Waitomo Caves, Rotorua and Te Puia Small Group Tour from Auckland

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. 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.

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2. 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.

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3. 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.

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4. 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.

   1 hAdmission included

5. Arriving at our second feature destination, Te Puia, you will receive a fully guided 90 minute 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.

   2 hAdmission included

6. Nga Manu Ahurei is Te Puia’s native bird enclosure, where you can see New Zealand’s unique native birds up close, including the elusive kiwi. Learn about these precious species and the conservation work helping to protect New Zealand’s native wildlife.

   10 minAdmission included

7. Pohutu Geyser is New Zealand’s largest active geyser, erupting spectacularly several times a day and reaching heights of up to 30 metres. Located within Te Puia, it’s an impressive display of Rotorua’s geothermal power and one of the region’s most iconic natural attractions.

   10 minAdmission included

8. 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.

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9. Sadly we must start to head north again but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip to Auckland with secret stops along the way.

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Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 759 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Great Aukland adventure

  An all day event that was great from Beginning to end. Timmy our guide provided safe travels from Aukland to Rotorua. Great advice and suggestions. The glow worm event was first and well worth attending. The Māori culture event was equally good. Loved the surprise stops along the way.

  lisahN9033MESeptember 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Great way to spend a day!

  This was a very cool experience! The caves are stunning in their own right, and add the glowworms (plus a little signing from the guide)...it was truly spectacular! The geothermal park was also cool to watch - albeit stinky! But that's nature! It's a long day but our guide Timi made it fun and interesting! Definitely recommend doing!!

  JulzPoulzSeptember 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Amazing experience

  The trip was awesome, the guides are super nice and friendly. They added very interesting information beyond the trip including what we saw in the way, Auckland and the local culture.

  paulaeB3646HIAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Great tour experience

  Pick up was great. Driver was right on time. Hanoz was knowledgeable about the area and the sites we visited on our tour. He kept the group engaged and his banter was friendly. The glow worm caves were spectacular. At Te Puia, we learned a lot about the Maōri culture. This activity seemed a bit fast-paced...wish we had more time to enjoy the area, learn their customs, and experience the hot springs.

  Vanita_WAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Absolutely wonderful experience with Cheeky

  We had an absolutely wonderful experience with Cheeky! Everything was so well organized, and the experience was even more special thanks to our guide, Grant! He was truly exceptional, incredibly patient, kind, caring, and clearly someone who genuinely loves what he does. Grant was so knowledgeable, but what stood out the most was the way he connected with us and made everyone feel comfortable. You can really tell when someone is passionate about their work, and Grant is exactly that kind of person. He went above and beyond to make the experience memorable for us. If you book with Cheeky, I highly recommend asking for Grant. He is honestly the best guide we could have asked for! Thank you, Grant, for making our experience so special. We will definitely remember it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  camilavS4310EQAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Outstanding tour

  John was amazing. He was very friendly and made sure everyone had a great time. There was a fair bit of driving and he did an excellent job of balancing talking to us, whether it was to point something out or play some silly game, and just being quiet and letting us enjoy the scenery. The sites themselves were exceptional. The glowworm caves were everything I hoped they'd be and more, and I really enjoyed Rotorua as well. Strongly recommend this tour.

  bonniebF6953FAAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

Know before you go

How it compares in Auckland

• Its from-price is 17% below the median of the 356 day trips we list in Auckland.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 6 of 356.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, spreads across an isthmus between two harbours, dotted with volcanic cones, beaches and island-studded bays.

The Sky Tower rises above the central city and the waterfront, where the Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter are lined with restaurants and yachts, fitting Auckland's nickname, the City of Sails. Mount Eden and One Tree Hill, two of the many volcanic cones scattered across the city, give panoramic views.

Top-ranked sights in Auckland: Auckland Harbour Bridge, Waiheke Island, North Head Historic Reserve (Maungauika).

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