Day trip

From Auckland: Waitomo & Hobbiton Bus Tour with Lunch

4.7  / 5512 reviews
Activity provider:GreatSights New Zealand
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Day trip
From Auckland: Waitomo & Hobbiton Bus Tour with Lunch
Activity provider:GreatSights New Zealand
4.7  / 5512 reviews

Visit the Hobbiton Movie Set and Waitomo Caves on a day trip by premium bus from Auckland. Immerse yourself in the landscape of Middle Earth and experience the famous Glowworm caves.

About this activity

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Duration 11.5 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Skip the line through a separate entrance
Live tour guide
English

Experience

Itinerary

  • getyourguide-logo-icon.svg

    Starting location:

    100 Hobson Street

  • Bus / coach

    (2.75 hours)

  • main-stop-icon.svg

    Waitomo Glowworm Caves

    Guided tour (105 minutes)

  • Bus / coach

    (105 minutes)

  • main-stop-icon.svg

    Hobbiton Movie Set

    Guided tour (3 hours)

  • Bus / coach

    (2.25 hours)

  • Arrive back at:

    100 Hobson Street

Main stop

For reference only. Itineraries are subject to change.

Highlights

  • Journey by premium bus to Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves
  • Explore the wonders inside the Waitomo Glowworm Caves on a guided tour
  • Step into the Hobbit holes at the Hobbiton Movie Set
  • Enjoy a picnic lunch in between your trip
  • See highlights like the Green Dragon Inn and the Party Tree

Full description

See the magical Waitomo Caves and the Hobbiton Movie Set on a full-day sightseeing tour from Auckland. Step on board your luxury GreatSights coach and travel south, taking in typical New Zealand scenery as you ride – lush green farmland and rolling hills. Your first stop is at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, a network of underground tunnels and caves made from incredible limestone formations. Set off on a 45-minute guided tour of the caves, ending with a truly special boat trip through the Glowworm Grotto, where glowworms twinkle and shine overhead as you sail through a dark and silent cavern. Then you will board your coach again and make your way to the Hobbiton Movie Set which is one of New Zealand’s must-see destinations. A working farm near the small town of Matamata was transformed into a film set for the world-famous Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, and today you can visit the set and see where the magic was created. See highlights like the original Hobbit Holes, the Green Dragon Inn, and the Party Tree, and now venture inside a Hobbit hole and see how the Hobbits lived. Your tour guide will share behind-the-scenes stories and fascinating facts about how the film set was brought to life. After exploring these two top New Zealand visitor attractions, your driver guide will take you back to Auckland, returning in the early evening.

Includes

  • Transportation by premium air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi
  • Driver/guide
  • 45-minute Waitomo Glowworm Caves tour
  • 2-hour Hobbiton Movie Set tour
  • Picnic lunch
  • Additional food and drinks

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Participants

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Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.7 /5

based on 512 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.8/5
  • Transportation
    4.7/5
  • Service
    4.8/5
  • Organization
    4.7/5

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A
Amanda – GermanyMarch 10, 2023  – Verified booking
Did this tour for honeymoon. Our tour guide, Rachael through GreatSights was an excellent way to start our tour. We were given one bottle of water each, on GetYourGuide it mentioned a morning snack beware that was not given, so bring a snack. Rachael guided the tour bus to the first location Hobbiton where the local guide took over which was beyond amazing, especially to big fans. Then we made our way over to the buffet lunch at the tavern which was also amazing. After our lunch we made our way to the glow worm cave where another local tour guide will take you through the cave which afterwards you will get to go into the souvenir shop. The tour was 100% worth every Penny and I recommend this booking. Hopefully you get Rachael as your driver as they navigated the roads well and helpful information along the way.
Helpful?
G
GetYourGuide traveler – New ZealandJanuary 23, 2023  – Verified booking
Easy booking procedure. A devoted and passionate guide / busdriver. Kept schedule. Nice tour of Hobbiton, with a separate guide there. Nice festive style lunch buffet, perhaps a little more time in the Green dragon inn as well as for the buffet would have been good. Would absolutely love spending more time and perhaps visit two or even three different caves in Waitomo (it should be possible to arrange such a tour). Perhaps a little expensive depending on where in the world you come from, but in all, definitely a great tour!
Helpful?
G
GetYourGuide traveler – AustraliaJanuary 21, 2023  – Verified booking
Overall it was a wonderful day but we were given the wrong departure time. We got really lucky with some warm sunny weather for Hobbiton. Only two critiques are 1) our bus driver/guide Rachel gave away some of the interesting Hobbiton facts on the way there so they didn't have the same effect when repeated by the Hobbiton guide, and 2) If you book through 'Get Your Guide' it will tell you the tour departs at 8am from the bus terminal - this is incorrect. It leaves between 7 and 7:15am so we missed it on our originally booked date and had to rebook.
Helpful?

Product ID: 25045

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