InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour

InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour

InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour
4.5
About
Set off from Auckland or Rotorua and experience black water rafting at Waitomo Caves. The three-hour Black Labyrinth tour will see you climbing, leaping and black water rafting through the Ruakuri Caves. Jump down waterfalls, paddle through rapids and along underground rivers in your trusty inner-tube. Includes a free lunch of fish and chips and return bus travel.
Auckland Central, New Zealand

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

4.5
9 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
1
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0

Shoshana S
28 contributions
Feb 2020
When I was looking to do the Waitomo caves black water rafting as a day trip from Auckland, InterCity provided the least expensive option by far. Getting to the bus terminal in Auckland was easy, the bus was comfortable and the driver had lots of information he shared along the way, and we only made a few stops.There was a little bit of a wait for the return bus but after rafting and eating lunch, there was maybe only an extra half hour of waiting. The return bus was waiting for us at the caves cafe so finding it was easy and the return trip had only on fuel stop. I definitely recommend using intercity for this day trip.
Written February 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Auds19
14 contributions
Aug 2017
The intercity bus departed Auckland on time and returned to Auckland on time as well. The bus drivers shared quite a lot of information about the city as they drove to our destination. As the bus had a few stops and ours was not the final destination, they also kindly made sure that we got off at the correct stop.

The Blackwater rafting itself was extremely fun. The company that runs it is The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Co. Waitomo.

We did the Black Labyrinth. Our guide was Rudy, who is honestly one of the best guides I've come across. He explained everything in a clear manner while at the same time injecting lots of humour into the situation. This made for a really memorable experience. Felt really safe while caving despite the dark and water and jumping off waterfalls, all thanks to Rudy!

You are given a wet suit (not a dry suit) so you will still get wet (and cold). You do get to shower at the shower rooms on site after, which have hot water (but bring your own toiletries).

You can't bring phones, cameras or GoPros into the caves, but the photos taken by our guide, Rudy, turned out pretty good. Rudy made sure to take many photos of our group in the caves, and they were also very reasonably priced at $30 for the whole set of photos of your group (which comes in a thumbdrive).

After showering, each person got a free bagel and bowl of hot soup at the reception/cafe area. We also had lunch tickets (Fish and Chips) included in our package after.

Would definitely do this activity again and would totally recommend this tour!
Written August 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cmk042288
Richmond, VA91 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
My husband and I did the "labyrinth" experience of tubing through the glow worm cave. Auckland has just had a lot of rain and the attraction had been closed for a couple days because of flooding in the cave. Today was the first day it had been open since then. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable. They did a great job of warning us that the water was higher than usual so it would be a slightly more difficult trip. However, I always felt safe under their care. At one point, after jumping off a waterfall backwards into our tubes, we turned all of our head lamps off and drifted through the glow worm cavern. It was so beautiful I cried.

The only issue was with the Intercity transportation. There was a lot of waiting around for buses which ate up a lot of valuable time. Would be great if we could have taken an earlier bus back to Auckland instead of waiting around for a couple hours.
Written April 7, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mginsc
Wilton Manors, Florida87 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
We took the Black Abyss Ultimate Caving Adventure. Abseiling (rappelling) 35 meters (115 ft) Zipline inside the cave. Rafting (tubes) in cave river, walking, swimming, and climbing through the water and caves. This was more extreme than the description alluded to. It takes some athletic ability to complete. I would recommend that you have some swimming, experience and good upper arm strength. The water was high the day I was there. It was COLD even with the wetsuit provided. I was disappointed in the rafting/tubing portion as we had to pull ourselves upstream by rope in order to float back downstream. They offer two rest stops with warm drinks. At the end of the tour, they offer two options for exiting the caves...one easier climbing route similar to the rest of the walk OR climbing up two 12ft waterfalls to the exit. I took the waterfall option and am glad I did it. It was a bit Closter phobic at times but exhilarating otherwise. If you are looking for an extreme adventure then do the Black Abyss option. If not they do offer other less extreme options. Wetsuits and shoes provided
Written March 4, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

The_fotobug
Palm Harbor, FL181 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
See me review about the Intercity bus for information about the transportation. As for the cave and rafting tour - very interesting to see the glow worms, but it was very crowded and absolutely no photos are permitted! They will attempt to sell you an overpriced photo that is "photoshopped". While I can understand that it is difficult or impossible to take pictures in the cave of the glow worms - for photographers, there is another tour that allows tripods and time to take long exposure images and if you are a photographer, I recommend search that trip out!
Written May 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

aiyuanc
21 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
Our driver is very friendly. The day tour is well organised. Waitomo cave is really an amazing place. I strongly recommend every tourists visiting NZ to visit there. excellent experience to me.
Written November 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jarvanella
London, UK7 contributions
Jan 2017 • Solo
Brilliant trip splashing around in the glow worm caves! Spectacular trip, loads of fun and totally unbeatable!
Written January 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Justice G
4 contributions
Feb 2016 • Solo
Amazing team showing you the 'ropes' of abseiling into caves, tons of fun and adventure, more than you'd expect from just caves! Thoroughly recommended!!!
Written October 18, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour (Auckland Central) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour Information

Excellent Reviews7
Very Good Reviews1
InterCity Waitomo Black Water Rafting Day Tour Photos21