Duration
3 - 3.5 hours
Type
Guided tour
Group Size
Up to 8 guests
Difficulty
Moderate
About This Tour
Our private “Off the Beaten Track” glowworm experience is designed exclusively for your group—perfect for families, friends, or small teams wanting a more personal connection with Waitomo’s hidden cave systems.
With your own guide, the experience moves entirely at your pace. Take your time, linger a little longer, and explore without interruption — just your group, the caves, and the glowworms.
Set within a rare karst landscape we’re proud to protect and restore, this is nature in its most untouched form. No crowds, no handrails, no paved walkways, no artificial lighting — just the freedom to experience it your way.
Expect to scramble over boulders, navigate uneven terrain, and wade through shallow streams as you explore deeper into the cave system. A moderate to good level of fitness will help you get the most out of the experience.
Why Choose This Tour
Rated #1 on Tripadvisor
We’re TripAdvisor’s #1 rated activity in Waitomo, with hundreds of 5-star reviews from travellers who call our glowworm caves the highlight of their trip to New Zealand.
Beyond the Crowds, Closer to Nature
Forget the crowds and commercial tour buses. Our small-group cave tours (max 8 people) take you off the beaten path to where glowworms shine brighter in their natural surroundings — an intimate, unhurried experience that lets you truly connect with nature
The Waitomo Cave Tour Nature Intended
Venture into private caves hidden in the hills of Waitomo — untouched, unspoiled, and alive with glowworms. This is caving as it was meant to be: immersive, awe-inspiring, and a little bit magical.
Small Cameras Welcome
You’re welcome to bring a small camera or phone to snap a few memories — something most glowworm tours don’t allow. Our small-group approach helps protect the glowworms’ delicate habitat, and our guides capture great shots of you beneath the glowworms too, which we’ll send after your tour.
Step Into a Rare Natural Jewel
As you explore, your guide will share how this rare karst landscape works — and how our restoration efforts help protect the caves, waterways, and native species that depend on it.
Family Run Caving Adventure
You’ll be welcomed into our farmhouse for some proper Kiwi hospitality. Our family has lived in Waitomo for over 100 years. We grew up exploring the incredible glow worm caves and pristine native bush on our family farm, and now we love sharing our piece of
paradise with new friends.
How To Find Us
Down to Earth is located at 1199 Oparure Road, Waitomo District.
If you enter our official address (1199 Oparure Road, Waitomo District or Te Kuiti, depending on your GPS), it might take you past our entrance—about 500 meters too far!
We’re not sure why, but most GPS systems struggle to find us. So, trust our signs over your GPS when you get close!
Approximate Travel Times
We’re a small team, so we don’t offer pick-ups, but the Waitomo Information Centre can help with transport options.
- 25 min from Waitomo Caves Village
- 20 min from Te Kuiti
- 25 min from Otorohanga
- 1 hr from Hamilton
- 2 hr 40 min from Central Auckland
- 2 hr 30 min from Auckland Airport
- 2 hr from Taupo & Rotorua
Unforgettable Experience
Down To Earth was an excellent stop on our tour of showing family and friends around NZ. The tour guide, Ash, made the experience unforgettable with a great dose of kiwi humour and extensive knowledge of the caves to go along with it. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a great experience off the beaten track.
- Hamish M
Great cave and glowworm tour!
If you want a small and personalised experience, this is the one to do. Ash (the guide) was great, fun and knowledgeable. The hot cuppa and bikkies at the end was the perfect way to finish the experience.
- Marty Wiles
Extraordinary Once in Lifetime Glowworms
Choose this tour. Been on others and this is so much more. TONS of time in cave - no rush Pics with glowworms no charge. Experienced guide, Ash, knows SO much about the caves and glowworms. Beautiful countryside farm and scenery. Lovely short stroll through beautiful woods and hills into and out of caves. Its tops notch with a family touch.
- bvillebox
Absolutely incredible experience!
Ash was a great guide, and we had an amazing time. The group was small, which was ideal. The cave was incredible, and the glow worms were epic! 10/10 would recommend.
- Eamon Huijgens
Even Better Than the High Expectations We Had Going In!
Without a doubt one of the bestest, funest, most uniquest things we did during our month Down Under (and we crammed lots of terrific things into this trip)! The cave alone with its subterranean features, river, and eels was a spectacular adventure. But wait, there’s more: the Glowworms! Simply extraordinary. Like looking at the night sky on a pitch-black night.
- Rick S
5 star experience!
If you're not an adrenaline junkie and want a small group, genuine and natural experience then this is the place to go - you will get wet feet, you will clamber over boulders and you will squeeze through some narrow gaps - but that's all part of the fun. Ash was a fantastic guide, sharing his knowledge and passion for the caves and, making sure we were safe at all times.
- Helen Standish
10/5 stars!
This is honestly one of the best tours I've gotten to go on in my life! It was filled with amazing scenery, extraordinary species (glow worms, eels, and crawdads, oh my!), and maintained the perfect balance between epic adventure and a relaxed pace. Their commitment to conservation was also apparent from the get-go.
- Victoria Felt
Challenging, exhilarating, fun!
We loved our private cave tour! Unique experience & certainly not like the 'normal' cave tour. Ash was a fantastic guide - fun, competent & encouraging. Loved all the pics he took for us & his personal knowledge of the caves. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
- Happiness
Thank you for a great memory we will treasure.
My friends and I had a great experience with Down to Earth. Ash made the tour a lot of fun and was always mindful of everyone’s safety. We were able to fully explore some the cave in a small group setting, and were allowed photographs which most other tours do not permit. They also took pictures of our group to fully capture the moment.