Our Caves

Spellbound Glowworm CaveA glowworm paradise

Glide gently downstream beneath a canopy of glowworms and marvel at their increasing brilliance as your eyes adjust to darkness. See these intriguing creatures up close and marvel at their fascinating life.

Spirit Cave - Te Ana o te AtuaA fascinating time vault

Enter an ancient time vault via an abandoned river gorge. Follow the footsteps of Ngati Kinohaku (local Maori 1849), where they led Dr Thompson deep into the cave on a quest for the bones of extinct giant birds.

Our Tours

Spellbound Glowworm and Cave tour

195 minutes approx. Max 12 people.

A personalised tour where you will visit a scenic back-country farm to see both wonderful caves. Marvel at thousands of glow worms as you glide gently downstream in an inflatable raft, and enjoy easy walks through stunning limestone caves and landscape.

  • Adult: $75 NZD

    Group deal: 9 or more adults:
    $67.50 each

  • Children: $26 NZD

    0 to 14 yrs

Spellbound Photographers Tour

240 minutes approx. Min 2 people. Bring a tripod.

For serious photographers - minimum 2 people with a tripod and camera capable of 30 second time exposures. This tour covers the same places as our regular tour, but with adequate time to use your camera in various places, in the time allowed.

  • Adult: $150 NZD

    Minimum price: $300

Spellbound Private Tour

195 minutes approx. Max 12 people, min 1 person.

A private tour just for you... or for you and a special person, family and friends. We offer this tour as our normal Glowworm and Cave Tour. It can be customised for a special occasion or interest. Please book a private tour by contacting us directly.

  • Total: $750 NZD

    Minimum price: $750

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What out visitors have to say

Definitely THE tour to go with! ?? Hop was amazing, very knowledgeable and friendly. They meet at the center of town right next to the cafe so you can use the restroom before you jump in the van for 20 minutes and head to the first cave. They have hot chocolate tea and coffee halfway on the tour with some delicious cookies ?? You can also meet them by helicopter if you want. The groups were of 12 people which makes it very intimate and everyone gets to take a picture. Knowledgeable staff!
Mark Robinson
Mark Robinson
07:57 28 Mar 19
Amazing and intimate tour as there is only a maximum of 12 people. our tour guide was so knowledgeable and friendly, telling us all about the area and the history of the caves. We visited a two caves that are not visited by the normal tourist masses. And the glow worm tunnel was something to behold!! If you are in Waitomo you should definitely book this tour
Freya Howle
Freya Howle
21:03 28 Mar 19
Definitely the best guided glowworm and caves tour in Waitomo, would recommend to anyone visiting New Zealand. Our guide Anna was a local to the area of which there is only 50 locals so she was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and all the cave systems, she was also very friendly and patient. The tour was an easy pace Andrew something everyone could do. Spellbound has access to some incredible cave systems with one that is over 13kms long. There's a great boat ride which you take in the cave that provides some incredible access to see some the most amazing glow worms in the world.
Ryan Mills
Ryan Mills
04:15 25 Apr 19
This tour guide group has a maximum 12 people per tour. We were driven to the cave about 20 mins away. There were two caves we toured; the first by boat, and the second was a trek. The boat ride viewed thousands of glow worms! We highly recommend Spellbound and our tour guide, Norm!!
Christina Rodriguez
Christina Rodriguez
01:16 21 Mar 19
Very beautiful scenery and Hop was excellent. Very knowledgeable and great sense of humour. Tour started very quickly with next to no paperwork. Sign in on tablet and if everyone is present then the tour starts. Small group too (~8 people) so felt more relaxed
David Le
David Le
18:07 26 Oct 19
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See for yourself

Private Tour
Spirit Cave
Spellbound Cave
Sir David Attenborough
Getting the raft ready
Spirit Cave
Feeding an eel in the gorge
Glowworm fly
Glowworm larva close-up
Photographers Tour

Our story

“Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tours” is privately owned and operated by us, Pete and Libby Chandler. We live and work at Waitomo Caves and have been running cave tours here for 30 years. Our guides and reception staff are also locals who have many years of tourism experience between them.

Pete has a reputation for innovation and excellence in cave tourism. He developed Waitomo’s original Black Water Rafting experience. That business has new owners now, but the tour is essentially an unchanged classic which inspired a number of entrepreneurs to launch their own adventure cave tour businesses in Waitomo and the South Island. In 2006, Pete was awarded the MNZM (New Zealand Order of Merit) for his contribution to tourism in New Zealand.

Find out more