Weekend family trip to Waitomo to see the glow worms

Author: Auckland for Kids
Last Updated: Monday 10 June 2024
Originally Published: July 12, 2015

We went on a family trip for the weekend to take the kids to see the glow worms and the caves in Waitomo.

Glow worm tour

We decided to book our glow worm tour before we went. I didn’t realise that there were so many glow worm caves in Waitomo, and that there would be so much choice of what tour to take. In the end we decided on Spellbound due to its small group size and its high rating on Trip Advisor

Spellbound drive you in their mini van from the office next to The General Store onto private land for the tour. Spellbound has some kids car seats available, but if they are taken you can transfer your own car seat into the mini van for the short drive. Your guide gives you an interesting history of the glow worm caves on the way out. When you arrive there is a short walk down hill to the entrance of the glow worm cave.

During our walk in the cave we heard about the glow worms life cycle from our guide. The kids learned that glow worms were not actually worms but were insects, and that when they turn into adults they can only live a few days as they have no mouth and can’t eat.

Before long we all got into a boat. The boat ride was not rushed and we had lots of time to admire the glow worms covering the roof cave.

After the glow worm cave, it was time for a hot drink and cookies. Then we went to a second cave called The Cave of the Spirit (Te Ana o te Atua) to see rock formations, moa bones and more. The tracks in the cave made it easy for the kids. The trip was great and not too long (both in distance and time) for our daughters who are 4 and 7 years old. For a young family Spellbound were great.

Accommodation

We stayed at a holiday house called The Waitomo Bungalow in Waitomo Village for our trip. It turned out to be the perfect holiday house for our trip. The house had a retro modern feel and was clean and spacious. It was a cold weekend when we were in Waitomo, but the open fire was set ready for us to light and there were plenty of heaters so the house was nice and toasty. There was a play room with lots of toys that entertained our four year old daughter. There were lots of books, DVDs and a TV to keep the rest of us entertained while watching the open fire. The kitchen was well equipped for cooking and the fridge was full of essential supplies like milk, break, eggs, etc that you could help yourself to.

The house (the grey bungalow in the picture below) was right next to The General Store, so if you didn’t want to make a plunger coffee or breakfast in the morning, you could just pop next door.

If you were travelling with another family it would also work, as the house sleeps 7 people. We would definitely stay here again.

Restaurants

We went to the HuHu Cafe for dinner, which was just around the corner from the holiday house. There was a good range of food on the menu for us and a kids menu that keep us all happy