1-Hour Guided Tour of Aranui Cave Waitomo
4
1-Hour Guided Tour of Aranui Cave Waitomo
By Waitomo Glowworm Caves
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-99, max of 21 per group
Duration: 1h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
- Local guide
- Entry/Admission - Aranui Cave
What's not included- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Start:
- 39 Waitomo Village Road, Waitomo Caves 3977, New ZealandDeparture Point: Ruakuri Scenic Reserve Car Park Address: 39 Waitomo Village Rd, Waitomo 3977, New Zealand Dates: See Availability
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3930P8- Most travellers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- All you will need are comfortable shoes and a warm jacket.
- Not suitable for those who have difficulty navigating stairs
- Due to high demand and limited capacity, if you are late or miss your scheduled tour time your ticket(s) are forfeited and non refundable. New bookings will incur the full tour cost and are subject to availability
- Your own transport is required
- You must check in 30 minutes before the tour departs
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 21 travellers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 3930P8
From
$79.00
per adult
Select date and travellers
Similar experiences
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- Jo B0 contributionsA definite to doOur guide Steve was informative, funny and super helpful to my disabled friend. I would definitely recommend this tour as you can get.a close up view if the amazing glow worms and the caves are amazingWritten 18 January 2025
- Jo B0 contributionsWow, it's like a fairy Glen!Although a short experience, I would definitely recommend this to anyone. It's fascinating to see these remarkable worms close up and a magical experienceWritten 18 January 2025
- 243hillaryl0 contributionsNo better way to experience the cavesI have been dreaming of seeing these glowworms since I was a kid, and couldn't have asked for a better way to experience them. Rosie, Scuba, and Kaizer were our guides and they were incredible--super kind and encouraging to everyone, especially some of the younger people who were nervous. I can't wait to come back to do it again.Written 17 January 2025
- AladinVain1820 contributionsFantastic experienceHad a throughly enjoyable boat trip through the caves , to see these beautiful creatures. Huge shout out to BIG T who made the whole thing enjoyable, informative and memorable ! Highly recommend!Written 15 January 2025
- vanessap6830 contributionsGlowworm at its bestReally cool tour with very nice guides. Good mix of floating around, looking at the many glowworms and jumping off small waterfalls. I really enjoyed it and recommend this tour :)Written 12 January 2025
- peterwX8607OC0 contributionsRuakuri caves tour - excellentExcellent tour of the cave. The informative guided tour was definitely worth doing. The spiral walkway going down into the cave at the start set the tone for a wonderful experience. Make sure this is a part of your trip to Waitomo Caves. Well done.Written 11 January 2025
- smadjafamily0 contributionsFantastic experienceThis was a fantastic experience, enjoyed by all. Our guide, Kyle, was particularly entertaining while sharing his knowledge of the caves and flow worms. And when he sang in the “Cathedral”, it was amazing!Written 11 January 2025
- Kate M0 contributionsGreat guides and a fun time.Reuben, Olivia and Bea were our black water guides and they were amazing. They were there step by step and moved around the group the whole time making sure all was OK and getting lots of photos. Very friendly and a wonderful experience. Highly recommend nothing too narrow or low.Written 11 January 2025
- K3485EOemilyr0 contributionsWould do it againWonderful experience. Our guide, Wi, was knowledgeable and went out of his way to give individual opportunities to view cave features and glow worm details. The cave path is easy to maneuver. Parking is convenient.Written 10 January 2025
- fefa19860 contributionsDon’t expect to see like on the picturePictures looks much more magical compare to the reality when you are just in a full dark and all you see a bunch of dots look like a stars in a dark sky. Still interesting experience just don’t expect to see like you will see on the pictureWritten 10 January 2025
- shazzia0 contributionsGreat experienceWell worth the money T our guide was 👏 Amazing experience walked into the caves first which was stunning then took a small boat ride to look at the glow worms 🐛Written 9 January 2025
- Davy9000 contributionsGreat FunWe were the oldest people in our group, by a considerable margin. Aged 65 to 70. It was great fun and easily manageable thanks to our professional, friendly, helpful guides Dan and Phil. The surfaces were uneven and the water a little cold, but we never felt at risk and everything was clearly explained to us. The wetsuits, boots and headlamps all performed as expected, and the hot showers at the end were an excellent way to finish.Written 8 January 2025
- KiwiGirlCath0 contributionsHoliday AdventureHands down, this was the BEST excursion ever! Our tour guide was absolutely incredible! He sang the Maori National Anthem in the cave!! His knowledge of the Caves and its history is a credit to him. He made everyone laugh. I highly recommend the Waitomo Caves!Written 8 January 2025
- ma1g0 contributionsA nice afternoonIt was a great way to spend some time (1 hour) in the afternoon: the caves are amazing and we saw so many glowworms from the boat. The tour starts with a walk through the caves to see different rock formations, before going on a very small boat to see the glowworms. The boat ride is very short - only a couple of minutes, and pictures are not allowed, but it was great to see all the blue worms. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly.Written 5 January 2025
- sel20140 contributionsWaitomo caves Jan 25Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, our guide Larnie was fun and very knowledgeable. The best part for us was seeing the glow worms from the boat, it was amazing.Written 4 January 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
21 reviews
Excellent
13
Very good
5
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
2
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
Emma Macalister Hall
Kintyre Peninsula, UK39 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
Loved the tour! Thought we would all freak out in the cave but the guide put us at ease. Even our youngest got over her fear! It's really interesting and quite amazing to see the glowing lights from the glowworms.
Loved the green screen pics although some were of places we hadn't been 😆😆
Loved the green screen pics although some were of places we hadn't been 😆😆
Written 11 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora,
Thank you for taking the time to place feedback. We are glad you had a wonderful experience with us at the caves. Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you again!
Nga mihi,
Written 14 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ralph W
35 contributions
I was last here as a kid with my parents.
This visit was absolutely fantastic. Guide Hiria was truly amazing. Showed a genuine interest in every individual person. Made us all feel really welcome. Thorough knowledge and a stunning singing voice in the cathedral cave. What a lovely lady.
Highly recommend taking the time to see all the gloworms on the boat trip.
Excellent.
This visit was absolutely fantastic. Guide Hiria was truly amazing. Showed a genuine interest in every individual person. Made us all feel really welcome. Thorough knowledge and a stunning singing voice in the cathedral cave. What a lovely lady.
Highly recommend taking the time to see all the gloworms on the boat trip.
Excellent.
Written 25 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crayeater
Hamilton, New Zealand125 contributions
Dec 2020
It seems the other reviews for these caves are all about the glowworm one with the boat ride. Understandable, as you buy the combo ticket for both at the glow worm cave entrance. We did both as a combo and this cave is just as worthwhile as visiting the glow worm one as they are very different.
The Aranui cave is short bush walk from the meeting point and not at all touristy. Our guides, Kim was in training, were entertaining, knowledgeable and proud to be local. As this cave system does not have glowworms you can take as many photos as you like.
The Aranui cave is short bush walk from the meeting point and not at all touristy. Our guides, Kim was in training, were entertaining, knowledgeable and proud to be local. As this cave system does not have glowworms you can take as many photos as you like.
Written 9 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
474travelbug
Canada75 contributions
Feb 2020
We did the tour on February 29th. Our group wasn't huge, maybe 20 of us. The cave was interesting and the glowworms fascinating, however the tour itself was disappointing.
Our guide was a Maori gentleman and he was more focused on the need to be quiet rather than guiding. He talked so quietly it was hard to hear a lot of what he said. There was a family in our group with two children (approx 4 and 6 yrs old), and the guide constantly shhh'd them, even though they were very well behaved and not loud at all. If they even whispered to their parents during his talk he would shhh them. We felt so badly for the parents. The shhhing became so distracting we could hardly wait for the end; literally every third of fourth word he said was "shhhh" during his talk, even when no one was making a sound. The guide with the group behind us was not nearly as quiet and we heard more of her talk than our own! And the group ahead of us sang at the one point and it echoed through the entire cave. But he still wanted us to be silent. If any amount of sound disturbs the glowworms that much, then tours probably shouldn't be done at all. Period.
The boat ride was lovely, the glowworms beautiful but he had very sternly warned us that there could be absolutely no sound at all during the ride. We were almost afraid to breathe. When he pulled up to let us out, another man helped us out of the boat and the guide turned the boat around and left. Not one work said to let us know the tour was over. We all sort of looked at each other and said "I guess that's it". Perhaps another guide would have made our experience much better, but as it was I would go elsewhere to see glowworms.
I am really glad that this stop was along the way of our travels. I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Our guide was a Maori gentleman and he was more focused on the need to be quiet rather than guiding. He talked so quietly it was hard to hear a lot of what he said. There was a family in our group with two children (approx 4 and 6 yrs old), and the guide constantly shhh'd them, even though they were very well behaved and not loud at all. If they even whispered to their parents during his talk he would shhh them. We felt so badly for the parents. The shhhing became so distracting we could hardly wait for the end; literally every third of fourth word he said was "shhhh" during his talk, even when no one was making a sound. The guide with the group behind us was not nearly as quiet and we heard more of her talk than our own! And the group ahead of us sang at the one point and it echoed through the entire cave. But he still wanted us to be silent. If any amount of sound disturbs the glowworms that much, then tours probably shouldn't be done at all. Period.
The boat ride was lovely, the glowworms beautiful but he had very sternly warned us that there could be absolutely no sound at all during the ride. We were almost afraid to breathe. When he pulled up to let us out, another man helped us out of the boat and the guide turned the boat around and left. Not one work said to let us know the tour was over. We all sort of looked at each other and said "I guess that's it". Perhaps another guide would have made our experience much better, but as it was I would go elsewhere to see glowworms.
I am really glad that this stop was along the way of our travels. I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Written 26 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora,
Thank you for taking the time to place feedback. We apologise that you felt the guides and service wasn't up to standard and we will pass on your feedback to ensure a great experience for future visitors. Each of our caves have unique qualities. Ruakuri has the most compelling subterranean experiences, and Aranui Cave offers the most beautiful collection of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones and decorative formations. If you are after even more diversity you should visit The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co to abseil underground into the caves, zipline, float down underground rivers and get up close with the glowworms.
Nga mihi,
Written 27 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ashleigh Dunne
1 contribution
Apr 2024 • Family
I had an unfortunate experience when I took my Mum, who was visiting from the UK for the first time, on a tour. Our guide seemed disinterested from the start, and his mood worsened when other guests arrived late. Despite the rules against phone usage, some disobeyed, causing the guide to cut our experience short and blame everyone. We were then told we could not leave until those that were taking photos had deleted them off their phones. It was unfair and unprofessional, especially considering the effort and expense we invested to be there. I wouldn't recommend it to others.
Written 13 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
claricuchi
Buenos Aires, Argentina1,132 contributions
Jan 2024 • Family
very interesting visit. I think I was more surprised by the cave itself than by the fireflies. It is impressive to think about these underground formations. the accumulation of minerals and the time it takes for them to form. Added to that is an incredible light show. Maybe the journey is a little short, I expected a little longer. especially because to visit them from nearby places it is many kilometers round trip anyway. but I recommend it.
Written 14 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aislinn B
170 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
Wasnt sure about driving from Rotorua to Waitomo for the 1 hr tour to then head to Hobbiton, but I am so glad we did. Brilliant tour guide, who even sung with one of the group in the cathedral cave. Unbelievable glowworms, even seen a few outside the main cave! Way better than Tambourine Mountain in Australia.
Group were amazing and so quiet when we got on the boat.
No photos as not allowed to take them inside the cave.
Group were amazing and so quiet when we got on the boat.
No photos as not allowed to take them inside the cave.
Written 17 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ste7373
Chesterield, Derbyshire175 contributions
Mar 2020
This was a really interesting tour and our guide was very knowledgeable. You see some stunning scenery. The best part is the glow worms at the end of the tour when you sail through the caves on a small boat..... so soothing and peaceful. Well worth a visit.
FYI - We did this tour and Hobbiton on the same day by hiring a car in Auckland. This saved us doing them off our cruise.
FYI - We did this tour and Hobbiton on the same day by hiring a car in Auckland. This saved us doing them off our cruise.
Written 30 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Calli V
3 contributions
Jan 2025 • Friends
What a magical experience this was! The warranty is palpable. Our guide, Glen, had a great sense of humor and totally understood the magic of the cave.
Written 12 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Roving00607144405
3 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
Beautiful experience with family. Great pictures outside the caves. Shawnee was an amazing guide! She was funny and informative.
Written 10 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathy
Wainuiomata, New Zealand
There are two listings one is $55 and other $61. What is the difference please.
Written 8 January 2020
Showing results 1-1 of 1
Buy it with
Top rated
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.