What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• An exceptional and truly unique experience. Highly recommend!

  Kannon1017,,Dec 11, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  My husband and I had an amazing adventure with The Waitomo Experience. Our guide, Ollie, was knowledgeable, kind, and professional. He outfitted us with great gear, and we stayed surprisingly warm throughout the tour. He also captured photos along the way and shared them with us immediately afterward. As an amateur photographer, I am usually busy recording everything, so it was a treat to be fully present and immersed in the moment. Hearing the story of how his father and a friend discovered Okohua Cave made the experience even more special. Ollie ensured we were always comfortable and never pushed beyond our limits. We chose The Waitomo Experience because it felt more intimate and off the beaten path—and it absolutely delivered. We had the cave entirely to ourselves and saw countless glowworms. Ending the tour with a soak in the cedar hot tub was a nice finishing touch. An exceptional and truly unique experience. Highly recommend!

• ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely Outstanding Waitomo Experience

  jemmafarrell,,Dec 11, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely Outstanding Waitomo Experience We absolutely loved our Waitomo adventure yesterday — what an incredible experience from start to finish. The set-up is fantastic and impressively professional, especially considering the business is new this year. The location itself is stunning, and it was heartening to learn that the cave is on the family farm where the owners grew up. It adds a really special, personal touch. Communication beforehand was excellent, with prompt and clear emails. When we arrived, Olly welcomed us warmly. He was knowledgeable, reassuring, and genuinely attentive to members of our group who weren’t as confident. He explained everything clearly, never rushed us, and created a relaxed, supportive atmosphere the whole way through. The onsite facilities are great — clean toilets, hot showers, and even lovely shower gel provided. There are free lockers for your belongings, which is super handy. All you need to bring is your swimsuit, a towel, socks (highly recommended!), and a sense of adventure. Oh and the Cedar hot tubs to relax in at the end - what a treat! A lovely surprise was that Olly also took photos for us during the experience (as cameras aren’t allowed in the cave). Even better, he sent them to us right away after the tour — completely free of charge. Such a nice touch. The experience itself was fantastic. We suited up in wetsuits, jackets, helmets with torches, and gumboots (all provided), then took a short walk to the cave entrance. From there, we climbed down a sturdy 7-metre ladder — safely with a rope around us — and immediately saw glowworms as soon as we reached the bottom. A magical start! Throughout the tour, we walked through ankle-deep water, chest high water, explored drier sections of the cave, clambered over rocks, slid down a few on our bums, ducked beneath stalactites, and even wriggled on our stomachs through a narrow gap that opened into a pool on the other side — such a cool moment. The cave varied between wide, soaring chambers and fun narrow passages, keeping everything exciting but never intimidating. As the cave deepened and darkened, we reached the chest-deep water where we floated along using a rope for support. At no point did we feel unsafe — Olly kept a constant eye on us, and the small group size (maximum of six) made the experience wonderfully personal. Several times, we switched off our lights completely. Sitting in total darkness as our eyes adjusted and thousands of glowworms slowly appeared all around us was truly special. Olly shared fascinating insights into their life cycle and also interesting facts about the cave formations and history, and answered all our questions with enthusiasm. About halfway through, we were given tubes (rubber rings). You could jump backwards into the water in them — great fun — or simply ease yourself in from the side. We linked together like a long chain and floated gently through the cave, headlamps off, watching the glowworms overhead. It was silent, peaceful, and utterly magical. We had such a good time. While the experience isn’t overly strenuous (we’re middle-aged and reasonably active), you do need an adventurous spirit and some confidence in water and enclosed spaces. We stayed surprisingly warm, apart from slightly chilly feet — socks definitely help — and the hot drink and piece of chocolate halfway through were a very welcome treat. All in all, this was an excellent experience — one we wholeheartedly recommend and hope to return to again soon. Jemma & Grant ZigZag Tours

• Amazing experience!

  Shauna F,,Nov 24, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Very fun and adventurous activity. It was so much fun exploring the caves and the glowworm sightings exceeded my expectations. Great company to book with!

• Definitely put this on your must do list!

  Z9891AIleanned,,Nov 6, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The most amazing experience of caving! Spectacular glow worms lighting up the caves in their natural environment. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, helpful and experienced. He led us safely through the incredible passages and waterways. Was nice to stop for a hot drink and chocolate. Good pace and fun to float in tyre tubes and buoyant wetsuits. Loved every minute of this experience, well worth every cent. 100% recommend.

• Waitomo experience review

  598tessat,,Nov 1, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Loved the tour. Our gide Vaughan did a great job at making everyone comfortable and could tell a lot about the glow worms, caves and everything we found on our way. Would definitely recommend it!

  

• Bucket list!

  Ollienz13,,Aug 21, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  The Okohua Glowworm Cave adventure was incredible! Exploring underground with thousands of glowworms lighting the way felt magical, and the guides made the whole experience both safe and exciting. Finishing the tour in the cedar hot tub under the trees was the perfect way to relax and take it all in. The small private group only 4 of us made the experience super special with no rush and plenty of time to explore the cave properly!