Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Tour with Lunch

It was an incredible experience visiting Hobbiton and Waitomo in a single day. Although it was a 13-hour tour, it was absolutely worth it. The scenery was stunning, and the entire journey was truly memorable. I would especially like to compliment our tour guide, Liam. He is highly professional, friendly, and genuinely caring. Throughout the trip, he shared detailed and fascinating information about Auckland and the places we visited, which made the experience even more enjoyable. Liam went above and beyond—he prepared water and snacks for us during the journey, arranged a great lunch, and even helped take photos without being asked. His thoughtful and attentive service made the whole trip comfortable and smooth. Thank you, Cheeky Kiwi, for having such outstanding staff. This was truly a memorable and enjoyable journey.

I had the best time today with our tour guide mark. He was lovely, professional and full of insights! For future everyone should book THROUGH CHEEKY KIWI TRAVEL - and not through Headout as Headout had inaccurate information about pick up times and what to bring etc, I ended up calling CKT directly and spoke to a lovely lady who gave me all the information I needed and made sure I was ready and on time for the tour!! Thanks again!!

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 tour. Atmosphere great. Great people.

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,