The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Company Reviews

Amazing tour through the caves for the adventure seeker.

Been three times and always had a blast. Fun and professional.

Excellent guides, amazing caves and a fun experience. Well worth the trip and effort, not as cold as you'd expect either

Seriously one of our favorite adventures while in New Zealand. The guides are great and it is truly a once in a lifetime experience. From the rappelling down into the cave, zip lining down to get into inter tubes to continue on our spelunking adventure to the best glow worms we have ever seen :) You won't be disappointed!

Out of this world experience. I did Black Abyss cave tour and it was a blast!

A great combination of fun, beauty and challenge. My partner and I had a fanatic time, it's not the cheapest around, but we were happy we went with legendary.

I had a great experience in the caves

The place is wonderful! I liked so much we did it twice! It's magical! I start with 3h labyrinth with a great Canadian Guy called Yann he was funny and also he speaks French!
And another day the black abyss for 5 H...
We had the funniest girl with us Kelly a bowl of energy who is passionate
We did many jumps walk around in the cave crawl... We didn't feel the time go it was a fun, beautiful day enjoying the cave for the beauty and the histories about nature and Mauri and also a lot of laughs hanging in the cave

This place is awesome! We thought it was going to be mostly rafting but it turned out to be more cave exploring, which was way better. Watch some YouTube videos of this place to get an idea of what you're getting into. The guides are amazing; we took my in-laws (50s) through the 5 hour tour and they were able to do everything with their help!

Fantastic experience would highly recommend for those wanting more adventure than sitting in a boat for viewing glow worms.

Guides were awesome, all the required gear is provided.

They also serve great coffee, the post trip soup and bagel could be better.

Great guides, interesting tour of glow worms and caving. The hot showers soup and bagels afterwards was great. Would recommend to anyone with no mobility issues

Did the Black Abyss tour and absolutely loved it ! Can't fault anything at all.

Massive thank you to Scuba and Sophie for making it an awesome day

Incredible place. Mac and "gorgeous G" were hillarious and great guides. Made it an unforgettable part of our trip. Thank you :)

It's was funny trip
Really I'd like to again

The Chicago and NZ tour guides were great, funny people. The other members had a wonderful time.

Loved it! Great experience. Very cold even with the wetsuits, so be prepared.

Amazing experience. Team were so entertaining and a lot of fun( sorry I forgot names) We did the 4hr tour and there were so many different activities in the one. A few firsts for me and a chance to overcome some fears! Especially on the first decent into the caves! (Lee and Janina, 26th Dec 19)

Great adventure. Definitely worth the money, a must do thing in New Zealand

Loved this yet again. I have been 3 times but never done the Labyrinth 1. Now I've done and still not disappointed. Its still a great tour

We initially came in to grab a coffee and book tickets for the Glow Worms/Black Water Rafting. Unfortunately, we weren't greeted upon entering in a fairly vacant lobby. We proceeded to the coffee shop inside which only gave us an unfavourable experience. The barista was serving another couple, and as the gentleman asked for the sugars in his coffee, she snapped back "well how many do you want?"
Giving her the benefit of the doubt that she was just having a bad day, my partner ordered coffee for us to go. To our dismay, she was not friendly nor did she get our order right. Inside of making a fuss, we decided to take our business elsewhere. We went just down the road to Waitomo Adventure Centre where we were valued upon walking in and had the BEST Black Water rafting trip/guide.

My suggestion is to work on your customer service all across the board. Simple interactions are enough to lose business.

It was an amazing experience. Caves were majestic but to see them with Black Water Rafting group made it even more wonderful. The guides were so well-versed and were absolute professionals. On top of that, our guide George had a great sense of humour. He said and did a lot of crazy stuff to keep the group calm and laughing all the time. Also, our 2nd guide Beth was an extraordinary singer and very helpful. I had injured my ankle a little, and as soon as she noticed that I was struggling a little, she made sure that I am doing ok even when I did not ask for help. When we were floating through the caves in the dark, mesmerized by the glowing worms in the caves, Beth's singing made it an unforgettable experience. It felt like I was in one of the scenes of the "AVATAR" movie. This is a must-do if you are in New Zealand. Highly recommend.

Team D. A. S. S. Dennis, Alan, Sue and Sue.
Had an amazing day at Waitomo caves doing the Black Laborinth.
Our guides Yan and Phinn
Now to Be know as Small and Large.
Made our experience so magical.
Thanks guys a trip of a life time.
Maybe there is enough of the children's inheritance left to make a second visit.

Great experience! Their tubes were not inflated properly was the only issue leading to difficult experience for some.

Really fun trip! Really great crew guiding us. I do feel photos should just be included in the price - but otherwise worth it!

Had an awesome time here with my daughter, one off the to do at 50 list , great experience with fantastic guides, I would definitely recommend and do this again when I'm next in New Zealand, thanks for a great memory.

The abyss tour was run in a very professional way, with instructions and training before hand. Our guide was knowledgeable and fun and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. We purchased the full photo package at the end of the tour at a considerable cost of $35 (March 2020). When we returned home several weeks later we downloaded the photos from the email. What a massive disappointment, the vast majority of them are blurred, several of them are of nothing except splashes of water. What an overpriced rip off that was.
I even sent Blackwater Rafting an email explaining my disappointment in the quality of the photos and requesting they issue some form of refund considering the high cost.
They didn't have the decency to even reply.
So go on the tour and enjoy, it's expensive but worth it, but buy the photos at your peril.

I had a phenomenal time rafting and going through the caves. The guides were all funny and made you feel at ease, which is good because you can easily feel a little scared at the prospect of going underground. We had a great time, and would highly recommend!

No cameras por gopros allowed on tour... they charge extra for photos taken.

Just every cool experience all round, worth every penny

The experience was great! The cave was amazing and the best thing was the tour guides! Bek, Dave and Zuse took really good care of us, since I can t swim I was a bit scared of water and they made me feel really safe! Nice people and very professional. Great company awesome tour guides amazing tour what are you waiting for? It s worth every penny!!

Amazing experience in the caves. Guides were very friendly and helpful to all the guests. Disappointed by the excessive pricing on the photos taken by the guides, particularly as we are unable to take our own cameras in and were unable to purchase individual shots for a reasonable price. Be prepared to have an amazing experience but no photos to show for it.

This tour was amazing! Our guides were friendly and informative and made the day awesome. Going through the cave was fun and had enough action for the adventurous without being too extreme. Will definitely be back to do the next step up with Black Abyss!

This is an absolute must for anyone who enjoys adventure tours or natural beauty. The guides are knowledgeable, accommodating and most of all fun. There are 3 different types of tour a walking/boat tour in the caves, a rafting (more like tubing) tour (which is what we did and loved) and a more adventurous abseiling/ziplining tour. They even provide hot showers and soup and a bagel to warm up afterwards. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting

Very detailed instructions with a hint of sarcasm. The team had a refreshing spirit keeping everyone excited with a hint of suspense.
Approximately a 3 hour tour.

Beautiful glow worms, rafting through tubes, navigated a couple of waterfalls in the caves!

This was our favorite thing we did in New Zealand! We did the black abyss and it was so much fun! The glow worm caves are magical! You have to do this! Our guide was so nice nd informative and really helped us get the most out of our trip including great pictures!

Crazy fun tubing adventure, great guides, felt safe throughout. Hot showers and soup at the end was lovely.

One of the trips that New Zealand must go! We signed up for the Black Labyrinth and the coach was very cordial and interesting. The natural landscape here is not visible in other countries. After entering the original cave, it is a small waterfall. You can experience the fun of jumping off the waterfall in the cave. Then you will start the journey of black water and hold it. Accepting the mindset of nature, you can feel the magic of nature. The environment here is natural, and the number of fireflies is very large. The whole cave is looking for the footprints of fireflies and insects. It is very spectacular! There are a few points to note that the water temperature in the cave is low. It is recommended to wear warm clothing in the winter jacket, otherwise it will be very cold, and don't touch the stalactites during the journey, it will destroy its growth, and finally with a curious Let's explore this beautiful world! It is recommended that the store can provide gloves, protect the cold and help the action.

My tour guides were great! He had a lot of coffee I believe his name was Finn! Very enthusiastic and very fun! You could see a lot of glow worms, I did the rafting option I believe it was the mid-tier price range. I personally prefer that it was more interactive than just a boat ride but that's just me. I believe there's also a walking option if you're feeling that instead. Check your website and call to make sure.

Amazing experience! We did the black abyss tour and thoroughly enjoyed our time in the caves. The tour guides were very helpful and patient. They helped us through the adventures really well and also took time to take good photos of individuals/couples. The tour is long and a bit exhausting but they gave us some hot chocolate and cookies while we were in the caves which was really nice. You don't need to be super athletic for this tour but be prepared to withstand some really cold water, walk in the river and of course, descend several feet into a black hole underground, Zipline into darkness while you yell with excitement :). The facilities are okay. They have basic changing rooms, toilets, lockers for your stuff, hot shower after the tour (no soap or shampoo). They also provide some bagels and hot soup after the tour (did I mention that these people are really nice? )

Well beyond what I was expecting going in. Great event, and awesome personalities with all 3 of the guides in our group.

I will definitely be visiting these folks for another visit to the Ruakuri cave on the Black Abyss tour next time I make it to New Zealand

Absolutely outstanding experience - seeing the glowworms as we floated through the cave was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The staff were fantastic and did a great job when we were nervous about the abseil and crawling through caves.

What an amazing adventure. Our guide Mika was very knowledgeable and a wonderful guide. He made it easy for us and lots of fun 'exploring' and discovering the wonders of Waitomo.

Hilarious, friendly, safe, mindful guides
Very well thought out tour with balance between activities, relaxing, provided food and washroom breaks, etc

100% do the black abyss. It's not active intense, you'll be fine at any age / fitness

Enter the back of the Tyrolean cave and see much more

Now this is a must see place! We did the Black Abyss tour which saw my wife and I abseiling, ziplining, tubing and bouldering up waterfalls (all inside a vast cave network). The guides were fantastic and really looked after everyone on the tour. It's also excellent how they cap the number of people so it's never crowded and feels more intimate. One sad note though, the guide's SD card broke so we couldn't get any of the photos, but the memories are more important anyway. Thanks!

Had a great tour with George! He took the standard tour and made it perfect for each individual of our group (small group of 5). I can t say enough good things about George. While the tour was amazing, he made it even better!

Fantastic experience and the tour is so unique! Loved it.

This was a way cooler experience than I expected, and I expected it to be awesome!! They provided wetsuits and lunch for our tour. It ended up being my favorite touristy thing we did in NZ.

Excellent kiwi experience. Guides professional and fun. Had such a good time. Thanks guys.

Very cool, but costly. $35 extra to get the pics they take for you is a little much considering how much the tour costs already. Also for the price butter should be used for the bagel that you get other than margarine.

Rudy and the team were excellent. The glow worms looked amazing and the adventure to the cave was really fun

Highly recommended! To improve the food and the quality of the photos

My girlfriend and I had an incredible trip on the Black Abyss tour. Tim and Corey were amazing, so funny, knowledgeable and down to earth and you could tell they wanted us to have the best day possible, and the caves themselves were unbelievable. Would 100% recommend.

We did the Black Labyrinth and had a wonderful time. Our two guides were fun, kind, and knowledgeable.

My wife and I did a black labyrinth tour a few weeks ago and it was one of our highlights from the trip. Guides were great and we had a blast. We booked the first tour of the day and went alone with our guides which we both looked back on very positively.

The stuff they used to clean the wetsuits didn't play well with my skin and I ended up getting a rash that lasted a few weeks. These might need a rinse off after cleaning or some soap could be added to the showers and it probably would have prevented this. I recommend bringing some soap for after your tour.

Had a a amazing experience today on our 11:30am Black Labryinth tour. The guides have good sense of humour and the whole caving/tubing experience was very memorable. My favourite part is jumping off the waterfalls and tubing down the caves in the dark and seeing the spectacular glow caves in their habitat.

Absolutely amazing experience. The guides are good fun and very knowledgeable. Thanks Alistair, George, Callie, and Asterid!

3 hour tour and a good bit of adventure with walking through the rocky streams and rafting along the glow worm caves. Very spectacular. Recommended to thrill seekers.

The best casual rafting: quick (just 1 hr), intense but safe, opportunity to swim in a swirl, slide down a waterfall on your belly, fun guides - would definitely recommend!

Don't read the comments for fear of spoilers, see the abundance of 5* ratings, take the drive and get yourself into a black abyss tour. Insanely fun, insane value. Something I'll remember forever!

GREAT experiece. Lots of fun. Nothing like it anywhere else. I highly recommend.

What a great experience! So fun and the guides were great fun. The glow worms are stunning!

Great place
Great guides

So much fun, the guides are great, especially Tim! Best part is the waterfall climb on the Abyss tour.

Must do, is a fantastic adventure to swim inside a cave, go up a waterfall, go down a zipline and sing your lungs out in complete darkness! Best adventure ever!

I did the abyss. The guides were very good and knew what they were doing. We were trained with absail and then descended into the cave for a couple hours of being guided through the dark passage ways to find the glow worms. Activities included zip line and jumping into an underground river. We were given snacks at regular intervals and once it was all over there was soup and bagel waiting. However it's worth noting that in parts the cave can be uneven with sharp edges that need to be careful when traversing.

Really impressive cellars. If you go the longest round the start will be a bit slow but it's worth it. You will also have the opportunity to climb 2 small waterfalls (doable without problem even by people who never climb).

Very good experience

Did the Black Abyss with James and Harry. A fascinating journey with very professional guides. They also took a lot of great pics for us.
We were well looked after from start to finish. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience for me and my Mom at the Black Labyrinth tour. Ollie and Shannon were an absolutely amazing guide combo: Positive, fun, attentive, and hilarious, helping my slightly timid mother (a "junior" senior) navigate the cave. Perhaps the highlight of her trip!

Definitely do the rafting or ziplining to see the glow works for longer and more up close

The whole adventure is fun but I would say that the length of the session is misleading. E.g. A 3 hour session of the labyrinth is including check in time, changing time, and the adventure itself. So the rafting in itself was about an hour.

Had an awesome time. The caves were amazing and the tour guides were great

Very very cool. Is really impressive grade the glowworms. I was really flashed and overwhelmed. I recommend it to anyone who has no fear of heights or claustrophobi. I have rarely seen something nice.

Have booked the tour for $ 150 for 3h
The tour itself was very nice and fun, but it took only 90 minutes

Epic fun and adventure. Good staff who know their stuff.

Had a great time doing the black labarynth tour, I now want to go back and do the abyss tour. Staff were really fun and knowledgeable. Happy to answer any questions I had about NZ in general or the caves.
The tour is really fun and laying back and floating through the caves is definitely the best way to see the glow worms

It was the most amazing cave experience we have ever done. Instructors very professional, attentive and fun. They have much knowledge of the cave. Knowing the gloworms is a unique and exciting experience. The water temperature is very easy to handle as we are fully equipped to get into cold water. Tasks from easy to moderate difficulty, but nothing that a person without experience, like us, will not be able to do! Your could, gave more than 5 stars!

To the team at Black Water Rafting Co., thank you for an unforgettable experience.