Getting to Franz Josef

7 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

Franz Josef/Waiau sits on the West Coast of the South Island, where State Highway 6 runs between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. DOC calls it the only road into the park: Hokitika is about an hour and a half to the north, Haast about two hours to the south, and Fox Glacier lies 23.5 km further down the same highway. Whichever way you come, the last part of the journey is along this one road.

Flying in

Hokitika has the nearest commercial airport, with daily flights from Christchurch, and it is 136 km from Franz Josef. DOC gives the drive as about 1.5 hours, and a route calculation on OpenStreetMap data comes to just under two. Most visitors from overseas land in Christchurch or Queenstown instead. Christchurch Airport handled 6.25 million passengers in the 2024 financial year, with more than 140 international arrivals and departures a week. Queenstown Airport expected more than a million international passengers for the first time in its 2026 financial year, and has year-round flights to Brisbane.

From Christchurch over Arthur’s Pass

From Christchurch Airport the route crosses the Alps on State Highway 73 over Arthur’s Pass and reaches the coast near Greymouth. It is about 372 km to Franz Josef, and the route calculation gives just under five hours without breaks. Greymouth is 173 km and Hokitika 136 km before the end, so either town works as a lunch stop. In winter NZTA advises carrying snow chains on South Island alpine roads and names Arthur’s Pass among them.

By train and bus

The TranzAlpine runs daily between Christchurch and Greymouth, and InterCity gives the rail journey as about four hours. The train does not run on Christmas Day 2026, and in 2027 it pauses over the Easter weekend (26 to 29 March), from 22 to 28 May, from 25 to 28 September, over Labour Weekend (23 to 26 October) and at Christmas. The Great Journeys timetable page lists the dates.

InterCity buses connect with the train in Greymouth and run on to Franz Josef in about 3.5 to 4 hours. Franz Josef also has buses from Nelson and Queenstown, and the main stop is on Main Road in the village. Queenstown to Franz Josef takes about eight hours by bus, and Fox Glacier to Franz Josef about 45 minutes. InterCity shows the current times; the stated journey times differ slightly by direction.

From Queenstown and Wānaka over Haast Pass

From the south the road runs from Queenstown through Wānaka and over Haast Pass to the coast at Haast, then north to Fox Glacier and Franz Josef. Queenstown Airport to Franz Josef is about 345 km, roughly five hours of driving without stops, and Wānaka to Franz Josef about 285 km. The 201 km between Queenstown and Haast are the slow part, and the final 144 km from Haast to Franz Josef take about two hours. Fuel and supplies are easiest to sort out in the larger towns before the Haast stretch.

This route was hit hard in 2026. A winter storm on 28 August closed State Highway 6 between Makarora and Lake Hāwea with slips, rockfall and flooding. For weeks traffic moved in escorted convoys at set times, and one Franz Josef operator told RNZ his bookings were down about 40 per cent. Continuous traffic returned on 9 October, and NZTA ended the restrictions on 23 October 2026, with a 50 km/h limit and Stop/Go control remaining at two sites while the clean-up continued. Check the NZTA Journey Planner on the day you drive, and carry chains over Haast Pass in winter.

Guided one-way days

For the trip without a car, small-group tours turn the transfer into a sightseeing day of about 12 hours. From Queenstown the route crosses the Crown Range, stops at the Wānaka Tree, the Blue Pools and Thunder Creek Falls, has lunch in Haast and visits Ship Creek, Bruce Bay and Lake Matheson before drop-off at your accommodation in Franz Josef or Fox Glacier. Each guest can bring one large and one small bag. The reverse tour runs south via Lake Matheson, Haast Pass, Lake Hāwea, Wānaka and the Cardrona Hotel to central Queenstown.

From Christchurch there are two versions. The rail tour drops off in Franz Josef only, not in Fox Glacier. The road tour stops at Castle Hill, Lake Lyndon, Arthur’s Pass village and Hokitika, with the option of Hokitika Gorge, and ends with time for a walk towards the glacier lookout; it does not take children under four, and one reviewer mentions a long stretch without a chance to buy food. Two-day tours between Christchurch and Queenstown spend the night in Franz Josef, where you book your own bed.

If Aoraki/Mount Cook is also on your route, visitmountcook.com covers the village and the walks on the eastern side of the Alps.

Before you fly to New Zealand

Passport holders from visa waiver countries, Germany and the UK among them, need a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) instead of a visa for short stays, and Australian citizens need neither. An international visitor levy is charged with each NZeTA request. All air passengers complete the free New Zealand Traveller Declaration, which opens 24 hours before the journey, and some foods, plant and animal products and used outdoor gear are restricted, so clean your walking boots before you pack them. On the road, New Zealand drives on the left, everyone wears a seatbelt and a current licence from home is valid for up to 18 months. Once you have arrived, getting around covers the distances between the villages, lakes and car parks, and the itineraries suggest how to split the days.