Spend a magical evening kayaking on Lake Rotoiti, where you visit glowworm caves and have plenty of time to soak in natural hot springs before a barbecue picnic dinner. Paddle with an expert guide into lakeside caves only accessed by boat to see glowworms and crayfish, then revel in the sunset reflected on the tranquil waters. Instruction, equipment and round-trip hotel transport from Rotorua are all included.

Evening kayaking trip on Lake Rotoiti with visits to hot pools and glowworm caves, from Rotorua
Soak in natural hot springs during a visit to the southern lakeshore
Feast on a picnic barbecue dinner at the hot pools
Stop to see glowworms and crayfish at two caves only accessible by boat
Includes all equipment and instruction from an expert guide, no experience necessary
Hotel pickup and drop off is provided

What's Included

Kiwi BBQ dinner
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
All specialist equipment
Full training
Department of Conservation Fees
Hot Pools Entry

Gratuities
Towels can be hired for NZ$2.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

River Rats Raft & Kayak
837 Te Ngae Road, Ōwhata, Rotorua 3074, New Zealand
Hangar 14s, Take the driveway on the left as you come into the airport. Go past the first few hangars and you will see a big raft & kayak on the side of the building and free parking out the front.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

03:30 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Complimentary transfers from central Rotorua commercial accommodation. We do not pick up from private addresses such as Air BnB

What To Expect

After hotel pickup in Rotorua, you’re transferred to the kayaking headquarters for a safety briefing and paddle instructions provided by an experienced guide. From the launch site at nearby Lake Rotoiti, don a life jacket and climb into your kayak to paddle at a leisurely pace across the picturesque lake.

Follow your guide past holiday homes that sprinkle the lakeshore, and learn about regional history, Maori legends, and New Zealand's native flora. About halfway into your kayak excursion, arrive at natural hot springs where you can soak and swim in the pools fed by Lak Rotoiti's thermal waters.

At the hot pools, dig into a barbecue picnic that may include steak, gourmet sausages, a choice of salads and dessert.

After dinner, paddle to several caves that can only be reached by boat. Be mesmerized by the light of glowworms illuminating cavern walls, then continue to a second cave inhabited by koura—small freshwater crayfish. Marvel at the sunset reflected on the water and, as evening turns to dusk, follow your guide back to the boat launch.

Back at the base, you can change into dry clothing before being transported back to your Rotorua hotel.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Please bring swimwear, shorts and a towel

Maximum of 20 people
Near public transportation
Minimum age is 5 years
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

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

ewan m

Highly recommend this excursion. Initial kayak paddle was slightly difficult against the wind. The hot springs were fun and there was opportunity to swim in the lake too..warm! Tasty BBQ meal. By the time we headed to the cave it was dusk and calm on the water. An amazing experience paddling on a quiet calm lake at night...topped off by seeing the glow worms Highly recommend.

Reviews

5.0

51 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 51 reviews

Fabulous evening kayak

Cathy_S, Mar 2024

Beautiful lake to kayak across, great hot springs to soak in, delicious bbq and an awesomegloworm experience. Excellent attentive abd knowledgeable guide with the best equipment.

Wonderful time on our...

Linda_W, Apr 2023

Wonderful time on our kayaking trip! The equipment was all in excellent condition and the meal was delicious too!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for your lovely review.

Amazing Experience - Highly Recommend

Andra_B, Apr 2023

We had an amazing time on this Kayak tour! Our family of four enjoyed every moment from beginning to end (even the rainy moments). Swimming at the lake by the hot pools was a highlight for our 14 year-old, and our 15 year-old still talks about the stories we got to hear as we paddled from place to place. Thank you River Rats for such a great day!

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you for your awesome review

Kayaking in Rotorua

Christine_C, Mar 2023

Our tour was changed to morning due to not enough people. We had a great time kayaking across the lake beautiful weather. Spent an hours soaking in the hot springs, so relaxing. Our guide Justin was so helpful and gave a great commentary on our tour. Thank you Justin.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thanks for your great review and for being flexible, glad we were able to make something work for you.

Great trip, great guide

debbie_f, Mar 2023

It was a lovely trip. We were lucky with the weather, the shower happened whilst we were in the hot pools.

Fabulous experience!

Chloe_L, Apr 2022

It was a beautiful experience, both energetic with the kayaking, interesting culturally with the local Māori stories, beautiful with the glow worms and relaxing with the lakeside hot pools! The bbq dinner was a nice bonus!

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thanks for your awesome review. Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip.

A great experience

Nick, Mar 2020

We had an amazing day kayaking to the hot pools, delicious dinner, glow worm caves, and night kayaking under the stars. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Thank you for taking the time to post a review. Great to hear you enjoyed the trip.

Evening kayak

Hemant_R, Mar 2020

Absolutely incredible evening which exceeded all expectations would highly recommend to any e who is looking for a unique way to experience Rotorua

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Thank you for your review.

Highly recommend

Beatrice_W, Feb 2020

This was really an excellent tour. We were a group of 5 + our motivated guide Ricky. He did a super nice job and everything what was included was fun. I highly recommend this tour. Thanks Ricky for an unforgettable afternoon/ evening 😀👍

Amazing Sunset!

Michael_L, Mar 2019

We had to chang the date of our tour because of low demand the day we first selected, but we were able to do it and totally worth it.

Nice small group activity. It was a...

Zach_N, Feb 2018

Nice small group activity. It was a relaxing evening.

Highly recommend this...

ewan m, Feb 2018

Be ready for quite a ride around the...

hutoxi a, Jan 2018

Be ready for quite a ride around the cave. Our guide was amazing and made a wonderful bbq for us. Prepare yourself for the exertion of the event and be in good physical shape ready to take on the lake. The day we went out it was a bit choppy but when we got back it was a bit dark and much calmer.

The only reason I rated it so low is...

Charles P, May 2017

The only reason I rated it so low is that we had it scheduled, and they apparently didn't have enough to run the trip. However, we went on the rafting trip from the same vendor, which was great.

Amazing day/evening on Lake Rotoiti...

Janine C, Mar 2016

Amazing day/evening on Lake Rotoiti, really enjoyed the kayaks, hot pools and BBQ. Would high recommend this to others. Note that we went with our 6 year old who loved it.

Great fun, good guide and equipment...

Vicky S, Feb 2016

Great fun, good guide and equipment and relaxed BBQ too. Value for money and perfect way to end a day

This was an incredible tour. Justin...

Tim F, Feb 2016

This was an incredible tour. Justin was amazing. Kayaking across the lake, hot springs, the sunset, glow worm caves, and a fantastic barbecue. We had a fantastic time. I recommend this evening tour on the water to everyone. Don't miss this fantastic trip and extremely fun outing.