Everything you need to know about visiting the Tasman Glacier

by ling and jace

Updated March 2024

home / Back to New Zealand

People in rain jackets hiking over the Tasman Glacier at the base of the snow-capped mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook — *Hiking on the Tasman Glacier at the base of the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook*

For many days, the clouds were so low that we couldn’t see the mountains. It wasn’t until we left that we heard there could be a small window to reach New Zealand’s largest glacier—but we’d need to drive back quickly.

We booked this helicopter flight to hike on the Tasman Glacier and landed on a shifting landscape. The recent rain and snow had spilled into huge waterfalls, found its way through cracks in the ice, and opened up deep rivers below the surface. We hiked for a few hours across the top and into blue ice caves. Afterwards we went to see the rich blues of the Tasman Glacier from another angle—by hike to the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint.

WHERE TO STAY WHEN VISITING THE TASMAN GLACIER

The Tasman Glacier is located in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, which is just over 3hrs drive from Queenstown and nearly 4hrs from Christchurch. Unless you’re staying in the National Park itself, the closest towns to stay in would be Twizel (about 1hr drive) or Lake Tekapo (about 1hr 15mins drive).

DRIVING TO THE TASMAN GLACIER

A standard car hire is all you need for this road trip. The roads in New Zealand are well-maintained and none of our recommendations need an off-road vehicle to access them. On our road trip around the South Island, we hired a car through Rentalcars.com. We’d recommend using their site because it lets you compares prices across the car hire companies.

The Tasman Glacier at the base of the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook — *Hiking on the Tasman Glacier at the base of the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook*

WATCH OUR VLOG FROM THE HELICOPTER HIKE:

HOW TO SEE THE TASMAN GLACIER

There are few different options for visiting the Tasman Glacier that we’ve included information for below. If you are staying in the area near Mount Cook, there are three options:

We did all of them and would recommend the last option the most, as it’s one of the few places in the world where you can take a scenic flight and hike on the glacier itself.

If you are staying outside of Mount Cook, we’ve included day tour options from Christchurch and Queenstown:

Day trip to from Christchurch to the Tasman Glacier
Day trip from Queenstown to the Tasman Glacier

WALK TO THE TASMAN GLACIER VIEWPOINT

Distance: 2.7km return
Time: 1hr return
Difficulty: Easy

The Tasman Glacier can be seen from a distance on the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View walk. It’s a short and scenic walk that takes you up to the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint for a beautiful view of the Tasman Lake and of the Tasman Glacier retreating into mountains. It’s an easy trail but is a gradual incline with a lot of stairs.

A few hundred metres into the hike, the path forks into two, one of which takes you to the Blue Lakes which are smaller lakes that you can swim in during summer. There are three lakes in total, although the second and third are a little harder to get to as the trail is overgrown and less obvious. You’ll be able to see the three Blue Lakes from the trail walk up to the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint.

To get there, park at the Tasman Glacier Carpark (13min drive from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village).

MAP HERE

The Tasman Lake trail also starts at the Tasman Glacier Carpark, but heads in the opposite direction of the Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View trail. The Tasman Lake trail is an easy 3.5km return trail that takes you to the base of the Tasman Lake.

View of the Tasman Lake and the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook from the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint, accessed from the Blue Lakes trail — *View of the Tasman Lake and Tasman Glacier from the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint*

TAKE A SCENIC FLIGHT OVER THE TASMAN GLACIER

The glacier itself is over 27km long, and if you have the chance, one of the best ways to see its full size is by taking a scenic flight. We’d recommend this 40 minute helicopter tour from Aoraki/Mount Cook which travels along the entire length of the glacier. Some scenic flights also include an option to land on a snow landing site for a view from the ground, but these are different to a glacier hike (below) and usually land for around 15 minutes.

An aerial view of the Tasman River system travelling through the valley between the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook. Lake Pukaki, which the Tasman River feeds into, can be seen in the distance — *Aerial view of the Tasman River and Lake Pukaki in the distance taken from helicopter*

HIKE ACROSS THE TASMAN GLACIER

We decided to hike on the Tasman Glacier and can’t recommend this experience enough. We took this three-hour helicopter tour from Aoraki/Mount Cook. This tour includes a short scenic flight through the mountains, landing on the glacier, and a two hour hike across the surface.

Some of our friends missed out on this tour as it usually sells out in advance in peak travel seasons. The tour runs as a small group with just one guide, so we would recommend booking ahead. You can check the availability for your travel dates here:

If you’re staying in Queenstown, this tour is a similar scenic flight from Queenstown and also includes a two hour hike on the glacier. Both options provide warm weather gear, hiking boots and crampons, poles and waterproof bags.

A photo of the Tasman Glacier taken from helicopter above and over the shoulder of the helicopter pilot. — *Aerial view of the Tasman Glacier from the helicopter*

Hiker in red rain jacket descending into an ice cave on the Tasman Glacier holding on to a red rope for balance. — *Inside an ice cave on the Tasman Glacier*

DAY TRIP FROM CHRISTCHURCH TO THE TASMAN GLACIER

It is possible to see the Tasman Glacier on a day trip from Christchurch, however it takes around 4 hours to drive there (one way). If you’d like to avoid the long drive, the easiest way to get there is to join a day tour that includes transport. We have researched every option and would recommend this one day tour from Christchurch to Mount Cook, which goes to Lake Tekapo and the Tasman Glacier view walk.

DAY TRIP FROM QUEENSTOWN TO THE TASMAN GLACIER

It is also possible to take a tour from Queenstown to hike on the Tasman Glacier, like the one that we mentioned above. This tour is a similar heli-hike tour, with a scenic flight departing from Queenstown. After landing on the glacier, it includes two hours of hiking across the ice.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON A VISIT TO THE TASMAN GLACIER

Every trip to the Tasman Glacier is different because the ice is constantly moving, and we’re so grateful that we got to experience it on this particular day. After a week of heavy rain, there were huge crevasses and waterfalls which were completely new for our guides.

The weather can change quite dramatically in this area, but all tours are generally refundable if they need to be cancelled because of the weather. If you’re interested in taking a scenic flight or helicopter hike, we’d recommend booking it on one of the earliest days of your trip. That way it can always be postponed for a later day if it clears up.

If you’re taking a scenic flight with or without a landing (rather than a glacier hike), you’ll need to wear closed shoes. For the glacier hikes, tour operators provide everything that you need (warm clothes, waterproof boots, crampons, a trekking pole, and a waterproof bag), but it definitely helps to bring your own items like an inner lining, gloves, sunscreen, sunglasses and beanies. It’s also recommended that you take a bottle of water with you.