Full dayFrom Christchurch
13 hMt Cook Day Trip/Lake Tekapo & Tasman Glacier
★ 5 · 3 reviews
- 13 hours, Full day from Christchurch
- Tasman Valley and the glacier lakes
- Longest trip here
- Free cancellation
$200$15.38 / hour
Check availability→ From Christchurch
The Tasman Glacier from Christchurch: the day trip and the transfer
Two booked ways run from Christchurch to Aoraki / Mount Cook, and they are built for different trips. The full day at $200 takes thirteen hours and brings you home the same evening, with Lake Tekapo, the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Pukaki and scenic walks along the way. The one-way transfer at $129 takes eight hours and leaves you in Mount Cook Village, which is where every trip onto the ice begins. This page is about which of those two your plans actually need.
Quick answer
The short answer. If you want to see Aoraki, the lakes and the Tasman Valley in one day and sleep in Christchurch, book the thirteen-hour day trip at $200. If you want to stand on the glacier, take the eight-hour transfer at $129, stay the night in the village, and book a heli hike from $514 for the following morning. The ice is reached by helicopter, and helicopters do not wait for a bus that is still four hours away.
The two Christchurch options, side by side
- Day trip
- 13 hours$200, returns the same day
- One-way transfer
- 8 hours$129, ends in the village
- Day trip rating
- 5.0from 3 reviews
- Transfer rating
- 4.9from 20 reviews
- Both include
- Free cancellationas the listings state
- On the way
- Lake TekapoChurch of the Good Shepherd on the day trip
- Also on the way
- Lake Pukakion both routes
- The road
- State Highway 79via the Fairlie Bakehouse, per the transfer listing
- Onto the ice
- Helicopter onlyfrom $514, three hours
- Free walk at the top
- Tasman Glacier View Tracka viewpoint above Tasman Lake
The day trip
What thirteen hours from Christchurch actually covers
One day, both lakes, the valley and the mountain. The ice is a different product.
The listing for the full day is specific about its stops: Trott’s Garden, Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki and the Church of the Good Shepherd, with scenic walks in Aoraki / Mount Cook. Thirteen hours, $200, free cancellation, rated 5.0 from its three reviews so far. It is a sightseeing day through the Mackenzie country with the national park as its far point.
What it gives you is the landscape the glacier sits in: the turquoise lakes that the rock flour off these glaciers colours, the small stone church that half of New Zealand’s postcards are taken at, and time in the park itself. What it does not give you is the glacier under your boots. The heli hikes run three hours from the village and depend on a flying window; a coach that arrives in the middle of the day and leaves in the afternoon cannot hold a place in that queue.
That is not a criticism of the trip — it is the trip working as designed. If your week has one spare day and your hotel is in Christchurch, thirteen hours is a fair price for seeing Aoraki at all. Book it for the lakes and the valley, and treat any view of the ice as the bonus it is.
The transfer
Eight hours that end where the flights begin
The one-way transfer is the quieter, more useful booking for anyone serious about the glacier. The listing describes escaping the bustle of Ōtautahi Christchurch and running via State Highway 79, the Fairlie Bakehouse, Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki before arriving in Mount Cook Village. Eight hours, $129, twenty reviews at 4.9, free cancellation.
Arriving rather than turning around changes what the next morning can hold. The village is where the helicopters are: the 25-minute alpine landing at $217 with its 517 reviews, the ski plane and helicopter combination at $314, and the two three-hour heli hikes at $514 and $540. All of them want a clear window, and all of them want you there when it opens.
The practical pattern that works: transfer up on day one, walk the free Tasman Glacier View Track that afternoon for the view over the lake and the icebergs, fly the next morning. If the morning is closed in, you still have the rest of that day and, if you allowed two nights, another morning after it.
Every trip, current fare
Every trip on this site, by the hour
The Christchurch options are the two longest trips here by the clock, and the two cheapest by the hour. The ice trips are the reverse, which is what an hour on a glacier costs.
| Trip | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Hour Heli Hike to the Tasman GlacierOur top pick: two hours walking on the Tasman ice | 3 h | $540 | Helicopter + 2 h on the ice | $180.00 | 4.8 · 260 |
| 3-Hour Tasman Glacier Helicopter Ride and HikeFlown onto the glacier, crampons included | 3 h | $514 | Helicopter + guided ice walk | $171.33 | 4.9 · 328 |
| Scenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine LandingA short flight with a snow landing | 25 min | $217 | Snow landing | $520.80 | 4.7 · 517 |
| Ski Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo FlightSki plane and helicopter in one trip | 45 min | $314 | Ski plane + helicopter landing | $418.67 | 4.7 · 360 |
| Helicopter Flight with Alpine LandingThirty minutes over the glaciers, with a landing | 30 min | $277 | Alpine landing | $554.00 | 4.8 · 46 |
| Tasman Glacier & National Park Scenic FlightThe length of the Tasman Glacier from above | 40 min | $363 | Scenic flight | $544.50 | 4.7 · 22 |
| Tasman Glacier Helicopter FlightThe Hochstetter Icefall and a snow landing | 40 min | $375 | Snow landing | $562.50 | 4.7 · 11 |
| Tasman Glacier and West Coast Helicopter FlightAcross the divide to the West Coast glaciers | 50 min | $477 | Scenic flight | $572.40 | 5 · 7 |
| Christchurch to Mt Cook via Lake Tekapo (one-way)Christchurch to the village, via Lake Tekapo | 8 h | $129 | One-way transfer | $16.12 | 4.9 · 20 |
| Mt Cook Day Trip/Lake Tekapo & Tasman GlacierA full day from Christchurch and back | 13 h | $200 | Day trip with stops | $15.38 | 5 · 3 |
| Tasman Glacier Heli Hike & Return Scenic FlightsQueenstown to the Tasman ice and back | 6 h | $1,029 | Plane, helicopter + ice walk | $171.50 | 4.5 · 11 |
Choosing
Which Christchurch booking fits which kind of trip
Pick the row that matches the sentence you would use to describe your holiday.
- “I have one free day and I am based in Christchurch.”
The thirteen-hour day trip at $200. Lake Tekapo, the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Pukaki, Trott’s Garden and scenic walks in the park, home the same night. Free cancellation if the forecast turns.
- “I want to walk on the Tasman Glacier.”
The eight-hour transfer at $129, a night in the village, and a heli hike booked for the morning — $514 for the ride and hike, or $540 for the version with two hours of walking on the ice.
- “I want the mountain without the hours in a van.”
Fly from the village once you are there. The 25-minute flight with an alpine landing at $217 is the most-reviewed trip on this site, 517 reviews at 4.7, and it looks directly at Aoraki before landing on the snow.
- “I am not sure the weather will play.”
Book the trips that carry free cancellation — both Christchurch options do, and so does the three-hour helicopter ride and hike at $514, which is also flagged as likely to sell out. Early booking plus free cancellation is the combination that survives a mountain forecast.
Book direct
From Christchurch, and what waits at the other end
The two road trips, then the three village departures people pair them with.
Lowest price hereLake Tekapo
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→ 
Likely to sell outRated 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→ 
Our top pick260 reviews
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→ 
517 reviews25 min
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→ What the free view track shows, and where it stops.
The Tasman Glacier View Track→Common questions
Christchurch to the Tasman Glacier, answered
How long is the trip from Christchurch to Mount Cook?
The booked one-way transfer runs eight hours with its stops at the Fairlie Bakehouse, Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The full-day return trip runs thirteen hours.
Can I see the Tasman Glacier on a day trip from Christchurch?
You can see the park, the valley and the lakes on the thirteen-hour day trip at $200. Walking on the ice needs a helicopter transfer from Mount Cook Village, which is a separate trip from $514.
Which is better, the day trip or the transfer?
They answer different questions. The day trip returns you to Christchurch the same evening. The transfer leaves you in the village, which is what you want if you intend to fly onto the glacier the next morning.
Do the Christchurch trips stop at Lake Tekapo?
Both do. The transfer lists Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki on its route; the day trip adds the Church of the Good Shepherd and Trott’s Garden.
Is there free cancellation?
Yes on both Christchurch listings, and on several of the flights from the village, including the three-hour helicopter ride and hike.
What does the transfer cost compared with the day trip?
The transfer is $129 one way; the full-day return trip is $200. The transfer is the cheaper booking, but it is one direction only.
How early should I book the heli hike?
As early as your dates are firm. The three-hour ride and hike is flagged as likely to sell out and carries free cancellation, so an early booking costs nothing to hold.
Go deeper
More on the Tasman Glacier
Every way onto the ice
Every way onto the Tasman Glacier
The free view track, the flights with a landing and the walk on the ice, in one list.
The free view trackThe Tasman Glacier View Track
The short walk above the lake, what it shows you and what it costs.
Can you walk on itCan you walk on the glacier?
The straight answer, and how the two hours on the ice are arranged.
The heli hikeThe Tasman Glacier heli hike
What the flight, the crampons and the guided hours on the ice include.
How long it takesHow long the walk takes
Every trip timed, from a 25-minute flight to a thirteen-hour day.
Which glacier to walkWhich glacier to walk
Two very different glacier days, and which one suits your route.
