Is the long drive worth it? Yes, but just barely! - My review of Karthik, ExperienceKart is 5/5. If you want to book the Twin Caves, I have no complaints! Biggest point of review is more - is the drive down there and back worth it. After doing the trip, my husband and I (in our late 30s) debated if this trip was worth the 10-11 hour day made up of 5-6 hours driving. We decided this was worth it, but just barely. If you have any way of breaking up this drive, to avoid the out & back, I would suggest doing that! We were not in great spirits by the time we returned to our hotel at 6PM. The Waitomo Glowworm cave was so incredibly spectacular and we felt a must-see & was the only reason this trip was worth it. 100% need to do this. The Ruakuri caves are much more vast with the stalagmites and stalactites, formations, and it has more walking around. FWIW, my husband has done a few cave walks and felt it wasn't anything more remarkable than caves he had seen in the US. This was my first cave experience, so I was very awestruck. You can take photos in Ruakuri - be warned there are a handful of glowworms in Ruakuri, but no chance your photos will produce anything besides some dots - haha. I do feel that if we just drove down, saw Waitomo Glowworm cave & drove back, it would feel way too short. However, the Ruakuri cave added another 1.5-2 hours to the day. Our tour guide (who owns the company) was Karthik. At pickup (6:45AM), he provided us with a bag of water and NZ snacks which was a nice treat. The drive down seemed pretty painless, we stopped halfway for coffee & toilet break. During almost the entire 2.5 hour drive down, he provided us with seemingly endless facts and trivia tidbits that he used to fill the drive down, he had a great sense of humor. (Unfortunately, we sat in the back of the bus and the guests in the middle were not engaging at all, which was regretful, but not his fault!) I would have loved to ask him question after question to pick his brain. He has been a tour guide for over 6 years and was a great story teller. After the cave tours, you eat lunch in Waitomo area, a cafeteria esque meal, and can order from an array of options. It was decent enough food, but nothing special. (The fish & chips were pretty bad, but the burger was great). Be warned: The drive back into Auckland felt painfully long. We hit traffic so it took over 3 hours. We arrived to our hotel around 5:30PM. So a 11 hour day in total with only 45 min tour in the Waitomo Cave & 1.5 hour tour in the Ruakuri cave. The bus only seats 10 so its a nice size tour and makes the breaks less time consuming. The only con is that the seats are not super comfortable at all. My husband is 6'-2" and it was a tight squeeze for him. I'm 5'-2" and my butt felt pretty flat by the end. All in all, Karthik did a great job of making this tour the best of the options. He was a great tour guide, prompt, and really engaging. The biggest question you should ask yourself before booking is if you can manage the drive - 2.5 hours there and 2.5-3 hours back. If yes, I would definitely book this tour!!

Enchanting Glowworm Adventure: A Stellar Experience with ExperienceKart - My husband and I recently embarked on the Waitomo Glowworm & Ruakuri Twin Cave Experience Tour, and it was nothing short of amazing. Our guide, Karthik, impressed us with his knowledge and friendly demeanor. Despite the long drive, the well-planned rest stops made the journey enjoyable. The glowworm caves were a breathtaking sight, offering a genuine New Zealand experience. We're grateful for Karthik and ExperienceKart, making our tour memorable. If you're seeking exceptional tours out of Auckland, don't hesitate to book with this company. Highly recommended!

Waitomo Glowworm & Ruakuri Twin Cave - The both tours were excellent. While the Waitomo Glowworm cave had you riding in a boat through part of the cave, however, I liked the Ruakuri Cave tour better. We saw alot more while hiking through the Ruakuri Cave tour. Both were narrated by knowledgeable docents. Due to cave darkness, you had to slow the shutter down to pick up the faint light. None of my cave pictures turned out from Waitomo Cave. A tripod would have helped produce clearer pictures. That is where the hiking was better since you could stop and set your camera on a stable surface for the pictures.

Great tour to the Waitomo glo worms and Ruakiri caves - Wow! What a great day! Karthik, the owner/guide was awesome. During the drive to Waitomo he gave us local history and information about the Maori culture. His knowledge really made the trip better. The Waitomo glo worms and the Ruakiri caves are sights that should not be missed. In addition to these, Karthik took us to great places for coffee and lunch. We could not have asked for a better guide or a more enjoyable day. Book with ExperienceKart and you will not be disappointed! Very highly recommended.

A Fantastic Day! - An amazing experience! Karthik was absolutely sensational as was Elana, the Ruakuri Cave guide. We learned so much and had a fantastic day!

Amazing Tour with Karthik! - Enjoyed a wonderful day with Karthik as he took my best friend & I to the caves. We were both the only people on the tour and Karthik picked us up directly from our hotel at 6:30am with a bag of snacks and water. Karthik was very informative and engaging about the history and facts of each location that we visited and about New Zealand itself. We first stopped at a coffee shop for a quick drink and bite and then we got dropped off at the Ruakuri Cave for a 10am 90 minute tour. It was a nice small group tour and we got to take a lot of photos and see the caves in depth and the glow worms! Afterwards Karthik dropped us off at Waitomo Caves for a 12pm 60 minute tour. Although no photos are allowed here, we enjoyed walking through the cave, especially in the Cathedral area and we got to go on a short boat ride to see plenty of glowworms from above. Afterwards, we had lunch nearby that had delicious food options with a little shop and then we headed back to Auckland which we got back around 5pm. Karthik is the best guide you can have - super friendly, attentive, never rushing, and always sharing fascinating information with great recommenations. We highly recommend this tour (10/10!) and we are excited to go on another tour ExperienceKart offers when we come back in the future.

Brief but interesting - First, Karthik was an excellent guide. We were picked up promptly at our hotel, and were provided a snack bag and water. He was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of info. As we were lucky to be on a tour with just 4 ppl total, we asked a lot of questions as well. As far as the attractions - after researching various options we chose a combo of the Ruakuri and main glowworm cave. The Ruakuri was more interesting as we got to see more of the cave. I definitely recommend doing more than just the main glowworm cave - that itself is very brief. Although the glowworms are cool, it’s not worth the 3 hour drive from Auckland to just do a quick spin in a boat. If I were to plan myself based on what I know now, I’d do all 3 of the caves and stop at the Kiwi farm nearby, but as a first visit I’m happy with what we saw. Overall very happy with the tour.

Best tour - Our guide Karthik was amazing! We were lucky to be the only two on the trip and Karthik was full of interesting information. He was extremely friendly and very personable and even drove us to a nice spot for lunch. The caves were also amazing, the formations were other-worldly. We would definitely go with him again!

Glowworm tours - We had a great experience! The booking was easy and the operator did a great job communicating any changes before pick up. The bus was clean and there was a little gift bag of snacks for each of us, which was very appreciated throughout the long day. Karthik was very pleasant and very knowledgeable about the area. the tours and Aukland overall.

Experience Kart is so awesome! - My family and I had an amazing experience! We had so much fun we decided to book another tour with ExperienceKart. Kart was so patient and well informed. He really made our first trip to New Zealand a wonderful time. I will use him again when I return to Auckland. The experience was great, we had a small group which allowed for us to take our time. There was a nice snack bag provided for us. I really enjoyed it.