Te Anau Glow Worm Caves Tour

Great morning out with the family - boat across the lake then a tour through the caves. The tour guides were very knowledgeable. The kids loved the hot chocolate at the end.

Booked a morning tour with RealNZ when I was in Te Anau. You leave from the office which is in the centre of town on the waterfront. All the staff are very friendly and helpful. Our guide when we got to the Glow Worm caves was Nathan and he was lovely. As always I advise booking direct with the local company rather than going through a third party site. RealNZ also do trips to Milford Sound. We boarded the boat on time and it is a quick 30 minute trip across the lake in comfortable seats on the boat. There are toilets and a refreshments bar on the boat. When you get to the caves you are split into smaller groups. Sadly you cannot take photos when you are in the caves although you can get some photos of a waterfall on the way out. If you are afraid of the dark, this is not for you. There is also a small tunnel at the start of the tour to get into the caves where you need to walk bent over for about 15 steps - the height is 1.15m. I have arthritis and walk with a stick but found it no problem. There are also hand rails throughout which is great when it gets really dark. You then have to get into a small punt to see the actual glow worms - this is totally in the dark, the punt seats about 12 people. Wear a waterproof with a hood as there are times that the water drips through onto you while you are floating in the darkness through the caves. You don’t get off the punt, but return slowly to the start. Once you have finished in the caves, you are taken to a visitor centre and given tea, coffee or hot chocolate until all the different groups have finished their tour. I would recommend this trip to anyone visiting Te Anau.

Fewer glow worms in the winter months, so that was a bit underwhelming. But the boat ride and walking through the caves was cool.

Best learning experience Good group size Knowledgeable and informative staff

We took the 4.30pm boat across to the caves..25mins. We were split in groups of 12, our guide was Abigail & we were the 1st to ho into the cave. It is low in some spots, we walked through & got on a boat, it is pitch black. We quietly drifted through & saw a lot of gloworms.

Very popular trip. Lovely ride across the lake to the caves. Very well organised with knowledgeable guides giving a full presentation prior to entering the caves themselves. Magical boat ride around the caves in silence so you can really appreciate what you're experiencing. A 'must do' trip. Don't miss it

Very well organized activity. Beautifully presented to get maximum effect. Going onto these beautiful caves with a stream running through it and seeing these millions of glow worms was other-worldly.

Short but pleasant cruise across the lake in comfortable boat and friendly and informative hosts. Cave tour awesome. Small group, great leader. Cave is noisy with rushing water but the glow worms are fantastic. The in cave boat ride is fun and quiet - quite meditative. After the tour, the presentation on glow worms is really informative. Free tea and coffee.

The actual experience is fantastic, Niall was a brilliant guide and the tour was really informative and well organised. The glow worms were well worth the trip and it was a lovely idea to have hot drinks afterwards. One slight negative was the boat trip over, the trip itself was fine and I recognise the guide was very young, but the delivery was in a bored monotone that meant anyone who was even slightly hard of hearing couldn't hear what was I'm sure an interesting talk about the area. A lesson in delivery would mean everyone could hear and be engaged!

The fee was ment to be $170 tax included but ended up being $290 BIG difference.