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Glow Worm Kayak Tour: Rotorua Lakes
Experience a family-friendly adventure in Rotorua with a unique glow worm kayaking tour. Explore nature, learn kayak skills, and create lasting memories with our friendly guides.
Experience a family-friendly adventure in Rotorua with a unique glow worm kayaking tour. Explore nature, learn kayak skills, and create lasting memories with our friendly guides.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Rotorua isite Visitor Information Centre - Your friendly guide will pick you up and shuttle you from Rotorua, past the iconic Redwood forest as you make your way to our base on the lake shorelines. Upon arrival you will gear-up and prepare for an epic night out with all activity equipment provided. Your guide will then run through safety and basic…
- Rotorua isite Visitor Information Centre - Your friendly guide will pick you up and shuttle you from Rotorua, past the iconic Redwood forest as you make your way to our base on the lake shorelines. Upon arrival you will gear-up and prepare for an epic night out with all activity equipment provided. Your guide will then run through safety and basic kayak instruction before you take the helm on the water. You will then begin exploring the shoreline and embracing the last light of the evening as you follow your guide around the lake edge. Once it’s dark, discover your adventurous side as your guide leads you inside small hidden caves home to galaxies of glow worms. Take ample time to enjoy the magical moments inside the caves before returning along your course in the dark. If it is a clear night the magic continues as the stars come out and the cloudy appearance of the milky-way fills the sky. Upon returning to the base you will feel like you have been in another world for the past few hours and will likely have made some new friends through the wonder of this shared experience.
What's Included
- All equipment provided, no experience required, perfect for all ages (5+ yrs)
- Incredible Glow Worms experienced by kayak
- A Sunset/Dusk/Night Adventure with Star Gazing (if clear skies)
- Pick-up & drop-off transfers from Rotorua Information Centre included: 1167 Fenton Street, Rotorua
- Experience our Taiao Adventures values, connection,…
- All equipment provided, no experience required, perfect for all ages (5+ yrs)
- Incredible Glow Worms experienced by kayak
- A Sunset/Dusk/Night Adventure with Star Gazing (if clear skies)
- Pick-up & drop-off transfers from Rotorua Information Centre included: 1167 Fenton Street, Rotorua
- Experience our Taiao Adventures values, connection, contribution, thoughtfulness to the environment
- Small group tours with exclusive lake access (1 guide per 8 kayakers)
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Food and drinks
Additional Information
Come and explore the Rotorua Lakes on a truly unique and magical kayaking experience. This amazing evening adventure takes you along the lake shorelines in a guided scenic kayak tour as you discover small caverns home to a galaxy of glow worms. One of New Zealand’s premium glow worm experiences this tour is designed to create a magical and special trip…
Come and explore the Rotorua Lakes on a truly unique and magical kayaking experience. This amazing evening adventure takes you along the lake shorelines in a guided scenic kayak tour as you discover small caverns home to a galaxy of glow worms. One of New Zealand’s premium glow worm experiences this tour is designed to create a magical and special trip for every customer. Groups are limited in numbers to each of our personal and expert guides ensuring your adventure is the very best it can be. Our authentic, eco-friendly outdoor tours are led by grassroots leadership. We are an activity provider who strives daily to lead by example creating strong connections, positive contribution, and thoughtfulness to the environments we explore.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- What to bring:
- For kayaking in summer (November - February) we recommend wearing light-weight clothing. Shorts/pants/leggings for your bottom half and at least two layers for your top half. Water friendly shoes are recommended, but are provided free of charge if needed.
- For Kayaking outside of summer (March - October) please wear warm clothing (thermal if possible). Pants/leggings for your bottom half and a minimum of three layers for your top half (which are preferably thermal, fleece, or wool). Please also bring a warm hat and gloves. During our coolest months you will be provided a wetsuit to wear over your clothes. Water friendly shoes are recommended, but are provided free of charge if needed.
- You are welcome to bring a towel and change of clothes for after your experience (it is not often someone gets wet enough to require these items)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(280 Ratings)
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534ameliaj
Jun 18, 2025
Very cold but once-in-a-lifetime experience - The experience of kayaking at night under a clear sky full of stars and the milky way was amazing and definitely a core memory! Ellen was a friendly and knowledgeable guide and make sure we had a good time. She even prepared hot chocolate drinks to indulge in the kayaks! :)
It can be a little scary when it’s the first time kayaking (and especially at night) but just listen and follow the guide’s instructions and everything will be okay.
Remember to layer up because it will be very very cold!
We couldn’t take photos, so that was the only neg point but all good, I’m sure i’ll remember this experience for a very long time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heena_b
Jun 6, 2025
An amazing experience - Amazing experience you need to live in the moment... friendly and knowledgeable guides. I would definitely recommend this.
Review provided by Viator
Noah_g
Jun 4, 2025
An unforgettable experience! - Great experience!! Our guide was so friendly and told us lots of cool facts about fireflies. Kayaking at night on the lake was incredibly peaceful, quiet and beautiful. We then drove in about 5-6 caves and saw thousands of fireflies, it was incredibly nice to hardly put into words!!! While we were on the water there was also a hot chocolate with Marshmellows, which made it even better!
I can really recommend the tour so thousand percent!!
Review provided by Viator
Tori_l
May 21, 2025
An excursion not to be missed!! - Taiao Adventures team were fantastic! They provided transportation to the location, safety equipment, as well as waterproof clothing that we could use if we wanted to. The guy on the lake., Forrest, did an incredible job! He knew the area very well, all the history and information about the area as well as the glow worms and the caves, and included history from the Māori culture which added to the experience. One of the best tours I have been on in my stay in New Zealand! I highly recommend them!
Review provided by Viator
Matthewof6399yy
May 17, 2025
Spectacular Glow Worms and Nights Sky - Relaxed kayaking trip across a warm lake (April 25). Despite being dark you can easily follow the guide. You are sent into 4/5 caves to see the glow worms, there are loads!
However, on our trip the nights sky stole the show, in an area with no light pollution it was spectacular!
The only slight negative is you can't take photos inside the cave. We were told we would be sent photos taken on the night our our trip by our guide but this never materialised.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bethmk5717re
May 10, 2025
Glow worm - Excellent tour of the glow worm caves!! My friend and I are novice kayakers so the trip across the lake to get to the caves was a challenge! We were given rain gear and a head lamp that we kept on the red light so as not to disturb the wildlife. It did rain so the rain gear was helpful. Because it was so dark, we accidentally ran into a bush and tipped over! Not at all scary, we could stand, and the water was cool not cold. There is nothing in the lake that can bite or hurt you. My friend and I were laughing at ourselves. So based on my experience, I would highly recommend bringing a change of clothes!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_d
May 7, 2025
Starry Night - My experience was magical, the glow warms looked like stars at night even being in the middle of the lake at night with the stars up above was special. The tour guides were very polite and experienced and story telling was enjoyable, it made my night.
Review provided by Viator
Alit-socal
May 4, 2025
The Best Most Amazing Glow Worm experience! - We were booked on this tour by The Road Trip and didn’t know much about it and almost didn’t go because it was a little wind and rain, so a little cold. We are so glad we stuck with the plan and went. We’ve been on two other glow worm experiences, one on the South Island and on a previous trip to the North island to a more commercial experience near Rotorua. This was by far the best all of them. The lake is somewhat protected by mountains so it was very calm and quiet. The tour guides were very good at taking care of each kayak while guiding us into the caves safely and explain what we should look for and what were looking at. It was so Amazing! I can’t recommend them enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristin
Apr 30, 2025
100% recommend rain or shine! - What a lovely evening activity! The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable, and the tour was the perfect length. Kayaking was laid back and not strenuous and the glowworm tunnels and caves were magical. The weather was overcast with some rain, but that didn't tarnish the experience at all (though we could only imagine the amazing stargazing if the skies were clear!). A waterproof jacket, rain pants, and rubber clogs were provided if desired, and those kept us comfortable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sam_m
Apr 24, 2025
Beautiful Experience - Awesome trip with a great team.
Highly recommended trip for family and kids. Really appreciated the effort made to accommodate us on alternative night due to poor weather.
Nga mihi nui
Sam
Review provided by Viator
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