Private Waitomo Glowworm Caves Tour from Auckland
A private driver for the day out to the Waitomo glowworm caves in the King Country, returning to Auckland or continuing on wherever you are headed next.
Current day-trip rates
The pickup point chooses the rate card
Auckland & Christchurch
Starts within the Auckland or Christchurch service area
- Half day
- 4 hours · 100 km
- from $299
- Full day
- 8 hours · 200 km
- from $499
- Out of town
- 10 hours · 400 km
- from $799
Everywhere else
Regional North Island and the rest of the South Island
- Half day
- 4 hours · 100 km
- from $399
- Full day
- 8 hours · 200 km
- from $699
- Out of town
- 10 hours · 400 km
- from $999
Prices vary by season and vehicle. If no vehicle is based near the pickup, driver travel is shown as a separate line before payment.
Why book this one privately
- Private vehicle and driver for your group only
- Pickup from any Auckland address or the airport
- Timed to the cave entry you have booked
- Easy to combine with Hobbiton on the same day
About this day
The Waitomo glowworm caves are one of the North Island's best-known natural attractions — limestone caverns lit by thousands of glowworms, in the farmland of the King Country south of Hamilton. It is a long enough drive that most visitors would rather not do it themselves.
With a private driver you leave Auckland at a time that matches your cave booking, travel direct, and have somebody waiting when you come back up. No timetable, no waiting for the rest of a group to reassemble.
Waitomo pairs naturally with the Hobbiton Movie Set, which is roughly on the way back, and it is an easy add-on if you are travelling between Auckland and Rotorua, Taupō or New Plymouth rather than returning north.
A private driver, not a group tour or a shared ride
Highway 1 Tours & Transfers is a New Zealand owned private transfer company with NZTA-licensed, P-endorsed drivers. Everything here is a private hire: your own vehicle and chauffeur for the day, an agreed fixed price rather than a meter, and a plan you can change on the road. It is a calmer, more flexible alternative to a taxi or cab for the day, a rental car, or a seat on somebody else's schedule — and the same drivers handle airport transfers, intercity point-to-point trips and multi-day private touring anywhere in the country.
Return day or one-way? Both work — decide before you book
A private day tour does not have to finish where it started. You can do a return day, back in Auckland that evening with the same accommodation waiting for you — or a one-way day, where we collect you and your luggage in Auckland, sightsee along the way and drop you at your accommodation in the next town. Auckland out to Rotorua, or Christchurch through to Queenstown, are two of the most popular one-way days we drive.
Either way it is one private vehicle, one driver and one fixed price agreed before you travel. Just tell us on the booking form where you want the day to start and where you want it to finish, and whether your bags are coming with you.
Frequently asked questions
Other private tours nearby
- Private Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves Day Tour
The two headline Waikato attractions in one day, with a private driver connecting them so you are never watching the clock.
- Private Hobbiton Tour from Auckland
Your own driver and vehicle for the run down to the Hobbiton Movie Set at Matamata and back to Auckland, at whatever time suits your booking.
- Private Rotorua Day Tour from Auckland
Geothermal parks, forest and lakes in New Zealand's best-known thermal town, with a private driver handling the run down from Auckland and back.
- Private Day Tours from Auckland
Every one of these is a private vehicle with a driver for the day — your group only, door to door, and shaped around what you actually want to see.
Other services we offer
A private transfer is only part of what we do. The same NZTA-licensed drivers and vehicles cover tours, hourly hire, airport and cruise work, corporate travel and group bookings throughout New Zealand.
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Private touring, chauffeur hire, honeymoon travel and a driver for your whole New Zealand trip.
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Please note: by-the-hour driver hire is only suitable when your travel starts and finishes in the same town. If you're finishing somewhere else, book a private transfer or a day trip so your fare covers the driver's travel.