The landings, confirmed
A Fox Glacier snow landing is not part of every flight on this site — three of them do it, and this page names them. The shortest is a twenty-five-minute scenic flight from $223, the same landing sits inside a twin-glacier flight from $279, and a third puts the landing at either Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier, from $279. A fourth flight also lands, but for a different reason: it is the heli hike, and it gets its own page.
Quick answer
The short answer. A Fox Glacier snow landing happens on three flights: $223 for twenty-five minutes, $279 for thirty-five minutes over both glaciers, and $279, which lands at either Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier. A fourth, the heli hike from $479, lands you for up to three hours of walking rather than a snow landing alone.
The landings, confirmed
A Fox Glacier snow landing is built into three of the eight helicopter flights on this site. The shortest, from $223, is twenty-five minutes total and includes a landing on the snowfield before the flight back. The twin-glacier flight from $279 adds a second glacier to the same idea, at thirty-five minutes and 405 reviews, the most reviewed flight on this site. The third, from $279, lands at the head of either Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier, decided on the day.
What a snow landing actually is: a few minutes on the ground at altitude, for the view and for photos, before the helicopter lifts off again. It is not a walk, and none of these three listings describes one.
A fourth flight also lands, and it is easy to confuse with these three: the heli hike, from $479, lands so a guide can fit crampons and lead up to three hours walking the ice, which is a different day out entirely and has its own page on this site.
All three landing flights lift off from the same helipad in the township, and none of the three needs anything from a traveller beyond turning up: the helicopter carries the gear, and the landing itself needs no crampons or briefing the way the heli hike does.
For no helicopter at all, the guided valley walk in the Fox Glacier valley, from $62, stays on the ground the entire way and is the cheapest of the thirteen listings on this site. It is a different kind of day, not a cheaper version of a landing, and it books separately from any of the eight helicopter flights compared across this site.
What the listings ask for
All three landing flights share the shortest booking window on this site: at least two hours ahead, per the listings. Free cancellation is offered on each of them, so an early booking can still be moved if plans change.
All three are also flagged wheelchair accessible, which is not true of every flight on this site — the heli hike and the longer scenic flights are not flagged the same way, since the heli hike involves walking on the ice.
Only one of the three, the shortest flight at $223, is flagged a small group on its own listing. The other two landing flights do not carry that flag.
Where each landing happens, exactly
Two of the three landing flights confirm which glacier the landing is on, and one keeps the choice open. The shortest flight, from $223, names Fox Glacier. The flight that offers a choice, from $279, decides between Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier on the day. The twin-glacier flight, from $279, flies over both but does not name which one the landing is on.
When people upgrade to the heli hike
The three landing flights and the heli hike lift off from the same helipad, which is why people comparing them often move between this page and the next one. If a few minutes on the snow sounds short once it is spelled out, the heli hike is the same idea stretched to up to three hours, guided, with crampons fitted on arrival.
What happens if plans change
All three landing flights depend on cloud and wind on the day, the same as every flight on this site. Free cancellation is offered up to the booking cut-off, and Westland is one of the wetter parts of New Zealand, so an early slot in a longer stay leaves room to move rather than lose the booking.
Not on this page
Five flights round out the vitrine of eight and are not covered in depth here: the twin Fox and Franz Josef flight, the Fox Glacier and Mount Cook flight, the three-glacier flight, the Grand Adventure, and the heli hike above. Each stays over the icefalls without the confirmed Fox Glacier snow landing this page is built around, or, in the heli hike’s case, goes further than a landing and gets its own page.
The full set of eight, priced and rated side by side, is one page over on this site.
None of those five is compared row by row here, because this page keeps to one question — which flights actually land on snow — and answering it for flights that do not confirm a landing would only blur the three that do.
What the reviews say
The twin-glacier landing flight carries the most reviews of the three at 405, rated 4.7. The shortest scenic flight follows at 126 reviews and 4.6, and the flight that lands at either glacier has 12 reviews at 4.8, the highest rating of the three landings.
None of the three approaches the heli hike’s 366 reviews at 4.9, which is the highest rating among all thirteen listings on this site — the difference, again, is the walk rather than the landing.
Rated on its own, though, all three landing flights sit at 4.6 or above, which puts every one of them ahead of the lowest-rated flight on this site, the three-glacier flight at 3.9.
Review counts on this site range from a single review on the longest scenic flight to 405 on the twin-glacier landing flight. The rating, not the count, is what separates the three landing flights from each other, since all three sit within one full star of each other on reviews alone.
Snow landing flights compared
Fox Glacier snow landing flights, in order of price.
Wheelchair accessible, bookable as little as two hours ahead, and the cheapest landing on this site. 126 reviews at 4.6.
Franz Josef and Fox Glacier in one flight, with a landing partway through. 405 reviews at 4.7, the most reviewed flight on this site.
12 reviews at 4.8. The listing decides on the day whether the landing is at Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier.
Want the ice for longer than a landing? The one flight that adds a walk.
The heli hike→Also searched here
A Franz Josef helicopter flight with snow landing search and a Fox Glacier snow landing search are usually looking for the same three flights: the landing happens at Fox Glacier, at Franz Josef, or at either one, depending on the listing, and all three are named above.
A Fox Glacier helicopter landing search, a Franz Josef Glacier helicopter landing snow search and a Franz Josef helicopter snow landing search all point at the same fact: only $279 decides between the two glaciers on the day; the other two landings are fixed to one glacier each.
A Fox Glacier helicopter snow landing search and a Fox Glacier helicopter landing new zealand search reach the same three flights compared on this page, with the country or the word order added.
Book direct
Three land on snow for a few minutes; one lands to walk. All four, compared.
★ 4.6 · 126 reviews
★ 4.7 · 405 reviews
★ 4.8 · 12 reviews
★ 4.9 · 366 reviews
Every trip, current fare
The three confirmed landings, plus the heli hike for comparison.
| Flight | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Glacier: Scenic Helicopter Flight with Snow LandingTwenty-five minutes with a snow landing | 25 min | $223 | Twenty-five minutes with a snow landing | $535.20 | 4.6 · 126 |
| Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers Helicopter Flight & Snow LandingBoth glaciers and a snow landing | 35 min | $279 | Both glaciers and a snow landing | $478.29 | 4.7 · 405 |
| Franz Josef: Twin Glacier Helicopter Flight and Snow LandingTwin glaciers, one landing on snow | 35 min | $279 | Twin glaciers, one landing on snow | $478.29 | 4.8 · 12 |
| Fox Glacier: Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter TransferFly up, walk three hours on the ice | 4 h | $479 | Fly up, walk three hours on the ice | $119.75 | 4.9 · 366 |
Common questions
Three do: the twenty-five-minute scenic flight at $223, the twin-glacier flight at $279, and the flight that lands at either Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier at $279. A fourth, the heli hike, lands too, but to walk rather than just to land.
The listings describe a landing, not a set number of minutes on the ground. It is long enough for the view and for photos before the helicopter lifts off again — a different kind of stop from the heli hike, which lands to start a walk.
One is fixed: $223 lands on Fox Glacier, by name. The twin-glacier flight at $279 covers both glaciers without the listing naming which one the landing is on, and $279 names the choice outright: Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier, decided on the day.
No — it lands too, but for a different reason. A snow landing flight sets you down for a few minutes; the heli hike, from $479, lands so a guide can fit crampons and lead up to three hours of walking on the ice.
All three are flagged as wheelchair accessible on their listings: $223, $279 and $279. The heli hike is not flagged the same way, since it involves walking on the ice.
The twenty-five-minute scenic flight, at $223. It is the shortest and cheapest of the three landing flights, and it is wheelchair accessible.
Go deeper
Every helicopter flight that reaches Fox Glacier.
Heli-hikeFly up, walk on the ice, fly back down.
PricesWhat a Fox Glacier flight costs, listing by listing.
Scenic flightsTwenty-five minutes to ninety: what each length shows.
On footThe guided walk at the terminal face, without a flight.
Lake MathesonThe mirror lake and the view of Aoraki.
Fox Glacier: Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter Transfer
★ 4.9 · 366 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h