Waitomo Glowworm & Ruakuri Twin Cave Experience - Small Group Tour From Auckland

Karthik was a great guide, very knowledgeable and full of interesting information. The cave experience was amazing with Ruakari a stand out would thoroughly recommend.

This is a long write-up with some details if you care to read. TL;DR - What a cool experience! If you have the time, I would definitely recommend taking this tour! The caves are otherworldly. The ExperienceKart Team was excellent from start to finish. *Side note, I have some specific anxieties - water (or rather falling in it), darkness (or rather what’s lurking in it), closed spaces (or rather being trapped), heights (or rather falling from them), and car rides (or rather accidents in one). I have a lot of “what if’s”. But hey, when in Rome - or rather NZ this time. *Another side note - My husband and I didn't find it cold in either cave. We both wore shorts, but brought a sweater. First, the caves: - Waitomo Glowworms - This is the shorter tour of the two caves, about an hour, but it is still a must-see. The massive covering is a marvel to look at if you’re into how a structure is built. It’s just beautifully done. Open, airy, and inviting. When your group/time arrives, your guide will escort you down a short pathway while they tell you a bit about the area and the safety measures. The boat tour was otherworldly. The silence, aside from the dripping water, the people shuffling in their seats, and the slight movement of our vessel cutting through the surface, was both eerie and exciting. The stillness really lets you soak in the atmosphere and let your thoughts sink in. It was amazing! It was like riding the Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time in the dark with the “fireflies” flitting around. Although you can’t take any photos in this cave, they do let you take photos coming out and let you stay as long as you like to take photos from the riverside after they drop you off. We got shots of the boat while it was heading back in to pick up the next group. Even the riverside was beautiful and peaceful. - Ruakuri Twin Cave - First, you are able to take photos in this cave, but you have to turn the flash off. They remind you and have you test it before moving any further. Then, you descend on a spiral pathway lit by dim lights at your feet. It’s not a hard walk, and the path is smooth enough for strollers, wheelchairs, and mobility carts to travel with no issues. This is a longer tour on pathways and walkways/bridges, which are only lit where your tour is passing or stopped. It’s best to keep up with your guide/group or risk being in the dark. Some pathways are no longer accessible to the public out of respect for the land and culture. They’ll tell you about it. But it’s still neat to see the paths that others took, once upon a time. You make several stops along the way. The guide will tell you about specific areas, what happened there, why something is, or just some cool information or tidbits about a particular formation. It was really interesting from the little we could hear from the guide. The glowworm section was really cool. It was like the night sky in several places, and you were able to take photos of them here. Just make sure to turn on the night setting on your camera/phone, and stay still while it counts down. Traveling through the caves in this part, you come across a small “lake,” and if you're lucky, you might see some of the Black Water Rafting tours getting in the water close by. We did. **Parents of small children!** Please allow others to enjoy the tour, too! Letting your children weave through everyone during the entire tour takes away from everyone’s experience. Whether they’re on their own, or the few times that you weaved through the group to catch them. It makes some of us stay on the backside of the light, partially in the dark, and not be able to hear the guide. Be safe! Although the caves are relatively safe, there are still hazards! If you’re not willing to keep your kids by your side, don’t expect anyone else to look after them. They’re not anyone else’s responsibility! Don’t ask the kids, “Where are your parents?” The question should be, “WHERE ARE YOUR CHILDREN!?” Yes, we did move to the front near the guide. The children followed, and still we could not hear. Either over the children, or the parents saying, “wait right there”, or “stop and wait for us”, neither of which was working for these parents, or children! Sorry for the rant. Anyhow - I love exploring caves, both look & don’t touch type, and amateur spelunking, and this is by far one of the coolest. If you get a chance, there’s a video documentary playing in the lobby/waiting area that is about the cave, the families, and the building of the structures within. We didn’t get to watch/listen to it all after the children arrived. We asked the receptionist if there was a copy or a video online of it, but she couldn’t find anything. We haven’t found one yet either. :( Now for the service we received: I originally booked this tour earlier in our travels, but Vee contacted me a couple of days before to let me know that there weren’t enough people to make it happen. We were fully refunded. They said that there was another tour the following Tues but I didn’t know our plans, so I asked if they could keep in touch with me if a group was forming. On Monday, Vee reached out again to say it didn’t look promising. In the meantime, we spent the week in Rotorua exploring. But we couldn’t stop thinking about the caves. It was the one thing we knew that we absolutely wanted to do, even before we traveled to NZ. So, while we were still in Rotorua, we booked again and crossed our fingers. The only thing was, we were heading back to Auckland on Sunday, and the tour was on Monday. But, when in Rome! On the day, our tour guide called our hotel room at SkyCity to let us know he had arrived and was waiting downstairs. He was a little early, but some of the other tours had us waiting 30+ mins, so that was a nice surprise. He told us that we had time and not to rush. I didn’t realize it when I booked, but this was a private tour. Just our guide, Steve Withel, and the two of us, in a nice, comfy SUV. We were expecting a small group on a small tour bus. This is even better! Steve greeted us kindly, let us get settled, and gave us a goodie bag from ExperienceKart (the company that handled the booking). What a treat! You can tell how much they care about the service they present. We appreciate those little things even though they’re not expected. We had a couple of hours of drive time to the first cave, but it went by quickly. Steve was like an encyclopedia of information about the area, the plants, the people, the culture, the buildings, the waterways, everything! We learned more about the land from him than anywhere else during our travels in NZ. Once we got to talking, I think he loosened up and knew what he could talk about with us, which was pretty much anything. My husband and I are pretty easy-going and respectful on most topics. When we weren’t talking about NZ, we talked about cars, motorcycles, family, work, travels, and wishes for the future - Route 66! There wasn’t much downtime in our conversations. It was really easy, fun, engaging, and entertaining. Steve was a delight and a highlight, not just of this tour, but of our whole trip overall. Steve walked us up to the ticket counter to check us in for both caves, showed us where to wait, find the toilets, vape or smoke, the gift shop, snacks, and where to find him once we were through. He took us to a little restaurant off the beaten path and enjoyed a meal with us. We truly felt like we were just having lunch with a long-time friend. Sadly, it was time to head back to Auckland and part ways. After our tour was done, Karthik checked in on us to make sure everything went well. It had, 100% it had - except that we had to call Steve back because my husband forgot his phone in the car. Sorry again, Steve! We really enjoyed the whole experience. We couldn’t have asked for a better day! Thank you, ExperienceKart Team - Vee, Steve, and Karthik, for making this day perfect!

Mary was amazing, she was funny and her driving skills was impeccable. She made sure she stopped for us to use the restroom last and get a pick me up coffee on the way to the caves. Raikuru cave was more intimate and less crowded, better experience than Waitakere caves. Waitamo was way too crowded and not that enjoyable, best part was the boat at the end where you get to experience the beauty of the glow worms. Underwhelming

Had an amazing time, the glow worms were absolutely magical, and the caves are a must see. Journey there and back was incredibly comfortable, and Mary was a fantastic tour guide, super lovely, with lots of info on our destinations and the various landmarks on the route. Would recommend !

The guide Mary was very welcoming and knowledgeable, sharing lots of information about the history and culture of New Zealand. The caves and the glow worms are well worth the journey, and the drive itself goes through lots of lovely scenery.

The tour with our guide Karthik was very informative and truly special! He is very knowledgeable and knows exactly how to present information in an engaging and accessible way. In addition to the wonderful cave tours, we also had the opportunity (after asking) to take a spontaneous trip to a local zoo, where we saw kiwi birds for the first time. Overall an amazing experience!! Can absolutely recommend.

The tour was well worth it. Our tour guide Karthik was very informative, focused on keeping everyone safe and even spontaneously fulfilled our extra wish to see some Kiwis. Thank you for a great day!

We thought this tour was excellent. Our guide Karthik was engaging and knowledgeable. The caves were stunning. A full day but totally worth the drive. We would highly recommend this to friends.

Great tour and guide! The glow worm caves and boat ride were exceptional. Highly recommend! Our guide Marty was a wonderful guide. Very friendly, organized, and knowledgable.

Enjoyed both caves. Marty was a fun and reliable driver. Trip to and from Auckland was very scenic. The cave tours were different.

Tour of the caves were great! Knowing what we know now would have just went with a larger group tour as it is more to drive you to and from the city and between the caves. Tour noted we would not get back until 7; we were back in Auckland by 4:00 pm.

We had a great trip! Everything went as planned and Mary was a great guide— very friendly and fun to talk with! Would highly recommend this to others!

Mary was very engaging and informative pointing out places of interest and some history behind it which made the drive more interesting.

Marty was an absolute joy to spend the day with. Such a knowledgeable host, incredibly friendly and very accommodating. We had many questions and asked for local recommendations on all sorts of things and he was happy to give us advice and made many suggestions we hadn’t thought of.

Lovely experience seeing both caves in one go ! Wanted to do both instead of just doing only the glowworm cave or combining this with Hobbiton ! Did Hobbiton yesterday. Did both caves today. Both caves are totally different and I would advise doing both these caves. Looked around for a tour giving the twin cave experience and stumbled upon ExperienceKart who seem to be the only travel group doing this tour. Karthik was our tour guide and he was very friendly and helpful. He was very informative and knowledgeable and gave us many helpful tips and advice. Pleasant day well spent. Would strongly recommend ExperienceKart for tours from Auckland.

Definitely recommend this tour company. The tour guide was incredibly nice and knowledgeable about the history regarding the Waitamo and Ruakuri caves and it's significance in Maori Culture and New Zealand's history. It was also effective time-wise. We made great time and managed to make it back to Auckland to enjoy the rest of our day.

Had an amazing day at the Waitamo cave. Mr. Karthik was super friendly and gave us a lot of information about the tours.A day well spent. Highly recommend his services.

What a fun time! While it was a long drive sering the Waitomo AND the Ruakuri caverns was amazing. Our BMW minibus whisked us away with a quick coffee stop halfway. The glow worms cave was everything it promised. The Ruakuri caverns was unexpectedly fabulous. The spectacular spiral entry and seeing the black water rafters was especially great. Photographs are also allowed in this cave. Our driver was outstanding: on time, caring, and knowledgeable about where we were and where we were going. I definitely recommend this excursion.

Our tour guide/driver was Lulu. She is energetic and her comments were very interesting. She is of Maori origin and decided to learn the language as an adult. Of course she had a lot to say about her culture, her country and, of course, what we were visiting. My favorite part was the Ruakuri Cave; the lighting of the concretions, the safe walking paths and the knowledgeable comments of the guide.

Trip was great. Driver was very good. We were very happy with the trip. Everything was excellent . Really enjoyed the trip

Our guides were excellent. Marty was our driver and was a wealth of information. We made an extra stop or two to learn more about the small towns on the way. Additionally, our cave guides were incredibly knowledgeable with great personalities. Lockey in particular was super. We enjoyed the Ruakuri caves more than we expected and they ended up being our favorite!

Ama our tour guide and driver gave an excellent history of the Maori people. She made sure that everyone in our small group (6) were happy, comfortable in the mini-bus, had plenty of breaks to buy food, go to to the toilets, stretch our legs. She was very well organized, efficient, and a fun person to have during the full day tour.

The driver Ama is knowledgeable and helpful, she makes 5 hours drive (round trip) in bus very vibrant and lots of fun and laughter. The tour inside of cave is an unforgettable experience, must try once in a life time!!!

Our tour guide, Ama, was engaging and had a focus on the customer. She gave us a great all round experience and added some great Māori history and stories which helped whittle away the long drive to Wiatomo.

My boyfriend and I took this day trip with Experience Kart to the Waitomo Glowworm and Ruakuri Twin Cave. We have been driving all around the North Island and wanted to give my boyfriend a break from driving. The pickup and drop off from our hotel in central Auckland was smooth and the drive to the cave was relaxing in the van. Our driver and tour guide, Karthik, gave a great tour with fun little tidbits of New Zealand. The glowworm cave itself was amazing, but the addition of the Ruakuri Cave made the drive worth it. I would recommend this tour company to anybody who wants to see the cool sights of New Zealand, but is weary about driving all the time.

Our tour operator Karthik was wonderful start to finish. Very informative with lots of details about the history of the area and interesting landmark details. We started the trip with our hotel pick up and were each given a “snack care package” (water bottle, drink, snacks etc) before getting started. The stops we made were well timed. The caves were both fabulous and well worth the long journey. My daughter and I were both very happy with the trip experience.

This was a great experience! Our guide, Ama was so wonderful! She arrived promptly and was warm and welcoming. She shared lots of interesting information about the Māori culture and area as we travelled to the caves. We were given a lovely goodie bag when we settled in the car that contained a bottle of water (and there was more available onboard), cookies, tissues, snacks and a local favorite - L & P. The car was very comfortable and had onboard WiFi. Regarding the cave adventure, the Ruakuri was very informative and interesting. We learned alot and the guide was informative and helpful answering many, many questions. He also allowed ample time for pictures. The Waitomo Glowworm tour was much more touristy. The experience in the cave was very brief. The experience on the boat staring up at all the glowworms was amazing. After the caves, we stopped at The Thirsty Weta Bar in Otorohanga and it was delicious! Overall, it was a great day.

Good service and very organized guided tour . On time for pick up and drop-off . The vehicles was very convenient and clean .

My review of Karthik, ExperienceKart is 5/5. If you want to book the Twin Caves, I have no complaints! Biggest point of review is more - is the drive down there and back worth it. After doing the trip, my husband and I (in our late 30s) debated if this trip was worth the 10-11 hour day made up of 5-6 hours driving. We decided this was worth it, but just barely. If you have any way of breaking up this drive, to avoid the out & back, I would suggest doing that! We were not in great spirits by the time we returned to our hotel at 6PM. The Waitomo Glowworm cave was so incredibly spectacular and we felt a must-see & was the only reason this trip was worth it. 100% need to do this. The Ruakuri caves are much more vast with the stalagmites and stalactites, formations, and it has more walking around. FWIW, my husband has done a few cave walks and felt it wasn't anything more remarkable than caves he had seen in the US. This was my first cave experience, so I was very awestruck. You can take photos in Ruakuri - be warned there are a handful of glowworms in Ruakuri, but no chance your photos will produce anything besides some dots - haha. I do feel that if we just drove down, saw Waitomo Glowworm cave & drove back, it would feel way too short. However, the Ruakuri cave added another 1.5-2 hours to the day. Our tour guide (who owns the company) was Karthik. At pickup (6:45AM), he provided us with a bag of water and NZ snacks which was a nice treat. The drive down seemed pretty painless, we stopped halfway for coffee & toilet break. During almost the entire 2.5 hour drive down, he provided us with seemingly endless facts and trivia tidbits that he used to fill the drive down, he had a great sense of humor. (Unfortunately, we sat in the back of the bus and the guests in the middle were not engaging at all, which was regretful, but not his fault!) I would have loved to ask him question after question to pick his brain. He has been a tour guide for over 6 years and was a great story teller. After the cave tours, you eat lunch in Waitomo area, a cafeteria esque meal, and can order from an array of options. It was decent enough food, but nothing special. (The fish & chips were pretty bad, but the burger was great). Be warned: The drive back into Auckland felt painfully long. We hit traffic so it took over 3 hours. We arrived to our hotel around 5:30PM. So a 11 hour day in total with only 45 min tour in the Waitomo Cave & 1.5 hour tour in the Ruakuri cave. The bus only seats 10 so its a nice size tour and makes the breaks less time consuming. The only con is that the seats are not super comfortable at all. My husband is 6'-2" and it was a tight squeeze for him. I'm 5'-2" and my butt felt pretty flat by the end. All in all, Karthik did a great job of making this tour the best of the options. He was a great tour guide, prompt, and really engaging. The biggest question you should ask yourself before booking is if you can manage the drive - 2.5 hours there and 2.5-3 hours back. If yes, I would definitely book this tour!!

My husband and I recently embarked on the Waitomo Glowworm & Ruakuri Twin Cave Experience Tour, and it was nothing short of amazing. Our guide, Karthik, impressed us with his knowledge and friendly demeanor. Despite the long drive, the well-planned rest stops made the journey enjoyable. The glowworm caves were a breathtaking sight, offering a genuine New Zealand experience. We're grateful for Karthik and ExperienceKart, making our tour memorable. If you're seeking exceptional tours out of Auckland, don't hesitate to book with this company. Highly recommended!

The both tours were excellent. While the Waitomo Glowworm cave had you riding in a boat through part of the cave, however, I liked the Ruakuri Cave tour better. We saw alot more while hiking through the Ruakuri Cave tour. Both were narrated by knowledgeable docents. Due to cave darkness, you had to slow the shutter down to pick up the faint light. None of my cave pictures turned out from Waitomo Cave. A tripod would have helped produce clearer pictures. That is where the hiking was better since you could stop and set your camera on a stable surface for the pictures.

Wow! What a great day! Karthik, the owner/guide was awesome. During the drive to Waitomo he gave us local history and information about the Maori culture. His knowledge really made the trip better. The Waitomo glo worms and the Ruakiri caves are sights that should not be missed. In addition to these, Karthik took us to great places for coffee and lunch. We could not have asked for a better guide or a more enjoyable day. Book with ExperienceKart and you will not be disappointed! Very highly recommended.

An amazing experience! Karthik was absolutely sensational as was Elana, the Ruakuri Cave guide. We learned so much and had a fantastic day!

Enjoyed a wonderful day with Karthik as he took my best friend & I to the caves. We were both the only people on the tour and Karthik picked us up directly from our hotel at 6:30am with a bag of snacks and water. Karthik was very informative and engaging about the history and facts of each location that we visited and about New Zealand itself. We first stopped at a coffee shop for a quick drink and bite and then we got dropped off at the Ruakuri Cave for a 10am 90 minute tour. It was a nice small group tour and we got to take a lot of photos and see the caves in depth and the glow worms! Afterwards Karthik dropped us off at Waitomo Caves for a 12pm 60 minute tour. Although no photos are allowed here, we enjoyed walking through the cave, especially in the Cathedral area and we got to go on a short boat ride to see plenty of glowworms from above. Afterwards, we had lunch nearby that had delicious food options with a little shop and then we headed back to Auckland which we got back around 5pm. Karthik is the best guide you can have - super friendly, attentive, never rushing, and always sharing fascinating information with great recommenations. We highly recommend this tour (10/10!) and we are excited to go on another tour ExperienceKart offers when we come back in the future.

First, Karthik was an excellent guide. We were picked up promptly at our hotel, and were provided a snack bag and water. He was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of info. As we were lucky to be on a tour with just 4 ppl total, we asked a lot of questions as well. As far as the attractions - after researching various options we chose a combo of the Ruakuri and main glowworm cave. The Ruakuri was more interesting as we got to see more of the cave. I definitely recommend doing more than just the main glowworm cave - that itself is very brief. Although the glowworms are cool, it’s not worth the 3 hour drive from Auckland to just do a quick spin in a boat. If I were to plan myself based on what I know now, I’d do all 3 of the caves and stop at the Kiwi farm nearby, but as a first visit I’m happy with what we saw. Overall very happy with the tour.

Our guide Karthik was amazing! We were lucky to be the only two on the trip and Karthik was full of interesting information. He was extremely friendly and very personable and even drove us to a nice spot for lunch. The caves were also amazing, the formations were other-worldly. We would definitely go with him again!

We had a great experience! The booking was easy and the operator did a great job communicating any changes before pick up. The bus was clean and there was a little gift bag of snacks for each of us, which was very appreciated throughout the long day. Karthik was very pleasant and very knowledgeable about the area. the tours and Aukland overall.

My family and I had an amazing experience! We had so much fun we decided to book another tour with ExperienceKart. Kart was so patient and well informed. He really made our first trip to New Zealand a wonderful time. I will use him again when I return to Auckland. The experience was great, we had a small group which allowed for us to take our time. There was a nice snack bag provided for us. I really enjoyed it.

We were lucky enough to be the only two with Experiencekart Tours that day. We felt really special with their comfortable car and the snacks provided. Our driver Karthik was amazing really informative, helpful and professional. The caves were spectacular. The glowworms were great to see. Hearing the different stories told with passion is what made the tour fantastic. Such a great tour highly recommended!

A very convenient and well-priced tour to check out the Waitomo Glowworm Caves from Auckland. We had a great experience. Not only the convenience of being picked up and dropped off at your accomodation, but also had a very accomodating guide with a lot of local knowledge too. I would recommend this company to anybody visiting Auckland. 👍

I did the Waitomo Glow Worm and Raukuri Caves tour and both caves were amazing…both great in their own unique ways. The former is cool as you take a boat ride and get to see a lot of glow worms twinkling in the dark. The latter is awesome as there are many different limestone formations and they have light inside the cave, plus you get to take photos which you normally can’t in other glow worm caves. We also visited the Hamilton Garden on our way back…very pretty and great photo opportunities. Kartik was the best…very friendly, accommodating and thoughtful. The tour vehicle is very clean and looks brand new. He even gives everyone a baggie of snacks and bevvies. Would highly recommend this tour and ExperienceKart!

the driver was friendly. The caves are beautiful, there is a lot of glowworms, guides are nice. You can do this trip even if the weather is not good. I have also ad the kiwi house, I'm very happy to have seen kiwis and other birds you can only see in New Zealand.

Feels magical to be inside these caves with glowing blue light above us. Feels peaceful and out of these world experience seeing these magical creatures, only to be found in New Zealand.

For us, visiting these two caves was one of the highlights of our holiday. We strongly recommend booking the combination ticket. If you only visit the Waitomo caves, you miss a really great experience. Thanks to our two guides, Wi and Sasha (?).