Available languages
2 hours 15 minutes
Mobile ticket
The fascinating Te Anau caves system on the western shore of Lake Te Anau offers an underground adventure that charms visitors of all ages. This tour takes you to a mysterious underground world of rushing water before drifting in silent darkness beneath the luminous shimmer of thousands of glowworms.
Please be sure to arrive 20 minutes before your scheduled departure to check in.
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children aged 0-15 must be booked with at least one adult.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Te Anau Glowworm Caves
View glittering glowworms in an underground cave system.
Lake Te Anau
Take a scenic cruise across beautiful Lake Te Anau on the luxury catamaran Luminosa to Cavern House on the lake's western shores.
Complimentary Tea & Coffee
Lake cruise on Lake Te Anau
Food and drinks, unless specified
Hotel pickup and drop-off
920 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
johnbN5696CN,,Dec 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
The Glow worm caves are a unique experience. You walk through a cave with a river flowing through it in mostly darkness. You enter a small boat that is pulled around through the cave in silence. The glow looks like little stars or LEDs on the celling and sides of the cave. For us, it was well worth the cost. I don't think you will find many other places to experience them.
581subhashc,,Dec 8, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
Very well organised and informative trip. Cave experience was great. Very unique experience. Presentation after the cave trip was also very interesting.
marywD2704FW,,Dec 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
Pleasant your guides and boat ride. Overall experience was not worthwhile. Cave time was a bit sensationalized . Walkways and darkness are not very accessible or safe for seniors. Our female guide did not have a microphone and was compensating with a high pitched screeching voice which was unintelligible in the echoey cave.
Brenda M,,Dec 6, 2025
- Review from Viator
Not about the Glow worm for us it was all about the cave! Wonderful experience and the staff were all professional, kind and knowledgeable.
Kathy N,,Dec 2, 2025
- Review from Viator
Very organized, good information about the Glow worms, their life and how they live and glow. Boat trip over and back from Te Anau was pleasant. Hot drink after caves and vefore the short educational presentation was well likjed - nice short walk through the natural forest
Jacqueline M,,Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
The tour was very informative and interesting. They broke you into small groups to make the tour more intimate and so everyone could hear the guide.
Brintell,,Nov 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
I heard from several people that the glow worm caves are a must see. But the only time on the 2 1/2 hour tour that we saw any glow worms was ten minutes, and they were few and far between, nothing like the pictures. I was expecting the cave to be illuminated with hundreds of glow worms. Not so much. The rest of the tour was walking through scary caves, and then a little nature walk and talk. I'm glad I went, but in reality, it was nothing much.
Ian S,,Nov 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
Cancelled at last minute, due to heavy rain leading to too high tide. Couldnt re-book due to other commitments that day. Told by RealNZ to sort out refund directly with Viator as bought through a third party. To be fair, although I had to phone Viator to get a response from Customer Service, the nice lady did this really quickly once she had phoned RealNZ to get confirmation that the tour had been cancelled. Quite an inconvenience all round, but all sorted in the end.
Lisa F,,Nov 26, 2025
- Review from Viator
You transfer to the caves via a 30 ish minute boat ride. Where you proceed to walk over terrain that may be challenging to some and not to others to the cave environment where you do have to duck down to pass through certain areas through the cave. You may get dripped on and then you ride a small boat in complete darkness to see the glow worms in their habitat. You then walk back through the cave and dodge a few more formations by ducking and see a cave waterfall. You then watch a presentation about them to learn how they operate before returning to the boat for a 30ish minute very smooth boat ride (when we did it the lake was like glass)

cricketer20,,Nov 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
We enjoyed this well-organised excursion. We had a lovely boat trip across the lake. We were divided into small groups for a presentation followed by the tour of the caves, which included a short boat trip in the dark (very dark!). The glow "worms" were interesting but we also enjoyed the caves with the waterfalls and streams.
Operated by RealNZ