Explore New Zealand's Most Popular Glaciers with Your NZeTA

New Zealand is one of the few places on earth where you can stand in a lush rainforest and gaze up at an ancient glacier. The South Island is home to more than 3,000 glaciers, carved over thousands of years by immense accumulations of compressed snow and ice. From the towering Franz Josef Glacier descending into temperate rainforest to the vast Tasman Glacier stretching beneath Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand offers some of the most accessible and dramatic glacier experiences in the world.

International visitors from visa-waiver countries need a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) before travelling to New Zealand. The NZeTA is applied for online and approved within 12 to 72 hours — ensure yours is approved before you fly so you can head straight to the West Coast glaciers on arrival.

New Zealand's Most Popular Glaciers

The four most visited and celebrated glaciers in New Zealand are Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, the Tasman Glacier, and Rob Roy Glacier. Each offers a completely different experience — from guided ice walks and helicopter tours to scenic valley hikes and boat trips among floating icebergs. Here is everything NZeTA visitors need to know about each one.

Franz Josef Glacier — Westland Tai Poutini National Park

Franz Josef Glacier — known in Māori as Kā Roimata ō Hine Hukatere (the frozen tears of Hine Hukatere) — is one of the most remarkable glaciers in the world and one of New Zealand's most iconic natural attractions. Located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of the South Island, the glacier descends steeply from its origins at 3,000 metres above sea level down to just 240 metres above sea level — a drop of nearly 11 kilometres.

This dramatic descent makes Franz Josef one of the steepest and fastest-moving glaciers on earth, advancing at an average of 50 centimetres per day, with speeds of up to four metres per day recorded in the main icefall areas. The result is a constantly changing landscape of ice caves, tunnels, seracs, and crevasses — no two visits are ever the same.

What makes Franz Josef truly unique is its location: it is one of the only glaciers in the world that flows directly into a temperate rainforest. Glaciologists consider it a world phenomenon for this reason alone. Popular activities include guided ice walks, heli-hike tours (helicopter access to the glacier surface), and scenic helicopter flights over the Southern Alps. Franz Josef township provides accommodation, cafes, and tour operators. NZeTA visitors travelling the West Coast should allow at least a full day here.

Best time to visit: Year-round, though summer (December to February) offers the longest daylight hours and most stable weather for helicopter tours.

Fox Glacier — Westland Tai Poutini National Park

Fox Glacier lies just 25 kilometres south of Franz Josef and is named in honour of Sir William Fox, New Zealand's Prime Minister from 1869 to 1872. Like its northern neighbour, Fox Glacier sits within Westland Tai Poutini National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Area — and descends from the Southern Alps into rainforest at remarkably low altitude. The glacier stretches approximately 13 kilometres in length and is one of the most visited natural attractions on the West Coast.

Fox Glacier offers a range of glacier experiences including guided ice walks on the glacier surface, heli-hike tours, and scenic valley walks to the terminal face viewpoint. A short drive from the glacier, Lake Matheson is one of New Zealand's most photographed locations — on calm mornings, the lake's mirror-like surface perfectly reflects Aoraki Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. Other popular activities near Fox include skydiving over the Southern Alps and the glacier, and sunset walks at Gillespies Beach.

Fox Glacier township is a 4-hour drive from Wanaka or Queenstown. NZeTA visitors combining Franz Josef and Fox Glacier can explore both in a single two-day stop along the West Coast highway.

Best time to visit: November to March for the best weather and helicopter tour availability.

Tasman Glacier — Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

The Tasman Glacier is New Zealand's largest glacier, stretching 27 kilometres in length and covering an area of approximately 101 square kilometres. It lies on the eastern side of the Southern Alps within Aoraki Mount Cook National Park — on the opposite side of the divide from Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. The Tasman Glacier sits beneath New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki Mount Cook (3,724 metres), and offers one of the most awe-inspiring glacier landscapes in the Southern Hemisphere.

Unlike the steep West Coast glaciers, the Tasman Glacier is a broad, valley-filling river of ice whose terminal face has retreated significantly over recent decades, forming the rapidly growing Tasman Lake. Boat tours on Tasman Lake are one of the most popular activities in the national park — visitors cruise among towering ice pinnacles and floating icebergs calved directly from the glacier face. The lake itself was carved by the glacier over thousands of years.

The Tasman Glacier is a 4.5-hour drive from Christchurch via the Mackenzie Basin. NZeTA visitors travelling through the South Island's interior — passing Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki — will find this one of the most scenic drives in New Zealand.

Best time to visit: October to April. The Mackenzie Basin is also famous for its dark-sky stargazing year-round.

Rob Roy Glacier — Mount Aspiring National Park

Rob Roy Glacier is located in Mount Aspiring National Park near Wanaka — New Zealand's second largest national park, covering a vast wilderness of mountains, glaciers, rivers, and alpine meadows. Unlike the other glaciers on this list, Rob Roy is best experienced via the Rob Roy Glacier Track, a highly rewarding day hike that rewards walkers with dramatic views of the glacier and surrounding alpine peaks.

The Rob Roy Glacier Track is approximately 10 kilometres return and takes 3 to 4 hours to complete at a moderate pace. The trail winds through ancient beech forest and open alpine terrain before delivering panoramic views of the glacier hanging above steep rock faces. Along the way, visitors can often hear and occasionally see small ice movements and rockfall from the glacier above.

Important safety considerations for the Rob Roy track include: the trail crosses rivers that can rise rapidly after rain; avalanche risk exists between May and November; and appropriate footwear and weather-proof clothing are essential. The trailhead is accessed via a scenic 4WD road from Wanaka. NZeTA visitors based in Wanaka or Queenstown can complete this hike as a full-day excursion.

Best time to visit: December to March for the safest and most accessible conditions.

How to Get to New Zealand Glaciers

Getting to New Zealand's glaciers requires a road trip along some of the country's most scenic routes:

• Franz Josef & Fox Glacier (West Coast): 3-hour drive from Wanaka, 4-hour drive from Queenstown, or 4.5-hour drive from Christchurch. An alternative option is the TranzAlpine scenic train from Christchurch to Greymouth, followed by a rental car drive south along the West Coast — one of New Zealand's great rail journeys.
• Tasman Glacier (Aoraki Mount Cook): 4.5-hour drive from Christchurch via Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, or 3.5-hour drive from Queenstown.
• Rob Roy Glacier (Wanaka): 1-hour drive from Wanaka town, including the 4WD road to the trailhead at Raspberry Creek.

All glacier destinations are on the South Island. International visitors must hold a valid NZeTA before flying into New Zealand. Most visitors arrive at Auckland or Christchurch airports, where NZeTA eligibility is verified at check-in.