Waitomo Caves & Rotorua including Te Puia Small Group Tour from Auckland
Overview
Available languages
Waitomo Caves & Rotorua Tour, this small group, fully guided day trip combines Nature, Maori culture and two of the top attractions in the North Island together to form the ultimate day trip from Auckland. Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge, and run in modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety.
Description
Please be aware that while lunch is not provided on this tour, there will be several opportunities for you to purchase food along the way.
Highlights:
· Waitomo Glowworm Caves
· Te Puia Geothermal Park & Pohutu
· Maori Cultural Village and Arts School
· Rotorua City Highlights
Itinerary:
1. Auckland - Your tour starts in New Zealand’s largest city. As we drive out of the city, your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today, but also point out and guide you past some of the city’s top highlights.
2. Waikato – Exiting Auckland we drive south through the stunning Waikato countryside, the most extensive farming area in the world. Encounter stunning scenery, mighty rivers, great photo opportunities, beautiful mountains and several farm animals along the way. During this journey we pass through Taupiri which has many interesting sites of
cultural significance including local Maori burial grounds & cultural totem poles.
3. Pirongia - After passing through rich countryside and learning about some local history and the New Zealand Land Wars we stop in this idyllic little town for a quick coffee break.
4. Otorohanga - Continuing our adventure we enter Otorohanga “The Kiwiana capital of New Zealand”. See all things Kiwi as you pass through this unique and charming town.
5. Waitomo Caves – Arriving at our first feature attraction you will be guided through the ancient and amazing caves seeing many different cave formations including Stalactites, Stalagmites and Lime Columns before descending even further underground for your Glowworm experience. Board your glow-worm boat for a cruise on the grotto river with thousands of Glowworms sparkling above you. Unique to New Zealand for over 120 years, Waitomo Glowworm Caves are a must-see for any traveller.
6. Big Bird – On our way to our next destination, Rotorua, we stop outside Big Bird to see and meet some of our local friendly animals. These guys know our guides well and even though we do not have time to go inside the park, the friendly animals will often come to the fences for a photo or two, thrilling guests.
7. Te Puia Geothermal Park – Arriving at our second feature destination, Te Puia, you will receive a fully guided tour to best experience the geothermal and cultural wonders including: Pōhutu Geyser, Māori Architecture, The National Māori Arts School, geothermal craters, geothermal events and even the chance to view a Kiwi bird in the Kiwi viewing house.
8. Rotorua City Highlights – To finish off our Rotorua experience we do a guided driving tour seeing the most famous sites in Rotorua city including: Lake Rotorua, Rotorua Museum, Government Gardens, Whangapipiro (Rachel Spring) & the Blue Baths.
9. Auckland – Sadly we must start to head north again but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip to Auckland.
Optional Extras:
- One-way option from Auckland to Rotorua
Cancellation Policy
Terms: Tours will only run if at least 5 people have booked on the tour, we reserves the right to alter the tour due to weather or operational needs.
A full refund will be issued for cancellations made a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Fully Guided Small Group Tour
Entry Tickets
Water available & snacks provided
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
Options
Reviews
719 reviews
Excellent day out
sarakY4328VO,Apr 26, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent day trip to Waitomo caves and Rotorua. Our guide, Trent, was brilliant. Very knowledgeable about Māori culture and the region. He made sure we were comfortable, well looked after and had an enjoyable day.
Everything and more
296neridah,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a wonderful day. Was a fantastic group and our driver and tour leader Hanoz was just lovely. Lots of knowledge and incorporated everyone in the day. A big thank you to him. The day itself was long but well worth it, we saw everything that was included and Hanoz added in a couple of other things. Definitely recommend this tour. This is the second time I have used Cheeky Kiwi and would recommended them to any body looking to do a tour in NZ. X
Thank you!
hannahj848,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Seamless booking and logistics and great experience! Thank you to both Simon and Matt for being helpful, professional, knowledgeable guides and also interesting and kind people. Would definitely travel with them again!
AMAZING AND STRESS FREE TOUR
833adyg,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00tour was excellent with a very good tour guide (john) . just hoped that the tour would start with Rotorua 1st then to Waitomo...because at Rotorua there's a Maori dance show that most of the tourist would not want to miss. the last Maori dance ends at 1200hrs or 1230hrs.
An Unforgetable Tour Experience
138ernief,Apr 20, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was great!! The destinations, Waitomo Caves and Te Puia, were amazing. With this tour, we made the most of our short time in New Zealand. Our guide, Jeoff, was very knowledgeable and informative. He not only provided great insight into New Zealand but really made our day with a stop to visit his favorite ostrich. The tour took us to see caves and glow worms, geysers, kiwis and the Maori cultural experience. We could not have asked for a better experience!
Waitomo Caves were fantastic!
TravelDreamDiscoverE,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Waitomo Caves were fantastic! Much more than what I was expecting. The glow worms really put on a show for everyone! Loved walking through the caves and the boat ride was so special. Te Puia was spectacular! Seeing the geyser, watching the kiwis and learning about the school and how the traditional trades are passed on to the younger generations. Jeoff our driver and guide was amazing! Very informative, knowledgeable on every question asked and if he didn’t know the answer at the next stop he found the answer for us! I really enjoyed the little extras along the trip including an ice cream stop recommendation! Highly recommend this tour if you have limited time in New Zealand. This was my second trip with cheeky kiwi and it was just as fantastic as the first!
Astounding tour with the Cheeky Kiwi.
Majed1818,Apr 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Everything was great. Pearl the guide and the guide was so attentive and kind she is very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. Although we missed the HAKA dance that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy the tour. Both Waitamo Caves and Te Puia were new experiences for me. Thank you very much.
Great logistics even I don’t have NZ number
N3811ELcathyc,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00experience: Matt gave us a great tour and took care of us. Admission fee: felt it was expensive but this was the one with most reviews in my research. loved the boatride at waitomo caves the most. Lunch not included. Length of visit: picked up at 6am - 6pm dropped me off, so 12 hrs? Atmosphere: easy and fun especially at the caves! Adventurous. Loved the WiFi and charging on the van. Crowd size: i had 11 joining this tour. Didn’t feel crowded. Staff: thanks cheeky kiwi for replying to my nervous emails. Matt said the code CHEEKYMATT (not sure about lettercase) would give 10% off.
we thank Matt for the...
HiuYan C,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00we thank Matt for the local experience. thanks for having a WhatsApp group i was scared of missing up and did not have local number. Matt took care of us and made clear explanation and drove us. we stopped at a cafe for breakfast, time to get your own lunch at te puia. Some chips along the way and water. it’s a little cold inside the cave. And steps inside, no photos allowed. Loved the boatride. recommended for adults or people who can control themselves when visiting the kiwi
Excellent Tour
Ronny E,Apr 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The tour was a full day but well worth it. We had enough rest stops and good food stops. The glow worms and Maui cultural area tours were both excellent. Our guide, Dave, was excellent. He addressed everyone’s needs and provided all with information relative to our excursions.
From A$350.29
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