The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are among the most visited attractions of New Zealand’s North Island and Ruakuri Cave is the longest of the underground caves. Explore the magnificent cave on this 75-minute guided walking tour and marvel at the unique rock formations, subterranean rivers, and thousands of glittering glowworms.
All entrance fees included
Led by a local guide
Soak up the atmosphere on a walking tour
Small-group tour
What's Included
Local guide
Food and drinks
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting And Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
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End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
What To Expect
Additional Info
Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
All you will need are comfortable shoes and a warm jacket.
Most travelers can participate
You must check in 30 minutes before the tour departs .
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
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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Reviews
4.5
47 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 47 reviews
Enjoyable and informative
Lisa_N, Mar 2023
Our guide was really lovely and informative. Nice easy walk through the caves. Would have loved to see more glow worms but that was okay and can’t be helped
Wonderful, well worth the visit!
Susan_R, Feb 2023
Great tour, our guide Alicia was very informative and animated. The glow worms were fascinating and beautiful. It was a new experience for us to explore a cave with a river running through it. We appreciated that all lighting is solar-powered, and enjoyed the opportunity to take as many photos as we wanted (no flash, of course!). Mostly level walking other than the spiral ramp up and down, with good footing. A real highlight of our North Island stay.
Superb. Definitely wheelchair friendly.
Geoffrey_B, Feb 2023
We decided not to use my partner's mobility scooter and opted for a wheelchair provided and pushed by our guide (Dan). Very good decision due to the low light and some tight turns.
The whole place was fascinating and access was superb. Dan was very knowledgeable and informative. Couldn't have asked for more.
Had to take another tour by mistakes from Viator and the operator
exiadbq, Jan 2023
A group of 2 seniors and one child went there to redeem tickets at the location 30mins before the tour following everything on the vouchor provided, only told there is no courtesy bus as of full capacity to go to a different location for the actual start. Then the group was offered a shorter and cheaper tour mentioned they are of the same price! With no prior info and no photos can be taken, they toke the tour or as Viator and the Waitomo caves operator failed to provide what they should with misinformation.
No refund from Viator even all the info and vouchor provided cannot guarantee the tour, very disappointed.
Fabulous experience
Meegan_B, Dec 2022
Fabulous experience, great guide, friendly and knowledgeable.
This is a very worthwhile tour with amazing sights, highly recommend it
The Caves
Cynthia_B, Dec 2022
The glow worms so pretty. Guide Cam was informative. Stalagtites and stalagmites looked awesome. Cam took care of our safety and was at times amusing
One Special Cave Experience
Marlise_S, Feb 2022
I think that this excursion was made particularly special because of our tour guide - Joel. He had a great depth of knowledge but wasn't overpowering in his presentation or personality. I felt like I knew so much more about the history and structure of the Waitomo Caves after this experience. Good Job Joel!
Gold trip
Dianne_R, Jan 2022
Seeing a weta where there’s not supposed to be one, the shapes and colours of all the rocks was glorious and seeing glow worms in the hundreds was fantastic
Breathtaking
Debbie_H, Sept 2020
We drove from Taupo to Waitomo via mangakino, stunning scenery!
The Ruakura guided walking tour is a must!
Mitch our guide was knowledgeable, easy to communicate with and comedic too. All in all a great guy who is passionate about what he does.
The caves, wow. Prepare yourself for a cathedral like experience with breathtaking formations, underground rivers and streams.
The walking is easy due to the excellent safe walkways that are wheelchair friendly.
The Glow worms were the icing on the cake.
We did the loop track via Kuratau/Turangi and again wow, the scenery didn't disappoint.
We have the day out a solid 10/10
Excellent guide!
101sea_gal, Jan 2020
We had an excellent tour guide who was highly knowledgeable about Ruakuri. Having been to both caves, we much preferred this tour to the one at Waitomo.
Good tour
Clarence_C, Dec 2019
The explanation by the guide was very good and clear . However I find that the group was a bit too big and many in the back could not listen to what the guide said . The meeting point stated in the website differed from the place we were redirected to go .
Interesting & Fun
Joseph_M, Sept 2019
Had a great tour guide called Jim who had lots of stories to tell about the caves. The time flew by. Very accessible caves.
Great for the whole family
Jeff_L, Jul 2019
Our guide Jim was such a lovely guy and so knowledgeable. He really made our tour memorable. Amazing to be so far underground and discovering the hidden treasures under there. Well worth doing this tour
Interessante Führung
ulrisasnowy, Nov 2019
Alles gut gelaufen ... pünktlich ... freundlich ... interessant gestaltet ... im Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis