The Glowworm Caves were definitely one of the highlights of our NZ trip! It's like floating through the universe once you get on the boat and glide along the deep emerald waters into the pitch black cave. The guide has everyone go quiet so as not to disturb the worms and then suddenly the cave ceiling lights up with thousands of twinkling blue dots! It's so breathtaking it's almost spiritual - you can't help but be in awe of nature. Even the walk down to the caves is magical - descending down through the NZ forests with ferns towering over you and exploring the caverns on the way down. There are several cave "rooms" on the tour such as The Cathedral where they give you a chance to sing with perfect acoustics haha! And the guides do a great job of telling the historical stories of the caves and all about the worms. Most of the guides are direct descendants of the Māori chief that originally explored the caves - they still take great pride in protecting the caves and educating everyone about them. Guided tours are the only way to visit the caves and they do a lot of monitoring and data collecting to ensure the caves/worms stay healthy. There's a little cafe at the entrance with snacks and drinks. The cave tour was part of a day trip we took from Auckland with Auckland Scenic Tours. It was a great way to get to the caves since we didn't want to rent a car and drive it ourselves bc they drive on the left and I was too stressed about it lol! But if you do brave the driving, there are other caves and some really awesome hiking trails in the same area that would be worth exploring. read more