Paihia

Glow Worm Caves and Waterfall in Bay of Islands Express Tour

Name: Glow Worm Caves and Waterfall in Bay of Islands Express Tour
Brand: Bay Of Islands Tours
SKU: 44648P7
Price: 94.34 USD
Rating: 4.5 (19 reviews)

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Bay of Islands Express Glow Worm Caves and Waterfall Tour

2 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

All Admission Fees

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Bay of Islands isite Visitor Information Centre
The Wharf, 69 Marsden Road, Paihia 0200, New Zealand
Outside the I-Site Bay of Islands - please wait by the wooden dolphin. If you are off a Cruise Ship - Take the free shuttle bus into town and the meeting point is right there.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Kawiti Glowworm Caves

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Haruru Falls

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps

Most travelers can participate
Travel time is included in the total tour duration.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 49 travelers

Operated by Bay Of Islands Tours

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Melinda_H

Kawiti Glow Worm Caves were amazing, the Maori wahine tour guides were awesome. Phoenix sang a beautiful waiata, a very personal touch.

Reviews

4.5

19 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 19 reviews

Natural wonders of the world

Somnath_C, Apr 2024

Outstanding experience must visit and yes it's family friendly. Toilet facilities are rudimentary though

A spiritual experience.

Ruth_R, Apr 2024

Most memorable was actually managing to get there in time for the excursion. Ship tendered and it was all very slow. Then we had to get a shuttle bus to the town. I made it with 3 minutes to spare. The glow worms' cave is a spiritual place and very interesting. Would have been better if the three young guides had taken a small group each. Overall a good day.

Great no fuss tour.

Melinda_H, Apr 2024

Kawiti Glow Worm Caves were amazing, the Maori wahine tour guides were awesome. Phoenix sang a beautiful waiata, a very personal touch.

Great cruise ship stop tour

Alfred_M, Apr 2024

This was a great day off ship tour and I recommend this to everybody who has a full day off of a cruise ship

Beautiful but slow

Elisabeth_E, Mar 2024

We were on a bus full of people and there were other large groups at the glow worm caves which really was too many in the caves. It was quite slow getting through but it was a great display of glow worms. The driver was informative and polite.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

We are glad you still enjoyed the display of the Glow Worms, they are quite magnificent! Thank you for the feedback and we will pass your feedback onto the Caves. ~ Rebecca

Lots of hanging about

Sarah_P, Mar 2024

A disappointing tour. The glow worm caves were good but they made up about 40 mins of the 3+ hours of the trip. There was so much hanging around right from the beginning when we were waiting for our tour guide who was late to the end.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thanks for your feedback Sarah. We see you were on our Express Glow Worm & Waterfall 3hr tour where the guided portion of the Glow Worm Caves is normally 40 minutes. It sounds like there may have been a bit of a wait due to the influx of visitors from the Cruise Ship, which was one of the biggest visiting this season. We hope you still enjoyed the rest of your trip! ~ Rebecca

The tour is not well organized

Alfred_C, Mar 2024

The overall tour was average as the tour guides weren’t giving clear instructions along the way. There weren’t enough light lanterns to show the way for customers making more difficult for elder people to follow and walk the path. The best part was the driver who took good care of everyone during the tour.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello Alfred, we are pleased to hear our driver took good care of you on the Express Glow Worm tour! We will pass your feedback onto the Glow Worm Caves. ~ Rebecca

A great tour!

Wendy_H, Mar 2024

We enjoyed our tour to the caves and waterfall. We knew nothing about glow worms so it was interesting to learn about them. We also liked that it was a family business operating the cave. The Haruru waterfall was also beautiful. We liked that the tour was just a few hours because it gave us time to also walk through a farmers' market held that day in Paihia as well as walk through the shops there.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

We are thrilled to hear you had a wonderful day with us, and that you managed to get to the market in Paihia! That's one of the perks of the 'Express Glow Worm Caves' 3 hr return tour... it gives you a little extra time for shopping! ~ Rebecca

Good glow worm viewing

Annette_P, Mar 2024

Very easy tour to see the glow worms. Waterfall was not spectacular but it was a nice setting. The glow worm cave had a boardwalk & a number of people carried lanterns. Can not take pictures.

Great Experience!

James_P, Feb 2024

Dyson the driver is very knowledgeable and friendly. Rebecca who checked us in and handled a change in our scheduled time is great! The glow worms were awesome, but just a lot of people in the cave. That was the only negative, but had nothing to do with this tour company. A lot of companies there.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you for your review! So glad you enjoyed your day in the Bay with Dyson, and that I could accommodate your schedule change! ~ Rebecca

Amazing

JACQUELINE_P, Jan 2024

It was a truly amazing experience. The rock formations were beautiful And as for the glow worms it was an amazing sight to behold.Our guide was a very spiritual man telling us about the history of the caves and his past generation.would highly recommended

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you for taking the time to write such a lovely review. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us. Thank you again, Chloe

Don't miss the glow worms!

Ramona_V, Jan 2024

Don't miss this experience with the glow worms! An enchanting walk through the caves, and explanations of the glow worms life cycle greatly increased understanding and enjoyment. I really like the Maori emphasis on the need for natural balance. Looking up at the glow worms was beautiful!

Response from Host, Jan 2024

What a wonderful review! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We're so pleased to hear that you had a fantastic time, and hope the rest of your holiday was just as wonderful! ~Rebecca

Great

Michael_B, Jan 2024

Much more dramatic than expected. Well organised , on time , good driver . Would recommend visiting the caves .

Response from Host, Jan 2024

We're delighted that you had a great trip and we exceeded expectations! Many thanks Rebecca

It’s ok.

Kityee_N, Dec 2023

The glow worm cave site was interesting and worth visiting. Yet the transportation was not what we expected. When we booked, it was arranged to be a private tour. But we ended up traveling with 2 other parties.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thank you for your review. You may be confusing this tour with another tour booking you had while in NZ? We don't have an option to book this tour privately. I have checked all the booking information and can confirm we didn't speak directly about any private tour arrangements. Perhaps a misunderstanding? I am glad you enjoyed the Glow worm caves!

very enjoyable tour

Jane_M, Dec 2023

Seeing the glow worms were great very easy walking and it`s owned by a local family who runs it and then to the waterfalls were great

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thank you for taking the time to review your experience. We are glad you enjoyed everything!

Disappointing

David_S, Oct 2023

Very disappointing. I was expecting something similar to Waitoma caves. Also the “waterfall” is nothing more than a slight drop over a 4 ft edge

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hi David, We are sorry to hear you were underwhelmed with the destinations visited on this tour. The glow worm caves are usually the highlight of all the tours we run in the Bay of Islands, we certainly don't compare them to Waitomo Caves, as that is a different experience all together and a 7-hour drive south of where we are located. Our little town is proud of our horseshoe shaped waterfalls; however, I can understand you may have certainly seen larger ones amongst your travels throughout the years. Although there is nothing we can do to change the shape or size of the Glow worm caves or waterfalls we visit, we hope you at least enjoyed the commentary given along the trip by our driver/guide. Kind regards, Chloe

Truly wonderful experience

Michelle_D, Oct 2023

Such an amazing walk-through caves seeing the "Milkyway" glowworm's, learnt so much history made interesting by a descendant guide. I was there about 20 years ago and back this time and completely happy we went. Such a beautiful place, seemingly untouched by tourists. I highly recommend coming here over and over again. The trip there was fantastic, being early paid off as guide took us to Kawakawa and wow! such a treat, got to see a train run through the center of town. Also, the local artist art was on display for all to enjoy. The falls were amazing to see so well. A+++ Thank you to all that made this happen :)

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Thank you for your lovely review! We are so glad you enjoyed your tour and Dyson your guide was able to make it a memorable trip for you!