Traveler Reviews

• Mark_l 11-Aug-2023

  Great day out! I personally love it as a fan of the movie and my partner enjoyed it even without seeing the movie. The food was great and tour guides were friendly, they even helped us take photos

• Seunghael1 07-Aug-2023

  I spent a wonderful day in the Hobbiton movie set with my brother. Lunch at the movie set was enjoyable. Especially the bus driver, Phill, was really friendly and knowledgeable about New zealand and the movie. He even dropped us off near the hotel where we're staying when returning to Rotorua. I am super glad that I have booked this tour.

• Maria_f 19-Jul-2023

  We enjoyed this tour from start to finish. We were given enough time to enjoy the place, take pictures (load of 'em) and the lunch was superb. Will definitely refer this tour operator to friends/families who would be visiting in the future.

• Ashrulizuddin_b 10-Jul-2023

  This is the most memorable visit to Hobbiton, our tour guide Steve is awesome. The food awesome, the scenery exemplary.

• Christopher_c 06-Jul-2023

  Much better than I anticipated. Outstanding bus driver and tour guide at Hobbiton made it an interesting experience. The Shire itself was fascinating. All those good memories from watching the Hobbit trilogy years ago flooded back. Really a fun time

• Zack_c 28-Jun-2023

  Our tour guide Kaya was great and everything was beautiful and for the construction going on it was wasn’t disruptive at all and cool to see what was being built and appreciate the gifts due to the construction

• Elaine_p 25-May-2023

  Having Hobbiton come to life for me. Seeing in reality what I saw in the movies. Lunch was great too. I really appreciated our Guide Mike, he made it so much easier to visualise.

• N3242nfsamr 12-May-2023

  A charming day activity, even as someone who doesn't know all that much about the Lord of the Rings movies! On the drive out, our bus driver offered us all kinds of fascinating information about the Māori history in Rotorua and the surrounding area, the geology of the lake, and the history of the geothermal activity in the area. Once we got there, we had a quick fifteen minutes to use the bathroom and take a browse around the café and shop before we were back on the bus to head into Hobbiton! It was raining on and off when we were there, but this isn't the staff's first rodeo, as there's a little shed at the entrance full of sturdy umbrellas you can borrow for your tour. Hobbiton itself is charming, there's a ton of attention paid to detail and immersion, down to the fact that all of the signs, even things like exit signs and "wet walkway" signs are done in that medieval-y hand lettering you associate with the Lord of the Rings! As we walked around, our guide told us about the making of the movies and fun facts about the set. There were plenty of opportunities for photos, of course. Some of the hobbit holes are bigger than others, so you can take photos of yourself looking hobbit-sized at some and Gandalf-sized at others. After about an hour of exploring Hobbiton, we headed off to the Green Dragon for a drink. They offer a light and a dark beer, an alcoholic apple cider (which I can say was quite good, a bit on the dry side and with a nice robust apple flavor!) and a non-alcoholic ginger beer. There was a real fire burning in the fireplace, a nice touch on a chillier day. After our drink, we were off to a buffet lunch, which was filling and delicious. I recommend the pesto pasta! After lunch, it was back on the bus for a quick stop off at the restrooms, and then we were off to Rotorua. Do note that from Rotorua, this will only take you about half a day; we arrived back in Rotorua around 2PM. I'd recommend booking on a day with a lighter or no chance of rain, as it is a bit difficult to move around and take pictures when everyone's got an umbrella with them, but it's a minor inconvenience at most. My only complaint is that I wish they'd given us a bit longer, both to explore Hobbiton on the tour as well as a bit more time to browse the shop and café afterwards, I did feel a bit rushed through the experience. If you want a bit more time, perhaps you'd be better off driving yourself there rather than doing it with a tour bus. Overall, though, a fun way to spend the morning!

• Stephenn_w 11-May-2023

  Visiting Hobbiton was definitely on our bucket list and whilst our coach tour wasn't going there, we were able arrange our tour thanks to Viator and GreatSights. We broke away for a few hours whilst we were in Rotorua and were delighted that we did. Excellent mini-tour and the Coach Captain, Steve was one of the reasons. He was great. I'm 75 so I'm not likely to return however it left me with wonderful memories and so we will always be grateful.

• Carol_c 30-Apr-2023

  Wonderful day out if you are a fan of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit (and probably even if you are not familiar with those). Really impressive. Bring your ID though if you want a drink in the Green Dragon - I’m 33 and they wouldn’t serve me without mine 🤣