Hobbiton & Rotorua Small-Group Tour

Absolutely amazing tour from start to finish! Hobbiton was magical, and the stunning geothermal scenery at Wai-O-Tapu was unforgettable. Everything was well organized, and our guide made the whole day fun and enjoyable. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting New Zealand!

The trip to Hobbiton is amazing. It really is like being transported to the Shire. Jeoff our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The meat pie he suggested was better than the one in Australia just like he said. The day made want to do another Cheekt tour aoon

Jeoff was an amazing tour guide and really made the day special with a wealth of knowledge. Perfect amount of time at each location. Can definitely enjoy Hobbiton even if you havent seen the Lord of the Rings / Hobbit movies.

It was a great tour! Jeff was very friendly and informative

This was a great experience. Convenience: we were able to stay in the CBD (downtown) area of Auckland and still get out to see Hobbiton and Rotorua without having to rent a car and drive on an unfamiliar side of the road, or on the windy country roads. As long as you're okay getting up early for the pickup, it's super easy. Roads: if you get carsick, definitely consider a scopolamine patch and have dramamine on hand if needed. The roads get a little windy near Hobbiton and near Waiotapu. Sitting up front helped a lot (there's windows all around the sides of the van but being able to see the road better helped). Hobbiton: this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This tour gets you there bright and early for the 9:10 tour group, so Hobbiton ends up feeling not too crowded and you get some lovely morning light for pictures. The approach to the farm is gorgeous, and they take you to a shop/cafe staging area where you board a bus operated by the Hobbiton site. The shop is small but has some good stuff, and the cafe food was tasty. Your Cheeky Kiwi tour guide gets you the Hobbiton tickets and then meets you after you get back from the Hobbiton tour. The Hobbiton tour itself is extremely well run. They give you a few minutes in each spot to take pictures, talk with the tour guide, etc. Because the path they take you on winds through the set a bit, it doesn't feel crowded, especially when you're there first thing in the morning. Seeing the level of detail and how they play with scale is really interesting. While the set itself was only ever built for exterior shots (you can't go in Bag End or the majority of the hobbit holes), they built a pair of hobbit holes you can wander around in. In a given tour, you only get to see one of them, but you don't miss too much by just doing one (we ended up doing the tour twice and checking out the one we hadn't seen the day before). They're very similar, like neighbor's houses with a mirrored floor plan. The knickknacks and furniture were different, but were both fantastic for photo ops. Be sure to check out the eels in the pond by the Green Dragon Inn! At the end of the tour of Hobbiton they give you a drink (they had a cider, a stout, and a lager, plus a non-alcoholic ginger beer) plus a food counter. Waiotapu: Waiotapu was a neat self-guided tour around the geothermal vents. The tour guide drops you off at the gift shop/cafe and gets you the tickets, then you get to wander the vents yourself. If you're reasonably mobile/fit, you should be able to see the entire path. The first two sections are very accessible, while the third section involves the most elevation changes and stairs. If you're running low on time and want to see the best part of the green (third) section, veer left to get to a beautiful turquoise lake at the end. The sulfur smell can be a bit strong at first, but it's an otherworldly experience to see the vents. There's also the Waiotapu Mud Pool very close to the visitor center that was really cool. This section of the tour is go at your own pace, and it's worth noting that this is the last place to get a meal other than a quick ice cream stand where they stop for restrooms on the way back to Auckland. It's also worth saying the driving around Rotorua is incredible. As a Southern Californian, it was a bit nerve-wracking to see white "smoke" coming up out of the vegetation because the first thought is "wildfire" but it's just the volcanic vents. Food: the one thing I think we wish we'd understood more clearly during this tour is when to grab food. Some of the other tours include a specific packed lunch or meal stop, while this one was more "grab something when you can." I'd plan on having your own snacks (the guide provided some but if you have a big appetite it helps to have more) and grabbing a meal both at the Hobbiton cafe and at the Waiotapu cafe.