Eco Tours
3 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 100% of travelers
100% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$61
per adult
Glacier Valley Eco Tours
Glacier Valley Eco Tours
Glacier Valley Eco Tours
5
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Full view
About
Glacier Valley Eco Tours is small local family owner/operator business based in Franz Josef Glacier. We specialise in small informative guided walking tours in and around our Glacier Country NZ. We offer trips to Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers, as well as the iconic Lake Matheson, and Okarito township, as well as full day tours and combo tours. We can tailor trips to suit you. Small group sizes (10 max) and families welcome, no age restriction. We offer nature tours off the beaten path of public tracks in Franz Josef & Fox Glacier, which includes loads of information on geology, glaciology, history, local flora & fauna. We currently have 100% NZ guides who all bring different qualities to our clients experience - they maybe Story Tellers, Geologists, Botonists or Ecologists. We offer free use of our wet weather gear on all our tours, including raincoats, overtrousers, umbrellas, as well as walking poles and boots if required. On all our tours we provide tea, coffee & biscuits.
West Coast Region, New Zealand
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours and Tickets by Glacier Valley Eco Tours
Private and Luxury
3–4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 94% of travelers
94% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$61
per adult
Likely To Sell Out
3–4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
$61
per adult
Eco Tours
3–4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 90% of travelers
90% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$61
per adult
Travelers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
557 reviews
Excellent
500
Very good
51
Average
3
Poor
4
Terrible
1
Angela H
Colchester, UK46 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. It was a lovely walk through a beautiful rainforest & we learnt so much about the fauna & flora from our very engaging & knowledgeable guide, Cliff. You get to enjoy a tea break (or coffee, plus biscuits) whilst sitting on the old river bed & looking at the glacier. We would highly recommend this tour with a company who are clearly passionate about their surrounding environment, thanks again Cliff!
Written January 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your great review! much appreciated :)
Tash
Written January 31, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MMandKM
Adelaide, Australia1 contribution
Nov 2022
Great small group activity. (we were a group of 7).
Cliff our guide was great, very knowledgable and super friendly. Shared lots of information on the glaciers, forest, birds and everything in between.
We highly recommend this activity to beat the crowds and see and experience far more than would be possible on your own
Cliff our guide was great, very knowledgable and super friendly. Shared lots of information on the glaciers, forest, birds and everything in between.
We highly recommend this activity to beat the crowds and see and experience far more than would be possible on your own
Written December 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora thanks for your great review of our little company, much appreciated :)
Written December 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Shari
2 contributions
Apr 2021 • Family
It was an amazing day with all gear that was needed fully supplied as part of the deal - if needed ie boots wet weather gear. I cant believe that one man could hold such interesting indepth glacial, bushcraft and local knowledge. Then deliver it back to our group in such a fun way. We as a family thoroughly enjoyed our adventures off the beaten path even though the weather was against us in the early part. We really had the most fantastic day and are eager to come back and enjoy more adventures with Cliff and the awesome team, we seriously cant recommend them enough.
Written April 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amazing review, thank you so much! it is very much appreciated to our little family company especially during these times :)
We hoped you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful Glacier Country NZ :)
Written April 28, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Eileen T
Leeds, UK107 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
If you are thinking of booking a tour of any of the Glaciers here or Lakes. You would be hard pressed to find a better company than this.
They are a family run business with awesome staff.
We did the Combo tour of Franz Josef Glacier and Lake Matheson.
Our guide for the Glacier was a bubbly lass, her knowledge was outstanding, she answered all questions thrown at her and she did all this with the boss assessing her on root. Thank you Ballie and Cliff for making our experience a memorable one.
Our guide for the Lake was equally as knowledgeable and her passion for her job shone through. She opened our eyes to the different types of moss around that we would not look twice at. She did not rush us and answered all our question. When we arrived at the lake it was breathtaking. It got better the longer we were there. Again we were not rushed. So thank you Ella for making our time there memorable too.
On both tours we had refreshments, always a bonus.
We even had really good rain coats borrowed from them, thankfully we didn't need them.
As I have said, don't look past this tour.
They are awesome people.
They are a family run business with awesome staff.
We did the Combo tour of Franz Josef Glacier and Lake Matheson.
Our guide for the Glacier was a bubbly lass, her knowledge was outstanding, she answered all questions thrown at her and she did all this with the boss assessing her on root. Thank you Ballie and Cliff for making our experience a memorable one.
Our guide for the Lake was equally as knowledgeable and her passion for her job shone through. She opened our eyes to the different types of moss around that we would not look twice at. She did not rush us and answered all our question. When we arrived at the lake it was breathtaking. It got better the longer we were there. Again we were not rushed. So thank you Ella for making our time there memorable too.
On both tours we had refreshments, always a bonus.
We even had really good rain coats borrowed from them, thankfully we didn't need them.
As I have said, don't look past this tour.
They are awesome people.
Written January 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your kind word im so glad you had such a good time on our tours. We hope the rest of your travels though our beautiful country are just as enjoyable.
Written January 31, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mike28a
Baltimore, MD186 contributions
Feb 2022
My wife and I hiked up on a day after it had been raining significantly, so the trail was a bit treacherous in places. In fact, I fell three different times (nothing significant beyond some scrapes. This is by no means a novice hike, but its well worth it. We learned about various ferns and rock formations on the mountain and heard a first-hand account of the movements of the glacier up and down the valley over the past 25 years.
Written April 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your great review :) much appreciated!
We hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful area of Aotearoa NZ :)
Written July 10, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
andycarpetman
Balsall Common, UK51 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
David was our guide and he was very knowledgeable regarding the flora and geology. To be fair you could do this walk yourself from the car park for free. The only difference is a small walk off the track where we learned lots about the flora. If you just want a walk to look at the glacier then do it yourself for free but if you want a guide and want to know what you are looking at and details of the glacier and it’s history then pay the money and you will not regret it.
Written January 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
great thanks for your brilliant review, much appreciated to our little family company :) hope you enjoy the remainder of your travels in our beautiful Glacier Country NZ
Written January 21, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ken
Spain9 contributions
Feb 2020
Weather was not the greatest during our stay at Franz Josef but we were very glad we took this tour. Our guide Ella was fantastic. Her enthusiasm for nature shone through. We left the beaten track in places to get better views of the glacier and a close up of the plants and trees around the lake. We could have done this trip under our own steam but learnt so much more with Ella. The tea and ginger biscuits were an added bonus. By the end of the trip we felt we were firm friends and not just clients. Thank you Glacier Valley Eco Tours
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks so much for your great review ! We hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful Glacier Country NZ :)
Written March 18, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ard222017
1 contribution
Oct 2020
The tour guide, Cliff was very knowledgeable about the glacier, its history, and the native plants. The tour also takes you off the main track to see more of the river valley and the rainforest. I would definitely recommend this tour if you are interested in learning about the area and getting off the beaten track a bit!
Written October 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
thanks very much for your great review of our little company :) much appreciated, and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels around in our beautiful Glacier Country NZ :)
Written October 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
mikemole2022
Auckland Central, New Zealand1 contribution
Jan 2022 • Family
Cliff was absolutely brilliant! We went on the Fox Glacier walk with twin 14 yr old boys. They enjoyed the full 4 hour trip because Cliff has so many interesting things to point out and stories to tell. Helped that we went a little off the track too! Book with these guys, you won't regret it.
Written February 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks so much for your review!!! much appreciated in these times! We hope you enjoyed the rest of your travels in our beautiful area of Aotearoa NZ
Thanks
Tash
Written February 22, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
293gary
Queenstown, New Zealand1 contribution
Oct 2023
What a great family business, Tash the owner was very friendly and easy to talk with. Our guide was very funny and knowledgeable of her surroundings with a great interest in the plants, which we appreciated. Highly recommend this tour
Written October 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for great review !! much appreciated :)
Written October 22, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No. Involves hiking up and down fairly steep trails.
Written December 20, 2019
As we know nothing of the area, could you tell us more about the walk. Is it all up-hill, uneven, suitable/easy for city-dwellers who are mid-60s.
Written July 1, 2015
The main track itself would be okay because it is graded and well maintained but the tour goes off the track. Some sections are uphill and fairly hard going because the ground is lose gravel.
Written July 2, 2015
As we know nothing of the area, could you tell us more about the walk. Is it all up-hill, uneven, suitable/easy for city-dwellers who are mid-60s.
Written July 1, 2015
We are the same age group, also city dwellers - and found the walk quite manageable - Cliff is attentive to how his charges are doing and adjusts as needed.
Written September 16, 2019
Holly B
Saint Louis, Missouri
If we are only able to do one of the glacier valley eco tour guided walks, should we do Fox or Franz Josef?
Written February 23, 2015
Holly B
Saint Louis, Missouri
If we are only able to do one of the glacier valley eco tour guided walks, should we do Fox or Franz Josef?
Written February 23, 2015
Showing results 1-5 of 5
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.