Top Things to do in North Island
Top Hotels in North Island
What to do and see in North Island, New Zealand: The Best Caverns & Caves
Discover the best top things to do in North Island, New Zealand including Nikau Cave, Footwhistle Glowworm Cave, Aranui Cave, Ruakuri Cave, Caveworld, Kawiti Caves, Abbey Caves, Waiohine Gorge, Mangaone Caves Track, Waipu Cave.
Restaurants in North Island
1. Nikau Cave
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 132 reviews
Reviewed By olibiddle - Manchester, United Kingdom
You WILL get wet, you WILL have to crawl army style on hands and knees, this WILL be through the small gaps and water, you WILL love it! Things to remember, the clothes you have on will get wet and dirty, take a spare of everything and a towell ( there's a room to get changed in after, no frills), no photos in the caves (pretty standard for glow worm caves), Nikau caves provide helmets and waterproof touches. Fantastic guide Phillip ( the farms owner) take everything he says with a pinch of salt he enjoys a laugh but his knowledge of the caves is great listen to his advice and direction and you couldn't be with a safer pair of hands. We booked via email day before, really easy. Also nice snacks available and good coffee after, again nothing special but well needed and just what youll be after.
2. Footwhistle Glowworm Cave
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 69 reviews
We are a locally owned and operated glowworm cave tour based in the heart of the Waitomo Caves Village. Footwhistle Glowworm Cave is located on our private farm and was developed over many years. Our family run tour company ensures that your experience of Waitomo's unique ennvironment is a memory to treasure. We take a maximum of 11 guests per tour and we also allow photography
Reviewed By 84jeannetteb
‘Ross the Boss’ was our awesome guide for the Footwhistle Glowworm Cave experience. His mix of passion, knowledge and humour made this one of the best local sites to visit in Waitomo. A private family run business that is truly about making this a perfect, intimate experience. The visit is topped off with kawakawa education and tea. The caves themselves are a real delight and the family’s understanding and work towards the ecology of them is a credit to them. Highly recommended.
3. Aranui Cave
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 170 reviews
Reviewed By 29Kathie - Christchurch, New Zealand
Enjoyed our cave tour, very pretty inside, great tour guide, we did 2 caves including the glowworms boat tour
4. Ruakuri Cave
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 872 reviews
Reviewed By Hulij - New Zealand, null
Absolutely recommend Ruakuri Cave. We did the 90 min walking tour of this amazing cave. Hannah our guide was superb and so enthusiastic, really made the tour for us. Great engineering feat with the spiral entrance way and saw loads glow worms close up, better than the boat trip tour of Waitomo Cave we did straight after this tour. Able to take loads photos too. Kids loved it. A must do!
5. Caveworld
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 452 reviews
Caveworld offer two fantastic tours with the aim to create memorable caving and glowworm experiences for all our customers. Either choose our fun-filled black water rafting adventure Tube It, or bring your family and friends along and join our Footwhistle Glowworm Cave Tour, a relaxed one hour guided walk down through glowworm displays and formations. We are A family-run, locally owned and operated business, Cave World specialises in providing the personal and professional touch on our authentic Waitomo tours, with over 10,000 satisfied visitors experiencing our unique piece of New Zealand each year.
Reviewed By Paradise33065083454
The Footwhistle Cave is owned by a local family and is an excellent tour as well as being exceptional value for money. We were met at Waitomo Village by Ross (the Boss) and taken by van to the cave on private property. This is a very safe and educational tour with thousands of glow worms and a very good spoken history from Ross. The tour is followed by a refreshing cup of freshly brewed Kawakawa tea. We took three children with us and they thoroughly enjoyed the tour. I recommend it.
6. Kawiti Caves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 454 reviews
Reviewed By Kiwiana13 - Christchurch, New Zealand
While touring Northland we decided to stop at the Kawiti caves to see the glow worms. This is a whānau run operation, as our guide Summer explained - this cave is on land held by her whānau for hundreds of years. We waited in the picnic area for the tour to start and were entertained by a few cheeky piwakawaka that seemed almost tame, they came so close. Summer guided us through the caves, explaining the features of limestone and the glow worm lifecycle. The three main caverns have varying numbers of glow worms; the most spectacular is the middle cavern- the Milky Way. We could see the glow worms up close by the light of the lanterns provided. At the end of the tour Summer sang a beautiful waiata in the Milky Way cavern- such a magical experience! At the end of the cave tour, we explored the bushwalk. Overall this was well worth the entry price!
7. Abbey Caves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 160 reviews
Reviewed By SIXOCLOCKTICKET - Bentley, United Kingdom
Found this place pretty much randomly, but so glad we did. We weren’t prepared so we probably missed some of the best bits. We had phone lights, head torches would have been better, and trainers, where water shoes would have been better. So we didn’t wade through the deeper water. However that said, we had an amazing time. We went about halfway through Organ Cave, the entrance of which we missed at first, but the glow worms were fantastic when we turned the lights off. The going was pretty easy to get to where we did once we decided we were going to get wet feet anyway. The Middle Cave, in between the other two, we managed to get all the way through. The exit was pretty tricky, but felt great when we conquered it. The Ivy cave we climbed into down the water falls/cascades, but weren’t up to the water which is about 1m deep we reckoned. All the caves had great glow worms and rock formations and stalactites and the adventure was just AMAZING!!
8. Waiohine Gorge
9. Mangaone Caves Track
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
10. Waipu Cave
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 133 reviews
Reviewed By watts2311
Absolutely loved this experience. I was recommended to go here by a local and I’m so glad I did it. Drive down gravel road for 10 mins, Fairly big car park with a public toilet & free overnight camping option for self contained. Enter through the cave as seen in the picture, walk across the stream to the left and follow it through. Quite an easy walk through the cave, don’t have to go too far to see the glow worms. highly recommend taking a head torch for ease, if not I used my phone light, worked fine to see where I was stepping. I wore wellies and friends wore trainers - wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet as you walk through about 2/3 streams inside to cross over. Shortly after us there was a guided group going through about 1pm so made us feel at ease that we weren’t alone and going along the right track. 100% do this!!
