Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves: NZ's Magical Day Trip from Auckland

Both tours were outstanding. Despite the near flood water levels at Waitomo and the heavy rain and winds at Hobbiton, our guides went above and beyond to make sure we experienced the entire attraction. David, our tour bus driver, was an absolute delight with his knowledge of the area and his unmatched hospitality. Highly recommended for everyone.

The trip was amazing, although the weather and traffic wasn't on our side for the end leg of it, it was fantastic. "Taco" our driver and guide was amazing and full of knowlage with hints of dad jokes to pop out at any given moment.

Nothing, it was perfect, I went at the end of tourist season and beginning of winter, the day was beautiful, not crowded, free dragon inn mug at the end of the day!, I wish I had more time to spend in the dragon inn

Hobbiton was an amazing experience, even if you aren’t a LOTR fan, the scenery is gorgeous. Loved seeing the glowworms. It was a well organized and comfortable trip.

At the time, there were undergoing repairs and newer construction at Hobbiton. Other than that, the experience was very nice. Waitomo was very beautiful and had no complaints. Our bus driver, Todd was a great source of information and helpful in every way.

the cave was super cool! there is no amount of photos you can view that can describe the experience, you gotta see it for yourself! Hobbiton experience is also super neat! and our driver was super cool! the food was meh, I would rather just get my own food to be honest, lol. overall it is excellent experience still

This was a great day trip. The Waitomo Caves were cool, although I think I would've preferred Rotorua. The glow worms aren't nearly as 'glowy' as the online images, but I guess that was to be expected. But it was still interesting to go in the cave and the boat and have that experience. Our guide for the cave was very informative and sang a little song in the cave which was cool. Hobbiton made this whole day worth it. Some of it is shut down for construction (which I didn't realize), but they make up for it by giving you a little gift at the end. Our guide for this was also amazing... He kinda looked like a hobbit. Haha definitely worth the visit. Our guide for this whole day trip was Marty. He was very kind and informative. I appreciated his professionalism and stories. :) Keep in mind that this is a lot of driving so bring a book (especially for the way back).

It was a very pleasant experience. David was an excellent guide and was thorough with the information he provided.

Such a cool day! If you’re short on time in NZ and looking to see more than just Hobbiton, definitely would recommend this tour. Todd, Cup of Tea, & John were all great tour guides. :)

The trip was amazing! Starting with the bus we were provided with water and a cookie which I wasn’t expecting but was very happy about! Then we went to the glow work caves which was so cool! They looked like little stars on the roof of the cave. Then we went to Hobbiton which was of course absolutely amazing, we took so many pictures and were so sad to leave. I would highly recommended and I wish to go again!