Fox Glacier Heli Hike Review: Is it Worth It in 2025?

Are you dreaming of a glacier hike in New Zealand but wondering if it’s worth the steep price and long journey to get there?

I almost skipped the Fox Glacier heli hike. It was expensive, hard to fit in my itinerary, and I’d never flown in a helicopter. I’m SO glad I decided to do it anyways.

Spoiler alert: this glacier hike was one of my favorite parts of my whole month in New Zealand!

In this post, I’ll walk you through my honest Fox Glacier heli hike review—covering the cost, experience, and whether it’s the right adventure for you.

➡️ Short on time? Check availability for the Fox Glacier heli hike tour here.

About Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier, known by Māori as Te Moeka o Tuawe (‘The bed of Tuawe’), sits in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. At about 8 miles (13 km) long, the glacier is the longest in New Zealand’s West Coast.

With one end less than 1,000 feet above sea level, Fox Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world. It’s also one of the few glaciers in the world located so close to a rainforest and the coast.

Tourists have been drawn to Fox Glacier now for over 100 years. The first official guided tours started in 1920. The Fox Glacier Guiding tour company started in 1974, and helicopter glacier hikes started in the mid-80s.

You used to be able to walk up to the glacier, but you can now only visit Fox Glacier by helicopter. The glacier has been shrinking and the edges have become more unstable over the years. In addition, storms in 2019 caused a massive landslide, destroying the road to the glacier.

That landslide–called the Alpine Gardens Landslide–is still active to this day, so they cannot rebuild the road. On average, it moves at about 4.5 inches (115 mm) per day. During heavy storms in 2019, the landslide moved at an average of almost 20 inches (500 mm) per day.

Fox Glacier vs. Franz Josef Glacier

Now before I dive into my experience and full review, you might be wondering why I picked Fox Glacier to begin with. How does heli hiking Fox Glacier compare to Franz Josef Glacier? Which is better?

In my opinion, if you’re a glacier enthusiast, you may want to do both, but the average person would be fine doing just one tour, especially if you’re tight on time and budget.

During the tour, I asked my guide how the two differ as I was curious to hear his expert opinion on this.

Both glaciers sit quite close to each other and have similar tour experiences where you take a helicopter in since neither can be accessed by foot. Since they’re so close, it’s easy to take either tour from the more developed town of Franz Josef or the smaller quaint town of Fox Glacier.

Now let’s get into the differences between the glaciers:

Tour Cancellations

According to my guide, heli hiking tours on Franz Josef Glacier tend to have more cancellations because that glacier is higher than Fox Glacier and tends to have more cloud cover. Helicopters can’t fly safely when clouds cover the glacier, which leads to cancellations.

In fact, several people on my tour had originally signed up for the Franz Josef tour but weather cancelled it. Weather cleared in time for Fox Glacier, so they were able to join my tour instead.

Differences in the Ice

My guide said Franz Josef Glacier has more large ice walls whereas Fox Glacier has more water and “cool stuff to explore.”

If you really want to see ice caves and vibrant blue ice, you’ll have a better chance on Franz Josef Glacier. If you’re looking for more unique and dramatic ice formations, go with Fox Glacier.

Tour Setup

From what I’ve heard, the Franz Josef Glacier heli hike has a more established path. The Fox Glacier heli hikes really vary from day-to-day based on what the guides find that they think would be the coolest and safest to show tourists.

My Experience Hiking Fox Glacier

Overall, I had a fantastic experience on my Fox glacier heli hike with Fox Glacier Guiding in March 2025. All the staff were very professional, committed to safety, and seemed to want everyone to have a great experience.

Here I’ll dive into my full experience as part of this Fox Glacier heli hike review to help you decide if this is something you want to make room for in your budget and itinerary.

Tour Check In, Safety Briefing, and Getting Our Gear

Before the tour starts, they asked everyone to arrive at least 20 minutes before to check in. During check in, they weigh you and your bags for the helicopter ride. They only allow bags to be a few kilograms, but you really don’t need to bring much with you since they provide most of the gear you need.

During our check-in process, they did flag that they weren’t sure if the tour would proceed due to weather. They let us know they would make a decision shortly before the tour start time and informed us of their refund policy:

• If tour cancelled: full refund
• If you get less than an hour on the glacier: 30% refund
• If you get less than three hours but at least one full hour: no refund

Thankfully the weather cleared just in time, so they took us through a quick safety briefing. They gave safety tips for hiking on the glacier and also around the helicopters, which they said are the most dangerous part of the tour.

One thing they flagged is that if you have any essential medications, you need to make sure you bring those with you just in case. They keep a very close eye on weather but are prepared with tents and supplies to spend the night on the glacier if weather changes too quickly for them to safely get people down.

During this time, they provided us all essential gear for the glacier hike:

• Rain pants
• Wool socks
• Waterproof boots
• Waterproof jackets
• Waterproof bags
• Warm hats (if needed)

As a hiker, I had a lot of my own gear, but they insist on everyone using theirs to make sure the tour goes smoothly and everyone is well equipped. I can confirm their socks were great and probably much better than mine! My feet ended up getting completely wet pretty early into the hike but never got cold.

They provided lockers for any extra items that we didn’t need on the glacier.

As we wrapped up with our gear, they gave us a moment to use the restroom before heading out. They also had a pump with sunscreen that anyone was welcome to use.

Helicopter Ride

We all hopped on a quick five-minute bus ride to reach the helicopters and then they took us up to the glacier via helicopter in four different groups.

Each helicopter fit six of us plus the pilot. Two rode in the front and four in the back. You don’t get to pick your seat, but I got lucky and got one of the front spots.

I think they carefully plan out who sits where to ensure appropriate weight distribution. My guess is the two smallest people get to sit in the front.

Regardless, with so few people on board, everyone is guaranteed to get views out the windows.

The helicopter ride was what I was most nervous about since it was my first time, but they made me feel much better with all their safety procedures. They had a lot of rules around helicopter loading and unloading to keep us all safe, which helped. Plus the ride was only about five minutes.

Once we took off, my fears were drowned out by this incredible feeling of awe as we slowly approached the glacier. It was incredible to see it from above and really get a good view of just how massive it is!

Hiking on the Glacier

Once we landed, I was almost sad to be done with the helicopter ride, but I felt so excited for the adventure ahead.

Note that because glaciers move and change so much, my experience hiking on Fox Glacier won’t be exactly like yours, or anyone else’s, experience.

As we unloaded, we met our guide, and he helped us put on our crampons and gave us hiking poles. Then we got started exploring the glacier with him.

From the helicopter landing area, we already had incredible views of the glacier and surrounding landscape. We could see the nearby Victoria Falls coming from Victoria Glacier.

Fun fact: Fox Glacier was originally named the Albert Glacier so the two were the Victoria and Albert Glaciers, named after the former British Queen and her husband. Later in 1872, the New Zealand government renamed Fox Glacier after the country’s Premier.

Our guide shared his knowledge on glaciers and history like this all throughout our tour. I appreciated all the insights he shared with us to help explain everything we were seeing.

First our guide took us to see what they call a moulin, where water melts through the glacier. In this spot it formed a cool little ice tunnel that we went through. This is where I unfortunately got water inside my boots, but it was totally worth it!

We got to see some crevasses up close throughout the hike as well.

The major highlight of the day was seeing a large ice arch. Another guide told us he hasn’t seen anything like that in his whole 8 years of guiding there and that we were really lucky to see it.

Our helicopter came slightly early, but we spent about 2 hours and 20 minutes hiking almost one mile (1.5 km) on the glacier in total. By the time it came, I felt ready to go.

Heading Back into Town

To wrap up the tour, we hopped on the helicopter, took the bus back, and gave Fox Glacier Guiding their gear back. The whole experience took about four hours.

Things to Keep in Mind for the Fox Glacier Heli Hike

Have I sold you yet? The Fox Glacier heli hike is truly such a cool experience, but I get it if you still have some potential concerns or questions.

Here are some things you can keep in mind as you make your decision.

Safety

I felt incredibly safe throughout my time on this tour. I could tell Fox Glacier Guiding took safety seriously because:

• They keep a close eye on the weather and cancel tours if it’s unsafe.
• The safety briefing seemed very thorough.
• The company seems really prepared for even the worst case scenario situation with having tents and supplies on the glacier in case people needed to spend the night.
• Guides spend each day before the tours checking out the glacier, not only to scope out cool spots to show us, but to make sure everything is safe. They use ice axes to carve out stairs and add cables for tour groups to hold onto when necessary.
• They reiterated safety tips throughout when people forgot.
• Our guide offered to help us when needed and stood close to us in any areas where there was a slightly higher risk.

Weather

New Zealand’s West Coast can see many days with clouds and rain. Often, weather can be unpredictable too.

My guide said that typically approximately 40% of tours are cancelled due to weather that makes it unsafe for helicopters to operate. When tours are cancelled, Fox Glacier Guiding does provide a refund or opportunity to reschedule–whichever you choose.

If you definitely want to do this tour, I recommend giving yourself a couple days if you can to give you a better chance with the weather. I personally was going to initially do the tour the day we drove from Hokitika to Fox Glacier for this reason. I ended up moving it to the following day though after my flight to the South Island was cancelled and I worried about getting there in time.

Best Time of Year for the Hike

Given the weather and that glacial ice can change so much with the seasons, I asked my guide when he thought the best time was for the hike.

He told me it’s hard to say the best time of year for the Fox Glacier heli hike. While there’s less chance of clouds in the winter, the ice tends to be more slippery in winter. When ice is slippery like that, he said the guide won’t take you to as many places.

Walking in summer tends to be easier for people since there’s usually a crunchy top layer of snow on the ice. But even then, a day of rain could wash that away and make the ice glassier the next day.

So all this to say, if you’re considering this hike, it sounds like you could pretty much do it any time of the year.

Difficulty

The Fox Glacier heli hike is not too strenuous of a hike, but there were some portions with steps and areas to hold on to a rope in my experience.

You don’t need to be extremely physically fit to do it, but you should be able to easily walk up a staircase and spend a few hours on your feet.

My group hiked for about one mile over the 2 hours and 20 minutes we spent on the glacier. We had many breaks during time.

If you want something more intense, Fox Glacier Guiding offers ice climbing too.

Environmental Impacts

Any activity involving burning fossil fuels damages the environment. When I visited Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil, I learned about how this was a big issue there and avoided helicopter tours for this reason. Needless to say, I’ve been on the alert for this anytime I’ve considered a helicopter tour.

Thankfully, Fox Glacier Guiding is working to minimize any environmental impacts from their tours. In 2021, they officially became Climate Positive as they offset 120% of their carbon emissions.

Helicopter tours to Fox Glacier are pretty limited throughout the day too. When I visited Iguazu Falls, helicopters were constantly running and for longer amounts of time. The environmental impact there must be significantly greater than something like Fox Glacier where the helicopters are just used as a quick mode of transport a few times per day.

Pricing

The Fox Glacier heli hike tour costs around $400 per person with pricing going slightly up or down depending on the season. It was one of the most expensive tours I booked during my New Zealand trip, but it was also one of the most meaningful experiences I had during my entire month there.

Location

Fox Glacier village is the nearest place to stay and offers other outdoor activities aside from glacier trekking. Explore this map for some of the top things to do, accommodation options, and places to eat in Fox Glacier.

Getting to Fox Glacier from elsewhere on the South Island can be a bit of a drive depending on your itinerary. This is how I fit it into my trip:

• Flew into Christchurch
• Drove about 3.5 hours to Hokitika
• Spent the night in Hokitika
• Drove about 2.5 hours to Fox Glacier
• Spent the night in Fox Glacier
• Did the Fox Glacier heli hike
• Drove about 4 hours to Wānaka

Note that when I was visiting, a section of the road between Fox Glacier and Wānaka would close on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 3 p.m. for road work. Talk to locals or check here for the latest road alerts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions when it comes to heli hiking Fox Glacier.

Where to Stay in Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier may be a small village, but there are a number of accommodations options available. Here are three I recommend that are close to the meeting point for the glacier heli hiking tour.

📍Budget Option: Ivory Towers offers both private and shared dorm rooms. There’s a hot tub, and if you’re lucky, you might even see a resident dog. My dad and I stayed here and found it perfect for a cozy budget stay.

📍Mid-Range Option: Bella Vista Motel is one of the larger accommodation options in Fox Glacier. Guests rave about all the recommendations and help provided by the staff.

📍Luxury Option: Ropatini’s Bed & Breakfast is one of the highest rated accommodation options in Fox Glacier. Each room offers views of Aoraki/Mount Cook.

Book Your Fox Glacier Heli Hike

So are you ready now? Did my Fox Glacier heli hike review convince you?

Go ahead and book your tour now before it fills up! You can always cancel later if you change your mind. 😉

➡️ Book your Fox Glacier heli hike tour here.