Te Anau Glowworm Caves vs Waitomo
Te Anau vs Waitomo glowworm caves: the same glowworm, two settings. Prices (NZD 154 vs NZD 85 adult), tour lengths, group sizes, photos and Spellbound, compared in October 2026.
Te Anau and Waitomo show you the same glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa, so choose by where you are: the Te Anau Glowworm Caves for the South Island and Fiordland, Waitomo for the North Island between Auckland and Rotorua. The difference is the setting. Te Anau is a boat across a lake, a young cave loud with a river and a small grotto, about 2 hours 15 minutes in all; the main Waitomo Glowworm Caves tour is a 45-minute walk and boat ride in a larger, older-established cave. The Te Anau tour is from US$73 a person (checked October 2026).
Side by side
| Te Anau Glowworm Caves | Waitomo Glowworm Caves | |
|---|---|---|
| Island | South, Fiordland | North, Waikato |
| Getting in | A boat across Lake Te Anau; no road | By road to 39 Waitomo Village Road |
| Tour length | About 2 h 15 min, lake crossing included | Allow 45 minutes |
| Adult price, direct | From NZD 154 | NZD 85 (child NZD 39, family NZD 217) |
| Group size | Up to 12 per guide | Up to 23 per boat |
| Cave temperature | 8 to 12°C | 16°C year round |
| Photos inside | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Access | Low entrance, steps, wet walkways | Handrails and paths; no wheelchair access |
| Who runs it | RealNZ, the only operator | Discover Waitomo |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways for Waitomo's column.
Prices and details from RealNZ and Discover Waitomo, October 2026. The Te Anau tour on GetYourGuide is from US$73 (checked October 2026).
How they feel different
Te Anau is a small expedition. The crossing takes you to the roadless western shore of Lake Te Anau, the cave is about 12,000 years old and still being carved by its stream, so the first part is loud with whirlpools and an underground waterfall, and the grotto is reached by small boat in silence. Groups are capped at 12 per guide.
Waitomo is the classic. Visitors have been guided through it for more than 130 years, the cave is reached by road, and the visit is shorter and more developed, with handrails and paths. Boats take up to 23 people. Discover Waitomo also runs Ruakuri and Aranui caves nearby, where photography is allowed, and combo tickets that pair them with the Glowworm Cave.
Spellbound and the smaller Waitomo caves. Around Waitomo, other operators run their own glowworm caves on private land, among them Spellbound, which takes small groups to a glowworm cave by boat, and adventure caving with wading and scrambling. They are worth knowing about if Waitomo’s main cave feels too busy.
Which one for you?
Pick by where your trip goes:
Te Anau Glowworm Caves
The lake crossing, the river cave and the grotto by boat, from the lakefront in Te Anau.
Check departures →Hobbiton and Waitomo Day
Auckland Scenic Tours: the Hobbiton Movie Set and a 45-minute Waitomo Glowworm Caves tour, lunch and Auckland pickup.
See the Waitomo day →Spellbound Glowworm Caves
Expedigo's small group from Auckland to Spellbound's glowworm cave and Te Ana o te Atua, the Cave of the Spirit, by boat.
See the Spellbound tour →Prices and ratings from GetYourGuide, checked October 2026; operators change prices, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.
Doing both
On a full New Zealand trip, seeing both is not repetition: the glowworm is the same, but the lake and the young river cave of Te Anau have nothing in common with Waitomo’s farmland caves. If you have to choose one, let the route decide. If your South Island plan already has Milford Sound in it, Te Anau is on the way; the caves and Milford Sound shows how to fit both into a night in Te Anau.
See Te Anau departures for your date →
Te Anau facts from RealNZ’s Te Anau Glowworm Caves page and articles; Waitomo prices, tour length, group size, temperature, photography and access from Discover Waitomo’s Waitomo Glowworm Caves page; Spellbound from its own site; all read in October 2026. Tour prices, ratings and inclusions from the GetYourGuide listings, read in US dollars on 29 October 2026.
If You Are in the South Island
The Te Anau Glowworm Caves tour: a cruise across Lake Te Anau, a guided walk past an underground waterfall and a silent boat ride beneath the glowworms, in about 2 hours 15 minutes. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, as listed in October 2026.
Check Te Anau Departures