The Most Expensive Show Cave


Show caves charge an entrance fee, which is one of the things that makes a cave a show cave, together with the restriction that you cannot enter without paying the entrance fee. And yet the entrance fees vary greatly. They depend on the size of the cave, the effort involved and, of course, the price level in the respective country. The electricity for the lighting has to be paid for, the guides and the repairs and maintenance work have to be paid for. And so it is possible that a very high sum has to be paid for a visit to a cave, and we are only talking about a visit to a show cave here. We have now tried to make a ranking, as seems to be so popular on the internet, on TikTok and youTube. The list is hardly complete and certainly cannot be kept up to date, but it gives you a little insight.

One more comment on the prices below: in Germany, which is a western industrialized nation with a high price level, show caves are often run by associations on a voluntary basis. Even for spectacular caves, admission prices of less than €5 are perfectly possible, and if the cave is run as a business, €10 can be legitimate. In the USA, however, where cave guides are only paid the minimum wage, USD 30 is often demanded. This probably explains why show caves there are still referred to as commercial caves. Countries like Vietnam, which sometimes demand VND 100,000, are at the lower end of the scale with the equivalent of € 2.50. But there are also countries with prices below one euro. These are prices that even locals can afford, but which are ridiculously low for foreign tourists. For this reason, some countries in the so-called Third World or emerging economies have a system of two or even three prices. Locals pay the low price, visitors from neighbouring countries pay the medium price, and tourists from industrialized nations pay the highest price. In this case, we have chosen the highest price for the table below.

If you check the list, there are some caves which are rather cheap. They were listed because they are the most expensive in their respective countries. And there are some caves that offer something special, like a cable car ride to get to the cave. It is probably unfair to list them here, but think you are travelling with your family and spend € 300 for a one-hour tour, then tell me if that is fair. Such amounts quickly exceed any travel budget.

And one word on the currencies: we do not have the prices in different currencies on showcaves.com, only local currency. For this list we gave the equivalent in EUR for the ranking, however, exchange rates change frequently. We started with the € and US$ countries, and actually they have the most expensive caves! We did not convert USD, as it is more or less 1:1 (currently 1 USD equals 0,92 EUR). There are probably more expensive caves on showcaves.com which are not on this list, because we did not check all currencies so far.


Name Location Fee Year Explanation
ShowcaveLeamington Caves bmBermuda € 5,598 2024 The price includes the stay for three days in a guesthouse and a two-hour cave visit, swimming allowed. There is 10 % discount from JAN to MAR.
ShowcavePivka Jama (Pivka Cave) and Crna Jama (Black Cave) siSlovenia € 90 2024 They discontinued the tours through Pivka and Crna Jama, and now offer a tour which connects Postojna and the other two.
ShowcaveMarvel Cave usUSA $ 89 2023 To visit the cave you have to buy a ticket for the park, the cave tour and all other rides are included in the rather steep ticket price.
ShowcaveHarrison's Cave bBarbados $ 57 2023 The cave is visited using a so-called electric tram, an engine which pulls several trailers, which are wide enough to seat five persons in a row.
ShowcaveRuakuri Cave nzNew Zealand NZD 107 (€ 60) 2024 This cave is impressive, and it is rather new, but we have no idea why it is actually twice as expensive as other spectacular caves in the country.
ShowcaveNatur Eis Palast Hintertuxer Gletscher atAustria € 42.50 2024 This is a glacier cave on top of a mountain, the ticket includes the cable car.
ShowcaveEisriesenwelt atAustria € 42 2024 The ticket includes the cable car ride to the cave.
ShowcaveCayman Crystal Caves FlagCayman Islands $ 40 2021 This cave is not only expensive, it is small, and the owner caused a lot of damage during development for which he received the Conservation Award. Avoid.
ShowcaveUndara Lava Tubes RegionAustralia AUD 71 (€ 37) 2024 This is the most expensive show cave in Australia. Of course, it is exceptional, and in a remote location, and obviously the tours are spectacular. Nevertheless.
ShowcaveOrient Cave ShowcaveTemple of Baal Cave RegionAustralia AUD 60 (€ 37) 2023 The five main show caves at Jenolan are all quite expensive, Orient and Temple of Baal Cave are the most expensive ones. If you visit all show caves, you pay AUD 264, more than € 160 for one person.
ShowcaveCheddar Caves & Gorge RegionGreat Britain £ 24 (€ 28) 2024 This ticket includes Gough's Cave, Cox's Cave, the Museum of Prehistory, Jacob's Ladder, the Lookout Tower, and the Cliff-Top Walk. And it is the most expensive show cave in Great Britain.
ShowcaveGrottes de Han-sur-Lesse beBelgium € 27 2023 This is actually only the cave tour, but it includes a tram ride.
ShowcaveLa Geoda de Pulpí esSpain € 22 2023 okay, this cave is special and the number of visitors is limited, nevertheless...
ShowcaveGrotta del Cavallone itItaly € 20 2023 Again, the cave is high up the mountain and the fee includes a cable car ride.
ShowcaveGrotta dell'Angelo itItaly € 18 2024 This cave is special, the only boat ride on a cave river in Italy, but they actually shut down the long and medium tour, and increased the price of the short tour dramatically.
ShowcaveLa salle de La Verna frFrance € 18 2023 This cave is located high on the mountain, and the price includes € 5 for the 4WD to the entrance.
ShowcaveGrottes de Bétharram frFrance € 16.50 2022 Again, a shuttle to the entrance is included.
ShowcaveAltensteiner Höhle deGermany € 15 2024 Nice cave but not extraordinary, except for being the most expensive in Germany.