NEW ZEALAND · WAITOMO GLOWWORM CAVES TOURS
The famous one is the silent boat ride under a lit ceiling. The rest of the 15 below go further: Ruakuri on foot, Labyrinth on a rubber tube in cold water, and the day trips that pair the caves with Hobbiton.
Glide beneath thousands of glowworms at Waitomo, with a guided cave walk, Cathedral acoustics, and a silent underground boat ride.
“It was absolutely amazing! I did not expect a lot on this activity but we were in awe. It was almost magical. It’s definitely one of the highlights of our trip and highly recommended.”
Review of Auckland’s Hobbiton and Waitomo day trip, with transport, lunch, movie-set details, glowworms, costs, timing, and practical tips.
“Very good experience overall helped by the wonderful bus tour guide we had in Matt and the guides at both the Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves tours. Lovely weather for it on the day too definitely helped.”
Review the Te Anau Glowworm Caves tour, with a scenic lake cruise, limestone caves, underground waterfalls, glowworms, tips, and honest value advice.
“I highly recommend taking the nighttime tour of this cave. It was absolutely stunning to see all the glow worms. Me and my husband thought this tour was more spectacular than the north island caves too! Very intimate and intense with the water rushing inside. You also get to see the glow worms very close up.”
Review of Auckland’s Hobbiton and Waitomo day trip, with lunch, transport, guide tips, highlights, drawbacks, and value advice.
“a long day but a highly enjoyable one, Matt our driver and guide was a true gentleman he was welcoming and knowledgeable about the trips and New Zealand a great guide. Hobbiton was awesome and a must for lord of the rings fans, the glow worm cave were good but your not aloud to take pics. both guides on the excursions were funny and New their stuff.”
Explore Ruakuri Cave by tube, waterfall, and glowworm grotto on Waitomo’s thrilling three-hour black water rafting adventure.
“This was a fantastic adventurous experience. Highly recommend it to everyone visiting this area.”
Explore Ruakuri Cave on a 90-minute guided walk with glowworms, rivers, limestone formations, local stories, and photo access.
“Our tour was well advised and our guide informative with humour and precise directions. The walkways and stairs gave a great sense of security. Lighting was very adequate for moving through the caves and great for photographs. A memorable experience and well worth recommending. My son and I were most impressed.”
Review of the Auckland to Hobbiton and Waitomo tour, with lunch, small-group transport, itinerary details, costs, tips, and honest drawbacks.
“Even though the weather was terrible, this tour was well worth it. Also, combining the glow worms with Hobbiton works very well for a tour from Auckland.”
Review of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves tour, with boat ride, cave acoustics, practical tips, access notes, and honest value advice.
“Very entertaining and informative guide. Wonderful experience visiting the caves, going on the boat trip and viewing the glowworms.”
Te Anau Glow Worm Caves Tour review: cruise Lake Te Anau, walk underground, and see thousands of glow worms in a magical grotto.
“Cancelled at last minute, due to heavy rain leading to too high tide. Couldnt re-book due to other commitments that day. Told by RealNZ to sort out refund directly with Viator as bought through a third party. To be fair, although I had to phone Viator to get a response from Customer Service, the nice lady did this really quickly once she had phoned RealNZ to get confirmation that the tour had been cancelled. Quite an inconvenience all round, but all sorted in the end.”
Review of the Auckland to Hobbiton and Waitomo tour, with practical advice on timing, lunch, transport, guides, value, and what to expect.
“This excursion focuses more on Hobbiton. There is less time to explore the Waitomo Caves. But both stops were absolutely amazing! Bus was clean and comfortable. Driver was entertaining and knowledgeable.”
Travel from Auckland to Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Hobbiton by premium coach, with guided tours, countryside views, and lunch included.
“If you are a lord of the rings fan this is a must do!! Very well organized and entertaining. Perfect day!”
Explore Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Te Puia from Auckland on a guided 13-hour tour with transport, entry fees, snacks, and local insight.
“Matt was a great driver and he drove and kept us entertained for over 12 hours. It’s a long day of driving. It didn’t bother us so much but maybe that was because the bus was nice. The two main stops are both worthwhile but really the whole area outside of Auckland is the most amazing part. I did learn a lot from all of the guides. It was nice to see so many young people do proud of their heritage.”
Explore Hobbiton and Waitomo Glowworm Caves from Auckland on a 13-hour small-group tour with lunch, guides, scenic stops, and hotel pickup.
“Nice tour with our driver/guide Ken. He told us so many things about New Zealand culture, traditions and industry along the way. The major attractions Hobbiton and Waitomo caves were amazing! Everything went smoothly! The lunch was also great. I fully recommend this tour.”
Review of Auckland’s Hobbiton and Waitomo tour, with transport, timing, value, cave tips, guide quality, and practical advice for booking.
“Hobbiton was an absolutely amazing experience and the Glow Worm caves were so cool! Great day trip!!”
Paddle Lake Karapiro at dusk, then float beneath thousands of glowworms on a guided evening kayak tour near Rotorua.
“Very exciting experience, with 3 brilliant tour guides!!! Tour guides are responsible, patient, experienced and knowledgable. Very much recommended for this unique and unforgettable experience!!!”
Sorted by what you actually want to do that morning.
