hi,<BR>6 of us staying overnight fran joseph leaving next day to queenstown.they arranged bus departure 8.30 am reaching queenstown at4.30pm.we loose a day.how long atrip is this.the reason to stay overnight is to have another shot at heli ride to fox glacier if weather is bad the day before,any advise is appreciated....thanks

It's 400km from Franz Josef to Queenstown. We drove this in something like 6 hours, so it doesn't sound too unreasonable for a bus to take 8 hours. Particularly since there are 6 of you, it might be more flexible, efficient, and inexpensive to look into renting a large car or small van from a local company such as Queenstowm Car Rentals (queenstowncarrentals.co.nz)

Hi Everyone and thanks Rama for asking the question!<BR>We are also planning to take the coach from Fox Glacier to Queenstown and would like to hear from those who have taken the trip. Are there many stops for restrooms, possibly to many??? Are there stops to view along the way?

Franz to Queenstown is through spectacular but remote country on roads that only carry a few hundred vehicles per day.Yes,it will take 8 hours but that is just the reality in remote New Zealand.Their will be adequate toilet stops.I have done the trip a couple of times and loved it.

These are both beautiful areas, and if there is any question of time allowance, I'd opt for an additional day. One option is staying over in Te Anau, which is what our tour did, staying at the Village Inn, which we were very happy with. I chose to divide out trip up in segments, with part of it on our own,and part of it with a tour, and was glad we did not have to drive through some of those winding roads. Franz Joseph Glacier has some great paths which have beautiful views, so don't just do a helicopter tour.