Franz Josef Travel Guide and Tourism
Posted on February 21, 2024
Laden with a unique ice glacier landscape, Franz Josef is a town on the West Coast of the New Zealand's South island. First explored by a geologist in 1865, Franz Josef will get you closer to the ice like never before and the world heritage site deserves to be explored to the fullest. And the best way to do is to go on a guided ice walk or indulge in heli-hiking.
Also called Waiau, Franz Josef is a small town on the west coast of South Island, offering mesmerizing New Zealand packages. It derives its name from its namesake Franz Josef glacier. A recognized World Heritage Area, here you can lose yourself to the natural beauty of glaciers, rainforests, waterfalls, lakes, and of course glacier hot pools. Fox Glacier is just 23 km away from here.
Getting in Franz Josef
Franz Josef does not have an international airport on its own and the closest airport to Franz Josef that you can make use of include Christchurch and Queenstown. Apart from this, some of the other places that serve Franz Josef include Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook, Wanaka, and Te Anau. From India, you can reach Franz Josef by landing at Christchurch International Airport. Find the information for Christchurch below.
| DEPARTURE | DURATION | LOWEST ROUND TRIP DEALS |
| Kochin | 19h, 2 stops | Rs 98,000 |
Getting out Franz Josef
Getting out from Franz Josef is difficult so you can alternatively drive back to Christchurch which takes approximately 5 hrs and from there, you can easily take a flight to other destinations in New Zealand.
Public Transport in Franz Josef
Public transportation in Franz Josef is limited and to an extent it is nearly zero.
Taxi & Airport transfer in Franz Josef
Franz Josef Airport is suitable only for light-weight aircrafts and the closest international airport is at Christchurch which is 5 hours away from Franz Josef. There are shuttle services that operate frequently connecting Christchurch with Franz Josef. Alternatively, you can also make use of Hokitika Airport which is fairly connected with the domestic airports.
Transport & city passes in Franz Josef
Given the fact that Public Transportation in Franz Josef is limited and not very frequent, City passes are also non-existent.
Driving & Car rental in Franz Josef
Most of the tourists hire a car to get around Franz Josef. But even then you can drive only till the foot of the glacier and from there you have to walk further. There are a lot of walking tracks along the way which you can use to walk on and make sure you heed to the warning signs listed along the way.
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Arushi Gupta Chhabaria
Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2026
Well planned and executed
Kinjal Makwana
Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2026
Had an absolutely wonderful experience with pick your trail Everything was so well planned and organised, from the itinerary to the hotels and transportation. The entire trip was smooth, comfortable, and completely stress-free. The team was extremely helpful, professional, and always available whenever we needed assistance. They made sure we had a memorable experience throughout the journey. Thank you so much for making our trip so special and memorable and special thanks to niranjana as well she was always available for us throughout the trip I would definitely recommend your services to anyone planning a holiday.
Gobinath Mani
Reviewed on: 22 Sep 2026
Very nice experience with pickyourtrail
Selvamani M
Reviewed on: 21 Sep 2026
Excellent service by pick your trails , Suggesting others to try atleast once
Vasan Ramesh
Reviewed on: 20 Sep 2026
This is my 3rd trip with pyt.Nice trip organised by PYT
Arjun Koppad
Reviewed on: 20 Sep 2026
It was wonderful i felt it should have been 7 days visit but still we enjoyed the trip.
Rabsss Anime
Reviewed on: 19 Sep 2026
Our experience was good.did not face any problem during our trip
Renjini John
Reviewed on: 18 Sep 2026
We had a wonderful experience with Pickyourtrail, and this was our second trip with them. From the booking process right until the end of the trip, everything was handled smoothly and professionally. The package was also offered at a very reasonable cost. What impressed us the most was their excellent coordination and support throughout the trip. Every day, their team would call and check if everything was going well, which gave us a lot of confidence while travelling. Their coordination with the local vendors, hotels, transfers, and other arrangements was truly top-notch. We stayed at two hotels during the trip. The first one was extraordinary. The second hotel was a little congested for our requirements, so we decided to upgrade. Pickyourtrail was supportive even there and provided partial payment towards the upgrade, which we really appreciated. This was the only small issue we faced during the entire trip. Apart from that, everything was excellent, and we thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. Their responsiveness, coordination, and customer support made the journey much more comfortable. This was our second trip with Pickyourtrail, and definitely not our last! Looking forward to planning our next travel with them.
Chaitanya Patil
Reviewed on: 17 Sep 2026
Had a great vacation and throughout the journey Udhayan was in contact every moment and it was very smooth Thanks again
Vijayanand P
Reviewed on: 17 Sep 2026
Overall good experience. A waterfall was planned in the schedule. But couldnt go there because the distance was huge to go from the previous place. Could improve a bit on the itinerary based on travelling . Otherwise all other planning, hotel stay, Transportation, everything was so good and excellent.
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