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Hobbiton Movie Set and Waitomo Caves Full Day Tour departing Auckland

Badge of ExcellenceAuckland, New Zealand

From US$229.45

Select Date and Travelers

Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Auckland Tours
All Auckland Tours
Audio Guides
Likely To Sell Out
Private and Luxury
Unique Experiences
  • 12 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Go on a Hobbiton tour from Auckland and see the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, starting with a scenic drive through New Zealand’s North Island aboard a luxury coach. You’ll be enthralled by the illuminated Glowworm Grotto during an underground boat ride on the Waitomo River. Then pose for photos in front of hobbit holes at the Hobbiton Movie Set, home to Bilbo Baggins from ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogies. Picnic lunch included.
  • Full-day tour from Auckland to two of New Zealand’s most magical sites
  • Take a boat ride to the glowworm grotto to see thousands of glowworms twinkling in the darkness
  • Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Green Dragon Inn
  • Explore the Hobbiton Movie Set, where parts of The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed
  • Have you photo taken in front of a hobbit hole!
Operated by:

What's Included

  • Morning snack
  • Transport by luxury coach
  • Lunch
  • Pick up from selected hotels - please call to book
  • Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • 102 Hobson Street
    102 Hobson Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

    The meeting point is the InterCity Bus Terminal

Start time

07:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

After hotel pickup in Auckland, enjoy a morning snack on board the luxury coach during a scenic drive through the North Island’s rolling hills and lush farmland. Listen to your guide’s commentary as you travel through the Waikato and King Country regions, and learn of the colonial history between British settlers and the Maori in Rangariri.

Upon arrival in Waitomo, you’re taken to the noteworthy Waitomo Caves for a guided tour. Descend underground into the limestone caverns to view stunning stalactites formed over centuries. Drift along the Waitomo River during a short boat ride through the Glowworm Grotto, where a breathtaking display of tiny illuminated lights glow in the darkness. Discover the mystery behind the luminescence of thousands of glowworms before enjoying a provided picnic lunch.  

Your day trip continues across the Kaimai Ranges toward Matamata, where you’ll visit the Hobbiton Movie Set, a working sheep farm and significant filming location for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movie series, all of which were filmed throughout New Zealand. Discover how the site was transformed into JRR Tolkien’s The Shire — home of Bilbo Baggins and his fellow hobbits. Have your photo taken in front of a hobbit hole and see the pond, the Mill, the Green Dragon Inn and more.

GreatSights

This is the arrival and departure point for this tour

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hobbiton Movie Set

Journey south through lush rural farmland to the Hobbiton Movie Set, hidden on private farmland near the town of Matamata. Here, the village of Hobbiton was carefully created in amazing detail as a film location for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie trilogies. During your guided tour of this amazing location you’ll see sights like Hobbit holes, the Mill and the Green Dragon Inn, and learn how farmland was transformed into a living, breathing piece of Middle-earth. After exploring Hobbiton, tuck into a delicious lunch at the Green Dragon Inn.

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Infant seats available
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Traveler Tips

The Waitomo Caves are breathtaking - nature at it's finest; just don't try to sneak any pictures as they get very angry.
Pair that with a visit to Waitomo Caves, it was a perfect way to satisfy that bucket list!
It was delicious and well needed after a long walk, unexpected but well worth it.
Reviews
4.5
469 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 469 reviews
Tony, our tour guide was...
William_H, Jan 2023
Tony, our tour guide was excellent. An experience I will share with others. Enjoyed heEing facts about New Zealand and seeing the country.
Worth every $$$$$
TriciaAnne_B, Jan 2023
Our guide rachel was very informative, friendly and respectful, the tour itself is worth every $$$$$!!! It was well organized, buffet lunch was superb 😋 highly recommended 👍
Great tour!
Sebastian_S, Jan 2023
Both Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves are fantastic and absolutely worth visiting! Doing it with this tour is very convenient and it felt well organized.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia Ora, thank you for your 5-star review. Glad you had a great time with us to Hobbiton and Waitomo!
Hobbiton isn’t just for Hobbits!
Shirley_C, Jan 2023
Great trip! My driver, Rachel, was very knowledgeable and passionate about sharing her New Zealand knowledge. It made the long drive easier. Loved the caves and movie set. Also when we came upon a major auto accident, she took immediate steps to ask for those with medical knowledge to help and ensured all of us were safe. The only drawback was there was no first aid kit on the bus.
Great tour!
Darcy_D, Jan 2023
Rachael was a great bus driver/tour guide. I learned a lot about NZ. Note: it is a long day. We left at 7:15am and returned just after 7pm. (Some road construction did delay us). But I would recommend this trip. The lunch at Hobbiton was really good and plenty of food.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia Ora Darcy, thank you for your 5-star review, and glad you had a great day out with us, even with a bit of construction on the way home. And I agree, love the food at Hobbiton.
Hobbiton is AMAZING! Was...
Lucy_E, Jan 2023
Hobbiton is AMAZING! Was wowed at the size of the place. Waitomo caves was also a beautiful experience with wonderful guides.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia Ora Lucy, thanks for your review and amazing comments at Hobbiton and Waitomo. So happy you enjoyed your day.
Great tour and would recommend!!
Kate_L, Jan 2023
It was a great tour. Good driving by our good driver and perfect weather. The driver was very nice and explained lots of things about NZ
Nice day trip for a solo traveller.
Julie_Y, Jan 2023
Great trip, good commentary on the bus, Hobbiton Movie Set tour was well run with good food for lunch, caves were a nice short trip you didn't need to spend too much time there.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia Ora Julie, thank you for your review, and glad you had a great trip with us.
Great experience
StellaW, Jan 2023
Hobbiton was really nice, as expected and long waited for. Waitomo caves were incredible beautiful with great guides.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia ora Stella, thanks for your review and glad you enjoyed your day out with us to Hobbiton and Waitomo.
Bucket list for LOTR fans.
Vicky_C, Jan 2023
The highlight of our vacation in New Zealand. Great for fans of all ages. A must do/bucket list item for LOTR fans.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Kia Ora, so glad this was the highlight of your vacation to NZ. Thank you for your 5-star review.
A fantastic day-trip from Auckland, New Zealand
Jay_Y, Jan 2023
This was a long but exciting day trip. My wife and I were sitting in a comfortable coach, listening to the behind-the-theme stories about the movies, The lunch provided was with many choices, buffet style. Waitomo Caves were beautiful. It’s worth our money to have all great experiences we had in a single day!
Bus driver is wrey proffetional & knowedgable.
Christina_W, Dec 2022
Sightseeing (Hobbiton Movie Set and Waitomo Caves) was excellent. We both enjoy it & recommend to others.
Our driver and guide,...
Marina_D, Dec 2022
Our driver and guide, Maury, is the most knowledgeable and efficient tour guide and tour bus driver we have ever come across with. He was very punctual, helpful and is very knowledgeable and experienced. The knowledge and experience he was willing to share is priceless. We are so glad to have him as our tour bus driver and guide.
Great trip
Isaac_H, Dec 2022
The tour was on time and well thought out. Hobbiton was an excellent experience and so were the glow worm caves
Haha high
Daniel_B, Dec 2022
Ààgh talked his thanks dentist girls service IDK jfk kiddo KFI just stick isn't working mucho Jason but
Incredible experience all round
Karl_S, Nov 2022
The tour guides were absolutely incredible on the journey to hobbiton our coach drive was telling us about the local lands and view. So for myself he started the day strong and finished it on a high as well.
Fantastic even in the rain
Joe_M, Nov 2022
Very well maintained, was there in the spring with everything in bloom, very interesting to see how they arranged everything to keep the perspective right.
The excursion was really...
Gabrielle_T, Nov 2022
The excursion was really great. I did not enjoy though the fact that the driver took some detour at the end of the trip to show us some small villages. It took us 3,5 hours to get back to Auckland instead of 2,15 h.
Hobbiton and Waitomo day trip
Barbara_L, Nov 2022
Tony was an amazing driver for GreatSights. He shared a wealth of information as he drove to the two sites. Stevie was a great tour guide in Hobbiton. She admits she is a nerd and that was helpful in the information she gave to us during the tour. The guide we had in the Waitomo is a granddaughter of one of the original guides and her presentation was amazing. All in all it was a great tour I highly recommend.
We had a great tour...
Vanessa_T, Oct 2022
We had a great tour driver, Tony. Very knowledgeable, kind, and punctual. Would rate 5 stars but the wifi on the bus wasn't working.
...

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