Twin Glacier Helicopter Flights

To see Franz Josef and Fox glaciers in one flight, book Glacier Country Helicopters’ 35-Minute Helicopter Trip over Two Glaciers: from $280 per person, rated 4.9 from 535 GetYourGuide reviews, with a 10-minute stop on the snow when the weather allows. Its second glacier is Fox or Tasman, depending on the route the pilot can fly. If you want Fox named as the second glacier, HeliServices’ Twin Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers Helicopter Trip costs from $260 for 30 minutes, rated 4.9 from 154 reviews. Every twin glacier flight here starts in Franz Josef township, by its own description, so plan the morning around Franz Josef even if you are staying in Fox.

Quick picks

• Most reviews: Glacier Country Helicopters, 35 minutes, from $280. See our breakdown.
• Lowest price for both glaciers with a landing: HeliServices, 30 minutes, from $260, with a 10-minute landing. See our breakdown.
• A second 35-minute option: Glacier Helicopters’ Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers Helicopter Flight & Snow Landing, from $280, rated 4.7 from 410 reviews.
• The clearest itinerary: The Helicopter Line’s Twin Glacier Helicopter Flight and Snow Landing, from $280, about 10 minutes over each glacier and 10 on the snow. It has 12 reviews so far (4.8).
• More glaciers and a second landing: Glacier Country Helicopters’ 4-Glacier Helicopter Ride with 2 Landings, one hour from $506, rated 4.8 from 30 reviews.

What a twin glacier flight covers

Franz Josef and Fox glaciers flow down the west side of the Southern Alps about 24 km apart by road. A 20 or 25-minute flight from Franz Josef usually stays over Franz Josef Glacier. A twin glacier flight adds 10 to 15 minutes, crosses the snowfields at the head of the glaciers to look down Fox as well, and lands on the snow along the way.

The Helicopter Line’s listing gives the plainest split: about 10 minutes over Franz Josef, 10 over Fox, then about 10 minutes on the snow at the head of a glacier before the flight back. HeliServices describes a climb over the Franz Josef icefall to a snow landing among the peaks, with views across the snowfields of both glaciers and toward Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, then 10 minutes on the snow. Glacier Helicopters lands midway through its flight at the top of one of the glaciers.

The time on each listing includes the landing. A 35-minute flight with a 10-minute stop gives you about 25 minutes in the air. The Helicopter Line adds that you should allow about an hour in all for check-in, the safety briefing and its 35-minute flight.

Which flights start in Franz Josef and which in Fox

GetYourGuide files two of these flights under Fox Glacier, but their own descriptions start in Franz Josef:

Check the base on your confirmation email before you set off. If you are staying in Fox Glacier village, allow about 25 minutes for the drive north, plus the 30-minute check-in. Of the scenic flights here, the two that leave from Fox village fly over Fox Glacier with one snow landing: Glacier Helicopters’ 25-minute Fox flight, and The Helicopter Line’s Fox flight that continues past Aoraki/Mt Cook. Both are on our Fox Glacier page, and our Franz Josef or Fox guide helps you choose a base.

The trade-offs between the four twin flights

Pick Glacier Country Helicopters for the review record, and HeliServices if the $20 saving and a named Fox route matter more to you. The Glacier Country Helicopters listing says the second glacier is Fox or Tasman, and one low-star reviewer saw only one glacier, and not the one they expected, after weather closed in. A few others noted that not every seat has a window, and that couples can be seated apart, because seats are allocated at check-in by weight and balance.

Glacier Helicopters’ flight has 410 reviews and a 4.7 rating. Many of its low-star reviews describe weather cancellations, repeated reschedules and slow refunds. One reviewer was rescheduled four times; another had to leave town before it flew. Weather affects every operator here, but these reviews are the clearest warning on this page to book early in your stay. Its listing, like the HeliServices and Helicopter Line ones, is marked wheelchair accessible; the Glacier Country Helicopters listing says its flight does not suit wheelchair users.

The Helicopter Line’s twin flight has only 12 reviews. One reviewer in the middle of the back row found the view and photos limited. HeliServices’ flight has no low-star reviews in the 154 so far.

Weather and a two-glacier route

A longer route gives the pilot more options. Glacier Country Helicopters’ 25-minute flight has a single route and landing site, and its listing says that flight has the highest cancellation rate of its range for that reason, while the longer flights have alternatives. The other side of this: on a cloudy day a twin glacier flight may lose part of its route, or its landing, and still fly. Ask at check-in what happens to the price if the flight goes without a landing or without the second glacier.

Glacier Helicopters and HeliServices make the final weather call at check-in, 30 minutes before departure. If the flight is cancelled for weather, a GetYourGuide booking gets a reschedule or a full refund. Book the morning of your first full day in the area and keep a second day free. Our weather guide has more on cancellations and refunds.

Twin glacier, shorter or longer?

If the budget is tight, a 20 or 25-minute snow landing flight costs from $204 to $223 and covers Franz Josef Glacier alone. Glacier Country Helicopters also sells an 18-minute twin glacier overflight with no landing, from $223, for travelers who do not want to stand in the snow or on days when cloud keeps flights off the landing sites. It has no reviews yet.

For a longer route, the 45-minute 3-glacier flight and the INFLITE flights that land on the Tasman Glacier are on our Mount Cook flights page, from $243 to $506. The 4-glacier flight adds Tasman and Shackleton glaciers and a second snow landing for one hour in all. Our price guide lines up every flight by price.

Before you book

Every flight here has free cancellation up to 24 hours before on GetYourGuide, and most need a minimum number of passengers, so expect to share. Glacier Country Helicopters asks passengers of 120 kg or more, weighed at check-in, to buy a Comfort Seat at half the flight price. Bring sunglasses, a jacket and closed-toe shoes; selfie sticks and drones are not allowed. Compare the three main options in the table below, then check availability for the 35-minute flight on your dates.