How To Visit the Hobbiton in New Zealand

The Hobbiton is a huge tourist attraction in New Zealand, and for good reason! This spot is so cool, given that you’re into the Lord of The Rings / Hobbit movies of course (or even if you’re not it’s pretty cool to visit a movie set in the middle of nowhere!). However, there are quite a few ways to get to this spot, each with it’s own perks. This is our guide on how to visit the Hobbiton in New Zealand! Head to the end for our experience, overview & tips.

What Is The Hobbiton

The Hobbiton is the movie set location for the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit movies. The location scouts found the perfect spot in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand to home the hobbits! With help from the New Zealand army, they were able to build this place for the Lord of the Rings, and eventually set up a more permanent set for the Hobbits which is now used for the Hobbiton movie set tours you’ll be able to experience today.

This tour (depending on the one you book of course), is a guided walking tour through the Hobbiton where you will drive into the countryside, see the whole Hobbiton village, get some insight into the set itself, and end with a drink at the Green Dragon Inn. There is also a gift shop to buy your Lord of The Rings obsessed friends and family a cool souvenir!

You can find the Hobbiton website with more information, FAQ, and where to buy tickets yourself (if you are planning on figuring it out yourself) here.

Where Is The Hobbiton

The Hobbiton is found in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The drive from Auckland to Hobbiton is about 2 hours. The drive doesn’t have too much along the route, but is a quaint drive through the countryside to give you a different perspective on the region!

How To Visit The Hobbiton

How to visit the Hobbiton depends on your plans whilst in the area. Disclaimer, this blog post contains affiliate links which means if you choose to book a tour through the links below, I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course) – we thank you for your support!

If you’re staying in Auckland for a good chunk of time, we would recommend booking a tour (and combining it with another hot spot in the area). Here are a few options for tours that are all pretty popular and see some great sights in the area!

• Hobbiton Group Day Tour From Auckland: Get to the Hobbiton on a group trip – cheapest and most convenient tour to see the area!
• Hobbiton Private Day Tour From Auckland: If you want private transportation at your own convenience but don’t want to drive – this is the way to get to and from the tour (the tour itself will not be private).
• Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves From Auckland: This includes a group trip to the Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves which boast incredible glowworm caves that light up the Grotto during the underground boat ride.
• Hobbiton & Rotorua From Auckland: This tour takes you on a group trip to the Hobbiton and to Rotorua where you will be able to experience Geothermal Activity.

If you’re doing a road trip, we recommend that you drive yourself (on your way to your first location or whatever works best for your itinerary) and book your tickets through the Hobbiton website – this usually means less travelling over all (to avoid going back and forth from Auckland) and best prices for the tickets when you book directly through the website. This will also give you greater flexibility along the way! There are a ton of options and some that include a meal option, which may be a cool experience! However, we opted for just the Movie Set tour and that was pretty long and exceeded our expectations.

Our Experience

We opted for a later day tour on our own time so we could pick up our rooftop tent rental car and head out to Marakopa (for a night of camping before driving down the west coast) once we had seen the Hobbiton. We decided we would drive ourselves and buy our own tickets through their website.

We had a tour around 4pm, and arrived in advance (at least 15 minutes to check in so they can hand you your ticket information). Parking was easy to navigate / find (it’s located at the Shire’s Rest where the tour departs from), and it gives you direct access to the check-in kiosk, souvenir shop, and washrooms (which we recommend you use before you leave!). Once we checked in, we lined up at the sign which had our departure before boarding a bus.

We boarded and headed out for a quick 10-15 minute drive through the farm (the farm is owned privately) to where the walking tour began. On the drive there was an informative video and you can see the rolling hills and sheep roaming the fields. Once we arrived, we were guided on a walk and the tour guide had TONS of information about the movie set (how it was built, the movies themselves, scouting it, and more).

After walking around the movie set (getting a bunch of photos and different viewpoints), you really see and learn how much detail was put into every aspect of the set and filming. After an hour or so, and lots of learning, you’ll make your way to the Dragon Inn where you can enjoy the mill (pictured below – super stunning), and the Inn scenery (plus – a beverage in hand)! They gave us some time to relax here and walk around the Inn area before heading back to the bus and returning to the starting point.

Overall, we loved this tour. Although we’re not super into the group tour experiences, for a place like this it can’t really be avoided and there is the added benefit of getting photos of yourself and learning a lot along the way. Plus the added touch of the included drink at the Inn was a fun experience! We would highly recommend this to anyone who is even slightly interested in the Lord of The Ring movies as it’s such a unique experience.

Tips For Your Visit

• Book In Advance: This is a very popular attraction, so book this in advance to ensure you can get the best time and date for your itinerary!
• Expect Crowds: This is a group tour, and again very popular. The guided walking tour is with a medium sized group of people, so you will have to wait a little bit for some photo opportunities (however, we didn’t find taking photos here very difficult).
• Time: Expect the regular tour to take approximately 2.5-3 hours total.
• Weather: The tour is mostly outdoors (how else would you be able to get up close to the set!), so dress accordingly.
• Food: If you haven’t booked a tour including food, there are a few options for food at the Green Dragon Inn for purchase at the end of your tour before you head back. However, it’s a bit more expensive and not an extensive menu, so we would personally recommend to eat before / after. Note that you will be in the middle of the countryside, so it may be best to bring your own food (camper van style)!
• Parking: There is plenty of parking available for free at the location where the bus will pick you up to take you over to the movie set.
• Washrooms: Make use of the washrooms at the pick up locations (where the bus will pick you up) before you head out on the tour, as access to washrooms during the walking tour is limited.