Heli Hiking Franz Josef

Franz Josef, New Zealand

Combine a scenic helicopter flight over Franz Josef Glacier with a two-hour guided walk amongst the ice caves, pinnacles and seracs of New Zealand's South Island. You'll learn about glacier processes and enjoy supreme panoramic views on your small group tour, as your local guide shows you the most spectacular ice formations.

With its ability to hover, land and provide access to some of the most remote areas, your helicopter ride is the ideal choice for sightseeing, taking you right up close to towering peaks, crevasse filled glaciers and sparkling waterways.

You'll land high up on the glacier between two icefalls where your guided hike begins. Follow your professional guide into the most spectacular icefall terrain, only usually seen by experienced mountaineers. With a spotless safety record, rigid assessments, and the use of exclusive quality equipment, your safety and enjoyment is always accounted for.

Afterwards, you'll re-embark the helicopter for a transfer back to the township of Franz Josef.

Aircraft:
The fleet consists predominately of European AS355 Twin Engine Squirrels (seats 06 passengers plus pilot). They are ideal aircraft for scenic flights, with an open plan cabin making for excellent views for all passengers. The Helicopter Line has the highest levels of Civil Aviation Authority certification for scenic helicopter operations, this involves regular monitoring and audit of all aspects of the operations.

USD $302.77

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Jeanette M	March 2012
It was an awesome experience and the trip was run very professionally. Our guide AJ was great and provided great insight into the glacier.

Review by: Deirdre S	January 2012
Our heli hike on Jan 18th exceeded our expectations! It was the highlight of our Australia/New Zealand holiday and Matt was a very good guide on the hike, we found the entire tour, hiking gear and all employees to be extremely high standard and very professional. We will be happy to recommend this tour to any of our friends travelling to NZ. Thanks for a wonderful experience! D and D Ireland

Review by: sandy c	January 2012
Spectacular! Worth every penny.

Review by: dennis b	January 2012
Highlight of a four week holiday in new zealand excellent experience hiking the glacier crawling through ice caves. the guides were very professional and helpful even when pointing out i had crampon on wrong foot! The group was split into two to accomodate those of us who were slower across the ice than others. would book this trip every time we go to New Zealand

Review by: Kerstin W	January 2012
The helicopter and glacier experience is great and we were overawed by the size and beauty of it. Our only criticism is that there was a lady who had an injury on our trip who couldn't cope without assistance, and both the guide and other people on the trip had to help her across the ice. Wouldn't have minded except it reduced how much we saw compared with the other groups and our guide started to shout at us at the end to get back to the helicopter meeting point as it was very expensive to have to them to have to wait. We all ended up much earlier than needed despite being in the last batch of people dropped off at the beginning of the ice walk.

Review by: Glennyss L	January 2012
Wonderful staff and guides. Awesome experience overall.

Review by: Nora B	January 2012
The flight up was excellent and smoother than I had expected. Our guide was particularly awesome and adapted our hike to our energetic half of the group for particularly fun trekking through the ice and snow!

Review by: Lauren D	January 2012
Fantastic!

Review by: Srini	December 2011
Well organized heli-hike. I was disappointed that they didn't take us through the ice tunnel but other than that we had a lot of fun.

Review by: SOON EIT C	November 2011
Good outing. Guide was professional. We had fun at the glacier.

Review by: northshore69	October 2011
It was a trip of a lifetime! Superlatives could not describe how wonderful the entire experience was! I would highly recommend u take the Heli-hike rather than the hike by foot. Although the former is much more expensive, it is worth every cent! My only drawback is that the experience could be enhanced by the staff of Helicopter Line who conducted the tour. From checking in, to collecting your equipment, they could be a bit friendlier. Our glacier guide could improve on his shyness too. He seemed reserved and spoke softly. Other than this, it was one of those trips that u will remember for a LONG time!!

Review by: David and Paul	June 2011
Loved it. The helicopter itself was brilliant. Great views over the glacier and close up of the cliffs. A very professional operation. Once on the glacier the guide was a lot of fun also and made it great for our group. Would do it again tomorrow.

Review by: Dharmesh R	May 2011
A once in a lifetime experience and would recommend it to anyone! Jess our guide was great, the glaciers were stunning and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!

Review by: clasta100	May 2011
Helicopter rides were fantastic but we were a little disappointed with the hiking on the glacier. The pace of the hike was quite slow and not a great deal of the glacier area was covered. Some excellent photo opportunities though!

Review by: Francis W	March 2011
The heli hike was the highlight of an excellent visit to NZ, Well organised, exciting, a really new experience for us and very informative. Excellent guide.

Review by: THOMAS J	March 2011
One of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had and worth every dollar. First class, professional organization with expert guides (Levi and Dan) on the glacier.

Review by: David G	January 2011
Absolutely spectacular! You get up a lot higher on the glacier by chopper and the view on the way up and back is incredible. The guides are well informed and entertaining and wandering around on the glacier is fascinating.

Review by: Lianne W	December 2010
Booking through Viator web site was easy and secure. the Heli Hiking Franz Joseph tour was fantastic. Great scenery from helicopter and walking on ice was great fun with knowledgable guide who catered for our adventurous group by allowing us the opportunity to crawl through a worm hole in the ice.

Review by: Slow Mouse	December 2010
Overall, the hike was well organized and we were well looked after. A group of 10 is a little too big because the guide could not communicate with the front or the back of the group depending where he was position at the time and how spread out we were. The guide was very professional and friendly.

Review by: James G	November 2010
Well run trip with excellent guides. Totally worth the money!

Review by: Keith S	September 2010
Amazing, We both had a great time on the Heli Hike, I will be recommending this to many friends and family. Cheers

Review by: John V	August 2010
awesome, wouldn't have missed it.

Review by: Gustavo M	August 2010
We had a fun and safe journey around the glacier. The views, the senses, the exciting will never be forgotten. Highly recommend the chopper ride up to the Glacier.

Review by: Charles S, Australia	July 2010
A unique expierence. Would love to do it again ,perhaps for a longer period .

Review by: Boyd L	May 2010
Cancelled due to weather.

Review by: Graham A	May 2010
It rained the day we were supposed to fly so the staff were really helpful and arranged us to do a hike on the glacier with another company. They booked us on a helicopter flight the next morning, provided the weather cleared which it did. I thought they ran the tours very profesionally, given they are subject to the weather.

Review by: Jeremy S	April 2010
the staff was very helpful staff, he recommended us to reschedule to Sunday for a better weather as the forecast for Saturday was not good. The weather was perfect on Sunday.

Review by: Ruth C, United Kingdom	March 2010
The highlight of our visit to South Island - very well organised with an excellent guide who recognised those less able to cope and called them forward to follow closely in her steps.

Review by: Ray L, Australia	March 2010
What an amazing experience! Walking through the Glacier is spectacular. I would have liked the Guide to have provided some history on the Glacier but he did not talk much.

Review by: Gary R	March 2010
The photos in promotion do not truly reflect the actual expereince - an example on this page does not happen. However the trip was worthwhile.

Review by: Zane B, Australia	February 2010
Amazing!

Review by: Zor M, United Kingdom	February 2010
Fantastic voyage!

Review by: Kevin W, United Kingdom	January 2010
We have just got back from our New Zealand holiday, and it is all fresh in our minds, and will be forever. The helicopter ride to the glacier, the 2 hour walk around, and the sights all are so much better when you have keen staff who share their love of the glacier and New Zealand. We were lucky to have the flight because of the weather that came in. My recommendation is go for the early morning flight and get any questions you have ready, because the experience of seeing such beauty is breathtaking. To the pilots that took us up and down Franz Josef, and the 2 guides that took us around and presented a beautiful look at the glacier, our thanks. Perfect trip, highly recommend!

Review by: Peter H, United Kingdom	January 2010
Absolutely brilliant. From the helicopter ride to the actual hiking was a new experience for all 4 of our party and we loved every minute of it. The guide was excellent and looked after us very well.

Review by: Karen G	January 2010
We didn't do the Heli Hiking because the weather was bad, but we exchanged it for a Scenic Flight over Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and Mt Cook, and that was fantastic! We got out on the glacier for a walk around and had fantastic views!

Review by: PETER H	January 2010
Absolutely brilliant. From the helicopter ride to the actual hiking was a new experience for all 4 of our party and we loved every minute of it. The guide was excellent and looked after us very well.

Review by: Peter S, Australia	October 2009
Our trip was definitely well worth the price, my partner didn't want to go as he is afraid of heights, but thankfully was persuaded the night before we left Sydney. The staff were all so helpful. Thank you all for a wonderful holiday experience!

Review by: Brenda O, Australia	October 2009
This was a totally awesome experience! Definitely a highlight of our holiday! The guide was informative and involved us in a fantastic adventure.

Review by: pat/peter	October 2009
Our trip was definitely well worth the price, my partner didn't want to go as he is afraid of heights, but thankfully was persuaded the night before we left Sydney. The staff were all so helpful. Thank you all for a wonderful holiday experience!

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	September 2009
Absolutely Priceless! I will remember it for the rest of my life!

Review by: Lucy T, United Kingdom	August 2009
The hiking was fantastic!

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	March 2009
Brilliant experience.

Review by: Michael M, Ireland	February 2009
Well run, well organised, our guide knew her business and was brilliant. Weather was good for us, but cannot be trusted.

Review by: Sharon E, United Kingdom	January 2009
Everyone should do this! It's totally awesome.

Review by: Robert M, United Kingdom	January 2009
I can't begin to describe the experience, it was outstanding. The guide was fabulous giving lots of info and safety tips. The photos are great but really don't do it justice, it has to be seen to be believed.

Review by: Gillian P, United Kingdom	May 2008
This was the highlight of my trip. The helicopter ride was exciting as we flew around the glacier before landing and spent two exhilarating hours hiking. I was lucky with the weather, which was clear and sunny. I thought the trip was a good value for money.