Dec – Feb
Summer
Long days, the most departures and the most people. Bare ice shows lower down the glacier and the contrast from the air is strongest.
Twenty-five to fifty minutes
Tasman Glacier scenic flights: what each one sees, and what a landing means
Six flights leave Mount Cook Village for the Tasman Glacier, from $217 for twenty-five minutes to $477 for fifty. Between them they hold 963 reviews. Most of them land — on a snow saddle, on the glacier, or in one case on skis — and that landing is where the confusion starts, because landing on the snow and walking on the glacier are two different purchases. This page is what each flight covers and which one answers which question.
Quick answer
The short answer. For the most bookings and the lowest price, take the 25-minute alpine landing flight at $217 — 517 reviews at 4.7, up the Tasman Valley and down on a mountain looking straight at Aoraki. For something unusual, the 45-minute ski plane and helicopter combo at $314 lands on the snow on skis. For the glacier itself end to end, the 40-minute flights at $363 and $375 run its full length and over the Hochstetter Icefall. All of them stop at the machine, though. Walking on the ice with crampons is the heli hike, and that starts at $514.
The flights at a glance
- Most booked
- Scenic Flight with Alpine Landing517 reviews at 4.7
- Its price
- $21725 minutes
- Longest flight
- Tasman Glacier and West Coast50 minutes, $477
- Ski plane combo
- 45 minutes$314, helicopter and plane
- Full length of the glacier
- Tasman Glacier & National Park$363
- Over the Hochstetter Icefall
- Tasman Glacier Helicopter Flight$375
- Shortest with a landing
- 25 minutes$217
- Reviews across the six
- 963as listed
- What a landing is
- A stop beside the machinenot a guided walk
- What walking on the ice is
- The heli hikefrom $514
- Where they leave from
- Mount Cook VillageAoraki / Mount Cook National Park
- Weather
- Flights go when conditions allowdecided on the morning
What you are buying
A scenic flight at Aoraki, described
Most of these flights land on snow. Standing beside the machine is not the same as walking the glacier.
Mount Cook Village sits at the head of a valley with the Southern Alps standing over it, and the flights go up into that. Within a few minutes of lifting off you are above the Tasman Valley with the glacier running away below and the highest mountain in New Zealand filling one side of the window.
Two things make these flights different from a sightseeing flight anywhere else. The first is the scale of what is underneath: the Tasman is the longest glacier in the country, and the only way to take in its whole length at once is from the air. The second is that most of these trips land. The machine sets down on a snow saddle or high on the glacier, the doors open, and you stand on snow with the Alps in every direction.
That landing is the part worth understanding before you book. It is a stop, not a walk. You stay near the aircraft, you take photographs, you get back in. It is a genuinely good few minutes — and it is not the same thing as being roped into crampons and walking across the glacier with a guide, which is what the heli hikes do.
Both are worth doing and they cost different amounts for good reason. A flight with a landing runs from $217; the heli hike, with two hours walking on the ice, runs from $514. If what you came for is the glacier surface under your boots, only one of those delivers it.
The six flights
What each one actually covers
In the order the site shows them, with what the listing says about each.
- Scenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing — $217, 25 minutes
The most booked flight here by a distance: 517 reviews at 4.7. It flies up the Tasman Valley and lands on a mountain inside the national park, facing directly at Aoraki / Mount Cook. Small group, the shortest trip on offer, and the cheapest way to get an alpine landing into your day.
- Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing — $277, 30 minutes
Five minutes longer and rated 4.8 across 46 reviews. The listing describes exploring the peaks and valleys around Aoraki / Mount Cook, with an alpine landing included. A small group flight, and the middle option if 25 minutes feels short.
- Tasman Glacier & National Park Scenic Flight — $363, 40 minutes
This is the one that flies the whole length of the Tasman Glacier, along with the highlights of the national park. Rated 4.7 across 22 reviews. If your interest is the glacier as a single object rather than a landing, this is the flight that shows it.
- Tasman Glacier Helicopter Flight — $375, 40 minutes
Over the glacier and the Hochstetter Icefall, with a landing on the glacier itself. Small group, 4.7 across 11 reviews. The icefall is the steep, broken section where the ice pours down off the high basin, and it is the most dramatic thing in the valley from the air.
- Ski Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo — $314, 45 minutes
The unusual one, and the operator calls it world-exclusive: 45 minutes using both a helicopter and a ski plane, with a glacier landing. 360 reviews at 4.7. A ski plane lands on skis on the snow, which almost nowhere else offers to ordinary visitors.
- Tasman Glacier and West Coast Flight — $477, 50 minutes
The longest flight here, rated 5.0 across 7 reviews. It crosses the main divide, so you get the Tasman on one side and the West Coast glaciers on the other, plus Aoraki in the middle. The most country covered in one flight.
Landing or walking
The difference that decides your booking
A landing is a stop. A heli hike is two hours of walking. Both start with the same flight.
Every flight above except two puts you on snow. That makes them sound like a cheaper version of the heli hike, and they are not.
On a scenic flight with a landing, the machine sets down, you get out into a landscape you could not otherwise reach, and you spend a few minutes there before flying on. What you take away is the view and the photographs. It is a spectacular way to spend 25 to 50 minutes and it is why the $217 flight has more reviews than anything else on this site.
On a heli hike the landing is the beginning. Crampons go on, a guide takes the group out across the ice, and the $540 listing puts two hours of walking into a three-hour trip. You move through the surface features rather than looking at them from a fixed point — meltwater channels, ridges, the blue that shows where the ice has opened up. That is the experience people describe afterwards, and it is available nowhere else on the Tasman.
So the question is not which is better value. It is what you want from the glacier. To see it, fly: from $217 you get the scale, the icefall and a landing. To walk on it, book the heli hike: from $514 you get the two hours that only a helicopter can deliver you to.
Want the two hours on the ice rather than the view from the snow?
The heli hike→Choosing between them
Six practical notes before you book a flight
The differences that matter once you are comparing listings side by side.
- Go by what the landing is, not by the minutes
A 25-minute flight with an alpine landing and a 40-minute flight without one are different days out. Read the listing for the landing first and the duration second.
- The most reviewed flight is also the cheapest
The $217 alpine landing flight carries 517 reviews at 4.7 — more than any other listing here. That combination of price and volume is why it is the default booking for most visitors.
- For the glacier end to end, take a 40-minute flight
The $363 flight runs the full length of the Tasman; the $375 flight adds the Hochstetter Icefall and a landing on the glacier. Either gives you the whole object in one view.
- The ski plane is a different aircraft, not a longer flight
At $314 for 45 minutes you are buying the combination: helicopter and ski plane in one trip, with a landing on skis. It is the one flight here you cannot substitute with another.
- Crossing the divide costs the most for a reason
The $477 flight is fifty minutes and covers both sides of the Alps. If you are not going to the West Coast on this trip, it is the only way to see that side of the mountains.
- Book the morning slot
Mountain weather usually builds through the day, so the earlier flights have the better record of going. Operators make the decision on the morning conditions.
Flying through the year
What each season looks like from the air
Flights run all year and the weather decides on the day. What changes is the light, the snow line and how busy the machines are.
Mar – May
Autumn
Settled spells, clean light and quieter mornings. A favourite for photographs, with the first snow returning to the tops.
Jun – Aug
Winter
Short days and cold, sharp air between fronts. When it is clear the visibility is the best of the year, but there are fewer usable windows.
Sep – Nov
Spring
Deep snow still high on the range, lengthening days, and fast-changing weather. Flexible plans do better than fixed ones.
Book direct
Book a flight
The most booked alpine landing, the ski plane combo, the flight over the icefall with a glacier landing, and the heli hike if you want two hours walking on the ice instead.
Our pickRated 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→ 
Snow landing, no walkRated 4.7
45 minSki Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo Flight
★ 4.7 · 360 reviews
- 45 minutes, Ski plane landing on the snow
- Helicopter and plane in one trip
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
$314$418.67 / hour
Check availability→ 
Snow landing, no walkRated 4.7
40 minTasman Glacier Helicopter Flight
★ 4.7 · 11 reviews
- 40 minutes, Direct flight over the Tasman Glacier
- Snow landing in the high basin
- Guided tour
- Free cancellation
$375$562.50 / hour
Check availability→ 
Two hours walkingRated 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→ Common questions
Tasman Glacier scenic flights, answered
How much is a scenic flight over the Tasman Glacier?
From $217 for 25 minutes with an alpine landing, up to $477 for the 50-minute flight that crosses to the West Coast. The 40-minute flights over the glacier itself are $363 and $375.
Do the scenic flights land on the Tasman Glacier?
Most of them land. The $217 flight lands on a mountain in the national park, the $375 flight lands on the glacier itself, and the $314 ski plane combo lands on skis on the snow. A landing means a stop beside the aircraft rather than a guided walk.
Can you walk on the glacier during a scenic flight?
No — that is the heli hike, which is a separate trip. It lands you on the ice, fits crampons and walks you across the glacier with a guide for two hours, from $514.
Which flight is the most popular?
The 25-minute Scenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine Landing at $217, with 517 reviews at 4.7 — more than any other listing on this site.
What is a ski plane landing?
A ski plane lands on skis directly on the snow. The $314 combo uses both a helicopter and a ski plane in one 45-minute trip, and the operator describes it as world-exclusive.
Which flight shows the whole glacier?
The $363 flight is listed as flying along the whole length of the Tasman Glacier along with the park highlights. The $375 flight covers the glacier and the Hochstetter Icefall and lands on the ice.
What happens if the flight cannot go?
Operators decide on the morning conditions and move or refund the booking. Keeping a spare morning in the area is the practical answer, and it applies to every flight here.
