Small-group Hobbiton Tour From Auckland With Party Marquee Lunch

Early pick up from hotel by friendly guide. Stop for coffee and comfort break along the way to Hobbiton. Noel shared knowledge about Auckland and New Zealand whilst driving. We arrived at Hobbiton in time for 9.40 tour. Hobbiton did not disappoint, beautifully maintained, it was a wonderful visit even in the pouring rain! Lunch was plentiful and very tasty. A different route back to Auckland with more friendly chat.

A must for any Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fans. The re-creation of the set is masterful, and the Hobbiton staff are quite knowledgeable.

Met more then our expectations! The stops on the way up and back worked out very well. Driver was very knowledgeable and friendly!

Very well organised and worthwhile experience. Hard to realise we were actually there. Be sure to select the food option.

This tour was magical! I loved everything about it! The tour company was very professional and organized, details were communicated clearly and accurately, and our guides were all excellent. If you’re a LOTR fan, this is a must do. The buffet lunch was delicious and a very nice addition, as well. Definitely worth doing because the drive to get to the Hobbiton set is quite a journey, so it’s nice to leave well fed. The attention to detail on this tour is next level. Can’t recommend it enough!

This tour was the highlight for the start of my trip in New Zealand! The communication from the Bush & Beach staff before and during the tour was clear and organized. My first driver for my pick up was Murray. He was very polite and welcoming to me during the drive. Shortly after, he handed me off to the actual guide named Warren. Warren was the guide/driver for our tour to Hobbiton. Warren gave us plenty of history on New Zealand, very informative, polite, and a very safe driver. There was a major wreck on the highway, but Warren still got us there on time and safely. He always communicated and gave updates throughout the journey. We also never felt rushed and had plenty of time for the gift shop as well. We had the advantage of beating all of the crowds as we were the first group! We were handed off to James for the Hobbiton part of the tour. James was absolutely fun and really energized the group. He was such a fun guide and you can tell that he has a passion for what he does. I appreciate James offering to take pictures for people. This was appreciated as I was traveling solo. The included buffet lunch was very good and organized as well. This scenery and story about Hobbiton was amazing! I really enjoyed this tour! A big kudos to Warren, Murray, and James for making a great first impression upon my entry to New Zealand. You all are the best! I highly recommend doing this tour with Bush & Beach.

A wonderful all-inclusive tour with Hobbiton as the amazing and magical destination. Well done! We were well taken care of from start to finish!

We had a lovely day on the Hobbiton tour with Bush and Beach. We had a lovely, knowledgeable driver/guide who made our day very enjoyable. The van was comfortable and it was nice that every seat wasn’t taken. The seats are quite slim, which is something to note. My only feedback would be that I thought that our stops on the way down and back were very random, I was anticipating a lovely little bakery or cafe/shop in a little town on the way down, however we stopped at the freeway/roadside stop. This was time efficient, I can understand, but I just would’ve really liked to have gone to a lovely little bakery, as Its own experience. On the stop back we stopped at a raceway to access the Cafe. Most of the other people in my tour enjoyed this, which I was happy for. However, it just felt a bit random to me. Overall, the day was very well managed, comfortable and enjoyable and I would definitely do a tour with this company again. Their customer service and communication is on point.

Had a super time on this tour of Hobbiton. Easy pickup right at my hotel in the central business district in Auckland About a 2 hour drive each way with a bathroom and coffee stop. The tour is amazing if you are a fan of the films. A drink at the actual Green Dragon pub and a huge buffet lunch was included with the tour and it was terrific. Tour guide chats during the drive with historical and cultural topics about New Zealand. A really fun day!

Ian was a safe, informative and friendly guide. He did a great job making sure we enjoyed our day with Bush and Beach.

I cannot recommend Bush and Beach highly enough for an excellent experience with them. One of their drivers picked us up from our hotel in Rotorua and drove us to the Hobbiton Movie Set to meet up with our main tour group with Bush and Beach - the transfer was seamless. Our Bush and Beach team met us at the end of the formal Hobbiton Tour at the Green Dragon Inn, and the tour group all had a sit-down buffet lunch as part of the tour package, which was excellent! The trip back to Auckland and the drop off at our hotel was also seamless. Many thanks to Bush and Beach for a great experience.

This review is mostly for the Bush and Beach tour company. It was really seamless and easy to communicate with Bush and Beach staff over the messaging system. They respond relatively quickly and are very informative and helpful. Our tour guide, Kelly, was simply one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had! Because it was a small group for this day, on our return trip, we asked Kelly all sorts of questions about New Zealand life and society. His many years of experience was valuable for teaching us about New Zealand and Hobbiton. We ended up chatting the whole ride back and he was so patient to be answering all our questions. As for the Hobbiton experience itself, we loved the small group feel of it. The timing of the tour and the lunch was perfect. We arrived to Hobbiton with enough time to experience the shop to use our $10 voucher, the cafe, and a restroom break. Our tour started at 9:40am and when it finished, Kelly met us at the Green Dragon as we were receiving our included drink. Then we were right on time for the 11:30 lunch at the party tent. We were the first ones there so the food was so fresh and delicious. After we were almost done with lunch, we saw a huge tour group come in and it suddenly became crowded. At that moment, we were so happy that we chose the small group tour from Bush and Beach! It was worth every dollar.

The Hobbiton tour was amazing and interactive and better than we expected. But Damian was a highlight as our tour guide. Every part of this day was exceptional, including the lunch. Damian goes above and beyond to ensure his guests have a great experience. He is informative, funny and exceptionally kind. Great day!

Meredith was our tour driver and she was very helpful and patient. We left a bag that we needed to bring for the day and she was kind enough to turn back and allowed us to retrieve it from the hotel. She was engaging and organized throughout the day and made the Hobbiton trip fun despite the long drive. Definitely recommend this tour! Just wished we had more time for pics…. The buffet was sumptuous and the staff encouraged everyone to go for seconds! What a fun day it was for everyone in our group!

Rain or shine the tour will go on. Luckily for us, the strong rain stopped to an intermittent light drizzle during the actual walking tour.

Tour was better than expected. We were picked up on time from our hotel. Our guide, Jason, from Bush and Beach was excellent. He was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Damien was an excellent driver and guide. Every detail was attended to and information was clear and communicated thoroughly. I highly recommend this tour and tour company

An early start but well worth it as we got to the set before the crowds. Our driver, Wayne, was a legend and has an endless repertoire of jokes, interspersed with great local knowledge. The small group worked well, great access to the hobbit holes and plenty of space to take great photos. Very well organised and defo worth the day out.

Amazing tour with Bush & Beach! Excellent communication regarding pick up and the logistics by Alex, our transport chaperone (as he referred to himself) and then handed us over to our driver & guide Steve who was amazing! I highly recommend Bush & Beach for this tour, and a visit to Hobbiton should not be missed, even for those that aren’t fans of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies. It is a ‘magical’ place and the lunch was wonderful!

A very Memorable experience for everyone. Take lots of pictures and videos. Make sure your phone is fully charged

Very well planned excursion - refreshment breaks every hour on the trip to/from Hobbiton. Driver was very informative & knowledgeable. The tour was awesome, the party lunch such a treat. Kudos to driver Mark.

Did the Hobbiton Express Tour with Lunch for two. Everything was well organized — early pickup from our hotel, smooth drive, and good pacing throughout the day. Our guide Kelly was knowledgeable and kept things interesting on the road. The small group size was a plus. Would recommend.

Had a lovely trip to Hobbiton. Kelly was a great driver and very informative. Everything about this tour was organized and efficient. Had some great pastries and coffee at a roadside stop about 1/2 way through the drive to Hobbiton. The tour itself was well organized. The grounds were lovely and we had fantastic weather! Joe, our Hobbiton guide, was fun and friendly. This was a great way to start our vacation!

Very well run: clear meeting instructions, exactly on time, clean, comfortable mini-buses, and a friendly knowledge host. And of course the Hobbiton tour was a delight.

First of all it was very nice getting picked up at our hotel. We had a wonderful knowledgeable driver, Damian, that shared information about Hobbiton and how it became the tourist attraction it has become as well as a well thought out rest stop with morning coffee along the way. The tour is handed over to the Hobbiton facility and our driver helped coordinate our group at the end of the tour at the The Green Dragon's Inn for an included beer, cider, or non alcoholic ginger beer, and then off to a very good buffet style large lunch. The drive back allowed for sleeping and another very nice rest stop on the way back to Auckland. Highly reccomend this tour company for a very smooth day to Hobbiton.

First of all it was very nice getting picked up at our hotel. We had a wonderful knowledgeable driver, Damian, that shared information about Hobbiton and how it became the tourist attraction it has become as well as a well thought out rest stop with morning coffee along the way. The tour is handed over to the Hobbiton facility and our driver helped coordinate our group at the end of the tour at the Dragon's Inn for an included beer, cider, or non alcoholic ginger beer, and then off to a very good buffet style large lunch. The drive back allowed for sleeping and another very nice rest stop on the way back to Auckland. Highly reccomend this tour company for a very smooth day to Hobbiton.

First of all organization was really good. You can pick out almost every hotel in Auckland as your pick-up and drop-off. The bus driver was even a bit earlier. We then got on a 4-hour drive to Hobbiton while our tour guide told us very interesting stories about New Zealand’s Discovery, the Māori history and the story about the land (Waikato) south of Auckland that we were driving through. And of course he also told us the story of the discovery of Peter Jacksons most precious place in Lord of the Rings: Hobbiton was everything I expected and so much more. The details Peter Jackson was looking out for and the effort the film makers put into this most Oscars-winning trilogy is just remarkable. Our tour guide put all his efforts into making this a fun, interactive and memorable adventure. And he succeeded!!! Testing our Lord of The Rings knowledge, telling us secret details one mustn’t recognize when watching the films and keeping our expectations high for the tasty lunch (or might I say second breakfast ;) ). After the tour I got myself the non-alcoholic drink at the green dragon and enjoyed lamb ragout, vegetables, chefs cut beef and really really good apple crumble (made out of the apples from Hobbiton gardens if I remember correctly). After that we got back to our Bush&Beach guide who actually had lunch with us as well getting to know us even better. We took off Hobbiton getting on some beautiful road through lands and rocks while our guide began explaining again how these lands where shaped by the Waikato river and how times changed and how people in New Zealand adapted… We then got to Waitomo Caves where our guide got us the tickets and 10min later we walked through stone caves shaped by sea and time. For those who haven’t seen stalagmites and stalactites before, this is your chance. Quite impressive knowing it needs hundreds of years just to build another centimeter of stone… Again the tour guiding was really nice, we got to learn a lot about the lifecycle of the glowworms and then we went on a boat and got to see what might’ve been the eighth world wonder: millions of small but bright stars on the cave’s ceiling. For obvious reasons you aren’t allowed to take pictures, so only memories stay. After that we rounded up with our guide from Bush&Beach and got back to Auckland. Again our guide gave some insights about almost everything. Personally I loved his passion for their land, culture and ideology. It’s quite different from other countries. The tour guide dropped us off at our hotels though if you ask nicely you might get dropped off at your place as well ;) (I stayed in an AirBnB) In the end the main attraction wasn’t even Hobbiton or Waitomo Caves. It was our Bush&Beach guide giving us the perfect experience of what it means to be a Kiwi and why one might like to stay forever in New Zealand. To sum up, this tour with Bush&Beach was perfectly organized, well guided and definitely worth its money. 10/10 A special thanks to Damian. You made this tour very special and memorable.

This was a wonderful excursion. Our guide Meredith was fantastic and gave wonderful information about Auckland as well as Hobbiton. Highly recommend!

My wife and I had an incredible time on the Hobbiton tour from Auckland! Our Bush and Beach guide, Alexander, was personable and very knowledgeable about the history of New Zealand and Hobbiton. He made the long drive from Auckland very entertaining and informative! The tour at Hobbiton itself was also very fun. Such a unique place!

Seamless tour, left for the venue early to beat the crowds, Meredith was a world of knowledge about the area! All great stuff, the tour was a hit with us! Small group of 13. Very happy with this tour company!

Great way to visit Hobbiton, which was truly impressive, even if you are not a fan of the books/movies (but even better if you are!) Lunch was great and had many options for dairy free guests which was nice. The early start meant we beat the rush of the bigger crowds which was a huge plus!

Hobbiton - Smooth safe drive there and back. Lovely driver. On time. There was a little rest stop during the 2 hr drive which was well timed (the scones at that cafe were delicious!). Our tour guide in Hobbiton, Sam, was delightful. A drink at the Inn was charming. A Hobbit's marquee buffet lunch was a good experience. Would be curious to see what other tours they offer

Was an amazing day at hobbiton, our tour guide Damian was so friendly and wise like Gandalf. Lunch was amazing too. Thank you

This tour was an unexpected delight! It was so much more than I thought it would be and I was completely spellbound all the way through.i think it’s a tour that needs to be done more than once! It’s a must do for LOTR fans, families fairies and dreamers.

Just got back from a wonderful Hobbiton Tour with Damien!! From a timely pick up to our drop off he shared so much wonderful information about the Hobbiton Movie set and New Zealand history we didn’t want the trip to end. The tour given by the guides at Hobbiton was informative and fun! They give you plenty of time to take all the photos you want!! Over all a fantastic tour experience I would recommend to everyone!!!

I cannot speak highly enough of this trip. Damian, our driver, was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and backstory of how the movies were made. He was a genuinely friendly and outgoing person with a lot of little details and tidbits to share about Hobbiton, the movies, the surrounding area, and New Zealand history in general. Once arriving in Hobbiton we started the tour and the staff were very enthusiastic and pleasant to interact with, but didn't rush us through. There is an incredible amount of thought and detail poured into this place, and you can touch/interact with things once you go inside the hobbit holes towards the end of the tour. After the tour, we stopped at the Green Dragon and had a drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic available) then went into the party tent for the lunch buffet. The food was good, plentiful, and caters to a variety of dietary choices. It's no surprise this tour gets booked up so quickly, I will definitely be back in the future! Hopefully Damian will be the driver again. The folks at Bush and Beach are responsive and on top of things as well.

Smooth Journey to Hobbiton, driver was good, on time. We had a great experience, family friendly fun. Lunch in the marquee was lovely, ambience in keeping with the theme. Well organized. Would recommend to others.

Enjoyed this tour thoroughly. Great way to spend time and see Hobbiton as this is one of the few tours that includes the lunch at the Party Marquee. Normally it's difficult to make reservations for the Second Breakfast, Lunch or the Evening Feast as they book up months in advance. This tour comes with a spot at the lunch making it stand out from the other tours. We made one stop before Hobbiton and one after we got out. Steve was our driver from Bush and Beach. He got us there on time and safely. The first break stop was pretty crowded so we ended up going to the McDonald's near by. The stop on the way back was cool as it was a coffee shop at the Hampton Downs racetrack which ended up being an added bonus. I will say though traffic on the way back to Auckland was awful that day and took us about an hour longer than expected. If making plans later in the evening, I'd safely book something after 5pm as that was around the time we got back to our hotel with all the traffic going back into Auckland. Otherwise, very fun tour and definitely recommended.

I visited Hobbiton for the first time and took tour with Bush and Beach and I must say that despite the most beautiful view and authentic hobbit houses my day made tour guide name Domian, he game so many advices and helped with gifts and entertained us with history of New Zealand. Highly recommend him for ur tours)

We had the most amazing day from the time we were picked up fron the front of our CBD Hotel until we were dropped off back there happy but exhausted at the end of the day. Kelly our bus driver to "The Shire" was a source of fascinating information and very entertaining along the way. I have some mobility issues and I was pleasantly surprised and grateful that I was accommodated by a personal driver Annie and a golf cart that followed the group around so I did not miss any of the tour highlights. A cool drink at the Green Dragon Inn and then a sumptious luncheon at the party marquee then followed before our return to Auckland through the beautiful coutryside. Highly recommended for any LOTR fans and well worth the $$$ The staff were all so friendly and welcoming and I am so pleased that we could finally experience this tour.

We always look for small group tours and this tour by Bush and Beach fit the bill perfectly. The communication before the tour was excellent. They picked us up from our Auckland CBD hotel. The driver had lots of good information about NZ on the way down and let us rest on the way back. Since visiting Hobbiton from Auckland is an all day affair, we recommend the Party marquee lunch, which was ample and quite good. all in all, we enjoyed our tour with bush and beach and highly recommend it.

This was a well-run tour from start to finish. Communication before the trip was clear, with timely reminders that made planning easy. Pickup and drop-off were smooth, and our guide, Murray, was well informed and informative throughout the day. Beach and Bush has the timing down to a science. The transitions to and from Hobbiton were efficient, and they clearly know how to schedule the day to avoid crowd issues and unnecessary delays. It made the experience comfortable and low-stress. Be Aware This is an 11-hour commitment for the tour alone. While the van is comfortable, you will spend long periods sitting in one place. Rest breaks are included, but it is still a long day. Overall, a very solid operation and an easy tour to recommend

Our guide Damian was amazing. Very friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful in guiding us throughout the day. He knew all the secret tips and took great care of everyone on the trip. Hobbiton itself is quite a magical experience. It's hard to capture the magic properly in words... but if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, this is simply a must-do. Thanks Damian and Bush and Beach for a lovely day!

It is well organized and everything ran on time. The team at Hobbiton and the guide who assisted us was very knowledgeable and kept everyone interested.

AMAZING DAY! We actually booked a private drive and tour by our exceptional driver and guide, Alexander. We learned so much from Alexander along the way, it was terrific. We learned a lot about the area between Auckland and Hobbiton, we learned about the dairy and sheep/wool industry, and we learned so much about the filming of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies - Alexander really knew all the fascinating back stories and made it so interesting. And of course, HOBBITON was a highlight of our trip to New Zealand. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that but it was and I'm not even an LOTR expert and my husband has never even seen one movie! The LAND - wow, just gorgeous. With my parents both born in Ireland, I'm also a bit embarrassed to say that the farmland around Hobbiton was actually more green than Ireland! You must go to Hobbiton to learn about how they found the land, how they built the sets, see the amazing Shire and Hobbit Holes and the level of detail put into everything, and learn about how the movie set eventually became a tourist attraction. The tour was not overbooked at all, they do a great job of spacing the groups out so it never felt like Disneyland. The buffet lunch was delicious, and the gift shop was fun! The drive there and all the details that were handled by Alexander really contributed to a terrific day. I highly recommend you see Hobbiton this way!

It was more than I had hoped for. There was just enough time to see and do everything. The guide was great. Thanks to Peter Jackson and the Alexander family for keeping this alive.

This is an amazing experience, for anyone . From LotR fans to anyone who just wants to enjoy the amazing country side. Our bus driver, Jason, went above and beyond. The tour is beyond what I thought it would be and every spot brought emotions of reminiscence and joy. Be prepared to walk, it can be a bit challenging if you have mobility issues. Some of the areas can feel a bit steep but take your time, you are not rushed through. We had the package with the lunch, it was well worth it. The buffet was delicious! Even with the downpour of rain, we enjoyed every minute. Well worth the 40 hours of travel from Canada 🇨🇦. Well will be visiting again.

There is a bit of walking (about 1.8 kms) along undulating paths, so wear good walking shoes and be prepared for some steep sections. It was definitely worth it. Our guide pointed out all the significant places that appear in the movies.

The tour was exactly as described. We had a 1 1/2 hour walking tour, a drink at the Green Dragon and lunch. We were surprised to find out that there are hobbit holes that you can actually enter - they were decorated with extraordinary detail. The lunch was a buffet meal and was terrific. We enjoyed the tour tremendously.