Your tour starts in New Zealand’s largest city. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the city’s top highlights.
Exiting Auckland we travel south through the stunning Waikato countryside, the most extensive farming area in the world, encountering beautiful scenery, mighty rivers, great photo opportunities, impressive mountains and several farm animals along the way.
we board one of the big green Hobbiton buses to depart on a two and a half hour fully guided tour of this amazing 12 acre movie set with a professional Hobbiton guide to ensure you get the most out of your visit. During your tour step into the lush pastures of the Shire, visit 44 hobbit holes, see amazing gardens, hear the secrets and stories about the making of the movies and enjoy a cold beverage at the famous Hobbiton pub The Green Dragon Inn.
Sadly we must start to head north again but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip to Auckland including surprise stops. Depending on weather and timing our guides love doing other surprise stops. Maybe a scenic stop near a lake or the chance to try New Zealand ice creams, we love introducing you to local wildlife and animals. You will have to jump on the tour to see where you go!
This tour is absolutely amazing. Trent and James were fantastic and funny. Hobbiton is a must do if you are in Auckland. The hours just flew by. Everything was even better than I expected.
We had an awesome experience. The length of the visit was good. It was a fun day. And the crowd size was good. Wyatt our tour guide was great. Cheerz
Trevor picked us up right on time and was very accommodating. We had well-timed rest stop and ice cream breaks on the drive to and from the movie set. The tour itself was fascinating and informative. Just a beautiful and magical place, so well maintained and presented. We loved getting a beverage and hanging out at the Green Dragon at the end of the tour. A wonderful excursion!
It’s a great experience, great guide
Great tour! Would go again, must see when in NZ
We had an excellent time on our day trip to Hobbiton from Auckland! Our guide made it very easy and was very friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely recommend to others looking to spend a day visiting The Shire!
The tour was fantastic and Trent our guide was amazing. He made the tour very pleasant and provided interesting facts throughout the ride, maintaining excellent communication. I would highly recommend it!
Very good, we had a lot of fun!!!
Trip was a once in a lifetime experience! Amazing!
We were on crown Princess cruise and only had one day in Auckland. We were picked up at a very close location near the port. Spot on time our driver collected us for our excursion. The drive was made entertaining by our driver pointing out different places and telling us interesting history and information as we passed through beautiful green rolling hills and farmland. We stopped for a break at a great bakery. At the entrance of Hobbiton we were transported on a big green bus with a delightful guide to the farm where Hobbiton was. The big surprise was how beautiful and fun Hobbiton was. Every detail amazing every house unique. We had a walk right round the movie set feeling we were walking in the actual Movie. The last stop two houses have been made into actual proper little houses complete with fires stoves furniture it was so cute. We finished the tour at the inn where we chose cider as our complimentary drink. On the way back to Auckland we were able to watch a video of scenes from actual films. A nice surprise was a icecream stop. We had a great day and were dropped off close to the cruise port at 6.45pm with plenty of time to make our boarding time. Totally recommend even if you have never seen any of the movies.
Great and timely transportation, great tour guides, great service and explanations. I particularly thank Trent he was great!
It's really worth it, even though it's been raining all day."
Trent and the tour were great. I arrived on a cruise ship and had plenty of time for the tour and my 9:00pm departure. Trent messaged the day before on WhatsApp to verify the pick up location in Auckland and sent a message once he arrived. Along the way we stopped for a 15 minute toilet/ rest break. Trent shared a lot of interesting facts about New Zealand as well as Hobbiton. Cheeky Kiwi Travels umbrellas were provided for those who didn’t bring any, as it was raining. We arrived a bit early which allowed time to enjoy the gift shop and cafe before the tour of Hobbiton. After the tour, we headed back to Auckland while watching The Fellowship of the Ring in the mini bus. Along the way Trent stopped at TipTop for our group to try Hokey Pokey, a New Zealand ice cream. The tour was fantastic and Trent was a wonderful guide. I highly recommend using Cheeky Kiwi Travel.
Trent was an amazing guide! He had lots of interesting facts to share along the way and the ride was quite smooth (especially for someone like me who gets motion sickness). He even was able to get us on an earlier tour so we didn't have to wait as long after arriving at Hobbiton, and he was able to store my souvenir items on the bus so I didn't have to carry it on the tour. And we were able to end the trip with watching LOTR on the TV in the bus on the way back. I absolutely would recommend this experience through Cheeky Kiwi!
Very oleasant trip, the pick up and drop up was perfectly on time and the tour guide gave is nice information during the trip
Dave was super friendly and had lots of knowledge regarding the hobbiton and Auckland would highly recommend such a fun day thank you!
Great experience with Trent and Kirsten for the bus and set tour!
Had such a great experience all round. Travel there and back was efficient and comfortable with a lovely sociable driver who filed us in on everything we needed to know ahead of the tour. Also had such a great tour guide who really knew his stuff! Couldn’t complain about anything and will be a day I remember for a long time.
This was worth every penny. Hobbiton is breathtaking and Trent was a great tour guide! Very personable and made it so we didn’t have to worry about a thing the whole trip. Would do it again!
This was a good tour for our family of six. The pick up was on time and there were five other individuales on the van. The van itself was a Mercedes sprinter van and very comfortable. The driver, Vickey, had some commentary on the drive and it was a good mix of talking and listening to music. She had a good level of energy and was engaging. The drive back had a couple of stops for some photo ops and snacks. Overall this was a great option for our large family to get to and from Hobbiton. I like the smaller bus as compared to a large coach tour operator.
My visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set was a memorable and enjoyable experience. Although it rained during the visit, it did not diminish the enjoyment of the tour. Along the journey, the tour guide shared interesting information not only about the Hobbiton movie set and its connection to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, but also about New Zealand’s history, culture, and landscapes. This helped expand my knowledge and made the trip both educational and engaging.
That was a great and memorable trip. Our driver and guide was really nice, trip was safe and sound, we learned a lot about New Zealand and enjoyed every minute.
We had Grant as our tour guide. He was very informative and we had a great day. Weather and tour were both great and I've never even watched movies! We only had 7 on bus which was great so we had 2 seats each. Thanks Jayne & Holly
Trent our driver was great and very knowledgeable. The trip to and from the Hobbiton movie set staging area was smooth and enjoyable. We were able to be there early enough to stretch, grab something from the souvenir and cafe shops before entering our bus to the set. Watching LOTR ( ROTK) on the way back was a nice touch as well, and a great way to end the day for our family. -Los WBs
Had a great experience visiting the Hobbiton set. What made it extra special was our tour guide Jeoff. He had tons of knowledge about New Zealand and had snacks and water prepared for us. He and Cheeky Kiwi made this experience unforgettable.
Vicki from Cheeky Kiwi made this trip so much more than just a ride from Auckland to Hobbiton. She was a genuinely warm and welcoming person - from the moment we got on board and made everyone feel at ease straight away. She kept us fed with snacks and food on the way, which was a lovely touch, and the journey flew by thanks to her sharing Kiwi history and local knowledge about the areas we were passing through. She clearly loves being a guide! At Hobbiton itself the movie set experience was so stuffed with nature and movie nostalgia, but Vicki’s care and attention on the day improved the 2hr journeys (with breaks). She was patient, knowledgeable, and always happy to answer questions or offer tips. Can’t recommend her highly enough, if you’re booking a day trip from Auckland, you want Vicki driving the bus ;)
It’s quite a long journey/day. Hobbiton tour itself was great, beautiful place, very interesting, good tour guide.. Minibus ride was comfortable and driver was knowledgeable. It felt rushed as we didn’t really have time to have lunch and browse the gift shop. I felt a bit stressed as we were obviously partly rushing so someone could get back in time for his cruise ship departure.
Simon my driver was very informative the entire day. Had a great experience visiting the Hobbiton movie set.
Grant was an amazing guide! He was so kind and had so much to share! He created a friendly environment in and bus and we made connections with the other people, it was wonderful!!!
This experience was phenomenal for any LORT fans as it exceeded our expectations. Our guide was fantastic and knowledgeable as well as courteous, highly recommended.
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Jeoff from Cheeky Kiwi Tours. Jeoff was friendly, knowledgeable and provided great commentary along the way from Auckland to Hobbiton and also on the way back to Auckland. Jeoff allowed the perfect time for a break off the bus as well as time to wander after the Hobbiton movie set tour and even stopped on the way home for some delicious ice creams! We would highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi Tours and appreciate their excellent hospitality. Our entire family had a great time and thank you for a lovely day out exploring NZ.
Great day out to see the movie set. The tour guide James was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable... plus his puns are on point 👌 our driver Simon was very kind and chatty. Made a great effort to get to know everyone on the tour.
In March and April 2024 I spent 6 weeks in New Zealand and did 4 different day tours with Cheeky Kiwi Travel, which were all absolutely amazing. The first one was just a few days after my arrival in NZ. Cam took us to Hobbiton, which was the perfect start of my own journey, kind of like Frodo :-) The small groups, the locations, the fun and the professionalism; everything was just top notch. Grant, who was our guide on the Rotorua trip, was lovely. Much to my own pleasure, he started talking about rugby 15 minutes into our trip. I have very fond memories of all tours and recommend Cheeky Kiwi Travel 100%!
If you are a fan of Hobbits and The Lord of the Rings this is a must. This was an easy way to get there and even had a nice surprise stop on the way back.
Cam from Cheeky was fun and knowledgeable. We enjoyed the Hobbinton tour. The only down side was our Hobbinton guide, she was nice but hard to hear and her accent made it difficult to understand. You could tell English was not her dominant language.
We had a smooth, on time experience with Cheeky Kiwi. Grant, our driver, was very personable and full of information. We were always taken care of. The Hobbiton tour was fantastic- a great day out from Auckland.
Astounding trip lived up to expectations. Colin, the driver, was prompt, knowledgeable, friendly and very approachable. He went the extra mile to help recover a backpack left in the Green Dragon in Hobbiton.
We had an amazing time visiting Hobbiton. The driver, John, was fantastic. He was not only fun, but also extremely knowledgeable about all manner of information about the tour itself and various areas along the way. I would definitely do the tour again just to get more trivia from John
Awesome tour. Bus driver Jeff excellent. We arrived at Hobbiton and Met Taylor who was our ambassador to the Shire! Excellent tour. You will re-live your inner Hobbit. And end your visit at the Red Dragon with a complimentary pint!
On recommendation of the hotel we were booked into we booked with Cheeky Kiwi and we didn’t regret it. The minibus arrived on time and our guide, Matt, quickly processed us all aboard before a short drive to pick up the last two guests. Thankfully nobody needed a breakfast/comfort break in the 2 hour drive to Hobbiton during which Matt was informative without being “overly so” , if you know what I mean. On arrival Matt was concise with the information we needed and having wisely got us there early enough to eat that’s what we did and we can recommend the pies and cakes at the cafe. Hobbiton is a fabulous place to visit and even if you’re not a LOTR fan. One of the staff even owned up to not being one. After the visit ended he then took us to a place that, bizarrely, had two ice cream shops next door to each other selling exactly the same thing….New Zealand’s best selling ice cream Tip Top. We’d already had an ice cream in Hobbiton so we didn’t partake. We can heartily recommend this tour, especially if you’re lucky enough to get Matt as your guide.
I am a life long Tolkien fan and so the Hobbiton movie set was a must see in Auckland when we were there. The original set made for the three LOTR movies was dismantled after those three movies were completed but when Peter Jackson made the three Hobbit movies the site was rebuilt again. The canny owner of the farm insisted as part of the deal that this time the site would be left intact and after filming the complex was transformed into the current site. Early in 2024 two additions were made - two functionally identical Hobbit holes into which the tour enters to explore. Fabulous imagination at every turn. Cheeky Kiwi was the natural tour company for us from the many reviews on TA and we booked with them directly, not through a middleman. We met at the Movenpick Hotel on time and Doug our driver/guide was consistently funny, gracious and informative. When another passenger missed a pickup point he circled back to pick them up. He even dodged a protest car rally that was totally clogging the road between Auckland and Hobbiton and got us to our pre-booked Hobbiton tour on time. On the way back we even stopped for ice cream. His songs and stories were delightful. Fabulous day out all round! Cheers to Doug!
Visiting Auckland. Take a trip to Hobbiton. Hop on a tour by Cheeky Kiwi. Grant was great in his sharing. Nice Ice Cream at the end of the tour.
Don is an exceptional tour guide who made our experience truly unforgettable. His driving skills, engaging stories, vocal performance and attention to detail in personalizing our tour were top-notch. Visiting Hobbiton was a dream, and the stop for penekon ice cream added a delightful touch. Don’s anecdotes were not only entertaining but also brought the places we visited to life. Thank you, Don, for your superb guidance—keep up the fantastic work!
Lance was our driver/host today. He was very knowledgeable and fun to be with. I highly recommend Lance and CheekyKiwi
Grant and Simon the best guides!!!! We loved the tour. If we ever return to NZ we will repeat with this Enterprise
It was an amazing journey, I seemed to have gone into a tale with the wonder of Hobbiton Movie set. Thank you to the Melissa guide who did an excellent job, from her sympathy, cordiality, and accompany us at all times so that we could fully enjoy that tour.
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