What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Best adventure of our trip so far

  golightlygl,Apr 2, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The scenic flight from Queenstown was amazing (thanks Lily) when we had thought it was going to be pure transport. Then the copter journey and the hike on the ice. The highlight of our trip so far and we've done a tonne of stuff.!

• Highly, highly recommended.

  Relax48584524926,Mar 26, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an amazing small plane / helicopter/ glacier hike with True South yesterday. Dan the pilot was fantastic! Such a smooth landing at Aoraki Mount Cook airport. The scenery en route was incredible. Then a quick helicopter flight onto the glacier, where Maddie was an awesome guide. We hiked over glacial ice, through ice tunnels, and into a Moulin. The scenery at Mount Cook and the Tasman glacier was an absolute highlight of our trip. Yes, it was expensive, but worth every cent. Highly, highly recommended. 🤩

  

  

  

• Mt. Cook Flight + Hike

  seanaE4935WP,Mar 17, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Best way to see the landscape of the South Island. Luke, our pilot, was an excellent tour guide and helped make both the flight and the exploration of Mt. Cook National Park an unforgettable experience.

  

  

  

• Bucket list item for sure

  Seaside62297048321,Mar 14, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Stunning experience. Completely seamless from start to finish and we got blessed with great weather for flying and hiking. Both the fixed-wing and helicopter pilots were fantastic and our alpine guide was amazing as well. Highly recommend!

  

  

  

• Worlds best excursion

  Voyage63799415666,Mar 4, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  My husband and I recently flew with pilot DAN who was such an absolute delight. He was a talented pilot who kept us smooth and steady the entire time: so smooth some of us fell asleep on the return flight back to Queenstown. :) . He helped the transfer to the helicopter go smooth when we arrived and greeted us upon return from the glacier. I wish he could have come up with us, he was so friendly and gave off such a positive "happy to be alive" attitude. True South flights operated very smoothly, communication was excellent and were very clear on instructions with reminder emails leading up to the day of departure. The entire trip was so well done. It was a little pricey to fly from queenstown then take the helicopter to the glacier, but the alternative would eat up 2 days. to drive to mount cook would take 5+ hours. true souths saved us so much time and it was worth every penny. We were with a small group flying to mount cook which was nice and felt like a personal experience. Dont hesitate to book this experience, it is something i will never forget.

• Bucket List: Check!

  251francesy,Mar 3, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The weather was perfect, the visibility was brilliant. My first time in a 6 seater plane. Jason did a fantastic job flying us out to Mt.Cook and back. Highly recommend. Glacier and mountains didnt even seem real.

• Ince in a lifetime flight and heli hike tour

  renaih2021,Mar 1, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Fantastic trip to Tasman Glacier flying with Tanmay from True South Flights. Stunning views.

  

  

• Unbelievable once in a lifetime experience - Tasman helihike less likely to be cancelled due to weather than franz josef

  jessicabF4411JK,Feb 25, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  I don’t have words for this heli-hike. What a cool, once in a lifetime experience. The views were unbelievable. The flight and helicopter rides were incredible. Although this was my most expensive excursion, I have no regrets about the cost. Genuinely stunning. They provide coats, boots, crampons, and even a backpack to store your stuff in if you don’t have one. Also had hats and gloves available but you don’t need them. I did the heli hike from Queenstown which means I was deciding between the two options available to me - Tasman glacier and franz Josef glacier. I found it hard to find info on the differences online beforehand, so here is a summary of what I’ve learned. The franz Josef glacier in Milford sound is the most popular heli-hike glacier and the hike is more adventurous/challenging. However, seems like it gets cancelled due to weather all the time. That’s because it’s located on the side of a mountain that’s more susceptible to weather. The Tasman glacier hike is located on the other side of the mountain and is less likely to get cancelled due to weather. However, the hike will basically be a walk around an open space. It’s not adventurous in the sense that you’re going through winding paths. It’s an easier hike. We did see and enter two ice caves which was awesome. So: if you have your heart set on doing the popular helihike with the adventurous path, and have some backup days if the hike gets cancelled, you can do the franz Josef one. If you have limited time in New Zealand and want to maximize your chances of actually getting to do one, and are okay with it being an easier walk, do the Tasman glacier. To give you an anecdote, on the day I did the heli hike, the franz Josef one got cancelled due to weather but my Tasman one went ahead. One of the people on the franz Josef one mentioned that this was their second time trying to do the hike after their first booking also got cancelled due to weather. Also, I had another friend mention that she’d signed up for the franz Josef heli hike but it got cancelled and she never got to do any helihike because she wasn’t available any other days. My one constructive feedback is to remove the requirement for sunglasses. I didn’t bring sunglasses and was told they were mandatory because the ice will reflect and hurt my eyes, so I paid for sunglasses. Frankly I did not use them a single time and my eyes were just fine. I don’t think the sunglasses should’ve been mandatory. They also say that you must bring food/lunch. Again, I’m not sure that needs to be a requirement. I did nibble on my food but I could’ve gone without. It’s not like it’s a full day activity - it’s just a few hours. I also didn’t see anyone else eating their food.

• An unique adventure combining a scenic flight, a helicopter flight and a glacier trekking

  MarcinM673,Aug 24, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The trip was a very well-organized activity delivered by both True South Flights (the scenic flight by a small plane to Aoraki) as well as by Alpine Guides (the helicopter flight to the Tasman Glacier and the glacier trekking). It took about 56 min to get from Queenstown Airport to Aoraki and 49 min from Aoraki to Queenstown. The view of mountain peaks covered with snow, especially during the return journey, was truly breathtaking! Our pilot was driving the plane in a safe and confident manner, and provided us with lots of interesting information regarding the local geography and venues we saw during our flight. At Aoraki base we very supplied with boots suitable for glacier trekking. A short helicopter flight was an unique opportunity to see the Tasman Glacier's forehead and dramatic changes to the local landscape caused by a rapidly melting ice. Before we started our trekking we were given crampons and taught how to use them properly. The glacier trekking was a great chance to learn about glacier geomorphology (caves, crevasses, holes). Since the trip time did not exceed 6 hours (7 hours with a shuttle bus transfer from your accommodation) I would recommend this activity to all travellers who would like to see a lot, but do not have too much time to spend one day on driving from Queenstown to the Tasman Glacier and back. This heli-hike adventure by Alpine Guides combined with a scenic flight by True South Flights left fabulous memories in my mind and was a very good idea for enriching my ski holiday in Queenstown.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Heli - hike Tasman Glacier

  Q4888AJmichelel,Aug 21, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The heli - hike was fantastic, a magical experience that we will never forget. The day was so special, enhanced by the very friendly staff, starting with the staff at the office, the young guy who guided to the plane, the pilot Luke, and Pablo and Andy at the glacier. Overall a wonderful day, full of fun and laughter.

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