Hobbiton & Rotorua including Te Puia Small Group Tour from Auckland
Overview
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Hobbiton & Rotorua Te Puia Tour, this small group, fully guided day trip combines two of the top attractions in the North Island. It also brings together nature and Maori culture plus allows you to see the highlights of Rotorua City all in one day. 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 a modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety.
Description
Please be aware that while lunch is not provided on this tour, there will be several opportunities for you to purchase food along the way.
Highlights:
- Hobbiton & Alexander Family Sheep Farm
- Te Puia Geothermal Park & Pohutu
- Maori Cultural Village and Arts School
- Rotorua City Highlights
Itinerary:
1. 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.
2. 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 a variety of farm animals along the way.
3. 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’.
4. Tirau – Departing for Rotorua we pass through Tirau on our adventure. Dubbed the 'Corrugated Iron Capital of the World' because of the many unique corrugated iron sculptures and buildings, this town never fails to get a look and a laugh and our guides will point out all the main highlights on the way through.
5. Te Puia Geothermal Park – Arriving at our second feature destination, Te Puia, you will receive a fully guided tour to best experience the geothermal and Maori cultural wonders including: Pōhutu Geyser, Māori Architecture, The National Māori Arts School, geothermal craters, geothermal events and even the chance to view a Kiwi bird in the Kiwi viewing house.
6. Rotorua City Highlights – To finish off our Rotorua experience we do a guided driving tour seeing the most famous sites in Rotorua city including: Lake Rotorua, Rotorua Museum, Government Gardens, Whangapipiro (Rachel Spring) & the Blue Baths.
7. Auckland – Sadly 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
Fully Guided
Entry Tickets
Water available & snacks provided
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
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Reviews
439 reviews
Amazing tour
peterbK4368YD,,Jan 24, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Simon was a fantastic guide..very engaging, articulate and helpful with practical advice and info on all things NZ. It is a long drive but definitely great value. Lots of time for stops along the way although lunch was a bit rushed. Hobbiton was amazing with Noelle sp? from Santa Monica being the star tour guide. What talent! Going out of her way to be helpful for pictures. Rotorua and the near by hot springs Waiotapu were fascinating places. Highly recommended! Thank you Simon and Trent!
Cheeky Kiwi grand day out
francesj823,,Jan 16, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Thoroughly recommend Cheeky Kiwi’s trip to Hobbiton, Rotorua and Waiotapu. Dave and Liam gave us the best day from start to finish. Dave’s knowledge and passion in ensuring that everyone got the most out of the day spoke volumes and made the day exceptional. Loved the commentary and extra bits to the trip along with the drive through such amazing countryside. Thank you
Good stuff, but long ride
Richard d,,Jan 14, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.009 to 11:30 am at Hobbiton, afternoon at the hot vents. It's a lot of time in the coach. If I did it again, I would skip the afternoon part.
Cheeky Kiwi are highly recommended
8911CB,,Jan 11, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00An early start but worth it! We were the 4th group to leave from the Hobbiton visitor centre, which contributed to how peaceful I found the tour. Incredible to see the level of detail which went into creating the Hobbiton set, and the new Hobbit holes are stunning. Dave, our driver, was friendly and knowledgeable and had excellent rugby chat! Waiotapu was stunning; it was very hot so I only did. The first loop but worth it to see the geothermal features and champagne pool. Highly recommend booking a tour with Cheeky Kiwi; lovely group size, comfortable buses and expert local guides.
Great trip.
D611CKkarinh,,Jan 9, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Super tour with guide who told funny and knowledgeable about New Zealand, the things that we had to see, and adapted both our age (there were teens with) and nationality.
Great operator and guide - bucket list item ticked!
petervZ3783NB,,Jan 9, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour was a one in a lifetime bucket-list ticking experience. Simon, our tour guide was professional, courtious and obviously very experienced in the area.
Great guide and super sun day to tour Hobbiton!
Ashley B,,Jan 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Our tour guide and driver had great energy and were super thoughtful, and kept us on time. Also, a great sense of humor. Our time in Hobbiton was super magical, and our teenagers loved it! A definitely recommend this tour!
Excellent full day trip.
drpkbaidya,,Jan 6, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Excellent trip with our guide David Hamilton. Perfect combination of full day tour in a single day like Hobbiton Movie Set, Rotorua, Geothermal wonderland and many more beautiful places. Thanks, our guide who willingly visited us a beautiful place like Blue Springs nearly Hobbiton Movie Set area which was not include our trip. Thanks, David. Also thanks to Cheeky kiwi Travel. Highly recommend for everyone.
Amazing 2 for 1
Sharlene M,,Jan 6, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This was an amazing tour for both activities. Got to do 2 things in one day. And our tour guide Jeoff went above and beyond guiding us and giving us little facts throughout the drive about the city, and all the places he took us.
Grant was fantastic!
tomwO1062IA,,Jan 5, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour is essentially transportation to the movie site, visiting a self-guided volcanic park, and transportation back, but along the way, Grant provided much background information about the areas we passed through, answered my numerous questions on New Zealand, and provided insight before we arrived at a site. The value provided in being driven to those sites by an experienced guide in a comfortable coach without having to navigate the roads is definitely worth it. Grant made sure to break up the drive with well-timed stops and handled all of the ticketing and guidance needed for the excursions. He just had to point us where we needed to go, gave us our tickets, and provided clear direction on how best to enjoy the trip. The insight provided before we arrived made me feel confident I would get the most out of my visit. He was very personable and accommodating to all in the coach. He even made sure to initiate a farewell handshake at the end to each one sincerely thanking us for choosing Cheeky Kiwi Travel. Well done!
From A$378.16
Auckland, New Zealand
- Free cancellation
Reserve Now & Pay Later - available
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