was unconfirmed in November 2026), so campervans should book a site.
Our full list is in where to stay at Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.
| You are | Go to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Set on walking on a glacier | Fox Glacier | Up to 3 h on the ice, lower price |
| A family with a 9-year-old | Fox Glacier | Minimum age 9 and a family price |
| Passing through with an hour to spare | Franz Josef | 30-minute walk to the viewpoint |
| Staying one night | Franz Josef | More places to stay and eat |
| After the mirror-lake photo | Fox Glacier | Lake Matheson is 5 minutes away |
| A fit hiker with a spare day | Franz Josef | Alex Knob or Roberts Point |
| Keen on an overnight tramp | Fox Glacier | Copland Track to the Welcome Flat hot pools |
| On a tight budget | Fox Glacier | No car park fee for the South Side walk |
If NZ$850 to NZ$900 a head is too much, or you’d rather not walk on ice, a scenic flight gets you above both glaciers for less. From Franz Josef, the most-reviewed option is a 25-minute helicopter flight over the ice pinnacles and crevasses with an alpine landing. A 35-minute flight covers Franz Josef and then either Fox or the Tasman Glacier, with about ten minutes on the snow. From Lake Tekapo, on the other side of the range, a 50-minute fixed-wing loop flies past Aoraki/Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier, then crosses the Main Divide to Fox and Franz Josef.
The easy plan for one night: stop at Franz Josef for the 30-minute walk, sleep in Franz Josef, drive south in the morning for a Fox heli hike, then walk to Lake Matheson in the evening light. A 35-minute helicopter flight from Franz Josef can also take in Fox or the Tasman Glacier on the Mount Cook side, with a short snow landing.
For more detail on each, read our guides to Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier. To compare them with the Tasman Glacier east of the divide, see New Zealand’s glaciers and the Tasman Glacier guide.
4 hours
Fox Glacier's own heli-hike: a scenic flight up the glacier, then up to three hours on the ice with a local guide, with boots, crampons, poles and wet-weather gear provided.
from$476
Check availability4-8 hours
The classic Franz Josef heli-hike: a helicopter lands you on the glacier for up to two and a half hours of guided walking among blue ice, crevasses and ice formations, with boots, crampons and waterproofs supplied.
from$499
Check availability35 minutes
A longer flight out of Franz Josef that covers Franz Josef Glacier and then either Fox or the Tasman Glacier on the Mount Cook side, with about ten minutes on the snow.
from$279
Check availability25 minutes
The most-reviewed glacier flight on the West Coast: a short helicopter trip over the ice pinnacles and crevasses of Franz Josef Glacier with an alpine landing.
from$222
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
For walking on the ice, Fox Glacier: its heli hike gives up to 3 hours on the glacier for NZ$849, against up to 2.5 hours for NZ$899 at Franz Josef (checked November 2026). For a quick look on foot, Franz Josef: its viewpoint walk is 1.7 km and 30 minutes, while Fox's South Side Walkway takes about 2 hours.
Yes. The villages are about half an hour apart by car, and each glacier's walk is short. Do the 30-minute Franz Josef walk, drive south, then walk Fox's 2-hour South Side Walkway. Add Lake Matheson at dawn or dusk if you are staying overnight. A heli hike takes about 4 hours, so fit at most one in a day.
No. DOC says helicopters are the only safe way onto Franz Josef for guided walks, and Fox Glacier Guiding lists its trips as helicopter access only. Walking access onto Franz Josef ended in 2012, and the north-side road that led to the Fox Glacier valley walk closed in 2019. The free walks on both sides stop at viewpoints well back from the ice.
Fox Glacier, if you want to get the family onto the ice. Its Flying Fox Heli Hike takes children from age 9 with an adult and offers a family price of NZ$3,050 for two adults and two children. Franz Josef's heli hike starts at age 10. For a walk only, Franz Josef's 30-minute track is easier for small legs.
Franz Josef, for most people. It is the bigger village, with places to stay from budget to five-star. Choose Fox Glacier if you want to be 5 minutes from Lake Matheson for a dawn reflection, or you prefer a quieter village. Fox has a hotel, motels and a holiday park, but fewer choices overall.
You can no longer walk onto Franz Josef Glacier from the valley.
Fox Glacier, or Te Moeka o Tuawe, is best seen on foot from DOC's South Side Walkway: 6.4 km return, about 2 hours, starting 2 km south of the village.
Lake Matheson, 5 minutes' drive from Fox Glacier village, is the lake known for mirror reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
New Zealand's glaciers are in the Southern Alps.
Stay in Franz Josef for the wider choice of hotels, from holiday parks to a 5-star retreat, and for most glacier heli-hikes.
Haupapa/Tasman Glacier, which DOC calls New Zealand's longest glacier, is about 22 to 23.5 km long, in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.