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Our verdict, with reasons

Which black water rafting tour is the best?

Adventure level, age limits and group size decide more than the cave. Here is our pick and the criteria behind it.

The short answer

For most people the best black water rafting tour in Waitomo is the Black Labyrinth: three hours of tubing through Ruakuri Cave with waterfall jumps and the glowworm float, no ropes, open from age 12 and short enough for a day trip from Auckland. If the whole group is 16 or older, fit and after ropes and heights, book the Black Abyss with its 35-metre abseil and zipline instead.

If a small group matters most, the Okohua Cave tour takes at most six guests into a private cave and includes the guide photos; anyone under 18 needs a caregiver aged 18 or over. Children under 12 cannot join any of the rafting tours, and anyone who wants to stay dry is better off on the boat tour through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

See which Waitomo cave tours still have places on your dates

Which black water rafting tour fits you?

Pick your answers and we suggest the tour that fits. Children under 12 cannot join any of these tours.

Question 1 of 2

What are you in Waitomo for?

Question 2 of 2

How old is the youngest in your group?
Your match

The tours in our verdict

Each card carries the same facts from the operator listings. Open one for gear, check-in and age limits.

Black Labyrinth, the glowworm tubing classic
THL - Waitomo Caves Group

Black Labyrinth, the glowworm tubing classic

Three hours of tubing on the underground river: waterfall jumps in the dark, then lights off and a slow float under the glowworms. The entry-level tour, open from age 12 and 45 kg.

  • Duration: 3 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
from NZ$ 199 ★ 4.9 (1,857 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

About this tour

The classic black water rafting trip: three hours with The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., New Zealand's first black water rafting company (founded 1987), floating an underground river through Ruakuri Cave on a rubber tube. You jump backwards off small waterfalls in the dark, then switch off your headlamp and drift under a ceiling of glowworms.

This is the entry-level tour: guided step by step and doable for most reasonably active people from age 12. If you are after ropes, heights and a physical challenge, the Black Abyss is the one built for that.

What's included

  • Wetsuit, boots and helmet
  • Hot shower after the tour
  • Snacks

Meeting point

The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., 585 Waitomo Caves Road, Waitomo. Check in 30 minutes before your tour starts.

What to bring

  • Swimwear
  • Towel

Know before you go

  • Minimum age 12, minimum weight 45 kg. The operator enforces both.
  • Groups run with a maximum of 12 and a minimum of 2 participants.
  • Check in 30 minutes before the tour; arriving late or not showing up means the ticket is forfeited.
  • The cave water stays cool all year. Wetsuits are provided.
  • On GetYourGuide each tour has its own listing. When the booking button leads to Viator, choose the “Black Labyrinth” option there, because Viator sells the Black Labyrinth and the Black Abyss under one listing. Viator confirms the booking within 48 hours, depending on availability.

Not allowed

  • Personal cameras and other personal devices: photos taken on the tour are sold separately by the operator.

Not suitable for

  • Children under 12 or anyone under 45 kg
  • Wheelchair users (not wheelchair accessible)

Details as listed by the operator on the booking platform.

Black Abyss with abseil, zipline and tubing
THL - Waitomo Caves Group

Black Abyss with abseil, zipline and tubing

The five-hour adventure version: a 35-metre abseil into the cave, a zipline through the glowworm gallery, waterfall climbing and tubing. From age 16, groups capped at 8, good fitness asked for. When booking on Viator, choose the “Black Abyss” option.

  • Duration: 5 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
from NZ$ 332 ★ 4.8 (441 reviews)
Book on Viator
Full tour details

About this tour

The full adventure version of black water rafting: five hours that start with a 35-metre abseil into the cave, continue with a zipline through a glowworm gallery in total darkness, and work through waterfall climbing and tubing on the underground river before you surface again.

Abseil training on the surface is part of the tour, and it ends with a hot shower and soup. The operator asks for good fitness, and the minimum age is 16. This one is clearly more demanding than the Black Labyrinth, which is the point.

What's included

  • Tube, wetsuit, boots, helmet, abseil and safety gear
  • Abseil training before the descent
  • Hot shower and soup after the tour

Meeting point

The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co., 585 Waitomo Caves Road, Waitomo. Check in 30 minutes before your tour starts.

What to bring

  • Swimwear
  • Towel

Know before you go

  • Minimum age 16. Stricter than the Black Labyrinth (12).
  • Minimum weight 45 kg; groups are capped at 8 participants.
  • The operator asks for good fitness: abseiling, climbing and several hours in a cool cave.
  • Check in 30 minutes before the tour; arriving late or not showing up means the ticket is forfeited.
  • On GetYourGuide each tour has its own listing. When the booking button leads to Viator, choose the “Black Abyss” option there, because Viator sells the Black Labyrinth and the Black Abyss under one listing. Viator confirms the booking within 48 hours, depending on availability.

Not allowed

  • Personal cameras, GoPros included: photos taken on the tour are sold separately by the operator.

Not suitable for

  • Anyone under 16 or under 45 kg
  • Visitors without a reasonable level of fitness

Details as listed by the operator on the booking platform.

Okohua Glowworm Cave in a group of six
The Waitomo Experience

Okohua Glowworm Cave in a group of six

Three and a half hours in a private cave on a family farm: walking, wading, swimming and climbing, a float on the tube under the glowworms and a cedar hot tub at the end. Guide photos and videos are included. From age 12 with an adult caregiver, at most six guests.

  • Duration: 3.5 hours, of which 2 to 3 hours underground
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
from NZ$ 269 ★ 5.0 (160 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

About this tour

A small-group cave adventure in a private cave: Okohua Glowworm Cave lies on Tumu Tumu Station, a family-owned farm about ten minutes from Waitomo Village, and according to The Waitomo Experience no other tour has access to it. After a walk across the farm you climb down into the cave and follow an underground river through large limestone chambers. You walk, wade, swim and climb, and for part of the route you float on a tube under the glowworms.

Groups are capped at six guests, and the guides take photos and videos during the tour. Halfway through there is a snack in the cave, and back at base a hot shower and a cedar hot tub with a view over native bush.

Expect a physical tour: reviewers describe narrow passages and swimming sections, and one mentions a ladder down a narrow tunnel right at the start. The guides offer easier alternatives on some passages. How much of the route you float depends on the water level, and the natural rock slide only runs when it is right.

What's included

  • Tube, wetsuit, boots and helmet
  • Black water rafting (tubing) under the glowworms
  • Snack halfway through the cave
  • Photos and videos taken by the guides
  • Hot showers and a cedar hot tub after the tour
  • Optional rock jump

Meeting point

The Waitomo Experience HQ, 754 Boddies Road, RD1, Te Kuiti, about 10 minutes by car from Waitomo Village. Boddies Road is narrow and unsealed, and mobile reception can drop out, so save the map offline. Check in at the cave building on arrival.

What to bring

  • Swimwear
  • Towel
  • Socks

Know before you go

  • Minimum age 12, and anyone under 18 needs a caregiver aged 18 or over on the same tour.
  • Weight between 45 kg and 118 kg (the listing names 120 kg in one place and 118 kg in another; the lower figure is the safe one).
  • Upper age limit 67 according to the listing. Fit travellers above that can ask the operator directly.
  • Moderate fitness needed. If you are uncomfortable in water or scared of it, this tour is not for you.
  • Groups are limited to six guests.
  • Booked on GetYourGuide.

Not allowed

  • Your own camera gear: the guides take photos and videos, which are included.

Not suitable for

  • Children under 12 or anyone under 45 kg
  • People with a low level of fitness or limited mobility

Details as listed by the operator on the booking platform.

All of the Waitomo rafting tours put you in a wetsuit and float you under glowworms at some point. What separates them is how much adventure comes with it, who can join, how many people share the cave and how long the day takes. Our verdict rests on those points.

How much adventure you want

The Black Labyrinth keeps to tubing on the underground river through Ruakuri Cave, with backwards jumps off small waterfalls and the float under the glowworms, all without ropes. The Black Abyss puts a 35-metre abseil, a zipline through a glowworm gallery and waterfall climbing in front of the tubing. The Okohua tour mixes walking, wading, swimming and climbing with a tubing section and an optional rock jump. Labyrinth, Abyss and Okohua compared.

Age, weight and fitness

The Black Labyrinth and the Okohua tour start at age 12, the Black Abyss at 16, and every tour needs at least 45 kg. On the Okohua tour anyone under 18 needs a caregiver aged 18 or over, and the upper weight limit is 118 kg. Reasonably active is enough for the Labyrinth; the Abyss asks for good fitness, the Okohua tour for moderate fitness and some ease in water. What to expect, with all the limits.

Group size and photos

Labyrinth departures run with up to 12 participants, the Abyss with up to 8 and the Okohua tour with up to 6 guests. Your own camera stays behind on every tour. On the Labyrinth and the Abyss the guides’ photos are sold separately afterwards; on the Okohua tour the guide photos and videos are included. The Okohua Cave tour in detail.

Time and the drive from Auckland

The listed 3, 5 and 3.5 hours run door to door, briefing and gear included. Waitomo is about 195 km south of Auckland, and on the Labyrinth and the Abyss check-in closes 30 minutes before the start; a late arrival forfeits the ticket. The Labyrinth fits a self-drive day trip, while a night nearby takes the pressure off the five-hour Abyss. Getting to Waitomo.

When the dry boat tour is the better choice

Children under 12 cannot join any of the rafting tours. They, and anyone who would rather not get wet, see the same glowworms on the boat tour through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, warm, dry and with no age gate. Boat tour or rafting.

FAQ

What is the best black water rafting tour in Waitomo?

For most visitors the Black Labyrinth: three hours of tubing through Ruakuri Cave with waterfall jumps and the glowworm float, open from age 12 and without ropes. Groups who are all 16 or older, fit and keen on abseiling and a zipline are better off on the Black Abyss.

Which tour is best for first-timers?

The Black Labyrinth. It is built as an entry-level tour, guided step by step, with no ropes and no fitness bar beyond being reasonably active. The Okohua tour also takes first-time cavers, in groups of up to six, but it is more physical.

Which tour can I do with a 13-year-old?

The Black Labyrinth and the Okohua tour, both from age 12 and 45 kg. On the Okohua tour anyone under 18 needs a caregiver aged 18 or over on the same tour. The Black Abyss starts at 16.

Is the Black Abyss better than the Black Labyrinth?

Not better, more demanding. The Abyss runs five hours and adds a 35-metre abseil, a zipline and waterfall climbing; the Labyrinth delivers the river, the jumps and the glowworm float in three hours. Pick the Abyss if the adventure is the point and everyone is 16 or older and fit.

Related on this site

Labyrinth, Abyss or Okohua

Every tour side by side, fact by fact.

What to expect & tips

Cold water, cameras, check-in and nerves.

Getting to Waitomo

The drive, the timing and the day-trip question.

Compare the tours side by side

Duration, age limits and group size, with live prices.

See the comparison