For a short Mount Cook helicopter tour, book the 25-minute flight with an alpine landing facing Aoraki. For a guaranteed snow landing on the Tasman Glacier, take the ski plane and helicopter combo. For time on the ice, book the 3-hour heli-hike. From Lake Tekapo or Queenstown, small-plane flights add the West Coast glaciers.
For a first Mount Cook scenic flight, book the 25-minute helicopter flight with an alpine landing: it had the lowest price on our list and lands in the mountains facing Aoraki, though the operator doesn’t promise snow. If landing on the Tasman Glacier is the point, take the ski plane and helicopter combo, which the operator recommends if you want a guaranteed snow landing. For time on the ice, the 3-hour heli-hike gives you up to two hours on the glacier with a guide. Staying at Lake Tekapo or Queenstown? A fixed-wing flight from there covers Aoraki and the West Coast glaciers in one trip.
| Trip | Aircraft | Time | Leaves from | Landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scenic helicopter flight with alpine landing | Helicopter | 25 minutes | Mount Cook | Alpine landing facing Aoraki; snow not guaranteed |
| Ski plane and helicopter glacier combo | Ski plane and helicopter | 45 minutes | Mount Cook | Tasman Glacier |
| Tasman Glacier helicopter ride and hike | Helicopter | 3 hours | Mount Cook | Up to two hours on the Tasman Glacier |
| 50-minute Mount Cook and Beyond | Fixed-wing plane | About 1 hour | Lake Tekapo airport | None listed |
| Queenstown to Mount Cook fly-in day trip | Small plane | About 8 hours | Queenstown, with hotel pickup | Lands in Mount Cook for up to five hours |
The shortest and cheapest helicopter time on our list. The flight runs up the Tasman Valley and over a glacier lake to an alpine landing facing Aoraki, with commentary from the pilot. It suits a first flight, a tight budget, or a family that wants a landing without a long trip.
Ski planes are part of Mount Cook’s history. They have landed on the Tasman Glacier since 22 September 1955, when Harry Wigley put an Auster with retractable skis down on the ice; Edmund Hillary flew on a later trip that day. Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters calls it the first ski-plane landing in the Southern Hemisphere.
The combo uses both a ski plane and a helicopter in 45 minutes and lands on the Tasman Glacier, which DOC calls New Zealand’s longest. The operator points people who want a guaranteed snow landing to this trip.
A helicopter flies you onto a remote part of the Tasman Glacier, and you spend up to two hours on the ice with a guide before flying back. The whole trip takes about 3 hours and is the most expensive on our list. Pick it if you want to walk on the glacier. On the West Coast, Franz Josef and Fox have their own heli-hikes: see Franz Josef Glacier.
A fixed-wing plane from Tekapo airport, with a window seat for everyone. It flies over the lakes to Aoraki and the Tasman Glacier, then crosses the Main Divide to the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. No landing is listed, but you see both sides of the range in about an hour. It suits guests staying at Lake Tekapo who don’t want to drive to Mount Cook for a flight.
The answer to “Mount Cook in a day from Queenstown” without the drive. A small plane flies past the Mount Cook summit ridge and the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, then leaves you up to five hours in Mount Cook Village before the flight back. It is the only trip on our list with hotel pickup. Compare it with the road options in Queenstown to Mount Cook.
Aoraki/Mount Cook is 3,724 m, the height confirmed by a University of Otago-led GPS survey in 2013. It used to be taller. A 19th-century survey gave 3,764 m, and then a huge rock avalanche fell from the East Face on 14 December 1991. The summit ice cap thinned over the next two decades, which is why the figure dropped again.
Around it, DOC counts 19 peaks over 3,000 m inside the national park, and glaciers cover about 40 percent of the park. The biggest is the Haupapa / Tasman Glacier, which DOC calls New Zealand’s longest, now a little over 20 km. Tasman Lake at its end started forming in the 1970s as the ice melted, and in summer it holds icebergs. The flights that cross the Main Divide, from Tekapo and Queenstown, add Franz Josef and Fox glaciers on the West Coast side. Our highest mountains in New Zealand guide names the peaks you are looking at.
Aoraki/Mount Cook Airport is about 5 minutes from the village on Mt Cook Road, and Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters operates from there. The Mackenzie region also has charter airfields at Glentanner, Lake Pukaki (Twizel) and Lake Tekapo. We found no scheduled passenger flights to Mount Cook.
If you are staying in the village, the airport is a short drive. Our Mount Cook accommodation guide compares the bases.
If the weather won’t play, the glaciers are still there from the ground. The Tasman Glacier View Track takes 15 minutes from the Tasman Valley car park; see our Tasman Glacier guide and things to do in Mount Cook.
We started from the scenic flights and heli-hikes on GetYourGuide that fly from or over Aoraki/Mount Cook. We kept trips whose listings say where they leave from, what aircraft they use and whether they land, and we left out flights that don’t reach the Mount Cook area. Labels follow the listing data: “Best on a budget” is the lowest from-price of the five, “Best with hotel pickup” is the only one that includes pickup, and “Best for landing on snow” is the trip the operator recommends for a guaranteed snow landing. We have not flown these trips ourselves; prices and details come from the listings in November 2026.
First-timers who want an alpine landing facing Aoraki in under half an hour.
25 minutes
The cheapest helicopter time at Mount Cook: a short flight up the Tasman Valley and over a glacier lake to an alpine landing facing Aoraki, with commentary from the pilot.
from$196
Check availabilityAnyone set on landing on the Tasman Glacier, in any season.
45 minutes
One 45-minute trip that uses both a ski plane and a helicopter, with a landing on the Tasman Glacier; the operator points to this one if you want a snow landing guaranteed year-round.
from$278
Check availabilityFit walkers who want up to two hours on the ice with a guide.
3 hours
Fly from Mount Cook onto a remote part of the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand's longest, and spend up to two hours on the ice with a guide before the helicopter brings you back.
from$558
Check availabilityTekapo guests who want Aoraki and the West Coast glaciers in one loop.
1 hour
A fixed-wing loop from Tekapo airport with a window seat each, over the turquoise lakes to Aoraki and the Tasman Glacier, then across the Main Divide to the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.
from$314
Check availabilityQueenstown visitors who want to fly in and spend the day at Mount Cook.
8 hoursPickup included
A small plane flies you from Queenstown past the Mount Cook summit ridge and the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, then leaves you up to five hours in Mount Cook village before the flight back.
from$439
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
25 minutes
The cheapest helicopter time at Mount Cook: a short flight up the Tasman Valley and over a glacier lake to an alpine landing facing Aoraki, with commentary from the pilot.
from$196
Check availability45 minutes
One 45-minute trip that uses both a ski plane and a helicopter, with a landing on the Tasman Glacier; the operator points to this one if you want a snow landing guaranteed year-round.
from$278
Check availability3 hours
Fly from Mount Cook onto a remote part of the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand's longest, and spend up to two hours on the ice with a guide before the helicopter brings you back.
from$558
Check availability1 hour
A fixed-wing loop from Tekapo airport with a window seat each, over the turquoise lakes to Aoraki and the Tasman Glacier, then across the Main Divide to the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.
from$314
Check availability8 hoursPickup included
A small plane flies you from Queenstown past the Mount Cook summit ridge and the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, then leaves you up to five hours in Mount Cook village before the flight back.
from$439
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
On our list, the shortest helicopter flight with an alpine landing had the lowest from-price, and the three-hour heli-hike on the Tasman Glacier the highest. Prices change with the season and the operator, so we don't quote them here; the tour cards show the current price from GetYourGuide for your date.
Most of the trips on our list include a landing. The 25-minute helicopter flight makes an alpine landing facing Aoraki, though snow isn't guaranteed; the ski plane and helicopter combo lands on the Tasman Glacier, and the heli-hike puts you on the glacier for up to two hours. The Tekapo fixed-wing loop and the Queenstown fly-in trip are sightseeing flights without a glacier landing listed.
You don't have to choose: the 45-minute combo on our list uses both and lands on the Tasman Glacier, where ski planes have landed since 22 September 1955. If a glacier landing matters most, take the combo. If the budget matters most, take the 25-minute helicopter flight, which still makes an alpine landing facing Aoraki.
Three of the five trips on our list start at Mount Cook. Aoraki/Mount Cook Airport, about 5 minutes from the village, is where Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters operates. There are also airfields at Glentanner, Lake Pukaki near Twizel and Lake Tekapo. The fixed-wing flight on our list leaves from Tekapo airport, and the fly-in day trip starts in Queenstown with hotel pickup.
Mountain flights depend on the weather, so book early in your stay and keep a spare morning or afternoon. Check the operator's cancellation terms on the booking page before you pay. If cloud sits on the peaks for days, the Tasman Glacier View walk and the Hooker Valley Track still give you glacier lakes and icebergs from the ground.
The best things to do in Mount Cook are the Hooker Valley Track to Hooker Lake, the short climb to the Tasman Glacier view and the Blue Lakes, Kea Point, and a scenic flight with a glacier landing.
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.
Stay in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village if you want to start the Hooker Valley Track early or arrive by bus.
New Zealand's glaciers are in the Southern Alps.