Franz Josef Heli Hiking Guided Tour

Amazing tour to see the Franz Josef glacier! The tour company was very professional and knowledgable about the glacier and the region. The short helicopter ride was fun, with an overhead view of the town and the glacier. Our tour guide skillfully navigated us on the glacier and was very knowledgable. It was a once in a lifetime experience that we're SO glad we did!

A fantastic experience that I won't forget. Pre flight instructions were clear and precise & we were helped with correct boot/jacket & pant selection. From there we were give our safety briefing & out over to the helicopters. It's a short but pretty flight to the glacier. Once we landed, we were introduced to our guide (Amilia) who was fantastic. Very knowledgeable, friendly & funny and she showed us how to fit our crampons to our boots. We spent a good 2 hours on the glacier, climbing up, through, around and down the ice. Always given clear instructions on the best way to tackle each part of the hike. I personally got some great photos. Although travelling alone, my fellow hikers were happy to take photos for me where they could. A fab, fab, fab experience. Well done guys! 😁

Everything about the Heli-hike was wonderful! The staff at home base were friendly and helpful; the helicopter ride to the glacier was breathtaking; the guide on the glacier was charming and very outgoing; and the hike itself was the perfect blend of intense and easy. A once-in-a-lifetime expérience I’ll never forget!

Booked a trip and received very detailed information upfront which was great! We drove 5 hrs to Franz Josef and we were really excited. The check in process was great and very efficient. The helicopter ride was short but we got to see the glacier and was long enough for us. The guide we received was not great. She spoke a lot about her personal life, which none of us us were very interested in speaking to so our group was quite quiet. It seemed like we were there to entertain her and she was bored. We ended up ending our hike at 2:20; 40 minute earlier than our tour end time. We were supposed to stop at another stop but the other guide didn't respond to her request to go there since her guide level restricted as to where she could go. As a result, we just walked back and stood on the ice for 10 minutes listening to how she talked about how there were issues between helicopter line and her company. The helicopter ride back would've been max 10 min so we were extremely disappointed to have our hike cut short and had to listen to the company issues instead of hiking. At the very end, another guide came with is group and mentioned they had a great tour. She told him "my group didn't talk but whatever" with a very annoyed tone right in front of us. Our ride back was fine and I asked to speak to the manager but he/she wasn't there that day. It has been 3 days since and I haven't heard a response yet. Overall, this may be a one off experience but maybe try booking with an alternative company as if you are spending $300+ per person, you want to ensure that you get a great experience. We were extremely disappointed..we flew 17 + hrs and drove 5 + hrs to get here. Hope others experience will be different in the future.

The attitude of the staff working here - specially the manager- will ruin your experience and vacation. Take your money somewhere else.

the flight has been canceled due to weather and it is titally understandable, nobody can control the weather.but when i called viator for refund, they said that they havent been informed about the cancelation and i have to wait for 7 to 10 working days to know that if i can get the refund or not.Is it so difficult to inform trip cancellation everyday? a simple email should do.

This is a great activity. It was amazing to fly up to the glacier and walk around it. Our guide was knowledgeable. Only negative was we hiked in a small loop from where the helicopter drops you off. I would have been nice to hike a longer distance, but I understand the guides have to consider the capabilities of the weakest member of the group.

A must do, was a great experience staff and guide on the Glacier were excellent.

It could have been 4.5 stars. Our guide Eric was very diligent and helpful. Explained quite a bit on the geo knowledge. The heli ride was exiting except it was quite short. To be honest, there was not much to see over there but the experience was unforgettable.

This was a great experience! I suggest breaking the groups on the glacier into different fitness levels. We spent too much time waiting for others in the group. I feel like we missed out on some great views because of this.