2025 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Award

2024 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Award

2023 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Award

Auckland to Rotorua via Hobbiton Movie Set and Wai-O-Tapu

From NZD$429

4.9

(488 reviews)

Departs from: Tours from Auckland

Duration: 9 hours

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Travel from Auckland to Rotorua on a one-way, small-group adventure that blends movie magic with geothermal wonders. Journey through the lush Waikato countryside, step into Middle-earth at the iconic Hobbiton Movie Set, then continue south to Rotorua’s bubbling landscapes. With a fully guided experience, relaxed pacing, and unforgettable stops along the way, this tour delivers two North Island icons in one epic day. Expect big scenery, great stories, and plenty of photo-worthy moments.

Please note

While lunch is not provided on this tour, there will be several opportunities for you to purchase food along the way.

Itinerary

Why you’ll love this

Step into Middle Earth on a 2.5 hour fully guided Hobbiton tour

Rolling green hills and classic farmland through the heart of the Waikato

Surreal geothermal landscapes at Wai-O-Tapu

A seamless journey from Auckland to Rotorua with expert local guides

What’s included

Fully guided experience with our world famous guides

Small group tour in our luxury minibuses

Entry tickets to Hobbiton and Te Puia

Snacks and bottled water

Why choose us

Famously passionate tour guides

Our guides share stories, laughs, and Kiwi charm on every journey.

Travel in comfort

Small groups, big comfort. Relax in our modern Mercedes minibuses with style and space.

Award-winning tours

Thousands of five-star reviews and top travel awards - experiences loved worldwide.

Kiwi owned. Kiwi operated

Proudly local and passionate about sharing authentic New Zealand with every traveller.

Stories worth sharing

5/22/2026

pure excitement from start to finish

curated adventurous journey but still gave me plenty of space to experience things the way i wanted. hurry slowly, yet everything in pace (hello from last minute guest). still can't move on from roadtrip sceneries across places i can't even pronounce, but surely will be back for more i'm still picky about foods, but each year my palate found a few new favorites. thanks hanoz for introducing me to this whole new culinary library, maori taste atlas thru his handy hints. never a boring convos with him, great music taste, absolute best! +love the extra stop to watch live stream, admire the doggy toilet facades and sunset scoops

Garnis

5/15/2026

Hobbiton Tour A+++

We absolutely loved the Hobbiton Tour with Cheeky Kiwi! The pickup at our hotel was on time and our driver, Colin, was great. The van was comfortable and we appreciated the stops for food/restrooms. Our favorite part of the day was absolutely the Hobbiton tour. It was a seamless transition from the Cheeky Kiwi guide to the Hobbiton staff. He made sure we knew what the tour would entail, provided time to shop at the gift store and gave us some tips to make the day even better. Wear shoes with good grips, especially if it's sprinkling/raining. There are umbrellas provided by Hobbiton throughout the tour so no need to bring your own. In hindsight I wish we would have booked the Hobbiton only tour with Cheeky Kiwi as we did not enjoy Waiotapu as much as I thought we would have - this was 100% a personal preference and absolutely nothing that Cheeky Kiwi did wrong. We were at the end of our 2 weeks in NZ and were probably more tired than we realized. Also, as part of the natural environment from the geothermal activity, Rotorua and Waiotapu are very stinky (sulfur smell). The drive back to Auckland was very relaxing and we stopped for Tip Top ice cream and enjoyed a movie to pass the time. This was our 2nd tour with Cheeky Kiwi and I highly recommend their tours!

ndmom11

5/11/2026

Excellent Hobbiton and Rotorua tour

Excellent Tour. Our driver, Michael was brilliant, very knowledgeable and made sure everyone was comfortable. Rob, the guide at Hobbiton was excellent and kept everyone engaged

Sandi S

5/6/2026

A great day out!

A great day out. A small group (13), a small and new bus and everything was very well organised. Despite a before dawn start due to the long day ahead, pick-up was right on the advised time. What really made the whole trip though was driver and guide, Jeoff. An absolute mine of information, with loads of interesting details packed in, often delivered with a touch of dry humour (Cat Stevens's "Morning has Broken" being played as the sun came up, followed by The Beatles and "Good Morning"!). He is more than your average tour guide. Highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi....the name alone should pull you in....and make sure you ask for Jeoff as your guide.

Ian W

4/22/2026

Magical & Powerful — A Perfect NZ Experience

From the peaceful beauty of Hobbiton Movie Set to the dramatic geothermal wonders of Rotorua geothermal areas, this tour perfectly captures the magic and power of New Zealand. Truly unforgettable!

Carmi K

4/16/2026

Book with Cheeky Kiwi!

"Cheeky Pearl" was an incredible tour guide. She was an efficient/safe driver, knowledgeable, and hilarious. We really appreciated how she went above and beyond to make this experience memorable. Regarding the booking company, we felt like it was well worth the money. We weren't sure what to expect at Hobbiton, but it far exceeded our expectations.

Trek34563470937

4/13/2026

🤩

Big thanks to Grant for amazing guide!

Jānis L

4/4/2026

Comfortable bus and Great service

Arahia is excellent. She is very knowledgeable and helpful. Also the bus is very comfortable. Our family enjoyed the trip a lot. Thanks Arahia.

Wander32330630629

4/3/2026

Great tour

The tour was great. The length allocated for each place is about right. There was no time for lunch but we had plenty of break time to get breakfast and snacks for lunch so it's ok. We"d rather use the time for sight seeing.

mn m

3/23/2026

A tour worth the cost

We had a friendly and knowledgeable guide cum driver Mr Alexandro. The pick up, drive and drop were comfortable and on time. Highly recommended.

CVSR

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