Visiting Hobbiton was easily one of the highlights of our trip to the north island. The experience…read morebegan with a scenic bus ride across a working sheep farm, during which we learned about how the location was discovered and transformed into the iconic film set that it is today. Once we arrived, we were taken on a guided walking tour through the beautifully preserved set. Along the way, we saw some of the most memorable spots from the films, including the famous hillside where Frodo sets off on his adventure. One of my favorite parts came toward the end of the tour, when we were able to step inside a hobbit hole. The interiors were meticulously decorated, making it easy to imagine what life in the Shire might actually feel like! At the end of the tour, we stopped by Green Dragon Inn, where we enjoyed a complimentary drink (there's both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available). Overall, this was such a magical experience! Be sure to book ahead, as the popular tour times tend to get booked out pretty far in advance during peak season.

Hobbiton is exactly what you think it will be. If you're a fan of the movies and most importantly a…read morefan of Hobbiton, you are stepping into a real life fantasy. I was there for a wedding and we received our own private tour, so I can't say whether it was like the standard tour. You start off from essentially their home base. You get on a bus and drive across to an active live sheep and cattle farm. The sets are built on the farm. The hobbit homes are all exterior and gorgeous. The details are immaculate. They even have real smoke coming from chimneys! There is a built out interior for tourists to traverse and the details are amazing. I found an accordion in one and it worked! There are alcoholic beverages at the Pony, but alcohol content is low. Probably to keep us from acting out scenes from the movies. The tour guides were also awesome, funny, and knowledgeable. Magical place. 10/10

Prior to coming to New Zealand, my friends + I purchased The Middle-Earth Trilogy deal for…read moreadmissions to 3 of the biggest tourist attractions on the North Island: - Hobbiton Movie Set - Waitomo Glowworm Caves - Te Puia Maori cultural center all for about $277 NZD ($235 USD). Such a good deal considering each of the tourist attractions would usually be priced as follows: 1 Adult tour admission - $75 NZD Te Pō - Indigenous Evening Experience Combo - $150 NZD Waitomo Glowworm Caves + Ruakuri Cave Combo - $83 NZD Although each location was at least a couple hours apart by car so we had to provide our own transit, it was pretty easy to plan out and reserve which day we planned to arrive at each location. We decided to do Hobbiton in the morning and Te Puia in the evening together on one day and then do the Waitomo Caves (both the Glowworm and Ruakuri Caves) on an afternoon a couple days later. Splitting them apart gave us ample time to road trip around the country, and especially since it was raining during our April visit, we definitely needed that extra travel time. Each location had ample free parking (Waitomo being perhaps the only slightly challenging one) and were easy to find. Highly recommend for anyone spending several days in the North Island! [Pictures to come soon!!!]

I mainly wanted this glowworm tour because they allow pictures to be taken while in the cave. The…read moretour date I was looking at was fully booked but you can email them to be added to the waitlist. I asked to be added to the waitlist for 2 on October 12, and got off the waitlist on November 9, for a tour on December 28 so don't give up hope if it is originally fully booked! I did the spellbound explorer tour which included a walk through a cave as well as a boat ride through a cave for the glowworms. The tour guide was great and allowed pictures during the first back and forth on the boat ride and asked us to put away our phones during the second. This is because the first go-around allows for the eyes to adjust and see the glowworms better so the second go-around the glowworms are much brighter. The cave walk was also a nice add on for 20 NZD but if the tour with the cave walk is not available the regular boat ride is perfect on its own. I loved this tour as our tour guide took pictures for each group that wanted some with glowworms and also provided us with personal pictures of glowworms taken with a nicer camera with a longer shutter speed.

This was a really incredible experience for the whole family! Our guide even showed us a place…read morewhere we could feed eels in a stream. We took our nine month old and two year old in carriers. Would highly recommend! The morning is the best time as the glow worms are the brightest! This isn't too far from Hobbiton if you are planning a drive strategically to Auckland.

This was an absolute stunning visit for us, fulfilling our lifelong dreams to go see where the…read morehobbits lived in the Shire. Of course, everything is to scale in real life, but it was an unbelievable experience walking on the paths shown in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. We had purchased our tickets beforehand online on their website. Upon arriving, it was easy to find parking and the check-in lines. There was a cafe and gift shop available to peruse through while we waited. An attendant checked our ticket times and allowed us to board a bus that took us to the grounds. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about everything we saw, heard, and touched. Anything that was within arm's reach, we could touch. Everything we saw was a real flower, plant, vegetable, or fruit. Nothing was plastic. Everything was made with raw materials as shown in the movies. Different places we walked past and through, the tour guide explained which scenes in the movies were shown. The tour guide was kind enough to take pictures for each group. Pictures and videos were encouraged. The tour itself lasted nearly 2 hours, which we thought was well worth our money spent. Near the end, a free beer was offered at the tavern and light snacks were sold. Any additional beer was extra. It was relaxing sitting inside the tavern as it was enjoying the cool outdoor summer of New Zealand. Hobbiton is a must-visit and we would love to come back if we can!

This review is for the behind the scene Tour…read more I am a huge fan of Lord of the rings. I watch it every year. So this was one of the bucket list that I want to check off while I was in New Zealand. They pick you up from the meeting area, where there is a plenty of parking spot for you, you meet up with your tour guide and at least 15-20 other people in your group. You start out with the main part of the hobbit area where you'll see many many hobbit doors, and almost to the end you get to go inside of the hobbit house where it is all decorated with kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, so it's really fun to check that part out. This was my favorite part of the Tour. After that, they take you to the green dragon inn, where you're able to get one free drink that could be cider, nonalcoholic or beer. I really like their cider and you get to kind of chill till this massive dinner that they have planned for you. You go to this separated VIP area where they have a huge table full of food for you to enjoy. Food was amazing. I have zero complaint which is saying a lot. They were able to accommodate to people who had dietary restriction, which is amazing as well. And then the actual behind the scene part of it starts. You go on another bus ride to this more like a warehouse area. Where they show you the sketches of The Hobbit and the little model of the hobbiton as well. However, I felt that this portion could have been much better. I felt that it wasn't much of a behind a scene Tour. You got to walk around another part of Hobbiton area and they offer another snacks with cheese and wine. Honestly, without all this fantastic food, I felt that it probably would not have been worth the behind the scene portion of the tour. If I would go back or recommended to others, I would recommend just going to do the regular tour.

Recently my tour with was New Zealand Discovery Tours was cancelled on Viator, so I booked…read moreanother one, not knowing that it was the same company. Was told through Viator that all excursions had been cancelled due to emergency which was fine, but the NEW tour I booked with them has not been cancelled or reimbursed. Finally received an email from Andrew in regards to the confusion and was told that he understood now what had happened and indeed there would be no tours this season and would send new cancellation and refund monies, but they have not. I have telephoned, and left several emails and their website is closed but they are offering the same excursion on VIATOR for next season in October. Have opened a complaint with my credit card company as this was over 500 dollars.

We had a day tour with New Zealand discovery tours, absoloutly fantastic they couldn't do enough…read morefor us, and the guide really was very knowledgeable, Very affordable, convenient (they picked us up from our air bnb.

Spent a great day here at the Southern Enclosure with the whole family (hubby, boys 7 and 4). I've…read moreheard a lot about this place, but it's taken us a while to finally make the short trek down from Hamilton. When you arrive, there is a car park and visitor centre. Pay for your tickets at the visitor centre. They have some souvenirs and a small cafe there as well. There are toilets near the visitor centre. They have passes for adults, children, a family pass, yearly pass and various options for guided tours. We opted for the self-guided experience (though, I might have chosen the guide if I went without the kiddos). We also had a coupon from the Entertainment Book (buy one get one adult entry). Mostly, this is a great bush walk and place to see native birds. Bring some binoculars if you have them. The pathways are all gravel or raised wooden walkways. We stuck to the Rata path on this occasion, which had some up and downhill parts, but nothing exceptionally strenuous. We packed about 3 bottles of water and brought our own snacks, which was good since the boys expended a lot of energy running around on the trails. I definitely recommend the viewing tower. It was there that we were visited by a kaka. It just landed on the railing of the tower and walked up and down, checking us out, before flying away. There was another toilet along the way. I just constantly encourage everyone to go when there is one, and we didn't run into any troubles by doing this. I also recommend going to the pond. My boys loved looking at the numerous crayfish scuttling along the ground of the pond - water was so clear you could see right to the bottom.

We had an epic day with 'super pods' of dolphins spending 20 mins in the water and 1 hour on the…read moreboat watching these animals. The crew is very kind and knowledgeable and look after everyone on board. The ship is nicely designed for watching dolphins and for entering and exiting the water during the dolphin swim. There is plenty of room on board and free coffee and tea, fruit and cookies are offered. Great adventure and clear recommendation.

It was an amazing day. The captain and crew were very friendly and engaging. It was great…read moreexperience to see the dolphins.