Cost
How much is a helicopter flight in New Zealand? All 14 prices
Fourteen helicopter flights leave five different South Island towns every day, from $167 to $687. They are advertised in almost the same words and they are not the same product: what you are really paying for here is not minutes in the air but where the skids touch down.
Quick answer
A helicopter flight in New Zealand costs between $167 and $687 a person. The standard product — twenty to twenty-five minutes with a snow or alpine landing — runs $167 to $216 and is where most people should look. Thirty to forty minutes over two glaciers or the Tasman costs $246 to $357. The only flight above five hundred dollars is Queenstown to Milford Sound and back, at $687, and it replaces a ten-hour drive.
New Zealand helicopter prices, at a glance
- Flights compared
- 14from five towns on the South Island
- Cheapest
- $16720 minutes over the Remarkables, alpine landing
- Most reviewed
- $216Franz Josef, 693 reviews at 4.8
- Typical flight
- 20–25 minwith a landing, between $167 and $216
- Longest
- $68790 minutes, Queenstown to Milford Sound
- Under $250
- Seven flightsand six of them land on snow
- Cost per minute
- $8.35on the cheapest — the best value here
- Reviews in total
- 3,590across all fourteen listings
- Free cancellation
- All fourteenup to 24 hours before
- What decides the price
- Where it landsand how far from town that is
Every trip, current fare
Every New Zealand helicopter flight, cheapest first
Fourteen flights with the columns that decide it: which town it leaves from, how long you are in the air, and what a minute costs. Remember that on a landing flight roughly ten of those minutes are spent on the ground with the engine off.
| Flight | Air time | Price | Departs from | Cost per minute | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queenstown: Remarkables Helicopter Flight & Alpine LandingThe cheapest way into the New Zealand alps | 20 min | $167 | Queenstown | $8.35 | 4.8 · 233 |
| Queenstown: Sunset Heli Flight & Remarkables Alpine LandingThe Remarkables in the last hour of light | 20 min | $194 | Queenstown | $9.70 | 4.9 · 18 |
| Franz Josef: Glacier Helicopter Ride with Snow LandingSnow landing high on the Franz Josef Glacier | 20 min | $196 | Franz Josef | $9.80 | 4.9 · 190 |
| Mount Cook: Scenic Helicopter Flight with Alpine LandingAoraki, the highest mountain in the country | 25 min | $207 | Mount Cook | $8.28 | 4.7 · 514 |
| Queenstown: Pilot’s Choice Helicopter Tour & Alpine LandingThe pilot picks the route for the weather | 30 min | $210 | Queenstown | $7.00 | 4.9 · 305 |
| Franz Josef Glacier: Helicopter Flight & Alpine LandingThe best-evidenced flight in New Zealand: 693 reviews | 20 min | $216 | Franz Josef | $10.80 | 4.8 · 693 |
| Wanaka: Scenic Helicopter Flight with Glacier ExperienceFrom Wanaka, over the lake and into the alps | 30 min | $246 | Wanaka | $8.20 | 5.0 · 93 |
| Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers Helicopter Flight & Snow LandingBoth West Coast glaciers, with a snow landing | 30 min | $265 | Franz Josef | $8.83 | 4.7 · 402 |
| Franz Josef: 35min Helicopter Trip over Two GlaciersThirty-five minutes over two glaciers | 35 min | $270 | Franz Josef | $7.71 | 4.9 · 527 |
| Mount Cook: Ski Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo FlightA ski plane on the Tasman, then a helicopter | 55 min | $300 | Mount Cook | $5.45 | 4.7 · 356 |
| Milford Sound: Helicopter Flight with Glacier LandingFiordland from the air, with a glacier landing | 45 min | $325 | Milford Sound | $7.22 | 4.1 · 9 |
| Mount Cook: Tasman Glacier Helicopter FlightThe longest glacier in New Zealand | 40 min | $357 | Mount Cook | $8.93 | 4.7 · 11 |
| Glacier Explorer & Earnslaw Burn Helicopter FlightThe hanging glaciers of Earnslaw Burn | 50 min | $399 | Queenstown | $7.98 | 4.9 · 225 |
| Milford Sound Scenic Helicopter Flight with LandingsQueenstown to Milford Sound and back | 90 min | $687 | Milford Sound | $7.63 | 5.0 · 14 |
How the pricing works
Why one flight costs $167 and another costs $687
Distance from town, what it lands on, and how many mountains. The aircraft is the same.
Three things, and the first is the one people miss.
How far the landing site is from town. Franz Josef township sits almost underneath its glacier, so twenty minutes is enough to reach the neve, land, and come back — which is why glacier flights here are cheap by world standards. Queenstown is twenty minutes from an alpine ridge and ninety minutes from Fiordland, and the prices follow exactly.
Whether it lands, and on what. Almost every flight on this page lands. The difference between $167 and $357 is not a better aircraft; it is a landing on an alpine ridge above a lake versus a landing on the longest glacier in the country.
How many mountains it covers. One glacier, two glaciers, or the whole crossing to the fiords. The two-glacier flights at $265 and $270 are the same day as the short one plus a second icefall; the Milford flight is a different day entirely.
What you get for the money
What is in the price, and what is not
Every flight on this page includes the same core, and the differences are short.
- Time in the air, and the landing
The advertised duration is flying time. On a landing flight roughly ten minutes of it are spent with the engine off and you standing on snow, which is the part people remember.
- A headset and live commentary
Standard on all fourteen. Without it you would hear nothing over the rotor.
- Overboots where the site needs them
On glacier landings the operator issues them. You still need closed shoes and a warm layer of your own.
- A seat, but not a chosen one
Every operator weighs passengers at check-in and the pilot seats the cabin by weight so the aircraft balances.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours
On every flight here. Worth having: mountain weather moves more flights in New Zealand than anywhere else we cover.
- Not included: getting to the town
Franz Josef, Mount Cook and Wanaka are several hours apart. Book the flight that leaves from where you are already staying.
Where the value is
The best and worst value on this page, honestly
Franz Josef for the evidence, the Remarkables for the price, Milford only if you are not driving there.
Best value overall: the Franz Josef flight at $216. Twenty minutes, an alpine landing, and 693 reviews at 4.8 — more evidence than any other flight in the country on this page. The ice is close to the town, which is why a glacier landing costs about the same here as a sightseeing seat over a city elsewhere.
Cheapest genuine flight: the Remarkables at $167. Twenty minutes and an alpine landing for about $8.35 a minute, from the middle of Queenstown. Nothing on this page is better value per dollar.
Worth the jump: the two-glacier flight at $270. Fifteen more minutes than the short Franz Josef flight and a second icefall, with 527 reviews at 4.9.
Think twice about: the Milford Sound flight at $687. It is extraordinary and it is four times the price of most of this page. It makes sense if you are not driving to Fiordland anyway; it makes much less sense if Milford is already on your itinerary.
Common questions
Prices, answered plainly
How much is a helicopter flight in New Zealand?
From $167 a person for twenty minutes over the Remarkables with an alpine landing, up to $687 for ninety minutes from Queenstown to Milford Sound and back.
What is the cheapest helicopter flight in New Zealand?
The Remarkables flight from Queenstown at $167, which includes an alpine landing and carries 233 reviews at 4.8.
Why are glacier flights so cheap here?
Because the glaciers are close to the towns. Franz Josef township sits almost beneath its glacier, so twenty minutes is enough to reach the ice, land on it and return.
Do all the flights land?
Almost all of them, on snow, on a glacier or on an alpine ridge. That is the normal product in New Zealand and it is what separates these flights from scenic flights elsewhere.
Is Milford Sound worth $687?
If you are not driving to Fiordland anyway, quite possibly — it removes about ten hours of road and lands twice on the way. If Milford is already on your itinerary, spend the money on a glacier flight instead.
Are there hidden costs?
No. The price is per person and includes the flight, the landing, the headset and any overboots. What is not included is getting to the town the flight leaves from.
Go deeper
More on flying over New Zealand
Which flight is best
One recommendation for each town, and why.
The glaciersThe glacier flights
Rainforest to blue ice in ninety seconds, from $196.
AorakiFlights at Aoraki
Under the highest mountain in New Zealand, from $207.
QueenstownFlights from Queenstown
Four flights, from the cheapest here to Milford Sound.
FiordlandMilford Sound by air
Ninety minutes that replaces a ten-hour drive.
WanakaFlights from Wanaka
The quiet alternative to flying from Queenstown.
