Dec – Feb
Summer
The longest days of the year. A morning heli hike, an afternoon in the Tasman Valley and an evening drive all fit into one day without rushing.
Hours, not days
How long is the Tasman Glacier walk? Every trip, timed
The honest answer is that “the Tasman Glacier walk” means three different things, and they take very different amounts of time. The free view track above the lake is a short walk you do on your own. Walking on the glacier itself is a three-hour trip from Mount Cook Village, of which two hours are spent on the ice. And a flight over the glacier is between 25 and 50 minutes. This page puts all eleven trips on one clock, so you can see what fits into the day you actually have.
Quick answer
The short answer. If you mean walking on the ice: three hours door to door from Mount Cook Village, with two hours of that walking on the glacier, at $514 or $540. If you mean the free view track from the Tasman Valley car park: a short walk to a viewpoint above the lake, no booking and no guide. If you mean seeing the glacier from the air: 25 to 50 minutes depending on the flight, from $217. And if you are coming from Christchurch or Queenstown, add the road: 8 hours one way by shuttle, 13 hours there and back in a day, or 6 hours for the Queenstown heli hike day.
Timings at a glance
- Walking on the ice
- 3 hoursdoor to door from the village
- Of which on the glacier
- Two hoursfrom the $540 listing
- Shortest flight
- 25 minutes$217
- Longest flight
- 50 minutes$477
- Ski plane and helicopter combo
- 45 minutes$314
- Day from Queenstown
- 6 hours$1,029
- Christchurch to the village
- 8 hoursone way, $129
- Christchurch day trip
- 13 hoursthere and back, $200
- The free view track
- Short, unguidedabove Tasman Lake
- Trips on this site
- Eleven1,585 reviews between them
- Lowest price here
- $129the Christchurch shuttle
- Cheapest way onto the ice
- $5143 hours, crampons included
Three different questions
What people mean by “the Tasman Glacier walk”
A free viewpoint walk, a three-hour trip onto the ice, or under an hour in the air.
Search results mix three activities together, and they are not interchangeable.
The view track. From the Tasman Valley car park a short public track climbs the moraine to a viewpoint looking down on Tasman Lake, with the end of the glacier beyond it and icebergs floating in the water. It is free, it needs no booking, and it is what most people who say “we walked to the Tasman Glacier” actually did. What it does not do is put you on the ice: the lake and the moraine sit between the track and the glacier.
Walking on the glacier. This is a booked trip with a helicopter transfer, and it takes three hours door to door from Mount Cook Village. The $540 listing sets out the split clearly: two of those three hours are spent walking on the glacier, and the rest is kit, briefing and flying. The $514 trip is the same length and includes crampons and guiding.
Seeing it from the air. Between 25 and 50 minutes, depending on which flight. These are the trips that show you the whole length of the glacier and the Hochstetter Icefall in one go — scale that neither of the other two options gives you — and most of them land on snow somewhere in the park before returning.
Once you know which of the three you are asking about, the planning is easy. The table below is every trip on this site with its length, what it does on the ice and what it costs per hour.
Every trip
Every trip, by the clock
Eleven listings, sorted the way the site shows them. “On the ice” is what the trip does once it lands — walking, a stop on the snow, or nothing because it stays up.
| Trip | Length | On the ice | Price | Cost per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Hour Heli Hike to the Tasman Glacier260 reviews at 4.8 | 3 h | Two hours walking | $540 | $180.00 |
| 3-Hour Tasman Glacier Helicopter Ride and Hike328 reviews at 4.9 | 3 h | Guided hike, crampons | $514 | $171.33 |
| Tasman Glacier Heli Hike & Return Scenic Flights11 reviews at 4.5 | 6 h | Two hours walking | $1,029 | $171.50 |
| Scenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing517 reviews at 4.7 | 25 min | Snow landing, no walk | $217 | $520.80 |
| Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing46 reviews at 4.8 | 30 min | Alpine landing, no walk | $277 | $554.00 |
| Tasman Glacier & National Park Scenic Flight22 reviews at 4.7 | 40 min | In the air only | $363 | $544.50 |
| Tasman Glacier Helicopter Flight11 reviews at 4.7 | 40 min | Snow landing, no walk | $375 | $562.50 |
| Ski Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo Flight360 reviews at 4.7 | 45 min | Snow landing, no walk | $314 | $418.67 |
| Tasman Glacier and West Coast Helicopter Flight7 reviews at 5 | 50 min | In the air only | $477 | $572.40 |
| Christchurch to Mt Cook via Lake Tekapo (one-way)20 reviews at 4.9 | 8 h | Road, valley views | $129 | $16.12 |
| Mt Cook Day Trip/Lake Tekapo & Tasman Glacier3 reviews at 5 | 13 h | Road, valley walks | $200 | $15.38 |
Reading the clock
Where the hours actually go
Trip length and time on the glacier are two different numbers. Here is how they relate.
- Three hours does not mean three hours on ice
Both village heli hikes are listed at three hours door to door. The $540 listing is the one that publishes the split: two hours walking on the glacier. The remaining hour covers fitting boots and crampons, the safety briefing and the flights in both directions.
- Flights are measured in the air, not on the ground
A 25-minute flight means 25 minutes of flying. Add check-in, weighing, the safety briefing and the walk to the machine, and the visit takes longer than the number suggests — but it still fits comfortably inside a morning.
- The Queenstown day is mostly travel, and that is the point
Six hours for $1,029 buys the alpine crossing by plane, the helicopter transfer onto the ice, two hours walking, and the flights home. You are paying for the access, not for extra time on the glacier.
- The road trips are day-shaped
The Christchurch shuttle runs 8 hours one way at $129, taking in Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki on the drive. The full day trip is 13 hours there and back at $200. Both are transport with views, not glacier walks — but they are how a lot of people get here.
- The view track has no timetable
It is unguided and free, so you set the pace. Most people fold it into an afternoon in the Tasman Valley rather than planning a day around it.
- Cost per hour tells you something the price does not
The table above gives it for every trip. Short flights carry a high hourly rate because you are buying a view, not time; the heli hikes look very different once the two hours on the ice are counted.
Planning the day
How much of your trip to set aside
A heli hike is a half day. Getting here from Christchurch is a day on its own.
If you are staying in Mount Cook Village, a heli hike is a half day. Fly in the morning, and the afternoon is still yours for the Tasman Valley, the lakes or the drive onward. That is the single most useful thing to know about timing here, and it is why so many people combine a morning on the ice with an afternoon on the valley tracks.
If you are driving in from Christchurch, treat it as two days rather than one. The road trip alone is 8 hours by shuttle at $129, and the 13-hour day trip at $200 is a long day by any standard — beautiful, but with no room in it for a flight.
From Queenstown you have a real choice. Either drive up and stay, or take the $1,029 day, which compresses the whole thing into six hours by flying both ways over the Southern Alps. For a fixed itinerary with one free day, the second option is the only one that reliably gets you onto the Tasman ice and back.
And whatever you book, build in a spare morning if you can. Flying here depends on visibility and wind at the landing site, and the operators decide on the day. Two nights in the area turns a weather delay into an inconvenience instead of a missed trip.
Ready to look at the trip that actually walks on the ice?
The heli hike→Daylight through the year
How the season changes your timing
The trips do not get longer or shorter with the season, but the number of usable hours in the day does — and that changes how much you can stack into one visit.
Mar – May
Autumn
Shorter days but often settled ones. Still comfortable for a flight in the morning and the valley after lunch.
Jun – Aug
Winter
Short daylight and cold, clear windows between fronts. Plan one activity a day and take the early slot when it is offered.
Sep – Nov
Spring
Days lengthening again and weather that changes fast. Flexible timing helps more than a tight schedule.
Book direct
Book by the time you have
Two hours on the ice inside a three-hour trip, the same again with crampons included, twenty-five minutes in the air with a landing, or the drive up from Christchurch.
Our pickRated 4.8
3 h3 Hour Heli Hike to the Tasman Glacier
★ 4.8 · 260 reviews
- Three hours, Two hours walking on the glacier
- Helicopter transfer to the ice
- Day trip
- Free cancellation
$540$180.00 / hour
Check availability→ 
Guided hike, cramponsRated 4.9
3 h3-Hour Tasman Glacier Helicopter Ride and Hike
★ 4.9 · 328 reviews
- Three hours, Land high on the Tasman Glacier
- Crampons and guiding included
- Day trip
- Free cancellation
$514$171.33 / hour
Check availability→ 
Snow landing, no walkRated 4.7
25 minScenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing
★ 4.7 · 517 reviews
- 25 minutes, Snow landing in the Southern Alps
- Views over the Tasman Glacier
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
$217$520.80 / hour
Check availability→ 
Road, valley viewsRated 4.9
8 hChristchurch to Mt Cook via Lake Tekapo (one-way)
★ 4.9 · 20 reviews
- Eight hours, Christchurch to Mount Cook village
- Lake Tekapo and Pukaki on the way
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
$129$16.12 / hour
Check availability→ Common questions
How long the Tasman Glacier walk takes, answered
How long is the Tasman Glacier walk?
If you mean walking on the glacier, three hours door to door from Mount Cook Village, with two hours of that on the ice. If you mean the free view track above Tasman Lake, it is a short unguided walk you can do whenever the valley road is open.
How long do you spend on the ice on a heli hike?
Two hours, according to the $540 listing, out of a three-hour trip. The Queenstown day lists the same two hours on the Tasman ice inside its six hours.
How long are the scenic flights?
From 25 minutes for the alpine landing flight at $217 to 50 minutes for the West Coast flight at $477. The ski plane and helicopter combo is 45 minutes at $314.
How long does it take to get to the Tasman Glacier from Christchurch?
The shuttle to Mount Cook Village is listed at 8 hours one way at $129, going via Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The full day trip out and back is 13 hours at $200.
Can you do the Tasman Glacier in a day from Queenstown?
Yes — the $1,029 heli hike day is six hours and does exactly that, flying over the Southern Alps by plane and transferring onto the ice by helicopter.
How many days should I spend at Mount Cook?
Two nights is the sensible minimum if flying matters to you. It gives you a spare morning if the first one is weathered out, and leaves an afternoon for the valley and the lakes.
Is the view track walk enough on its own?
It is a genuinely good viewpoint and it costs nothing, so it is always worth doing. It shows you the lake, the icebergs and the end of the glacier from above — but the only way to stand on the ice is the heli hike.
