Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Small Group Tour from Auckland including Lunch
Overview
Available languages
This small group, fully-guided day trip combines two of the best attractions in the North Island together in a less rushed way than other tours to form the ultimate day trip from Auckland. Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge, and run in modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety.
Description
Please note: A delicious lunch is now included as part of your experience!
Highlights:
- Explore Middle‑Earth on a 2.5-hour guided Hobbiton tour. Wander past 44 hobbit holes, the Mill, the Party Tree, and enjoy a complimentary drink at The Green Dragon Inn.
- Cruise beneath a galaxy of glowworms in the world-famous Waitomo Caves — an experience like no other.
- Secret animal viewing stops and photo opportunities along the way
- Travel through the rolling Waikato countryside, one of the world’s richest farming regions.
Itinerary:
Auckland - Your tour starts in New Zealand’s largest city. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the city’s top highlights.
Waikato – Exiting Auckland we travel south through the stunning Waikato countryside, the most extensive farming area in the world, encountering beautiful scenery, mighty rivers, great photo opportunities, impressive mountains and several farm animals along the way.
Hobbiton Movie Set – Arriving at the first feature attraction ‘Hobbiton’ you will board one of the big green Hobbiton buses and depart on a two & a half hour fully guided tour of this amazing 12 acre movie set with a professional Hobbiton guide to ensure you get the most out of your visit. During your tour step into the lush pastures of the Shire, visit 44 hobbit holes, see amazing gardens, hear the secrets and stories about the making of the movies and enjoy a cold complimentary beverage at the famous Hobbiton pub ‘The Green Dragon Inn’.
Karapiro - Departing Hobbiton and heading towards Waitomo we stop at the stunning Lake Karapiro. Home to one of New Zealand’s first hydro dams and where some of New Zealand’s great rowers train. With amazing views across the lake and countryside, it’s a great place for a quick break and some photos.
Otorohanga – Continuing we will pass many more scenic beauties, see racehorse breeding areas and rivers before entering Otorohanga “The Kiwiana capital of New Zealand”. See all things Kiwi as you pass through this unique and charming town.
Lunch Stop – Time to recharge with a tasty lunch, included as part of your tour. Choose from a fresh selection of savoury bites to keep you going for the afternoon. Relax and enjoy the local flavours before continuing your adventure.
Big Bird – Getting close to our second feature destination, we stop outside the Big Bird & Miniature Animal Petting Farm to see and meet some of our local animals. These guys know our guides well and even though we do not have time to go inside the park, the friendly animals will often come to the fences for a photo or two, thrilling guests.
Waitomo Caves – Arriving at our second feature attraction you will be guided through the ancient and amazing caves seeing many different cave formations, including Stalactites, Stalagmites and Lime Columns, before descending even further underground for your Glowworm experience. Board your boat for a cruise on the grotto river with thousands of Glowworms sparkling above you. Unique to New Zealand for over 120 years, Waitomo Glowworm Caves are a must see for any traveller.
Auckland – Sadly after Waitomo we must start to head north again but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip to Auckland including secret stops along the way.
Cancellation Policy
Terms: Tours will only run if at least 5 people have booked on the tour, we reserves the right to alter the tour due to weather or operational needs.
A full refund will be issued for cancellations made a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Small Group Tour
Lunch (savoury item, sweet treat & a drink)
Fully Guided
Entry Tickets
Water available & snacks provided
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
Options
Reviews
49 reviews
Amazing Day Trip
vasinha2384,,Dec 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing service by Cheeky Kiwi Travel. Our tour guide was very knowledgable. It will be a memorable trip and highly advisable
Thanks for Ben
seow645,,Dec 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We came for our honeymoon and left with great memories thanks to the tour and our guide, Ben. Our guide, Ben, was especially kind and friendly, making the tour even more enjoyable. Thank you for your hard work. If you want to take the Hobbiton Waitomo Caves tour, I recommend this tour and Ben.
Do this Tour
Roam13418052962,,Dec 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was amazing! We had Ben as our guide and he made the experience so enjoyable with all his stories, jokes, local insights and great playlist. He made sure everyone was comfortable and included and gave us extra snacks and water (he even made time for a coffee stop in the morning). The tour was very relaxed and never felt rushed, and we got a decent amount of time in the gift shops. Lunch was good, lots of options to choose from. I liked how the group size was small (about 15), which made the tour feel more inclusive. I definitely recommend this tour!
Amazing tour with beautiful locations and wonderful guides
Passport15254879453,,Nov 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Beautiful locations and very well organized tour! Liam and Richard were amazing guides, well-informed and chill vibes all around. Can highly recommend!
A wonderful experience.
SharronS101,,Nov 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This day trip from Auckland was a fantastic experience from start to finish. I'm not a big fan of Lord of the Rings but the Hobbiton movie set tour had me smiling all the way through. The tour operator Cheeky Kiwi with Mike & Anahea (sorry if misspelled) got us there early before the masses of crowds, with commentary of the local history along the journey. Onto Waitomo caves and again what an experience. The family that still own the caves and our expert and comical guide made this a day to remember. I highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi and this day trip from Auckland
Wonderful experience
X9689HOwarrenc,,Oct 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Wonderful trip with our guide Simon. We had a great time with the group and Simon gave us lots of good tips for the rest of our travels and took us through some very scenic areas during the drive to the different spots.
A wonderful Journey in Aotearoa North Island into the Shire (Hobbiton) and more
j r myl667,,Oct 11, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This small group tour was great with two very friendly and interesting guides to drive us through the amazing region of Auckland, Cambridge, Hamilton and Waitomo. The journey to the first stop in the Alexander Farm in Watamata to get to the movie set Hobbiton was extraordinary accross the countryside, with our two guides full of anecdotes about the history of the land. The visit of the movie set itself, with a great guide, was incredible, with a story to every Hobbit hole of the set and many fun stories of the behind the scenes of the movie shooting. The visit ends with the exploration of two remodeled Hobbit holes in which it is so fun to take photos among the furnitures. The Hobbiton tour is followed with a drink at the tavern the Green Dragon. After the movie set, it was fine having a well deserved lunch at a local authentic restaurant, and to the next step: the exploration of the mysterious Waitomo Glowworm Caves, a wonder of Aotearoa, with a passionate local guide. The way back to Auckland, though a bit long, was still enjoyable with the stories and joke of our two guides. Pick up and drop out at the hotel was pretty convenient. The tour also included a coffee break for breakfast and an ice cream break at Pokeno. The atmosphere was cheerful all the day and the small size group was great to have fun. I recommend Cheeky Kiwi Travels for a fun time, great value for the price tag, and thank you to our two guides, Joeff and Arahia for the amazing day spent together.
A well-organized tour with friendly guides and a great atmosphere!!
carolcN5731NT,,Oct 10, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We were a group of six who joined the one-day tour from Auckland to Hobbiton and Waitomo. Thanks to our guides, Jeoff and Arahia, and to the wonderful people who joined the tour from around the world, we had a great time getting to know each other and chatting along the way. As for the tour itself, the pick-up location was easy to find, and the pick-up was punctual. It took around 2.5 hours to reach Hobbiton from Auckland, but the ride didn’t feel long at all because Jeoff shared lots of interesting background stories and local knowledge throughout the journey. Both Hobbiton and Waitomo are absolutely worth visiting. At Hobbiton, you can see the actual filming locations and iconic scenes from the movies — it really brings back all the memories! Our Hobbiton tour guide, Sam H, was also fantastic and made the experience even more enjoyable. Waitomo was even more amazing and beautiful than I expected. The glowworms were magical — a truly unforgettable sight. Overall, it was a well-organized tour with friendly guides and a great atmosphere. Highly recommended to anyone visiting Auckland!
Great tour and great company. 100% recommended. Jeoff was a truly great guide
Daniel1ESP,,Oct 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great tour and great company. 100% recommended. This was part of our honeymoon. Jeoff was a truly great guide, he owes me a Kiwi from a bet we did but that’s fine he’ll give it to me next time :)
Wonderful day with Cheeky Kiwi tour
E4328WZannak,,Sep 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Jeoff was our guide for the day and we couldn’t have a better one. He was very experienced and shared much about our tour and NZ history and culture. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day! Very highly recomm Cheeky Kiwi and esp kudos to Jeoff.
From A$359.72
Auckland, New Zealand
- Free cancellation
Reserve Now & Pay Later - available
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