Franz Josef itineraries for one to three days

7 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

The plans below start in Franz Josef, where most flights, heli-hikes and lake trips depart, and use Fox Glacier, 23.5 km south, for the second glacier and Lake Matheson. All of them put the flight or heli-hike on the first morning. NIWA records rain on 14 to 21 days a month in Franz Josef, and a cancelled flight on day one can move to day two; a cancellation on your last morning cannot.

One day

Start with a flight. The 35-minute flight over the Franz Josef Glacier carries on to the Fox or the Tasman Glacier, depending on conditions, and stops for about ten minutes at a snow landing site. Check-in is at the operator’s office in the village, and a van takes you to the hangar. One reviewer of this flight could only fly on the last morning after two days of rain, and others recommend asking for a front seat for the better view.

Afterwards, drive the 4 km up the glacier access road. The Glacier Valley Walk takes about 30 minutes return to a viewpoint that was about 3,000 m from the ice on 2 November 2026. Sentinel Rock, 20 minutes return from the same car park, has panels showing how far the glacier has retreated since 1909. In the afternoon, go kayaking on Lake Mapourika for three hours, or visit the wildlife centre for the penguin feeding at 3 pm. The kayak trip includes the transfer from central Franz Josef and the wet-weather gear, and the operator runs it in the rain. After dark, the 30-minute Terrace Walk at the edge of the village has glow-worms if you bring a torch.

Two days

On the second morning, either go onto the ice or drive south. The Franz Josef heli-hike takes about four hours in all: you gear up in the village, fly about four minutes onto the glacier and spend up to 2.5 hours walking with crampons and a guide. Children must be at least ten, and the operator asks for a reasonable level of fitness.

The alternative is a day at Fox Glacier, 26 minutes south. The car park is 2 km beyond the township, and the South Side Walk takes about two hours return to a viewpoint that was about 2,600 m from the ice on 2 November 2026. In the late afternoon, continue to Lake Matheson. DOC times the 4.4 km circuit at about 1 hour 30 minutes, with the jetty viewpoint 45 minutes return, and dawn and dusk are the best times for reflections. On 21 December the sun sets there at 21:21, so a summer evening leaves plenty of light for the circuit after an afternoon at Fox. A guided half-day tour from Franz Josef aims for the early evening for the same reason. The Minnehaha Walk in Fox, 20 minutes long, has glow-worms after dark.

Three days

The third day is your weather reserve: if the flight or heli-hike has not gone yet, this is when it can. Otherwise, drive north to Ōkārito, about 25 minutes away. The Ōkārito Trig Walk climbs gently on a well-graded track and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, with views over the national park, the Southern Alps, the lagoon and the beaches. Ōkārito has no shops or service stations, and DOC warns against crossing river mouths and lagoon channels on foot.

Fit walkers can spend the day in the Franz Josef valley instead. Glacier Country lists Peters Pool (1.1 km, 25 minutes), the Callery Gorge Walk (5.2 km, 1 hour 20 minutes) and Roberts Point (5 to 5.5 hours). DOC asks walkers not to try to cross the Waiho or Callery rivers, which are swift, cold and dangerous.

In winter

The same plans work from June to August with shorter days. On 21 June the sun rises at 08:12 and sets at 17:10, so a flight, a valley walk and Lake Matheson fill a day without the evening programme. Dawn at the lake is easier to catch, with civil twilight from 07:41. NZTA advises carrying chains on Haast Pass and Arthur’s Pass in winter, so allow extra time on the days you arrive and leave.

Passing through

Franz Josef sits roughly halfway between Christchurch and Queenstown on the West Coast route, about five hours of driving on each side, without stops. Two-day small-group tours between the two cities spend the night here, with accommodation booked by you. Scenic flights are not part of the tour, so add one yourself if the timings allow. Getting there covers the roads and buses.

Continuing over Haast Pass towards Aoraki/Mount Cook? visitmountcook.com has the walks, flights and stargazing on the eastern side of the Alps.