Mt Cook Tour & Ultimate Alpine Experience Combo from Queenstown
Recommended by 91% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Queenstown, New Zealand
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Flight time: 10 minutes
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Witness the majesty of the Southern Alps from both the ground and the air on this full-day, small-group combination bus, helicopter, and ski plane tour. Most travelers miss the opportunity to see the area from so many different vantage points. Heading out from Queenstown, see the azure waters of Lake Dunstan and Lake Pukaki before spotting Mount Cook’s (Aoraki’s) snow-capped peaks cresting the horizon. Then, hop aboard your aircraft for a flight through the mountains, including a landing at Tasman Glacier.
- See the area from multiple unique vantage points in just one day
- Lots of free time in the day for extra activities at your own pace
- A chance to enjoy some of the South Island’s most popular sights
- Small-group tour: Your guide will help you choose activities that interest you
What's Included
- Small Group & Fully Guided Bus Tour
- Ultimate Alpine Experience Scenic Flights & Glacier Landing
- Water available & snacks provided
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Complimentary hotel pickup & drop off (select locations only)
- Lunch - opportunities to purchase along the way.
- Restroom on board
- Children below 8 are required to travel in a booster/safety seat. Hire for NZ$20 or provide your own
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.6:30 am
Itinerary
Queenstown (Pass By)
Kawarau Bungy Centre by AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand (Pass By)
1
Cromwell
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Lindis Pass
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Omarama
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Lake Pukaki
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Tasman Glacier
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
7
Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (Te Wahipounamu)
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Aoraki Mount Cook National Park Visitor Centre
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
High Country Salmon
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10
Jackson Orchards
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
11
Queenstown
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Total weight per passenger: 256 lbs
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Flight activities are subject to availability and require confirmation with our airline partner. As dates are not always available, we will inform you accordingly.
- It is important to note that Ultimate Alpine Flight is very dependent on the weather. The decision to fly is made by our flight partner on the day and may be cancelled last minute due to weather conditions
- The bus tour operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair.
- Please note - our airline partner has a fuel surcharge of NZ$20 per person in place until further notice. This is to be paid directly to the airline upon check-in.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Beth_M
This was an awesome experience that is highly recommend to anyone! Our driver, Olly, was personable and informative, and really nice on top of it all. The pilots for the flights, Roger and Blair, were great. Honestly, though, those mountains... The glacier.... Truly awe-inspiring.
Also, just as a side, Cheeky Kiwi is an awesome company to deal with!
Reviews
4.6
based on 57 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Soraya_H, Jul 2026
Unfortunately bad weather meant that our original tour activities were no longer possible (including the flight), however, our guide was fantastic and went above and beyond to ensure we all still had a wonderful time.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
We are so pleased to hear that in spite of everything, you got to have a memorable day out.
Unfortunately the winters here are unpredictable, and as we are in the mountains, we need to be careful of our visitors and their safety. So glad you enjoyed yourselves. Thank you for travelling with us.
Lynette_R, Apr 2026
The helicopter ride was great. Unfortunate the plane wasn't operating on the day we went. Our flight was dropped from 45mins (plane and helicopter) to a 25min helicopter ride. Upon reflection I should have asked to be placed on a longer flight. The operators were all lovely, our bus driver was quite knowledgeable and full of stories on the drive. We will definately try again next time we visit
Response from Host, May 2026
Thanks a bunch for choosing Cheeky! We’re glad you enjoyed the helicopter flight and your time with our guide, we’ll be sure to pass that on. We completely understand the disappointment around the changes to your flight, weather at Aoraki can change very quickly, and safety always comes first. These flight decisions are made by our external aviation partner on the day according to the local conditions.
We appreciate that feedback and would love to welcome you back sometime! :)
Beth_M, Mar 2026
This was an awesome experience that is highly recommend to anyone! Our driver, Olly, was personable and informative, and really nice on top of it all. The pilots for the flights, Roger and Blair, were great. Honestly, though, those mountains... The glacier.... Truly awe-inspiring.
Also, just as a side, Cheeky Kiwi is an awesome company to deal with!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you for your great feedback. We are pleased to hear that you had such an enjoyable experience both on the day and in the planning. Thank you for travelling with us and we hope to see you again one day so we can show you more of our beautiful country.
reji, Jan 2026
The heli ride was amazing. It was our first time to ride the helicopter and it was well worth it. The tour guide helped each group arrive on time omin each location and dropped/picked us up accordingly. The views were amazing while in the air, and the glacier landing was once in a lifetime experience. My kid loved it so much. Make sure to bring your sunnies because of the snow and sun. We weren’t able to do any of the hikes though because there was not enough time given the heli ride. I wish we were able to do at least part of it. There was also a time when we had to wait 45 minutes for one group to return from the heli ride, it could have been used to do one of the walks.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
How amazing to get into a helicopter and see our beautiful mountains and lakes. What an incredible experience to remember from your holidays. Thank you for travelling with us.
Gregory_S, Dec 2025
Our tour guide Joseph was fantastic!
Really knowledgeable and professional.
The weather unfortunately interrupted part of our planned expedition but Joseph and the team kept us apprised at all times.
I highly recommend this tour!
Cheers!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thanks for your review.
Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Tasman valley are an incredible site to visit.
I'm so pleased to see that Joseph made sure he got the best out of the day.
Unfortunately the weather does play its part in the mountains and I'm sorry to hear that your flight up the mountains was unable to go.
Nevertheless it still looked like a great adventurous day and hike out around the Mt Cook and Tasman valleys.
Thanks for travelling with us!
Nikita_S, May 2025
The flight was cancelled due to windy weather - not the company’s fault at all, but then the alternative activities - walking around the lakes - was also a let down. It’s a long drive to get there, and we spent a short time doing one walk, but 2 members of the group didn’t come back on time so we couldn’t move on, and the guide was more concerned about others who were getting on a different bus to Christchurch. Therefore, we had no time to see the Tasman glacier so we had to stay in the same place. I feel it was poorly organised and we were rushed to accommodate others using the trip as more of a means of transport from Queenstown to Christchurch rather than a guided tour. Quite disappointing as I had booked just to see the Tasman glacier, so I think the tours should be separated to ensure people don’t miss out, as it is not cheap.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you for your review.
This is an unfortunate situation. These tours will always have a mix of different people all wanting to do a variety of walks and everyone will have different fitness levels and expectations.
The problem here resulted in 2 people not listening and adhering to the guides instructions, and the consequence of that meant there wasn't enough time to do another walk.
This is a very frustrating problem for not only the other guests of the tour but also the guide.
This is a very rare occurrence and comes back to 2 people who have let the tour down by not caring about the outcome.
The guide did all he could to try and call and locate these people.
Kathleen_S, Feb 2025
Absolutely stunning!! We flew up on the plane and helicoptered back down. Such amazing views. We were worried about the weather the whole drive up but by the time we started it was clear skies and gorgeous scenery.
Rahul_S, Jan 2025
We went with Michelle @ Cheeky Kiwi Travel. Would highly recommend this tour -- he is a very good tour guide and the Mt. Cook area is amazing. Do both the Ski Plane & Helicopter rides - totally worth it. For those who have been to Alaska, it is exactly like the Pika Glacier.
Bernadette_M, Oct 2024
Took the heli/ski plane combo tour with glacier landing. Very brief flights, but wonderful views. Very cool to stand on glacier snow.
Marie_H, Sep 2024
This tour was incredible! Once in a lifetime experience and I highly recommend it especially the glacier flight. Amazing!!
Jacquie_C, Mar 2024
The helicopter ride was amazing, the tour guide was great a shame the wait at the airport was so long.
Charlotte_M, Mar 2024
This was a once in a life time experience for us! The day was sunny, light winds, and the ice and snow sparkled like glitter. Several spectacular photos that day. FYI You'll have 15 minutes to walk around in a staked out area and take pictures at the glacier. I wouldn't have used precious suitcase space with fleece wear if I'd known that. We went the 2nd week in March.
Alex_o, Nov 2023
The helicopter/ski plane made the long journey well worth it! Seating can be a bit cramped throughout. The stops helped to break up the trip. The Wrinkly Rams was a nice little cafe, and the salmon farm on the way back had some fresh sushi rolls! We may drive on our own up to Mt Cook next time though
amiesing, May 2023
Was an amazing but long day. Cheeky kiwi travel picked us up from our hotel at 6:50am and off we started our tour. First stop was at Tarras to grab quick brekky and refuel and stretch our legs then back in the van as it was very early not much could be seen in the surroundings outside.
Next stop was a lookout close to reaching Mt Cook National Park was absolutely beautiful
Once we reached Mt Cook you had the option of a 3hr hike or 1hr hike.
We had booked to do glacier landing / helicopter flight but due to bad weather it got cancelled.
We ended up doing the 1hr hike to Tasman Glacier Lake which was incredible we got to see little icebergs formed in the lake.
After our hike we went back to the Hermitage for lunch and to take in the views of Mt Cook.
We got picked up at 2:30pm and made our journey back to Queenstown we stopped at High Country Salmon and Roaring Meg Gorge
We got dropped back at our hotel by 6:30pm
Our tour guide John was very friendly and knowledgeable made sure we all had a great time and have us lots of tips for our stay in Queenstown
Naseem_S, Dec 2022
The helicopter ride was amazing and weather was great. Stops timings could have been better. Stops at the same stop twice should have been avoided. And clear instructions for not touching the things on the seats to the new people should have been given.
Appreciate the the tour operator Mike for calling the Uber for us, that's very sweet of him to do. Loved it
Usha_K, Aug 2022
Kreyg's knowledge and stories and humor
Reece was excellent driver memorable.. Friendly staff, worth Doing
David_W, Jun 2022
Make no mistake this is a full 12 hour day and can be quite draining, particularly on the way back. The ski plane and helicopter experience is very much weather dependent and you don’t know if it will go ahead until your halfway to Mt Cook. We didn’t get to go up and I can imagine this happening a fair percentage of the time. We were refunded this part of the trip promptly but were still left disappointed. We did the Hooker valley walk which was a 3 hour return walk but well worth the effort. Overall it was a good trip because the scenery on the way and at Mt Cook was phenomenal.
From $492.06
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Mt Cook Tour & Ultimate Alpine Experience Combo from Queenstown
57
12 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$492.06
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in Queenstown, New Zealand
- Lake Wakatipu Tours & Tickets
- Queenstown Gardens Tours & Tickets
- The Remarkables Tours & Tickets
- Te Anau Glowworm Caves Tours & Tickets
- Milford Sound Tours & Tickets
- Skippers Canyon Tours & Tickets
- Kawarau Suspension Bridge Tours & Tickets
- Central Otago Tours & Tickets
- Kawarau River Tours & Tickets
- Skyline Queenstown Tours & Tickets
- Hollyford Track Tours & Tickets