Te Anau Glow Worm Caves Tour
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Te Anau, New Zealand
- 2 hours 15 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
See the glowworm caves of Te Anau on an underground adventure sure to charm visitors of all ages. An informative guide joins you on the tour, which starts with a cruise across Lake Te Anau. Then marvel at the shimmering illumination of thousands of glowworms as you glide through the quiet darkness of this magical underground world.
- See the glow worms and beautiful rock formations on this tour from Te Anau
- Enjoy a return cruise trip on Lake Te Anau
- Friendly and informative guide
- Warm up with complimentary tea and coffee
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Multiple departure times means this tour can fit easily into any itinerary.
What's Included
- Lake cruise on Lake Te Anau
- Complimentary Tea & Coffee
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- RealNZ | Te Anau Glowworm Caves85 Lakefront Drive, Te Anau 9679, New Zealand
Please arrive at the RealNZ Visitor Centre, 85 Lakefront Drive, Te Anau at least 20 minutes before your scheduled departure.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Meet your informative guide at the tour office to begin your 2 hour and 15 minute tour of the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. Start with a scenic cruise across Lake Te Anau before continuing underground to the cave system, located on the lake’s western shore.
Upon arrival at the Cavern House, listen to an interesting talk about the life cycle of the glow worm as well as the history of the caves. Your guide leads you on an exploration of the caves by footpath and small punt along the rushing underground river.
Observe water-sculpted rock formations and drift into the glow worm grotto to marvel at the mysterious sight of thousands of tiny glow worms. Learn what feats of nature create the incandescence in the silent darkness.
Afterward, you’re returned by boat across the lake to Te Anau.
Upon arrival at the Cavern House, listen to an interesting talk about the life cycle of the glow worm as well as the history of the caves. Your guide leads you on an exploration of the caves by footpath and small punt along the rushing underground river.
Observe water-sculpted rock formations and drift into the glow worm grotto to marvel at the mysterious sight of thousands of tiny glow worms. Learn what feats of nature create the incandescence in the silent darkness.
Afterward, you’re returned by boat across the lake to Te Anau.
1
Te Anau Glowworm Caves
2 hours 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Lake Te Anau (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- Children aged 0-15 must be booked with at least one adult.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 72 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Abhijeet_V
We visited as a group of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) and all loved it. The glowworm experience in the caves is magical and the educational video afterward about the glowworm lifecycle was fascinating. The ferry ride also has great views. The guide was entertaining. Highly recommended.
Reviews
4.5
based on 1,059 reviews
Bree_B, Mar 2026
It’s was a wonderful experience. My partner and I, didn’t know what to expect but even with small patches of glowworm clusters, it was breathtaking. The silent boat ride allowed you to really take in the scenery!
Kimberly_T, Mar 2026
I was not expecting the glow of the worms to be like fiber optics but it is what it is. Cave was quite nice as well as the dark boat ride.
Ali_A, Mar 2026
A beautiful and informative session looking at glow worms. An excellent activity for all the family to participate in.
Steve_S, Mar 2026
Well organised and very attentive to all participants. We had a lovely day with a smooth crossing and the Captain and mate controlled everything well. Once at the cave the instructions were clear and concise and what to expect was well explained.
Everyone on the tour had an excellent time and it really looked like the staff enjoyed the experience as well.
Julie_B, Mar 2026
Nice boat ride over but seemed to spend more time in a side room waiting for other groups to go before us which cut down the time we had in the caves which seemed minimal. Guide was very knowledgeable but not the experience we expected for the cost. No photos allowed so cannot post any on thus review. Pictures on website don't really reflect experience
Sally_Y, Mar 2026
This was a very interesting tour into the glow worm caves. Be prepared to be in the dark and be able to handle tight spaces. Once you get through the tunnel it is well worth seeing these little creatures.
Grace_C, Mar 2026
Impressive and unprecedented. The tour guide's clarity and enthusiasm were truly exceptional. I recommend everyone to take part in this tour.
Hoa_N, Mar 2026
Excellent tour and very well organized! First time visiting a glowworm cave and our whole family was pleased with the tour! Te Anau is very charming little town! We took a RT bus via Tracknet from Queenstown.
Martyn_G, Mar 2026
Great few hours on this trip from the boat ride to the guided cave tour all first class. Tight squeeze in some places and one very dark walk added to the experience.
Doug_J, Mar 2026
Very nice, streak, and fun adventure. Well worth it. We were lucky to have moderate weather. Though I could se it might not be nearly as enjoyable in stormy weather.
Sharon_R, Mar 2026
I chose this as my only glow worm experience in NZ and am glad I did. I really enjoyed everything that surrounded the glow worms much better than the glow worms themselves. There’s a lovely boat ride to the caves. The caves themselves are beautiful with rushing water through them. You do have to duck down quite a bit under a few rocks before the caves open up with high ceilings so it may not be great for those with mobility issues. The glow worms themselves were underwhelming and not represented correctly in their pictures. The glow worms do not illuminate the cave like that. You sit in a small boat in complete darkness and look up at little blue dots. So I enjoyed the cave and cruise but not so much the star of the attraction.
Phoebe_K, Mar 2026
Seeing the glow worms was fascinating. The tour was great, giving a bit of a rundown on what to anticipate as well as allowing us to walk through the cave. My 4 year old daughter especially was fascinated and mesmerised by the sights and sounds of the cave.
Koen_v, Mar 2026
Fantastic experience! Beautiful boat trip, wonderful guides and magnificent glow worms in the caves!
Nicola_M, Mar 2026
What a great experience. It exceeded my expectations. Knowledgeable guides and very well organised.
Loved going on the little boat through the underground caves and seeing so many glowworms
Elinor_B, Mar 2026
Expect very dark caves to allow you to see Glow worms. Insightful presentation and hot chocolate to finish
David_J, Mar 2026
Not just looking at the glowworms, which are fascinating, but the boat trip to get there was great with wonderful scenery and the cave itself was a delight all on its own. They also took the trouble to educate us a little about the things we saw which was very interesting. Highly recommend.
RubySiganporia, Mar 2026
The tours were very well organized. They flowed smoothly one after another. The boat tour was picturesque. The information was good. The nature walk, though very short was quite informative. But the placement of the passengers in the final boat in the cave was rather inconvenient for viewing the glow worms. The similar tour at Waitomo had better seating to view the glow worms.
Nisarg_T, Mar 2026
Enjoyed entire experience- getting on the boat to reach the caves, walking into the caves and getting in boat inside the caves. The tour guide and the video at the end to explain about the worms was very good.
Mike_W, Feb 2026
YOU CANT TAKE PHOTOS OR BUY A PHOTO AFTER THE TOUR. This should be clear BEFORE YOU GO!! We may not have gone if we'd known beforehand, felt cheated! Underwhelming overall
SandraPatricia_F, Feb 2026
Fantastic
It's great actually seeing the glow worms in their natural space.
The staff had good knowledge and was able to answer everyone's questions
Also the trip over on the boat was lovely
Cannot fault it at all,
This is my 2nd trip over and would defo do it again
Michelle_K, Feb 2026
Really was a great experience seeing the glow worms, and very different, so long as you don’t like dark narrow spaces. The cruise boat to reach them was a lovely 25minute ride across the lake and the after talk, interesting
As normal in NZ the whole operation was slick but for two things. 1. Because of the noise of the water rushing through we couldn’t hear the guide. So either she needed to have a microphone or we needed headsets. 2. At times the ceilings in the caves are very low, especially at the entrance, but then it was difficult to see where we could stand up straight so small lights on the ceiling would have been very useful.
Diana_S, Feb 2026
Great tour, very thorough and well presented. We learned a lot. The tour was set up in a way that gave each small group of 16 people access to the glowworms in a calm and beautiful way.
Avon_M, Feb 2026
It was absolutely brilliant. All the staff encountered were exceptional and the knowledge they have is amazing
shomisaraj, Feb 2026
We had a great evening with RealNZ guides as we traveled through lake Te Anau and walked through this unique cave system w rushing water below us and glow worms above us! Highly recommend this activity in the Te Anau area.
Abhijeet_V, Feb 2026
We visited as a group of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids) and all loved it. The glowworm experience in the caves is magical and the educational video afterward about the glowworm lifecycle was fascinating. The ferry ride also has great views. The guide was entertaining. Highly recommended.
deborah_c, Feb 2026
A truly unique experience. Right on schedule. Well run tour. All employees we interacted with were wonderful. The glow worms were fun to see and learn about.
Eva_H, Feb 2026
Wonderful tour, not only for the glow worms, but also for the waterfalls, cave, and boat ride across the lake.
Very interesting tour, highly recommend it.
Not very suitable for those with mobility problems, as quite a few stairs.
Guide was terrific🤗
Mudita_B, Feb 2026
Very unique experience. Loved the walk in the caves and learning about the Glow worms . The tour team was very helpful.
Stephen_F, Feb 2026
Taking pictures is not allowed, but none of the literature spells this out in advance. There is not nearly as many glowworms in the cave as is advertised. We were told that in December, there was only about two handfuls of glowworms. Even on February 15, the glowworms were sparse. The glow worms numbers are determined by the lifecycle of the glowworm. We felt that this was well over sold and in reality we would skip this, had we known what it was like. We saw other travelers pictures of different glowworm caves that were much better and they were allowed to take pictures.
Jim_M, Feb 2026
Outstanding tour. Highly recommended. The facility is well planned and informative. The tour is wonderful. Well worth the time.
From $75.79
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Te Anau Glow Worm Caves Tour
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