Lake Rotoiti Kayak Tour: Hot Springs and Glowworms

57 Ratings

Rotorua

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Experience Lake Rotoiti’s magic: kayak to hot springs, explore glowworm caves, and savor a BBQ dinner. Unwind, swim, and witness a stunning sunset.

Duration: 7 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Lake Rotoiti - Transfers are available from central Rotorua commercial accommodation.
On arrival at our base you will need to sign in and then we will go through an initial briefing about gear etc. and get geared up, then we will transfer you 10 minutes to the lake.
At the lake we will go through a safety briefing before paddling for around 1 hour…

What's Included

Full training
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Kiwi BBQ dinner
Department of Conservation Fees
Professional guide
All specialist equipment
Hot Pools Entry

What's Not Included

Gratuities
Towels can be hired for NZ$2.00 per person

Additional Information

Spend a memorable evening on a kayak tour of Lake Rotoiti with an expert guide. Visit natural hot springs and glowworm caves, and enjoy plenty of time for a relaxing soak, swim, and barbecue dinner. After your meal, paddle into lakeside caves to see glowworms and sometimes Koura - (freshwater crayfish), and take in the sunset as you wrap up your kayak…

Location

River Rats Raft & Kayak

Te Ngae Road

Hangar 14s, Take the driveway on the left as you come into the airport. Go past the first few hangars and you will see a big raft & kayak on the side of the building and free parking out the front.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.8

(57 Ratings)

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310jacintag

Apr 23, 2025

An awesome adventure for the whole family - I've taken my boys (13 y.o. and 8 y.o.) sea kayaking a couple of times, but this was hands down the best such experience we've had together -- enjoyed by all (incl. Dad, who doesn't usually join family kayaking outings). The trip across Lake Rotoiti was beautiful, and just enough effort to make us feel we really deserved the hot pools. The combo of scenic natural hot springs looking out over the lake and a jetty with slide and 'bomb' platform for jumping into refreshing-but-not-too-cold fresh water was a winner. Guide Justin -- who's been running the company for over 25 years -- cooked us a tasty BBQ dinner, guided us into an other-worldly glowworm cave, and shared local knowledge in an engaging and personalised way. We were lucky to have him all to ourselves. We were also lucky -- on the first clear night for several days, to paddle home under stunning, starlit skies (seeing several constellations and the grand stretch of the Milky Way). Absolutely magical, and a wonderful adventure for the whole family!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

A2202zlmattw

Apr 11, 2025

Excellent tour and experience - Utterly beautiful trip with a very relaxing time at the hot springs. The meal provided was excellent and the scenes across the lake were stunning. Highly recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Diane186570

Mar 24, 2025

Fabulous kayak trip - Fabulous trip with Justin. We loved all of it. The lake is beautiful with clear water. We are not regular kayakers but it was not too challenging. The glow worm caves are a must see. The hot pools were fun and have an interesting history. Highly recommend this trip.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bovril23

Dec 8, 2024

Perfect end to our honeymoon - We had a fantastic afternoon and evening kayaking to the hot pools, following by a relaxing soak. Justin did a great job guiding, organising us all and cooked us a lovely BBQ dinner. On the return trip, we kayaked under the stars, with Justin sharing Māori stories. The glow worm cave was amazing. Thank you Justin!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Teenyreeny

Dec 6, 2024

Unforgettable, relaxing sights and experiences - Everything was superb.... the organisation, kayaks, amazing views, soaking in the hot tubs, dinner, meeting other travellers, the magical glowworms and Justin's magical traditional storytelling while we silently kayaked home across the smooth waters with just the glow of headlamps. We pretty much had the tranquil lake to ourselves as there is no road access to the places we went. You will feel transported to another world. Thank you River Rats! 10/10

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Cathy_s

Mar 19, 2024

Fabulous evening kayak - Beautiful lake to kayak across, great hot springs to soak in, delicious bbq and an awesomegloworm experience. Excellent attentive abd knowledgeable guide with the best equipment.

Review provided by Viator

H5307pdcs

Mar 18, 2024

Beyond our wildest expectations and more - This was a truly amazing kayak trip. The paddle across Lake Rotoiti in both directions was fun and beautiful and the soak in the hotsprings upon our arrival on the other side was just fabulous. We pretty much had the place to ourselves which is hard to come by these days. We were also lucky in the sunset was so beautiful and we were able to enjoy it while eating a delicious BBQ dinner made by our guide, Justin. On our way back across the lake, we enjoyed clear skies prett much no wind, making for such an easy paddle. The best part, however, was the ending - easing into a little cave full of gloworms hanging from the ceiling then floating back out into a night full of sparkling stars. So very beautiful. River Rats gave us a tour that was beyond our expectations, from great and thoughtful gear, to an informative guide, and an amazing time experiencing some of New Zealands unique and fabulous natural features.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Hootie120

Jan 23, 2024

Great evening out - Great afternoon/evening out, guide was very good with safely briefing and getting the kayak ready for us to fit in comfortably. Had a nice paddle across the lake to the hot pools where we had a swim and and a nice BBQ dinner with a good steak and dessert, paddled back in the dark to stop in the gloworm cave for ten minutes and then back to the boat ramp. Many thanks to Justin for organizing this as we had had a few date changes. Not to tough for my 75 year old husband, he loved it even if he had to get helped out of the kayak at the end

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Grants174

Jan 13, 2024

Best Day of Our Lives - 9 people came on this trip. Every single one came out saying that this tour made the best day of our lives. From funny, thoughtful guides to once in a lifetime experiences, every part of this trip was great. Justin and Amy were helpful keeping us on course and made us a great meal at such a unique hot springs island. Seeing the sunset from the lake followed by a hidden glow words cave was the highlight of our trip to New Zealand, and of our lives. Thank you River Rats!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Hotpink01

Mar 9, 2025

Good trip - wish I’d done a double kayak as I want very confident - The guide Sophie was friendly and engaged. I’m a size 16/18 and my butt just squeezed into the Kayak. I didn’t have my kayak set up correctly (a little more tuition to get it right would have been good). So I was very uncomfortable for the kayak over. Much better on the way back. More adventure than I was expecting. The lake crossing got pretty choppy and I felt like I had a good chance of capsizing. Once the sun set it the chop died down and it was lovely. We did single kayaks. I’d do double next time. Much easier. Hot pools were great, lake was warm enough to swim, and BBQ was very generous (giant steak). Glow worms were cool to see - going on the cave was a bit scary. But once we all got in it was ok. I’d recommend it yes - but get a double and know it’s not just a wee paddle about.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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