South Island

Fox Glacier Nature Tour

Badge of ExcellenceSouth Island, New Zealand
Fox Glacier Valley Eco Tour

From $55.17

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 3 to 4 hours
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Hike Fox Glacier Valley on a guided walking tour that explores glaciology, geology, local plants, and animals. Walking alongside a local guide is a great way to learn the natural history of the Fox Glacier and the surrounding mountains, and should conditions allow, it means you can depart the main trail to explore an area that many visitors miss.
  • Guided glacier hike goes beyond crowded public areas
  • Use provided rain gear to stay warm and dry
  • Provided hiking poles are great for finding your footing
  • Warm up on the trail with an included afternoon tea

What's Included

  • Afternoon tea
  • Local guide
  • Wet weather gear
  • Umbrellas
  • Walking poles
  • Baby Backpack/carrier
  • Snacks
  • Coffee and/or Tea
  • Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

  • Glacier Valley Eco Tours
    22 Main Road SH6 Franz Josef Glacier Franz Josef glacier, Franz Josef / Waiau 7886, New Zealand

    If you are in Franz Josef - we are located across the street from the main Intercity bus stop, and next to Full of Beans Cafe.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

01:30 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

If you are staying in Fox Glacier, then the pick up time from your hotel is 30 AFTER the tour departure time.

What To Expect

Fox Glacier South Side Walk

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
  • Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Featured review
Keira_L
My friend and I had a really positive experience yesterday with our guide Sophie. The tour exceeded our expectations and we were very impressed with Sophie’s knowledge and attention to detail. Despite the rain and the fog preventing us from seeing the fox glacier itself, we had a really great time. It was a nice surprise to get a hot drink and biccy at the top of the walk which was a fantastic extra.

Reviews

5.0
47 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 47 reviews
Great tour though a bit further from the receding glacier than I had thought.
Douglas_C, Apr 2024
Cliff, our guide did an amazing job! Due to the glacier receding over the past 15-years and the old access road being destroyed in a 2019 storm, you can't get as close to the glacier as was once possible without flying to it. However, Cliff brought our small group on some smaller trails, and at times on no trails at all, to some amazing view points. He provided great information, and we even discovered on our break, that is oversized pack contained, hot water for tea, coffee and even snacks for all of us.
Great tour guide
Laura_G, Mar 2024
Jerome was an excellent tour guide. We really enjoyed our day wandering through the beautiful trails and even through the rock bed. We loved seeing Fox glacier and Jerome made it a very special day.
Stunning
Mira_G, Feb 2024
Jerome was a wonderful guide and made the hike informative and enjoyable. We were lucky enough to be taken on a ‘secret’ route off the main track. Gorgeous scenery. Sadly the glacier is receding and the view of it is from afar but still worth the effort.
Beautiful forest walk
Alex_E, Jan 2024
Beautiful relaxing 7 km walk, not steep and in a magic rainforest. You may not see a lot if glacier, only from distance- but see a lot of other beautiful things. Tayna is a wonderful guide, strongly recommend
Fantastic and fun
Joan_S, Jan 2024
This humble sounding hike was absolutely spectacular. Started out on a fairy-tale pretty short trail to a glacier viewing point, then literally continues over the river and through the woods to another amazing viewpoint, where our guide Cliff made tea and coffee and told us more about the glacier and about glaciers in general. Next, down to the riverbed to see and hold clear and oxygenated glacier ice, then back through another type of forest over many short river crossings on stone paths or pog bridges that Cliff set up for us. He stood ankle deep in the water to provide hand holding support to make sure no one's feet got too wet. Then up a short steep beautiful hidden trail, whose rock steps were made literally by amazing Cliff and some of his musclebound friends. All the while with interesting info about the plants, geology, regional history, and glaciers provided by someone who really loves this area .
Wonderful experience
Debbie_W, Dec 2023
Detour off main track . Very knowledgeable tour guide. First sight of Fox in the mist . Learned so much about the landscape and flora of the area
Guided nature walks are fun!
Ingrid_Z, Nov 2023
Picked up on time, good response to written questions. Nice walk with a good guide. Especially the off track part through the (dry) river was enjoyable.
Nice rainforest walk.
Donald_D, Oct 2023
Great guide Sophie, knowledgeable about the area and geological features. Very pretty area. Poured rain for the entire tour but company loaned us waterproof jackets and over pants, hiking boots and large umbrellas. Also provided afternoon tea halfway through the walk.
Exceeded expectations
Keira_L, Oct 2023
My friend and I had a really positive experience yesterday with our guide Sophie. The tour exceeded our expectations and we were very impressed with Sophie’s knowledge and attention to detail. Despite the rain and the fog preventing us from seeing the fox glacier itself, we had a really great time. It was a nice surprise to get a hot drink and biccy at the top of the walk which was a fantastic extra.
Amazing
Gillian_E, Sep 2023
Kath was very informative we had a lovely time. Seeing the glacier was a highlight plus the cup of tea. Highly recommended.
Engaging and informative, making for an awesome and deeper experience of the Fox Glacier landscape
Amanda_P, Jul 2023
Kath was an engaging and informative guide, pointing out a heap of detail about the local flora in an interesting way that made us pause and truly appreciate the landscape and how it changed and evolved as the walk progressed up the tracks. So much more depth and appreciation for the awesome place as a result.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Amazing thankyou for your great review of our company :) We hope you enjoyed the rest of your traveling just as much in our beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand
Great day out!
Tracy_D, Jul 2023
The knowledge of the guide was amazing. We really enjoyed the walk, getting to know about the surroundings and history.
Amazing view and guide
Rainer_K, Jul 2023
We had a very knowledgable guide who made the walk very interesting. The small picnic to enjoy the view was amazing.
Fun times up temperate rainforest to view the Fox Glacier!
Karen_S, Mar 2023
We loved the enthusiasm, knowledge and detail that Kath (sp?) lead the hike with! Very enjoyable! We even had a tea/coffee and a biscuit at the top!
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Awesome, thanks for your great review, we hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in Aotearoa just as much :) Tash
Beautiful scenery
Birgit_T, Mar 2023
Great tour guide who provided heaps of information. Beautiful scenery. Though we had rainy weather everyone was in good mood.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Thanks for your great review!
Great morning
Ian_G, Mar 2023
Coffee as close to the glacier as you are allowed Kath was so knowledgeable and approachable as a guide Really good experience
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Thanks for the great review Ian, we hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful Aotearoa NZ
Great way to experience Fox Glacier and surroundings.
ruth_b, Feb 2023
Nature trip with a difference with a knowledgeable guide. Plants and birds were picked out and identified, even tiny orchids we would probably have missed. Walk was steady along a well made road for most of the way. Detour into the moraine fields needed more care. All leading up to the viewing points for Fox Glacier. This is 3 km away but it still conveyed the size and drama of it. We were able to see the helicopters going to the glacier looking like the size of flies providing the scale. Guide provided us with tea, coffee or hot chocolate at the final viewpoint which was welcome.
Fabulous experience - worth doing!
Neal_M, Jan 2023
our tour guide was awesome! we were picked up at our accommodation @ Glenfern Villas which was great as we didn't have to drive. pick up on time. met others in town and continued on to glacier. Knowledgeable, relaxed and informed tour. we thoroughly enjoyed it. would recommend as we had done Franz glacier independently.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Thanks so much for your great review of our company and Franz Josef Nature Tour :) Very much appreciated! we hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful Glacier Country in Aotearoa NZ :) Tash
Highlight of our trip
Gerard_M, Oct 2020
These guys a great , down to earth and knowledgeable about this wonder of the world. We will now walk in our great country , much more informed about its wonders !
Response from Host, Nov 2020
Awesome! Thanks for your great review, so great you enjoyed it so much and and sorry about the delay in replying to it! We hope you enjoyed the rest of your tour in our beautiful Glacier Country NZ :)
Cliff was our guid toure for this tour...
Yvonne G, Sep 2018
Cliff was our guid toure for this tour. We were the only ones and that made it easy to have a personalised walk. We walked along the river bed and finally up the track and as far up the valley qs we could. The valley had been closed due to heavy rain and a storm. The riverbed had shifted and some of the rockface looked unstable. Cliff took the utmost of care and we saw some amazing rocks . He had so much knowlwdge , no question went unanswered. We had a lovely morning tea sitting on the rocks near the glacier. Top value tour

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