Am planning on doing this trip in early April on the franz josef glacier. How far in advance should I book and which time is better 9 am noon or 3 p.m. so I can avoid a cancellation. Thanks. Alana

I did this hike in July and it was wonderful!! I can't really say which time you should go, although I would personally go earlier in the day. I went in the morning but remember it was also winter. The day before it rained and the hike was canceled. Make sure you leave about 1-2 days for FJ if you really want to do the hike in case of bad weather. It's so much fun.

Thanks Abby: Should I book one month in advance, is that enough time. Thanks. Alana

I agree with Abby. Make sure you have enough time in Franz Josef in case the helihike is cancelled. I just returned from New Zealand, and had planned on doing the helihike, but they cancelled it because of the weather. We would have stayed an extra day, but they said that it would probably be cancelled the next day as well. We ended up just doing the regular half day hike. It was fun, but still a disapointment after planning on the helihike.

I think if you know when you will be in FJ you can book the hike a month in advance. However, you also need to plan on any mishaps along the way with traveling. I changed my itinerary a bit here and there and then had to change already booked activities (I'm anal and wanted to make sure I was going to get reservations everywhere). Also, talk to the company about cancellations and rescheduling..i.e. how flexible they are at that time.