Auckland To Rotorua Via Waitomo Caves Small Group Tour (One Way)

Most impressed with tour guide and driver Vicki. Very accomodating and friendly person. We enjoyed her excellent service.

The glowworm caves were spectacular! Cheeky Kiwi's transit was quick, clean, and comfortable. Our driver/guide, Grant, was outgoing and knowledgeable, and made the trip from Auckland to Rototua an extra pleasant experience. He kept is all on track without making the journey feel rushed out short of time. 5 stars for the experience and our driver.

It was one of the my Best Experience. SPECIAL Thanks to Vinaxx Driver Cum Guide, really you make this so fantastic for all of us.

We had an amazing experience with Cheeky Travel! Our guide, Grant, was incredibly friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. We travelled to the Waitomo Caves, and he made the whole journey enjoyable by sharing lots of interesting information about New Zealand and the places we passed. He also provided us with water and snacks, which was a lovely touch and made the trip even more comfortable. The bus was very clean, comfortable, and well-maintained. Thank you, Grant, for making our trip so enjoyable. We would definitely recommend Cheeky Travel to anyone looking for a great travel experience in New Zealand!

Recommended tour. Pick-up at hotel at 5:40 am. Coach was comfortable with Wifi and usb charging ports available. Breakfast granola bars, cassava chips, and bottled water were complimentary. Our tour had 8 people, so the bus was not squeezy. Space in the trunk for our big luggages. Grant's driving was smooth and he was perfectly friendly. Stops for breakfast and coffee, glowworm cave, te puia, and lake Rotoura sulphur point. Not very tiring for a 12 hr+ tour, quite well-timed provided all passengers were on-time. Dropped off at Rotoura around 4 pm ish while others on the tour returned to Auckland ETA 6-7 pm.

We had such a lovely time touring with Vicky from Auckland to Rotorua via the Waitomo Caves! She was very knowledgeable about the region with plenty of history and fun facts. The luxury van was very comfortable with WIFI on board (keeps teens happy)! The caves are definitely worth experiencing. The cave formations are mind boggling and the glow worms are fascinating to learn about and see. Look no further to book this portion of your trip!

A great experience seeing the stunning constellation of glowworms at Waimoto, learning about Māori culture, and getting close to multiple geysers. Alessandro was knowledgeable and helpful, giving great recommendations and dropping be off at my accommodation at Rotokua.

Alessandro was genuinely an amazing guide who was very kind to me and the other solo traveler on our trip, incredibly knowledgeable and informative about the region and New Zealand in general, and overall helped make this a great day! The fee was a bit high but a good deal for both Waitomo and Te Puia, particularly when you account for the additional transit and accommodation costs non-drivers would have to pay in time and money otherwise. The glowworm caves were stunning, the countryside scenery beautiful, and te puia interesting with a good amount of time for both attractions.

Places become extra special when you have knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. This was very true for Mr Ale from Cheekykiwi. We had a wonderful time exploring beautiful places of Waitomo Caves and Te Puia with our travel partner Mr Ale. My son enjoyed a lot talking to him and getting to understand more about New Zealand and Māori culture. Thank you Cheekykiwi team.

It was a great trip to Waitomo Glow worm cave and Rotorua. Our tour guide, Trent, was a gracious host. Even with a very small group, he still drove us to the sites with great enthusiasm. One of our tour mates slipped on the curb side of Waitomo cave entrance and had to cancel the rest of her trip. Trent made sure that she was taken cared of and brought back to the city before we head out to our next destination. It was a great experience. One of the highlights of our trip.

A big thank-you to our driver Simon! Lots of interesting facts and stories during the trip. He was absolutely lovely towards everyone, myself included 😊

One of the most unique experiences I have ever had! The places are amazing and the tour was GREAT! Specially because of our guide, Mr. Trent! Friendly, educated, clever and gentle! Always giving informations about everything on the way and also giving full attention to the group. He knows a lot about Maori culture and history. He drove us carefully and was always with us helping as much as possible. Smileful and really enjoying staying with us and taking care of the group. He even mede quick stops at a few other places on the way that were not included on the tour to show us some nice spots and give us more information. All the activities happened in a perfect way because of him. I highly recommend this tour with Cheeky Kiwi and specially with Mr. Trent as a guide! He loves what he does and he does it very well!!! Cheers

We had a great day with Jeff as our guide and driver from Auckland to Rotorua. He provided a wealth of information on New Zealand and the region we’re traveling through. We also enjoyed our visit to the glowworm caves and the Māori Cultural Center. Jeff also had a number of suggestions for other things we may be of interest to us during our stay in Rotorua. I would definitely recommend this trip as an option to travel from Auckland to Rotorua versus flying if not driving g oneself.

We had a very good experience with Cheeky Kiwi on 22nd March 2026 with our guide and driver, Hanoz. Pick up in Auckland was on time. Safe driver. Clean comfortable mini-coach (only about 10 of us). Really good communication from Hanoz (coach quiz!, got us all chatting, witty humour). The caves are magical- everyone strangely silent in the dark of the boat. Recommended.

We had a great time on our tour with Simon as our guide. Would definitely recommend both the caves and Te Puia.

Seamless tour and transport from Auckland to Rotorua. Jeoff was engaging, genuine, and knowledgeable about NZ. He included a couple of fun stops that made it extra special!

Beautiful part of the country, very informative trip and comfortable ride there and back. Would recommend to anyone visiting!

We were picked up at 6:00 a.m. and made a 15-minute stop at 8:00 for coffee and restrooms. We got back in the van and drove to Waitomo Caves for a 45-minute tour. The first 30 minutes were walking through the caves to view stalactites and stalagmites and sing a song in a chamber to hear the sound quality. It wasn’t until the last 15 minutes or so that we got to see the glowworms. We then spent a few more hours driving to Rotorua. Our driver was very nice, but we wished we could have heard more from him. I felt a little cramped spending that much time in the van, but it was a nice Mercedes and the ride was smooth. We were glad we had someone do the driving instead of us.

Very informative guides in the caves and in te puia! The natural beauty is wonderful. Know that photos aren’t allowed in the caves. Our bus driver, Vicki, was excellent—great info and stories, funny, and a safe driver!

Beautiful experience. Jeoff is an informative and prompt guide that enriched our drive and tour throughout. Would recommend!

Jeoff was amazing- turned up on time, shared WhatsApp location so we knew where he was, contacted us the night before to confirm. Trip itself was fantastic- caves were AMAZING- absolutely beautiful would highly recommend both the trip and Cheeky Kiwi.

We have a very professional guide,Jeoff. He does a good job. Let us know more about Newzland. I would like to recommend friends to join the tours of Cheekykiwi.

The experience was very good. We really liked our guide, Liam, from the moment he picked us up, thanks to his friendliness, his help with our luggage, and his punctuality. The tour was excellent; Liam made an effort to share interesting information about the places we passed along the way. When we arrived at the Waitomo Caves, we really enjoyed the experience, and afterward we had the opportunity to visit an electrical substation that we didn’t know was part of the itinerary, which we also enjoyed very much. The transportation was very good and fast to our final destination.

Had an absolutely fabulous time!! I went solo but the small group nature of the trip meant it was a great experience. Our tour guide Cam was incredible! So knowledgable about a huge variety of topics - from New Zealand history, farming, culture and much more!!! I’ve already booked my next cheeky kiwi tour!

It was great! Jeoff was an excellent and attentive guide, and we had a great overall experience. Thanks!

We had an amazing driver who was very knowledgeable, and looked after us very well. The trip to the glowworm caves was a memory I will never forget, a beautiful calming experience. Best way to see New Zealand.

It was a good experience. I really liked the glow warms cave. The bus was clean and arrived on time. The staff was friendly and shared interesting stories about the place and history.

Nice trip from driver grant, talk a lot about north island, was able to answer many questions about new z

The glow worm caves were beautiful, the geysers were incredible and the drive was so comfortable. Hanoz was knowledgeable, and entertaining!

Great drive and rich with luscious greenery. We really valued the info that Grant (our guide) offered and his helpful tips. There was the ability to opt in to the Te Puia experience, so give it a thought if you have the time. Grant showed us around town as well, giving us the sort of friendly service only a Kiwi could provide. Would definitely recommend and say that it is worth the money!

The tour started timely with our guide Simon picking us up at the meeting place at 6am. He's friendly and cheerful. He shared and chat with the guests who are from a diverse group such as US, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. The drive was smooth & scenic and he always share with us what's ahead in advance before the next stop. He looks out for the guests and checked that everyone is present. We would also like to thank Simon for going the extra mile in dropping us at our hotel in Rotorua & helping to carry our luggages. The Waitimo caves is "wow, woo, ah...." just can't pinpoint any words to describe what I saw and felt there & then. I am glad to have been there to view such magnificent & iconic destination! Thank you for the constant reminders to us so as not to forget the activity & most importantly for the seamless coordination. Kudos to Simon & the team for doing a great job!

Our day tour was wonderful! The guide was very friendly and caring, and everything about the trip was well planned, comfortable, and enjoyable. Thank you so much for all your hard work!

The trip was fulfilling, the activities were amazing, well organized, well explained, and done with patience. Our tour guide Jeoff was very patient well knowledgeable of the history and the surroundings of Rotorua. It was 100% enjoyable. I give Jeoff 10/10

Jeoff was a friendly and knowledgeable host and the trip was outstanding. The Waitomo Caves was excellent as well as the geysers in Te Puia. Would thoroughly recommend.

Our tour guide John was fabulous! Friendly & lots of local knowledge.. def recommend him and we’d love to give him a 5 star review! Tour was easy from pick up from our hotel to travelling along the way & then drop off to our new motel! From the Aussie family….

This was an awesome day out. John kept us to time whilst also making the day feel very laid back and not rushed. John was a great host - full of facts and jokes!

The trip was very nice. Even if in the morning the weather was not good, until we arrived at Te Puia, sa sun was up, all shinny. John, our driver/guide was very friendly. He introduced us to each other and he selected couriosities about each country we were coming from. The trip was very pleasant overall. Thank you, John!

We traveled to the watimo caves and Rotorua with our incredible cheeky kiwi bus driver/guide “Cheeky Matt”. This tour was truly sensational seeing the glow worms and learning about traditional New Zealand culture and history. The Tour was easy, interesting and truly incredible. Our driver Cheeky Matt was knowledgeable, funny, engaging and all round Fantastic. Would definitely recommend to anyone planning a trip!

It was a wonderful experience in the caves but the driving was quite reckless at times... We would have appreciated a little more prudence on the wheel.

Alfredo was a good driver and gave us good information. We took the one way trip to Rotorua and the geothermal stop was not part of our trip. The caves were good but basically it was a bus ride to Rotorua

It was a pleasant time spent. The tour description gave the total time of the trip if you include the Te Puia also. We didn’t include the extra and we were done by 1 pm. It was a great way to get from Auckland to Rotorua.

Efficient way to go from Auckland to Rotorua snd see the Waitomo Caves on the way. Very informative and nice guide (Grant).

A decent way to get from Auckland to Rotorua but I wish the van had been a bit more comfortable given it’s a pretty long ride. Also - and perhaps I missed it in the description - but would’ve liked to have known that we’d make stops - approximately when and what was available at the stops.

Excellent way to get from Auckland to Rotorua! Glow worm caves were interesting & Te Puia was a great introduction to Rotorua. Our guide Jeff was very knowledgeable & friendly. Highly recommend this tour!

Took this tour to get to Rotorua with a stop on the way. Our driver Grant was excellent, pick up on time and the whole day ran well despite some roadwork holdups. Grant was an excellent driver giving us a smooth journey and lots of information concerning points of interest and history on the way. The caves were spectacular and a very enjoyable tour. We were dropped at out hotel and Grant pointed out some good things to doing Rotorua and advice on good eating places. A very enjoyable tour.

The tour guide (Grant) was very friendly and informative along, keeping us entertained along the way. He even went to the trouble of showing the couple of us who were taking the one-way tour around the local Rotorua area, showing us points of interest. The tour was on time and Grant got us where we needed to go. Snacks and water, and a coffee/rest stop along the way. Would book again with Kiwi Tours :)

Perfect tour for those looking to go to Rotorua and want to visit Waitomo caves on the way. Squeezed into the right amount of time with minimal stoppages. Guide was very informative and friendly.

I can't remember our driver's name, but he was originally from South America and had fantastic commentary during our trip to Rotorua! This ended up being a fantastic way to get from Auckland to Rotorua (the glowworm caves were absolutely amazing) and the drive was safe and entertaining. He even went the extra step and dropped us off directly at our Airbnb. Totally recommend using Cheeky Kiwi.

Great trip. Lots of options available. Waitomo caves were very cool. The scenery along the way was beautiful. John, our driver, gave us lots of information about NZ and answered all our questions. John also gave me lots of tips for my stay in Rotorua. I would definitely recommend. Thank you for a wonderful day.