Waitomo Glow Worm Caves
Description
Join Auckland & Beyond Tours for an unforgettable Waitomo Glowworm Caves experience! New Zealand’s unique “Arachnocampa Luminosa” glowworms light up the Waitomo Grotto, creating a mesmerizing scene. We’ll start by picking you up from the 4 hotels listed in Auckland CBD, followed by a scenic 2.5-hour drive through South Auckland and the Waikato region, with stops for photos along the way. Upon arrival, you’ll have 30 minutes to browse the Gift Shop or enjoy refreshments at the Waitomo Homestead. Then, embark on a one-hour guided tour through the Glowworm Cave, where your guide will share the cave’s history and details about the fascinating glowworms and rock formations. Finish your tour with a serene boat ride along the Waitomo River, silently marveling at the glowworms’ ethereal light. After your Glowworm experience, we’ll return to Auckland via scenic roads.
Tour Options
Itinerary
- Guided tour at Waitomo Glow Worm Caves including boat ride
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Infant seats must be requested at least 24 hours in advance (extra charges apply)
- A minimum of 4 people is required for the tour to operate
Reviews(52)
As someone who wanted to see the glow warm caves without driving myself and wasn’t interested in the hobbiton movie set, I am glad to find this tour as majority of other tour combine sites which increases the price of the tour. Our tour guide throughout the tour was also quite informative and was fun to listen throughout the long drive. My favorite fact was learning that cows (you see them all the time on the green hills on the side of the road) will form a single file line whenever they want to get milked and each cow will go to their own designated spot in line every time.
The Caves were very interesting. Though I use a cane, I did manage to get through them ok. There are some great photo ops here. The tour was 2 - 2 1/2 hrs long and to be honest, we found it a bit too long, and thought that perhaps 1 1/2 hrs would be long enough. It would be nice if there were options for shorter tours, however the guide was very informative and kept it interesting just the same.
Excellent company and driver. He knew the sites and gave great information about the other sites to see on a trip to Auckland
There are several steps involved when going through the cave. There are plenty of hand rails and the tour guides would probably help you navigate the steps
We had a wonderful experience with Auckland & Beyond Tours visiting Hobbiton and the glowworm caves. Our guide Raymond was fantastic — knowledgeable, professional, and very friendly. He shared interesting stories along the way and made the entire day run smoothly. We were traveling with a toddler, and the trip was still very comfortable and manageable. Raymond was patient and accommodating, which made the experience stress-free for our family. The day was well organized, the transportation was comfortable, and we got to see two incredible places in one trip. Highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Auckland!
The driver was great. It was fun to see all of the sites and countryside outside of the city. The glowworm tour was fun and very educational.
This is my 2nd visit the first being in 2017 when the caves were in flood so limited trip, but my wife’s first and she loved it. This time however there were no problems, and it’s an amazing experience. The caves here in NZ amaze me, being an ‘ex’ pot holer I have experienced many caves and formations, NZ has amazing caves. And ‘Zeplin’ our guide (his grandmother had good taste in rock bands) was just great. It’s a ‘must see’
The trip was very amazing & pleasant. It started from 7am to about 2pm. It’s worth to go to see those historical nature caves and stared at the Glowworm in the cave just like looking at the galaxy 🌌. Our tour guide DAVE was very nice, friendly and mature person with enthusiasm to share lots of information around the road or this country. He has lived in this country more than 10 years. So, as a foreigner visitor, surprisingly he has so much more could share to us. And he drives was very steady and safe. He also has prepared some snacks and water for us. I would definitely recommend for everyone who love the nature and would love to explore New Zealand.
Dave, our driver was the ultimate driver providing extensive history and knowledge of NZ with his dulcet tones. A very relaxed kind trip. Top marks. The guide in the cave was super kind and friendly - one of the best guides I have had over many years. Kind, gentle and very knowledgeable. I can’t remember his name. Our tour started at 9.30. I would definitely recommend this trip. It’s a journey, but the final part of the glow work tour in the boat was magic. Kevin .
The firefly cave is really worth seeing and impressive! Of course, a journey time (round trip) of about 5 hours for a visit of "only" 45 minutes is very long. But then again, the landscape you drive through is really beautiful (especially in the best sunshine we had today); you get a good impression of the beauty of New Zealand. And our tour guide and driver Dave (very sympathetic!) shortened the journey time by telling us a lot of interesting things about New Zealand (from nature, plants and wildlife to history, economy and society to travel tips in Auckland and beyond) during the trip. And also the young woman (Sunny) who led us through the cave was very chilled and explained everything well. All in all it was a great experience and I can only recommend the tour!
