Tasman Glacier Heli-Hike from Queenstown: 2 hours on the ice
Seven hours: a fixed-wing flight, a helicopter ride onto the ice, two hours of glacier hiking, and the flight back
A heli-hike tour from Queenstown combines a one-hour scenic flight to Mt Cook with a helicopter landing on Tasman Glacier, where you spend two hours on the ice with crampons, exploring caves and crevasses under the guidance of a professional mountaineering guide. The tour includes round-trip flights from Queenstown, transfers from central hotels, all safety equipment and a guaranteed window seat. You'll need moderate fitness and must understand English or bring a translator.
Step-by-step itinerary
Tasman Glacier Heli-Hike from Queenstown
- Collect from Queenstown hotels
- Check in at Remarkables Park lounge
- Take off on 1 hour scenic flight
- View Lake Wanaka, Hawea, and Ohau
- See Mt Cook and Aoraki National Park
- Land at Mt Cook Airstrip
- Check in and gear up with guide
- Heli ride onto Tasman Glacier ice
- Hike on glacier with crampons for 2 hours
- Return heli flight to base
- 1 hour scenic flight back to Queenstown
- Arrive at lounge and transfer to accommodation
- Queenstown 50m
- Lake Wanaka passing by
- Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (Te Wahipounamu) 1h
- Mt. Cook Village 1h
- Tasman Glacier Entry included 2h 30m
- Mt. Cook Village 5m
- Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (Te Wahipounamu) 1h
What’s included
- Round-trip scenic flights from Queenstown to Mt Cook and back.
- helicopter flight onto Tasman Glacier.
- transfers from central Queenstown hotels or free parking at Frankton.
- hiking boots, crampons and all glacier safety equipment.
- professional mountaineering guide for the two-hour hike.
- guaranteed window seat on the fixed-wing flight.
- Every day except Monday and Wednesday 08:00
Information
Fly from Queenstown to Tasman Glacier for a two-hour guided hike across the ice with crampons, exploring crevasses and caves with a mountaineering expert.
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The experience
The day starts with pickup from your Queenstown hotel or free parking at the Frankton office, then a check-in at Remarkables Park Town Centre departure lounge where you'll be weighed and briefed before boarding. The one-hour fixed-wing flight departs Queenstown Airport and climbs over Lake Wanaka, Lake Hawea and Lake Ohau, then passes Mt Cook and the surrounding Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park (a region holding roughly 3,000 glaciers and alpine lakes) before landing at Mt Cook Airstrip. The views alone justify the flight, but they're the setup for what comes next.
At the base, you'll gear up with hiking boots, crampons and safety equipment, then board a helicopter for a 10- to 15-minute ride up onto the Tasman Glacier itself. The helicopter passes over deep crevasses and icefalls to land on the ice, where your guide straps on your crampons and leads you into a two-hour exploration of the glacier's caves and ice features. The glacier is constantly changing (new formations appear, old passages close), so no two hikes are identical. You're not walking a marked trail. You're moving through a living landscape of blue ice and deep crevasses with someone trained to read it.
The helicopter returns to collect you and fly back to base, where your pilot escorts you to the plane for the one-hour return flight to Queenstown. The route home takes a different path for maximum sightseeing. A driver meets you at the departure lounge to return you to your hotel, or you'll collect your car from Frankton. The whole day runs seven hours from pickup to drop-off.
Top questions
Can I be picked up at my hotel?
You can choose: pickup at your hotel, or go straight to the meeting point. When you book, you choose your hotel from 19 pickup locations; if yours isn’t listed, you can type in your address. Pickup is about 50 minutes before departure.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (10 to 13 years). Children under 10 can't be included in the booking.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
How fit do I need to be for the glacier hike?
The tour requires at least a moderate level of physical fitness. You'll be walking on ice with crampons for two hours at altitude, so cardiovascular health matters. The operator does not recommend this tour for travelers with poor cardiovascular health or for pregnant travelers.
What's included in the price?
The tour includes both scenic flights (the fixed-wing round-trip between Queenstown and Mt Cook, and the helicopter ride onto the glacier), transfers from central Queenstown hotels, hiking boots and crampons, all glacier safety equipment, a guaranteed window seat on the plane, and a professional mountaineering guide for the two-hour hike.
Do I need to bring food?
You should bring your own snacks or a light lunch if you want to eat during the day. Time at Mt Cook is limited, so there's no restaurant stop built into the schedule.
What is Tasman Glacier like when you're standing on it?
Tasman Glacier is an ever-changing landscape of ice caves, deep crevasses and icefalls. Your guide will lead you through features that shift with the seasons and years, so the glacier you explore is unique to the day you visit.
What language is the guide in?
Guides provide safety instructions in English only. If you don't speak English, you'll need to bring a translator with you.
Operated by True South Flights. Explorevia does not run this tour: we compare it with similar options, and you book it with our booking partner.
Prices and times updated 2 days ago
Tasman Glacier Heli-Hike from Queenstown: 2 hours on the ice
7h · EN
from NZ$ 2,149 per person
≈ US$ 1,216 in your currency
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