9 Things to Do in Waitomo Caves
The things to do in Waitomo go well past the 45-minute boat ride. Here are nine, with the time each takes, where it starts and what it costs you.
Waitomo at a glance
Tour prices are in US dollars, entry prices in New Zealand dollars.
| What | Time to allow | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glowworm Cave boat tour | 45 minutes, plus a 30-minute check-in | Visitor centre, Waitomo Village Road | From $49 |
| Ruakuri Cave | Allow 2 hours | Tumutumu Road, a short drive from the village | From $289, inside a day trip from Auckland |
| Aranui Cave | 1 hour | Ruakuri Reserve, 10 minutes’ drive | Closed for maintenance in September 2026 |
| Spellbound | 3 hours guided | A day tour from Auckland | From $197 |
| Black-water rafting | 3 or 5 hours | 585 Waitomo Caves Road | Booked with the rafting company |
| Ruakuri Walk | 45 minutes, 1 km loop | 4 km from the village | Free |
| Waitomo Caves Museum | Open 10am to 3:30pm | In the village | NZD 10 adults |
| Otorohanga Kiwi House | Open 9am to 5pm | 15 minutes north | NZD 29.50 adults |
| Te Anga Road stops | Three walks of 5 to 20 minutes | 25 to 31 km west | Free |
Without a car, you choose between the village, the Waitomo Walkway and a day tour.
Compare every Waitomo Caves tour
Underground: the five cave trips
1. The Waitomo Glowworm Cave boat tour
You walk through the upper chambers, then board a boat of 23 people or fewer under the glowworms. The cave is open daily from 9am to 5pm and the visit takes 45 minutes. You check in at the visitor centre 30 minutes before your departure, and a late arrival forfeits the booking. No cameras go in: the camera rule gives the reason. With your own transport, the 45-minute cave tour with the boat is all you need to book.
2. Ruakuri Cave
Ruakuri Cave is the longer visit, and it has no boat. You go in by a spiral entrance and walk past glowworms on a guided tour sold as 90 minutes, though the cave company asks you to allow 2 hours. Tours leave its own visitor centre on Tumutumu Road from 10am to 3:30pm, and you book ahead and drive yourself. Cameras are allowed in selected areas. Wheelchairs and pushchairs up to 65 cm wide fit the route: see access, cave by cave. Without a car, the twin-cave day trip from Auckland pairs it with the boat tour.
3. Aranui Cave
Aranui is the dry one. No river runs through it, so it has no glowworms. You get an hour among pale brown, pink and white stalactites instead, with a colony of cave weta just inside the entrance. You check in at the Glowworm Cave visitor centre, then drive 10 minutes to Ruakuri Reserve.
Check that Aranui is open first. In late September 2026 it was still listed as closed for maintenance and could not be booked. Ask at the visitor centre, or take Ruakuri instead: see the four caves compared.
4. Spellbound
Spellbound is a separate twin-cave tour, sold as a small-group day from Auckland. You spend 180 minutes on the guided visit inside a day of 9 hours. Read the title before you book. It names the Waitomo Glowworm Cave, but what you get is the Spellbound caves, not the boat ride.
5. Black-water rafting
Here you float through a cave on an inner tube, in a wetsuit. The Black Labyrinth takes 3 hours and has a minimum age of 12. The Black Abyss takes 5 hours and has a minimum age of 16. The wetsuit and tube are supplied, so you bring swimwear and a towel. None of the day tours we list includes it: you book with the rafting company at 585 Waitomo Caves Road.
Two caves in one day, without a car
A pickup in central Auckland, the 45-minute boat tour and a guided 90-minute walk through Ruakuri.
Above ground: a free walk and a museum
6. The Ruakuri Walk, and glowworms for free
The Ruakuri Walk is a 1 km loop that takes you 45 minutes and costs nothing. It follows Waitomo Stream past limestone bluffs, then drops to an underground viewing platform over a natural tunnel hung with stalactites. Expect a lot of steps and low ceilings, so you need good mobility. The car park is 4 km from the village, on Tumutumu Road.
Come back after dark for the glowworms. You can see them on this track at night, best beside the main bridge. Take a torch and stay on the track, because there are steep drops and deep holes beside it. See what the glowworms actually are.
No car? The Waitomo Walkway gets you there on foot. It is 3.3 km and takes 1 hour 15 minutes one way, starting opposite the museum. It crosses farmland and can flood after heavy rain.
Ruakuri means ‘den of dogs’. The chief Tāne Tinorau gave it the name after wild kuri, Polynesian dogs, attacked one of his travelling party while defending their den.
7. The Waitomo Caves Museum
The Waitomo Caves Museum & Discovery Centre is at 21 Waitomo Village Road, within walking distance of the Glowworm Cave. It opens daily from 10am to 3:30pm, though the days can change over winter. Adults pay NZD 10, and children aged 4 to 14 go in free with a paying adult. It fills the gap before your timed departure. For the caves themselves, read Waitomo with kids.
Further out: a kiwi house and a waterfall road
8. Otorohanga Kiwi House
The town of Otorohanga is 15 minutes north of Waitomo, and its Kiwi House is where you see a live kiwi. It opens from 9am to 5pm every day except 25 December, and adult entry is NZD 29.50. Keeper talks are part of your entry, with the kiwi talks at 10:30am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm. Without a car, you can take the day tour from Auckland that pairs the Glowworm Cave with the Kiwi House and Blue Spring.
9. Te Anga Road: a natural bridge, a free cave and Marokopa Falls
Te Anga Road runs west from the village past three free walks, in this order:
- Mangapohue Natural Bridge, 25 km. A 700 m return walk of 20 minutes. A boardwalk takes you under a 17 m limestone arch, and a pushchair can go as far as the bridge.
- Piripiri Cave, 29 km. A 300 m return walk of 5 minutes. Stairs lead you down to a platform in the cave mouth, so bring a torch.
- Marokopa Falls, 31 km. A 20-minute return walk through native forest to a platform facing the 35 m falls.
Fill up first: there are no service stations from Waitomo west.
How much of this fits in one day?
- Ninety minutes. The boat tour and its 30-minute check-in, and nothing else.
- Half a day. The boat tour, then the Ruakuri Walk or the museum.
- A full day with a car. Two caves and the walk, or one cave and the Te Anga Road stops. Driving yourself to Waitomo covers the road and the costs.
- No car. Almost everything beyond the visitor centre needs your own transport. Your choices are a guided waitomo caves tour from auckland, the twin-cave day trip for a second cave, or a private driver hired per group, with cave entry paid on arrival.
For a second attraction instead of a second cave, the Hobbiton and Waitomo tours add the Hobbiton Movie Set.
Questions about things to do in Waitomo
What is there to do in Waitomo besides the glowworm caves?
The Ruakuri Walk is a free 1 km loop, and the Waitomo Caves Museum is in the village. Otorohanga Kiwi House is 15 minutes north. West along Te Anga Road are a natural bridge, Piripiri Cave and the 35 m Marokopa Falls, all free.
Can you see glowworms in Waitomo for free?
Yes. You can see glowworms on the Ruakuri Walk after dark, and the best place is beside the main bridge.
How long do you need in Waitomo?
Ninety minutes covers the boat tour and its check-in. Half a day adds the Ruakuri Walk or the museum. A full day covers two caves, or one cave and the Te Anga Road stops.
What can you do in Waitomo with children?
The museum admits children aged 4 to 14 free with a paying adult. The Mangapohue Natural Bridge boardwalk takes a pushchair as far as the bridge. Black-water rafting has a minimum age of 12 on the shorter trip and 16 on the longer one.
Tours this post is about
The boat tour on its own, the day that adds Ruakuri, the Spellbound caves, and the day that adds a kiwi house.
