The glacier sits in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, with the small town of Franz Josef a few kilometres from the valley. The town is a string of motels, cafes and tour offices that exists mostly to serve glacier visitors.
Seeing the glacier
From the car park, a valley walk of about an hour and a half return leads to a viewpoint. The ice has retreated a long way and no longer reaches it, so from the ground you see the glacier from a distance across the riverbed. To walk on the ice itself you take a heli-hike, flown up to the glacier and guided across its surface with crampons. On a wet day the West Coast hot pools and the kiwi centre in town are the usual fallbacks.
The valley walk to the viewpoint is free and self-guided, taking about an hour and a half. The heli-hike is the headline tour: a helicopter lifts you to the ice and a guide leads you across crevasses and ice formations, usually three to four hours total. Expect around NZ$600 to NZ$700 per person, with all crampons and gear supplied.
Scenic flights without a landing are cheaper, often NZ$300 to NZ$450, and a good option if you mainly want the aerial view. Everything by air depends on the weather and cancellations are common, so allow a spare day and book ahead in summer, as the heli-hikes fill up.
Franz Josef is on State Highway 6 down the West Coast. From Greymouth it is about two and a half hours, and Fox Glacier is only 30 minutes further south. From Queenstown it is a long drive of five to six hours over the Haast Pass, often broken with an overnight stop. From Christchurch, the route over Arthur's Pass takes around four and a half to five hours.
There is no airport in town; scenic flights are local only. The roads are sealed but winding and can flood or close after heavy rain, so check conditions and keep your fuel topped up between the small West Coast towns.
The West Coast is one of the wettest parts of the country, so rain is likely in any month and the heli-hikes are weather-dependent year round. Summer (December to February) gives the warmest days and the best run of flying weather, but also the most visitors. Autumn and spring are quieter with reasonable chances of clear spells. Winter is cold and wet at sea level but can bring crisp, clear days that are good for flights, with fresh snow on the ice. Whenever you come, leave a buffer day in case flights are cancelled.
