The Hobbiton Experience🧙♂️
The Hobbiton movie set experience has been a staple part of the tourism scene in New Zealand, since its grand opening in 2002. I enjoyed the movies, but I am not a mega Lord of the Rings fan, and that is why I decided not to visit Hobbiton on my first trip to Aotearoa 5 years ago. However, this time around, I am travelling with my boyfriend Ned, who just so happens to be the biggest LoTR nerd out there, so I knew there was no avoiding it this time! I must admit though, that this was probably one of our highlights of the trip, especially on the North Island.
Ned booked this experience and he made sure to book it well in advance (almost 2 months before) to secure our spot, as we heard it is very popular, especially in the spring time. We opted for the standard guided tour, which was the cheapest option available, coming in at $120 NZD each. However, you can upgrade to different tours which include extras, such as food experiences. Tours run every ten minutes throughout the day and lasts 2.5 hours. We booked the 9am one as the earliest tours are the best as there are less people there at the beginning. Different Hobbiton tours can be found on their website here.
The weather in New Zealand is also very unpredictable, especially in early spring, which we found out, after many of our activities were rained off during our trip. However, we ended up having one of the most gorgeous, sunny days of our entire holiday for the Hobbiton tour, much to Ned’s joy.
We were travelling in our camper-van relocation, so getting to Hobbiton was easy and there is ample parking available. If you do not have your own transport, you can easily book a return bus trip from Auckland or the surrounding smaller towns also offer shuttles. Once we arrived, we enjoyed the surrounding scenery of rolling green hills dotted with Merino lambs, with a coffee and a slice of carrot cake at the LotR’s themed cafe, before getting onto our tour bus.
The tour starts with an introduction to your tour guide and bus driver, and a short video detailing the history of the movie set is played on the bus TV screen (sit near the front for the best views). Andrew was our tour guide and he was brilliantly well versed in all things middle earth, answering any questions we had on the set and the movies, as well as keeping things fun and interactive. He also amazingly remembered all 42 passengers names, and made sure to chat to every one of us, making it a really personal experience.
Once we arrived at Hobbiton, we spent 30 minutes to an hour walking around, taking in the scenery and the incredible detail of the movie set, which was insane!!! (even for non LotR fans). After walking around, we arrived at the only two fully furnished Hobbit holes in which you can actually enter, and something that was only added to the movie set experience in 2023. The guides made it clear that we had free rein and were allowed to touch anything we wanted, barring we didn’t break anything. The level of detail on the interior was outstanding and if Ned wasn’t so tall we would move in, in a heart beat!
After the inside tour, it is a short walk to the The Green Dragon Pub, where we were given the choice of complimentary alcoholic beverages, specially brewed by a local company, exclusively for the set (non alcoholic ginger beer option also available). Here, they also sell a range of baked goods, we went for the steak and ale pie, which was delicious. If you do either of the food tours, you will have your meals here too. After around 20 minutes, we met up with Andrew again who concluded the tour.
All in all it was a really memorable experience that was totally worth the price, and one we definitely recommend! It also made me really want to rewatch all the films again, so that’s our in flight entertainment to Chile sorted!
