Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Small Group Tour from Auckland including Lunch

Overview

Available languages

English

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

4.98

55 reviews

Two unique sites in one day
henrygC7197WY,Apr 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
My wife and I booked through Tripadvisor with the Cheeky Kiwi operator. They provide the coach, book the tickets at the sites, provide lunch, and the driver provides the commentary to and from the sites. So, the review is half about the operator and half about the actual sites. Our driver was a fat, jovial character called Ale (Alessandros?) The driver is in an unenviable position. He needs to keep the customers amused for two or three hours each way, and also know when to shut up and give them a bit of peace and quiet. We got on the coach at 5:45am, and I would have been happier if he just said "folks, I'm going to collect all of us from the various hotels; we'll head off and stop after an hour at a _really_ good coffee place; and after that I'll start telling you about what you're going to see today". However, he felt obliged to talk almost without stop all the way. I suppose it doesn't matter who the operator is - they all have the same balancing act to navigate. Advice: if you book through Tripadvisor you may not be able to specify your exact hotel as your pick-up point. We chose one that was close to our hotel (Crowne Plaza) then after we'd paid we contacted the Cheeky Kiwi operator directly and changed the pickup to where we really wanted to be picked up. No drama from them, so I guess this happens frequently. OK. Hobbiton. New Zealand's #1 tourist attraction with 250,000 visitors a year. Don't think you can just hire a car, drive up on spec and buy a ticket. You won't be able to get in. You need to go through an operator - which books the tickets in advance and allocates a couple to you when you book. If they have sold all the ones they have purchased, they won't take any more bookings for that day. So be aware, for Hobbiton you must go through _some_ operator. Good crowd, good weather, good atmosphere, good guide at the site. If it had rained, I dare say it would have been miserable. Check the weather forecast and take an umbrella if it looks iffy. I went because my wife wanted to see it, so I was there on sufferance. However, it was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, and she found it enthralling. By contrast, the Waitomo Caves was strange and enjoyable in a different way. Imagine a cave system with stalactites and stalagmites. There's a river that flows through it. Get in a boat, go round a bend and there - up in the air - are glow-worms, hanging from the roof. Never seen anything like it, anywhere in the world. As an example of natural history, I think it's unique. All in all, I was happy with the operator and the two sites we saw. At first sight, it looks expensive, but just cost out what you would pay to arrange it yourself with a hire car, lunch, tickets (if you can get them !) and the exhausting driving for hours on roads you don't know. Suddenly, this looks like very good value for money. Five Stars from me.
Amazing
Dreamer26449222631,Mar 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Amazing tour. Atmosphere great. Great people.
Brilliant experience
rayzor1720,Mar 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Cheeky Vicki was an awesome guide, knowledgeable about all areas, happy, helpful and even able to throw a few laughs at an ungodly hour of the morning!! And the lunch stop food was beyond what I expected,
To recommend.
Nastia K,Mar 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Grant was a very great tour guide and bus driver. He made the day very exciting and informative.
Fantastic!
LostSoul0006,Dec 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The trip was amazing. Vicki was a great guide, and helped make the day enjoyable. Hobbiton was more then what i hoped for, and the Waitomo caves were fun and informative. I would recommend to everyone.
Trip to Hobbiton and waitomo cabes
Adventure65341232589,Dec 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We took cheeky kiwi to visit hobbiton and waiting caves. Rich took us there and through out the trip he was amazing. He explained things along the way, booked our lunch and made sure we had our orders ready when we arrived. Stopped near really good breakfast and icecream places as well he was very positive and really loved this trip with rich.
Amazing Day Trip
vasinha2384,Dec 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Amazing 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
5.00
We 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
5.00
This 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
5.00
Beautiful locations and very well organized tour! Liam and Richard were amazing guides, well-informed and chill vibes all around. Can highly recommend!