We opted to do this private tour rather than the cave tours at Mammoth. We've done a bunch of these all over the country and the folks at the campground highly recommend Crystal Onyx Cave. We got lucky and we were the only 2 people in our tour! Charolay was a hoot and also a wealth of information. We got to take our time and ask lots of questions. Note there are 2 tours: Upper cave (we did this one) and lower cave. I'm not sure if you choose or the tour guide chooses. Either way you won't be disappointed. It's a great experience and I recommend stopping here if you're in the area. read more

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We goofed and forgot to book our Mammoth Cave tickets - but never fear - Crystal Onyx Cave to the rescue. This was a wonderful tour that took about 1 hour. We really appreciated the easy going laid back atmosphere and the cute set up with the aliens, space ships and the nice NOT overpriced gift shop. For a bargain $18 you can get a tour. Our tour guide was also a caver / spelunker and had been guiding for years. Charolais really knew her stuff and kept us entertained to boot. The cave itself was magnificent as far as I was concerned. All the cave things you read about. Stalagmites, stalactites, drapery, columns, large openings, glowing rocks. I really feel like we didn't miss out at all - and had a smaller more personalized experience here than we would have had at Mammoth. Thank you Crystal Onyx for saving this beautiful cave and fixing the infrastructure so others can enjoy it. read more

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We had a great time at Crystal onyx cave! Great to experience a cave- easy walk and super kid friendly. Our guide, Aaron, did a great job and was very warm and engaging. No issue getting a tour and it was only our 5 and one other family. Definitely recommend. Great way to avoid the crowds of mammoth cave and still be able to explore the area and trails! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

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Favorite cave experience in the area! The cave is beautiful and impressive, but the tour guide (male) made the experience not one to miss. He was knowledgeable, funny, warm, and projected loudly for all to hear. The cave has an interesting history too; visit! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave is a must-visit for anyone traveling through Kentucky--an extraordinary underground experience that combines natural beauty, educational value, and genuine hospitality. It's the kind of destination you'll tell friends about long after you've left the surface. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Unbelievable combination of Natural beauty and oddity...welded structure s on site full of curiosity, ET-like characters,a dolphin up in a tree, a mermaid in the woods... read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

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Cave New World Discovered in 1960, Crystal Onyx Cave opened in 1965 as a tourist destination before falling into disrepair and closing in 2009. Fortunately, it was soon bought up in 2010 by new owners Scott & Sara who completely remodeled the place with lots of TLC and re-opened it to the public in 2018. The Good: *Our tour guide, Naomi, was really fantastic, and we were impressed with her gift of gab--especially considering her young age. *Cave is a nice svelte 58°F (14°C) year-round, which is a great escape from the KY heat. *Impressive lighting as this was easily one of the best lit caves we've visited. *All the safety equipment (e.g., guardrails, stairs, trails, etc.) were in tip-top shape. *Amazing rock formations, stalactites, and stalagmites. This place is so different from Mammoth Cave, which is more of a giant tunnel than rock formations. *Good bang for the buck ($18/adults $13/kids) for an approximate 2hr tour that flies by quickly. *Interesting collection of statutes and tchotchkes *Gift shop The Meh: *3% surcharge on CC transactions *Not ADA compliant *Not pet-friendly The Ugly: *There's two different cave tours, but you don't really get to pick which one as it's chosen at their discretion?? I mean, I don't really care, I guess, but it's just a bit odd... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ TLDR: If you're into caves and in town to visit Mammoth Cave, then put Crystal Onyx on your short list of things to do while in the area. #WorthIt read more

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Charolay was a very educational & informative tour guide! I highly recommend the Crystal Onyx Cave in Cave City, KY! You won't be Disappointed! Spectacular views & great geographical knowledge & was a very informative guide! Thank you Charolay! We appreciate it! Sid & Jen read more

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I've visited caves around the world and this one did not disappoint. Jana was our tour guide and she was wonderful. Very fun and patient. There are a few times along the tour where you can interact with the cave and the minerals/crystals that form there. She made it interactive and interesting. There is a gift shop with an assortment of crystals and other items where you purchase tickets. They have porta-potties and plenty of parking. The road to get there is paved. There is a small fee for using a credit card and they offer military discounts. Their website says that there are about 135 steps during the tour. As a nearly 300lb person, I had no trouble climbing them. There were several small children, and my mom, who has bad knees, on the tour and they all climbed and descended without problem. Some of the stairs are steep and some are very wet. I did get a little winded twice, but it wasn't too bad. There was only a few sections where I had to duck down, but even the 6'+ people on the tour were able to duck under without problem. Maybe if you're Shaq you'd find navigating the caves a problem. These caves are family owned and operated. There are some fun and kooky statues and such around the property. I definitely recommend this tour. read more

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My husband and I love seeing the show caves of America and it has become our special thing to do together. This was our 19th cave that we have toured. We have toured all of the caves in Ohio (our home state), Indiana, and Virginia. We have toured some in Tennessee and about half of the caves in Kentucky. Crystal Onyx is currently our favorite tour in Kentucky and among our Top 5 overall. We visited today as the last tour of the day and explored the Upper Level. Our tour guide, Jack, was phenomenal. He is in our top two of tour guides that we have ever had on any tour. He was extremely knowledgeable and told us information that we had never heard before which is hard to do with the amount of different tours that we have been on. He had a super positive attitude and you could tell that he is passionate about the cave itself and loves what he does. He never once tried to rush anybody and was patient even though the tour was encroaching on closing time. The cave humor also gets five stars. The cave itself is beautiful and we loved hearing about how the owners fell in love with Crystal Onyx Cave and all of the hard-work and dedication they put in to restore the cave. The cave has several unique features and our favorite part might've been seeing the cave salamanders. We also loved how the cave darkness portion of the tour is turned into a full experience and the UV flashlight use is awesome! The gift shop and tour prices are also very reasonable and quite honestly a bargain for the length and quality of the tour! read more

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This cave is absolutely beautiful and you can tell the amount of love that the owners have put into this. Our tour had 4 people total, so very laid back with plenty of opportunities for questions. It's definitely "camp" with all of the aliens and other figures throughout the property. I loved the character the property had. There are port-a-johns, but they were clean and well maintained, and it's to keep the cave safe. Our guide was very educated on the different formations. The tour isn't strenuous at all. There is separate RV/camper parking, but the area for RVs was not pavement, mostly grass/dirt and some gravel. The day we went was kind of muddy with recent rain, so we were concerned about our rig's tires/being able to get out. Other than that, this was an amazing experience. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Our family stopped here while passing through and had a wonderful experience. Had called before coming because we are traveling in a 41' class A with our vehicle in tow, and Heather was super helpful and courteous, giving us directions on parking our big rig. Our family of 5 toured the lower cave, and our tour guide (can't remember her name) was patient, knowledgeable and just all around great! First experience in a cave and we were all very pleased. About an hour long and never felt rushed. The place is beautiful and we would gladly come back if ever passing through again! read more

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Crystal onyx cave is an attraction apart of the cave city allure As it is an actual cave. They are not a part of Mammoth Cave. But as there entrance sign says "we are not mammoth, but we are spectacular". We all got a good chuckle out of that. We arrived with a large group as we had our family of 6 and our friends family was 5. Upon arrival they have a very small gravel parking lot. Not much parking available. The outside to the gift shop and tickets admission is pretty cool. They have covered tents and tables with checkers, connect fours and other fun table games. They also have all kinds of cool figurines and statues for picture ops outside of the store and inside of the store. Lots of dinosaurs and aliens. This was a theme for the whole attraction even inside the cave. For my family of 6 we had to purchase 5 tickets (baby was free) and it cost just under $80. Which for an hour long tour with nothing but a small area and walking guide is kinda pricey. Plus they tack on a 3% fee for credit cards which to me is criminal. It actually use to be illegal in Kentucky to make extra profits off credit card fees and I wish it still was. It always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when places do that. I worked in credit card processing for years and Majority of major processing companies have transaction fees well under 1.5 % and even the most expensive processors is under 3. So they are profiting more off the consumer. It's an automatic star lost on a rating from me whenever places do this. Sorry off my soap box. Let's continue.... We had about a 30 minute wait for our tour. Which took closer to 50 min but it was ok the cool picture ops and table games kept us entertained. The tour was really cool. They have an upper and lower tour and we was evidently on the lower tour. Both tours take about an hour. The tour touched upon all the same basic things that every single cave tour does. Such as the difference between stalagmite and stalactite. They all use the same jokes too as well to remember. Stalagmites are on the floor because without a flashlight you "mite" trip over them and the the stalactites hang "tight" to the ceiling. They also did the turn off the lights to show the darkness like all other cave tours do . One unique thing they do is during the lights portion they do have a uv ray light and like a strobe light that they do a few cool things with. Haven't seen that one before so that was cool. The tour Itself wasn't very much walking. You kinda stay in 3 to 4 major areas and you learn about the history there. So more of an informational tour then an exploring one. Our tour guide was the owner and she was super nice and personable. Overall we had a really good time. We've seen quite a few cave tours from mammoth, squire Boone, Indian caverns and fantastic caverns. So we are kind of cave tour vets. But this place was as cool as any of them. Not as big as those but they did have some unique things and the decor was fun for the kids. read more

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Kim was INCREDIBLE. So knowledgeable and endearing! I am claustrophobic and she took extra good care of me.I was blown away by how personable, FUNNY and so well informed she was!! Such an amazing tour with SO much charm and quirk! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Heather was super great for our tour! 10/10 recommend. She was wonderful with kids as well. We will definitely come back.

This place was my favorite! I loved the smaller group tour as it felt so catered to us in our group. This was my first cave tour in many years and the chill vibes were perfect for me. After doing another tour in the area, I will still recommend this one first! Before even approaching the cave I was in awe of all the art and sculptures onsite. The cave itself is amazing and gives everything you want in a cave tour! I can't wait to come back, I will continue to recommend this tour to everyone! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Gary was our guide and he was fun and informative. We did the tour at Mammoth yesterday with a HUGE crowd (3 bus loads) on the tour. (So annoying) this was so much better with just 15-18 people. Much more personal. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - So interesting - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Jack was an awesome your guide.. very entertaining too. they did a great job renovating the cave and making it your friendly. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

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Went to two times already, people there very friendly. We had a lot fun.look forward to do the 4 hour tour. read more

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When you first drive up, it definitely looks like a hole-in-the-wall. However, we took a tour of the Upper sections of the cave and it was AMAZING. This cave was seriously so beautiful and boasted a wide variety of formations. We saw sparkles, stalagmites, stalactites, cave crickets, a tiny waterfall, pools of clear water, and much more. Our tour guide Kara was wonderful. Side note: we did the Historic Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park the next day and actually liked Crystal Onyx Cave much more! Who would've thought! read more

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Great tour! Jack was very knowledgeable and answered a lot of cave questions very well. Highly recommend checking out this tour! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Rocks - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

We had a great time here! Our original plan was to go to Mammoth Cave National Park, but we ended up at Crystal Onyx Cave instead when the government shutdown canceled the national park tours. While I'd still like to go to Mammoth someday, I'm happy we found this place! The cave is full of beautiful formations that are clearly still growing and changing, and our tour guide Jack was engaging and full of interesting information. We did the upper cave tour, and if we'd had enough time I would have loved to go back for the lower cave tour too. There were a few tight-ish spaces that made it feel like real caving, but nothing too narrow for the taller and wide-shouldered people on the tour to get through. The tour had a good blend of hard science, fun observations, and "whoa, cool" moments like when the guide turned off the lights and showed us how the formations change under black lights. Highly recommended! read more

We toured this cave late in the season (mid Oct) and had a super great time! Gary was awesome with our 4 kids and keeping them engaged and interested. No two caves are the same! We enjoyed the tour and education. Thanks! The Wilson-Rogers family. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Bring a front carrier! Overhead is tight. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

Wow! Absolutely beautiful. Abby our guide was very kind and knowledgeable. So much history, beauty, and amazement without the crowds at Mammoth. read more

Our group of 4 from the Cincinnati area thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Crystal Onyx Cave. We have all been through caves before but we all agree that this tour was one of the most entertaining while also informative. Gwen made us laugh, made us think and just plain made us happy! She's an awesome tour guide. The cave itself is absolutely beautiful with an interesting history. The stalactites and stalagmites are gorgeous but the different formations in the cave are all very unique. We can't say enough good things about it. It would be a great tour for kids as well! read more

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Highly recommend! Small, personalized, well-lit tours. You don't feel rushed and they understand that you want to stop and take pictures. There's freedom to do so without feeling like you're holding up a "Mammoth" line. Jack was our guide and he was funny and very well-informed. You can tell he's passionate about caves and all things rocks. We did the historic tour at Mammoth and liked hearing the geological history of the area, but if you want to see spectacular formations, highly recommend Crystal Onyx caves! It's a great complement to Mammoth. The reason why Mammoth tours take two hours is because the groups are so big, and you spend a lot of time just waiting for people to catch up. There were 4 people in our Crystal tour group and we felt very comfortable asking questions and joking around with Jack. We went during off-season (early March) so your July experience may vary. read more

Our visit to Crystal Onyx Cave was nice. Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the cave. Lots if cool little "rooms" to see in the cave. There are some stairs but not a whole lot of stooping and strenuous work. Good if you have already seen Mammoth Cave and are looking for another cave experience. The kids on our tour seemed to enjoy it read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

So glad I stopped in! Had an absolutely fantastic tour of the upper cave with Charolay. She's so knowledgeable and fun. The cave has great features and saw a few nice up close things I'd never seen before! The grounds and shop are fun and quirky! read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

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Our favorite cave tour in Cave City. The cave was lovingly restored by a couple to improve the health of the cave and tours over an eight year period. The guide was excellent--the kiss's favorite. The formations were amazing. Fun games and covered picnic tables at the shop to pass time as you wait for your tour. Saw cave crickets and beetles. Waterfall and pools! read more

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Do not let the kitschy outdoor space (!) fool you. This cave is the real deal. I liked it much more than the Domes and Dripstones tour at Mammoth. The structure is much more varied, and if you are lucky, you will get the world's best cave tour guide - Rhonda. She brings so much color and life to the tour. Do yourself a favor and try to go on a day when it is raining. This was easily the highlight of our trip to the Mammoth Cave area. read more

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This wave was #2 on our favorite list. Only one of the 4 we visited ahead of it was Hidden Cave. We visited the lower part and we were lucky enough to have the owner as a tour guide. He has put his heart into this cave and it really shows. It was fairly inexpensive. The tour last approximately an hour and the guide was super informative. We would have done the 2nd tour (at the discounted price) but we had already done a tour that morning. A must see. read more

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In all honesty, our intention was to visit Mammoth Cave but the Memorial Day weekend was a sellout. One of the attendees working the county recommended Crystal Onyx Cave as an alternative. It was a fabulous recommendation. The lower level tour (150 feet below ground) is awesome. The upper level is. In my opinion, even more beautiful. The formations and amazing and absolutely beautiful. It is definitely more than just an "alternative" to Mammoth Caves. read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Crystal Onyx - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

The (lower) tour was really neat. The cave is stunning and Gracy, our tourguide, was a delight. Lots of fun moments, like the traditional turning off of the lights in a cave, and then there was playing with phosphoresence. Got to see actual cave crickets, and the formations were beautiful. Learned about cave bacon, which is a thing. I did not know that was a thing, but now I do. The walk down to the cave was a lot of stairs, but with such odd decor just kind of around that it was entertaining anyway. Tour group was maybe allowed to get a little too large so we had to spend a fair bit of time waiting to go down into the pit, and while everyone was required to wear masks... not everyone actually bothered to do so once we were in the cave. The restroom facilities were porta potties, but they were at least fairly well maintained for all that and there was a sink with running water to wash hands, so mildly gross but not horrific. Generally really enjoyed the experience and we were all super glad to go. It was quite a contrast to Mammoth Cave, which we had toured earlier that day. Like the opposite cave experience, to round it out. read more

We absolutely loved our visit! The quirky, kitschy atmosphere and decor at the entrance and walk down was right up my family's alley. The cave itself was more beautiful than Mammoth with the calcite formations. We even got to see a cave salamander! But best of all, Charolay was an absolutely amazing guide! We have a five year old who was in a little bit of a cranky and hyper mood and I was a bit embarrassed, but our guide was absolutely amazing with him! She definitely won him over and since we were the only ones in our group, he got a personal tour. She was knowledgeable, kind, funny, and extremely good with kids! I was very impressed with the whole experience, but most of all our guide read more

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This was a great tour. You are very close and personal with lots of different formations. All of the tour guides were fun with a sense of humor. A lot of opportunities for taking pictures. Decent gift shop. Rather expensive compared to others in the area. Nice place with benches out front while you wait for each tour to go. Porta potty's only. In 2021, it was $16 per person for adults. read more

Tour was great would recommend. Not far off interstate. Tour guide was good A lot of cave formation's read more

Crystal Onyx Cave - Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Cave City, Kentucky

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Super pretty cave!! Gary was our tour guide and he was very knowledgeable about the cave and its formations!! Plus, he was super fun and overall made the tour very enjoyable. I definitely recommend Crystal Onyx Cave to anyone who happens to be in the area!!! read more

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Jack our tour guy was very knowledgeable with a love of caves which shone through his presentation. Great sense of humor. Beautiful cave !

Sure the cave is "spectacular", as many of the reviews and pictures attest to, but I must have come across the same horrible attendants some other reviewers have. We arrived about 10 minutes before our scheduled time, but apparently the group was ready to go and we were being rushed as the lady came running over to our vehicle almost immediately. She tore into us about what we couldn't bring, a vague laundry list of items. One such item was my wife's purse which is no larger than her hand extended on all sides. We asked the universal question, "why", and got the pathetic, "it's the rules", reply. As someone who has worked in a public facing leadership position for many long years, you never just tell a customer "it's the rules", you explain the premise behind it to help bring about understanding and mutual respect. She was having none of that, as her rudeness swelled. We explained that it is bad practice to leave items in a vehicle, which is ripe for a break-in, even when hidden. At any rate, all obvious objectionable items were put back in the vehicle. We are now just a few minutes removed from our arrival and this lady then goes and tells a tour group apparently waiting down a flight of stairs (as far as I could tell), to go ahead and that my wife and I could catch the next tour, it still being 6 minutes until the scheduled time. I explained that we purchased tickets for the 3pm slot and asked why the tour was leaving before the scheduled time, as my wife needed to use the restroom. (Of which there are only nasty porta potties.) She said that it would only be 30 minutes. Almost an hour later, we are still waiting with just a handful of others. At this time, my wife and I had already been debating leaving because of the bad vibes and nasty attitudes. A different lady came over and was cordial for a few moments until she saw me take a sip of my small water bottle I pulled from my back pocket. For the record, it's been in the 90s for days here and this tour involves climbing hundreds of stairs. This lady informs me that there is no water allowed on the tour. I thought she was joking. I could understand food and soft drink, but water? This cannot be real. Yet again, no explanation or cause given for such an asinine rule that has now surpassed ludicrous status. She proceeds to state, "it's just policy", to which we muster, "what is your policy on refunds" and promptly left. But not before seeing a sign that explicitly states that small purses were ok. Who do these clowns think we are? We'll be doing a chargeback, as their customer service is absolute garbage. Too bad, I was looking forward to the tour, after reading many reviews that appeared to demonstrate that this was the best alternative to the Mammoth Cave tours, of which we had already done a couple and had a fabulous experience, as well as were able to bring our bags and water. We will not be back and such poor service reflects on the entire region. Shame. read more

This is a must see Amazing cave!! Great tour guide Gwen. She was funny and informative. read more

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