RealNZ - Te Anau Visitor Centre

I recently booked a trip to the Glowworm Caves with RealNZ in Te Anau. Unfortunately, I need to say that I have been really disappointed by the whole experience. I was told many lies during the booking process at the RealNZ visitors center in order to book a trip.It was raining a lot that day (05.02.2023) and when we arrived we asked the sales agent at the counter if there are any activities that we could do despite the rain. She told us that the Glowworm Tour is a great experience even during a rainy day and that she has two free spots on the next tour. We told her that we have already been to many caves around the world and also have already seen glowworms many times. But she told us that this tour is special since we would be experiencing the glowworms while being on a small boat and that this 'boat ride in the cave would be around 25-35 minutes long'. To prove that she even showed us a map of the cave and pointed out that it is a 'big cave' and that the ride itself is really long. Since it was raining a lot that boat ride sounded like a nice little thing to do.But our boat tour already ended after a few minutes and the guides confirmed that is normally never longer than 10 minutes.You can imagine that we have been a little confused after the ride since we have been told something completely different when we booked the tour. I went back the next morning to kindly ask the sales agent about it. She was really rude and told me that she meant the boat ride on the lake and that the cave itself is 'super small' and therefore a boat trip in the cave could also just be 5 min long and this time she showed me that same map of the cave to show me how tiny the cave is. I told her that I would have never booked the tour if I would have known the truth since $198 are too much for just a 5 minutes boat ride. Her response was just that it is a whole package including the scenic boat ride on the lake and that she will let the guides on the island know that I have been disappointed by their tour and then ended the conversation with me and just blamed it on the guides.We have lived on an island and the beauty of the ferry ride off/on this island is comparable to the ride between the islands and sounds on the way between Wellington and Picton, so a ride on a little lake in the rain and without vision is nothing I would have paid money for. We have already seen many amazing caves around the world and experienced all kind of glowworms around the world. We really just booked the tour for the 'long' boat ride in the cave. If I would have known that the boat ride itself is just a few minutes and not as we were told 25-35 minutes, we would have never booked the trip and paid $198 for a 5 minutes experience.I would like to point out that I was not disappointed by the crew. I am really disappointed with the selling process and all the lies that I have been told in order to push me to book a trip and her behavior afterwards.I have never been fouled more by a trip company and really hoped that this sales agent was an exception. I contacted Real NZ via email over 4 weeks ago but haven't received a response. So I assume that this isn't just the bad behavior of a single sales person but rather RealNZ normal procedure to trick it's customers into buying tours.

I did the glow worm caves and then Doubtful sound the next day (Swapped my Milford booking because of flooding).Weather was kind, sunny with just a few clouds.Quite a trek to Doubtful Sound but through beautiful scenery and across lake Manapouri.Incredible cruise - as well as waterfalls and the natural beauty of the area we were lucky enough to see fur seals, dolphins and an albatross.Thomas our host was a born performer, imparting loads of information in a witty and fun style. He obviously loves the area and his enthusiasm was very infectious.Locals say DOUBTFUL is better than Milford. Aparently you can get an overnight stay on one of the boats.Definitely worth 5 stars. Everything I booked with Real Journeys was top notch.

Great experience taking this Doubtful Sound Day Cruise. I would go 10 times more. I cannot explain how great we felt when we took this tour. The cruises were very sophisticated, well maintained. The tours were a little pricey but definitely worth the money. We were offered free coffee and tea aboard the cruise. Over all a great experience.

Milford Sound Lake Cruise... did you know if it doesn't rain for 2 days they consider it a drought? One of the wettest places on earth with an average of 7000mm of rainfall annually (Brisbane is 1200mm). Saw some dolphins, seals and penguins on this leisurely 3 hour cruise

Absolutely worth doing the glow worm cave trip.Real journeys staff and tour guides were great and without fault.The boat ride of course was very good as can only be expected when viewing Fiordlands mountains,, lakes, and geography.What's not to love about Fiordland.

We did two tours - one to Milford sound and at night to the Glowworm caves. Both were spectacular! We just wished the weather was a little drier for Milford sound but the rain summoned heaps more waterfalls along the way. Absolutely loved the glow worm cave tours as well, very informational and well lengthen. We want to particularly thank our Milford coach driver Peter, who was a wonderful guide, commentator and driver throughout. Loved the very informational and funny commentaries throughout!The guides on the Milford cruise and glow worm caves were fantastic as well!

Glow Worm Caves tour starts here! Very nice Real Journey's boat! And what an awesome team! Very lively and lovely tour guides. Very informative. The tour on the Cave was very unforgettable. Will definitely do it again. And will definitely book from Real Journey's again!

The Glow worm tours were excellent. The guides were professional and made a great difference to our experience. The caves & the worms were just incredible. Definitely worth the trip.

We did the Milford sound tour from Te Anau. The coach was comfortable and we had a great view through the glass ceiling. Our guide/driver Craig was awesome, so knowledgeable about the area and some great jokes thrown in. The boat ride was beautiful albeit a little windy and cold (to be expected!)

Glow worm cave, Milford sound and some of the activity can check it out.