Franz Josef or Fox Glacier: which village suits your trip?

Franz Josef or Fox for a heli-hike

Each glacier has one heli-hike company. Franz Josef Glacier Guides guides on Franz Josef, with flights operated by INFLITE, and Fox Glacier Guiding guides on Fox.

On paper, Fox gives a little more time on the ice for a little less money and takes children a year younger. Fox Glacier Guiding allows no guest changes or refunds inside 24 hours, though a weather cancellation is refunded in full. Franz Josef has more choice around the classic hike: the Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch allows up to about 5.5 hours on the ice in a group of four, from $876, and the Scenic Helicopter Flight & Glacier Landing gives up to 15 minutes on the ice with a guide and no hiking, from $395, for anyone aged 4 or over. Our heli-hike page compares all the ice options.

Valley walks and road status

You can see both glaciers on foot for free, but neither walk reaches the ice, and the walks differ.

At Franz Josef, the Glacier Valley Walk is 1.7 km return, about 30 minutes, and ends at a viewpoint about 3 km from the terminal face. The access road is about 4 km, unsealed and fine for cars and campervans, and DOC charges for parking at the glacier car park. Sentinel Rock (900 m return, 20 minutes) and Peters Pool (1.1 km return, 25 minutes, wheelchair accessible) start from the same area. Glacier Country says the valley track is sometimes closed by ice collapse, flooding or landslides, so check at the visitor center first.

At Fox Glacier, DOC closed the old valley road indefinitely in 2019 after the Alpine Gardens landslide, and that is still the latest published position. You walk in on the South Side Walkway instead: 6.4 km return, about 2 hours, with the first viewpoint after about 40 minutes. The trailhead is 2 km south of the township across the Fox River bridge. DOC says the viewpoints are hundreds of meters from the face, closer than the Franz Josef viewpoint, and that the track can close for rockfall or flooded rivers.

At both glaciers, stay behind the rope barriers. DOC warns that ice collapse and rockfall can happen at any time at the face, and people have died or been badly hurt ignoring them.

State Highway 6 is the only road into the park, and it crosses the Waiho River at Franz Josef. Check NZTA’s live road status before you drive between the villages or onward, especially after heavy rain.

Lake Matheson and the rest of Fox

Lake Matheson is the main reason to sleep in Fox. DOC says dawn and dusk give the best mirror reflections of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, on a fine, windless day. The lake is 5 minutes from Fox Glacier and 30 minutes from Franz Josef. The full loop is 4.4 km and about 1 hour 30 minutes, and the first section to the Jetty Lookout is 2.4 km return, 45 minutes and wheelchair accessible. Parking is free, and DOC says the lake is busy from November to April.

Peak Viewpoint, 9 km from Fox toward the coast, looks up to the Fox névé and the Alps and is at its best at sunset on a cloudless day. Lake Gault is a longer walk branching off the Lake Matheson track.

Franz Josef has more to do in the village itself. The West Coast Wildlife Centre, open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., has kiwi, tuatara and rescued little blue penguins. The Callery Gorge Walk starts at the end of Cowan Street (5.2 km return, 1 hour 20 minutes), and you can fossick for gold without a permit on the Waiho riverbed between the Callery Gorge bridge and the road bridge.

Where to stay

Sleep in the village where your flight checks in. Most operators want you there 30 minutes before departure, and Glacier Country Helicopters charges the full fare for a missed check-in, so a 25-minute drive on an early morning adds a risk you do not need. Plan two nights if you can: weather cancels flights at short notice, and every operator advises booking for your first day so you have a second to fall back on. Our weather and best-time guide explains why.

If your flight leaves from Franz Josef but you want Lake Matheson at dawn, staying in Fox works: the lake is 5 minutes away and the drive to Franz Josef about 25. Our where to stay in Franz Josef guide compares the areas.

Franz Josef or Fox with kids

Children can fly at both villages, under each operator’s own rules. On the scenic flights, Glacier Helicopters charges children aged 4 to 14 about 70% of the adult fare and infants up to 3 about 50%; HeliServices charges children about half and lets an infant under 15 kg ride free on a lap; Glacier Country Helicopters seats infants up to 3 on a knee. INFLITE charges for an infant seat. Glacier Country Helicopters suggests a dummy or a bottle for the last few minutes of the descent, for the ears.

On the ice, Fox takes children from age 9 and Franz Josef from age 10, with a 35 kg and 137 cm minimum. For younger children, the Franz Josef Glacier Landing takes ages 4 and over and needs no hiking.

On the ground, Franz Josef is easier with small children: the Wildlife Centre, Peters Pool and Sentinel Rock are all short and close to the village. The first section of the Lake Matheson walk, to the Jetty Lookout, is wheelchair accessible.

Which village to pick

• First helicopter flight and the widest choice: Franz Josef, with 15 of the 20 flights on this site.
• A landing on the Tasman Glacier near Aoraki/Mt Cook: Franz Josef, where INFLITE’s flights start. See our Mount Cook flights page.
• A heli-hike with a 9-year-old, or the most time on the ice on a standard hike: Fox, from $480.
• Dawn photographs at Lake Matheson: sleep in Fox and drive to Franz Josef for the flight if you need to.
• Young children who will not hike: Franz Josef, for the 15-minute glacier landing and the short walks.
• One night, driving through: stay where your flight checks in.
• Both glaciers in one go: a twin-glacier flight; our twin glacier page compares them.

For the featured flight, read our breakdown of the HeliServices twin-glacier trip, and for the Fox heli-hike, the Fox heli-hike breakdown.