Waitomo Caves and Rotorua Day Trip from Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand

See all the highlights of the Waitomo Caves and Rotorua in one day. You'll take a guided tour of Waitomo Caves stalactites and glowworms, and see Rotorua's bubbling mud pools and geysers, and make many other interesting stops along the way.

At Waitomo you'll take a guided tour through the long galleries and lofty chambers to view stalactites formed over thousands of years by the constant dripping of water. Your caves tour includes a magical boat ride through the glowworm grotto, illuminated by thousands of glowworms suspended from the cave ceiling.

Next stop is the the Agrodome for a hands-on Kiwi farming experience. You'll see sheep mustering by highly trained dogs, sheep shearing demonstrations and receive an insight into the history of dairy farm milking. Don't miss the opportunity to milk a cow, feed young animals or even be photographed with a huge bull!

Then it's on to the famous Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve to see the renowned silica terraces, bubbling mud pools and unique geothermal vegetation. Exploding from the ground up to 100 feet (30 meters) high is the world-famous Pohutu Geyser, which bursts into life 10-20 times a day and has been a visitor attraction since the early 1900s.

You'll also visit the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, to see how traditional carvings and weaving record history and customs in the Maori sacred meeting houses.

Special Offer: Book this Waitomo Caves and Rotorua Day Trip for travel until June 30, 2012, and receive a FREE Auckland City Morning Tour. Your 3-hour comprehensive tour by air-conditioned coach takes in all of Auckland's major sights including  Auckland Harbour Bridge, Viaduct Harbour, Queen Street, Mt Eden, Auckland Domain, Parnell Village, Tamaki Drive, Michael Savage Memorial. Your FREE Auckland City Tour must be taken within 7 days of the date booked for the Waitomo Caves and Rotorua Day Trip.

Special Offer - Special Offer: Book this Waitomo Caves and Rotorua Day Trip for travel until June 30, 2012, and receive a FREE Auckland City Morning Tour - Book Now!

USD $248.35

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Weiting Y	April 2012
I wish they allow us to take photos in the caves but I do understand the reason. No complains. It is a fantastic trip, especially those glow worms. What a view. And the Geyser, Oh, my, you had to go and see for yourself.

Review by: nell	March 2012
long but great and informative

Review by: JM	March 2012
Like everyone else said, the bus ride is long and takes up the most part of the day._br/_ The trip consists of basically 3 attractions: glowworms, a farm (at which you see sheep shearing and a sheep dog in action), and a Maori show at a thermal spot (if you're lucky, the geyser will spout when you're there).

Review by: Desmond S M	February 2012
Very good day out with a friendly and knowledgeable driver. Waitamo glow worm caves were good to see and we quite enjoyed the farm, but Rototua thermals and mud pools are spectacular. The only downside is the amount of time on the road (approx 3 hours each way). Although the scenery is excellent after 2 weeks travelling New Zealand we were in scenery overload.

Review by: Donna E	January 2012
Excellent! We had a great time. The staff were fantastic. I only wish I had more time to explore the Caves and Rotorua. Waitomo Caves should be on everyone's must visit list when they come to New Zealand.

Review by: Sabrina M	January 2012
The caves are wonderful, the agrodome was very funny and interesting and the Rotorua region was awesome...

Review by: Joshua S	January 2012
The tour included many great things to see around New Zealand. The glow worm cave boat ride and the Maori cultural show were the highlights for me. The only downside to the 1 day tour was there was lots of driving (around 6 to 7 hours) and not a lot of time to browse the gift shops or venues otherwise the tour would miss one of the stops.

Review by: Ruby K	November 2011
Beautiful and amazing!

Review by: Ron	November 2011
worth doing

Review by: david w	October 2011
My Husband and I had a fantastic day John our guide was very imformative and friendly._br/_ Couldn't fault any part of the day.

Review by: John M	September 2011
Excellent trip, there is a lot packed into this day. The only complaint was not enough time after the individual attractions to browse shops.

Review by: JoannaMM	September 2011
Very enjoyable day with a lot packed in.

Review by: Pat Moljen	August 2011
Excellent!

Review by: Sridhar J	July 2011
The trip was awesome. The day was planned well and we had a great time .

Review by: Radar	June 2011
To be honest I didn't read all the things that we were going to do on this trip, we just wanted to fit as much as we could in the time we had. This tour was very well organised. From the pickup in the morning to every activity on the day, to lunch and morning and afternoon tea on the coach. Everything ran like clockwork. The driver was excellent, the coach was comfortable, the food was excellent and I initially thought this was expensive, but after having completed the tour, it was worth every cent. The admissions alone would have cost us more than half the cost of the tour. A big day, but an excellent way to fit as much into the day as possible.

Review by: Sanjaykumar G	May 2011
Once in a life time experience to visit to Waitomo caves and visit to Rotorua is awesome. Strongly recommend for this visit and very nice experience with experience guided tour.

Review by: zlot	May 2011
Waitomo Caves and Agrodome were very interesting to see but there was definitely not enough time to explore Te Puia by the end of the day. We could see Pohutu Geyser exploding in 15 min but we were pushed to come back to the bus. It is also better to stay in Rotorua and spend a night there instead of driving back to Auckland the same day. You spend really a lot of time on a bus and it is exhausting. Additionally we had a very arrogant bus driver. His name was Malcolm as far as I remember. His attitude almost ruin my great impression of New Zealand.

Review by: Naery C	May 2011
It was well organized.

Review by: COLIN S	May 2011
Long day, early start. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon snack provided on the bus. Comfortable and informative - but the driver did go on a bit too long about the type of cows there were in NZ!

Review by: Chris H	May 2011
We had a great trip on this tour.

Review by: Allen C	April 2011
My confirmed reservation for 4/20/2011 was incorrectly in the tour operator's system as 4/20/2012. When I called to confirm on 4/19/11, they told me I had to call Viator and gave me a number. I called this international call (expensive) only to be told by the recording that Viator will only take email communication, which would be take too long.. In desparation I called back, the 2nd person at the tour operator was creative and managed to find our reservation in the wrong year.

Review by: Steven K	April 2011
Loved it. great tour and fantastic people

Review by: MJoy1212	March 2011
Great day spent in the North Island of New Zealand! The bus driver was knowledgeable and shared a lot of facts on our way to the Waitomo Caves. The caves and the glow worms themselves were great, even though we couldn't take pictures inside. The Maori cultural show was an entertaining way to learn about the culture. And although the geyser wasn't giving us a show and the kiwis didn't come out of their burrows, it was a good day(although long day spent on the the bus).

Review by: David W	January 2011
Excellent trip despite the weather! The visit to the Glow Worm Caves was amazing as the history of the Maori people. The Rotarua geysers ended the trip and we managed to get some photographs despite the very heavy rain..

Review by: Diane D	January 2011
The trip was very good... setting it up was not as good. Make sure you book with a few days to spare. They sent an email the evening before the trip that they had to rebook us, but we were on another adventure. We received confirmation when we re-booked for another day, but we couldn't just jump on the bus. Also, you must check in (long queue) so get there early and stay in line - that isn't stated clearly. We were then told to stand to the side (15 minutes) and had to wait until everyone else checked in before they allowed us on the bus . Frustrating as we were told we had a confirmed reservation. The trip itself was good, not a lot of time for the gift shops, but we saw a lot.

Review by: Laura M	December 2010
A long trip but with a great variety of things to do on the programme and at the right timing. Would certainly recommend it to people like us who want to stay based in Auckland but still see things in the North Island.

Review by: rebafan99	December 2010
Food provided was very good. Sites we stopped at were well worth seeing, but won't take the day trip again through that tour company. We found it not very well organized for the travel part of it. Were told to be ready 10-15 early for pick up from hotel and pick up was 10 mins late! Were taken to the bus terminal for larger traveling bus and had to wait another 30 min. for other travelers! Bus terminal was just two blocks away from our hotel. We could have walked to terminal and slept another 30 minutes! Because of the late start, we felt like the bus driver was rushing us all day at each site we stopped at. The toilet on board had no soap and started to smell bad later in the day. Would love to see the sites again, but stay over a couple days in Rotorua so we wouldn't feel rushed.

Review by: norma e	December 2010
long day - glow worm cave very good. Felt rushed through Rotorua - might be better done as two separate trips.

Review by: Helena G	October 2010
I had a wonderful time! I will have lots of fantastic memories from this day. Special thanks to our tour guide Peter who was very friendly, informative very knowledgeable. He talked us through any interesting things we passed by on the bus, and he was overall a big part of what made our day so great.

Review by: Jorge A C	September 2010
A must do.....

Review by: Daniel J	September 2010
Everyone should see those glow worms. I highly recommend it.

Review by: Barbara M	September 2010
good tour but long day. recommend it.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
Our trip was wonderful. It was well planned and everything was perfect.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
Good trip, have a lot of fun

Review by: Carlos T	August 2010
Friendly staff, excellent local knowledge, very entertaining

Review by: Matthew M, Australia	June 2010
The Driver was very helpful and informative, it helped make the day very enjoyable!

Review by: Carolyn S, United States of America	June 2010
It's a long day, but worth it! You get to see some amazing countryside along the way. One tip - if you're coming back to Auckland, bring some snacks because you won't get back until after 8pm.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	May 2010
Was a great Experience full of surprises & beautiful places & friendly People.. No Regrets & Cant wait to go back to New Zealand!!

Review by: Suneeti J, India	April 2010
Wonderful tour. As we were just the two of us girls, it was a very safe trip. Very punctual and the driver was extremely kind and helpful. The caves are awesome and a must see for all.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	April 2010
very good trip, bus pick up on exact time.

Review by: Eric R, Australia	April 2010
Well organised, tour guide informative. A busy day with a lot packed into it, lots to see and do in an interesting part of NZ. Food provided was a nice touch and good food too.

Review by: Michael K, United States of America	March 2010
A long day but it was the only time we got out of the city. Seeing the caves, sheep farm which was unexpectedly fun, and the Maori show made for a fine day.

Review by: Vincent K, United States of America	March 2010
This was an incredible experience. However, contrary to the description on Viator.com, we did not get a chance to milk a cow. Te Puia was fascinating, with its mud pits and geysers and Maori ceremony. And the stop at the Hobbiton sign in Matamata was a treat. The drive was very scenic, and the driver/tour guide was very informative. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a sample of what New Zealand has to offer. My only suggestion: I noticed that some of the people who boarded our bus in Auckland got off at the Waitomo Caves and did not continue with us. The driver said that they were going to stay overnight, so they could do the Black Water tubing, which is something I would really have loved to do. It would be nice if that kind of package were available - bus from Auckland to Waitomo, overnight there, and then pick up the next day's bus for the rest of the tour.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	March 2010
Great trip if you have a short time in Auckland. It is a long day, but the sights were great, and the tour guide was friendly and knew lots of information about NZ.

Review by: Jonathan E, United States of America	March 2010
Long day but relaxing, driver was great lots of info, funny and a great guy all round. I wanted mainly to see the caves and Rotorua and would have been happy to miss the farm for extra time at these locations. Back in Auckland by 8pm in time for an evening meal and walk.

Review by: Naresh C, United States of America	February 2010
Glow worms in the Waitomo Caves are a sight to see, and travel through the countryside was very scenic.

Review by: Roy S, United Kingdom	January 2010
A very full day, and very enjoyable. Great value for money.

Review by: Michael B, United Kingdom	January 2010
Long day and lots of travelling to combine all aspects of this trip, but it was well worth it. The glow worm caves were astounding, and the thermal springs in Rotorua amazing. This one-day tour will probably whet the appetite to return for more. The coach and driver were first class, and the driver's rhetoric was memorable.

Review by: Travel B, United States of America	January 2010
This was the best tour that I booked on Viator! The day is fun filled and packed with so many exciting things to see!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	December 2009
Waitomo Caves were really nice and the glow worms were fantastic. I was disappointed we didn't get a chance to exit through the bottom of the caves since it rained a lot. The Agrodome sheep farm was a lot of fun since we got ot fed the sheeps, alpaca lamas, deers, and ostriches. The tour itself was great. Then we headed to the Maori museum and checked out the geysers and mud baths. Overall, it was a great tour.