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Tauranga Tpir - Rotorua to Te Puia? or Hobbiton Movie Set & Waitomo Glowworms caves?


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Tauranga Tour - Rotorua to Te Puia? or Hobbiton Movie Set & Waitomo Glowworms caves?

 

Trying to decide on a tour from Tauranga. We are not really into the Hobbit movies, etc., but have heard that Hobbiton and the glowworms are "must see". However, we have some interest in the mud pools/geyser.

I would love to see both the glowworms and the mud pools/geyser but don't see any tour doing both that can be done as a shore excursion. So, it seems that we must decide between the two. Any suggestions to help us decide?

 

Thanks

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Having done all of them, I'd choose Hobbiton and the glowworms. Te Puia is interesting, but I'd only start to consider it above Hobbiton if they also included the Maori cultural show and lunch (which they might not include as part of a shore excursion). Our guide at Hobbiton said many, many people who aren't movie fans still love the area. Even if it were a choice between Te Puia and just glowworms I'd likely choose glowworms.

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Thanks. This gives me another operator to consider. It's basically what I've found through Viator and others. With these, I still have to choose between the glowworms & the mud pools. This does give me another option. Thank you.

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Having done all of them, I'd choose Hobbiton and the glowworms. Te Puia is interesting, but I'd only start to consider it above Hobbiton if they also included the Maori cultural show and lunch (which they might not include as part of a shore excursion). Our guide at Hobbiton said many, many people who aren't movie fans still love the area. Even if it were a choice between Te Puia and just glowworms I'd likely choose glowworms.

 

Thanks. I was leaning towards the glowworms & Hobbiton, but needed to hear from someone who has been there.

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If your reason for visiting Te Puia is mud pools, you might be more interested in Wai-O-Tapu. I have not been there, but is looks like a larger geothermal area than Te Puia. Te Puia has a geyser, I don't recall myself seeing mud pools, but it's a relatively small area. They also have some animals, a Maori lodge, and a woodcarving school. We went in the evening and had the Maori welcome and performance, followed by the Hangi dinner.

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We were in Hobbiton last month. I'm not a Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fan but scheduled it mostly since my husband is. It ended up being the BEST experience of my month-long transpacific cruise to Sydney and New Zealand.

 

Going to Hobbiton is like being in a fairytale. The details are amazing. We had our photo with both of us at the door of a hobbit hole on our Christmas card. We have received many compliments!

 

We took the tour from Auckland, so didn't have time for the glowworms. I would have loved to have seen that also, but the trip from Auckland was long.

 

Ask if you have questions about Hobbiton.

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Are you going to stop in Auckland? The Auckland museum is one of the best in the world and they have a Maori cultural experience there that is very much worth the time. Their artifacts from all around the South Pacific are amazing. We spent the entire day there!

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If your reason for visiting Te Puia is mud pools, you might be more interested in Wai-O-Tapu. I have not been there, but is looks like a larger geothermal area than Te Puia. Te Puia has a geyser, I don't recall myself seeing mud pools, but it's a relatively small area. They also have some animals, a Maori lodge, and a woodcarving school. We went in the evening and had the Maori welcome and performance, followed by the Hangi dinner.

 

Thanks. I'll definitely check this out. We are not very interested in the performances.

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We were in Hobbiton last month. I'm not a Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fan but scheduled it mostly since my husband is. It ended up being the BEST experience of my month-long transpacific cruise to Sydney and New Zealand.

 

Going to Hobbiton is like being in a fairytale. The details are amazing. We had our photo with both of us at the door of a hobbit hole on our Christmas card. We have received many compliments!

 

We took the tour from Auckland, so didn't have time for the glowworms. I would have loved to have seen that also, but the trip from Auckland was long.

 

Ask if you have questions about Hobbiton.

 

Are you going to stop in Auckland? The Auckland museum is one of the best in the world and they have a Maori cultural experience there that is very much worth the time. Their artifacts from all around the South Pacific are amazing. We spent the entire day there!

 

Thanks for the response. The more I hear, the more certain that we will include Hobbiton in our plans. We dock in Tauranga in addition to Auckland, so I'm thinking that we would be better to see this from Tauranga. I'll research further to confrirm which would be better.

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Are you going to stop in Auckland? The Auckland museum is one of the best in the world and they have a Maori cultural experience there that is very much worth the time. Their artifacts from all around the South Pacific are amazing. We spent the entire day there!

 

Thanks for the response. I'll need to check this out also.

Our cruise is out of Sydney and goes to: Fiordland National Park (just cruising), Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland and Bay of Islands.

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We did Hobbiton not as part of a cruise, and did the evening dinner in the Green Dragon. Very good food and lots of time in the area. I noticed that one shore excursion option now lists a meal possibly included with some tours to Hobbiton, sounds like it is actually at Hobbiton but not necessarily in the Green Dragon? If it's put on by those who run Hobbiton and like the evening meal, it would be well worth the extra cost.

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I believe Hobbiton is best seen from Tauranga as that port is closer. I also read that the meal was really a wonderful experience. Keep in mind that New Zealand can be rainy so bring rain gear. Our day was lovely. They have a nice gift shop too. Most merchandise can only be found there.

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There are also glowworm caves in the Bay of Islands http://kawiticaves.co.nz/ so that could be an option if you want to see all three things on your list.

 

Hobbiton is stunning. It's so cleverly done, you just have to see it.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I have just booked a tour that includes this. Due to the time that we are in this port, I could not find an independent tour to accommodate us. so I booked through the ship. The price was not more but our tour group is larger. It is what it is!

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Thanks for the suggestion. I have just booked a tour that includes this. Due to the time that we are in this port, I could not find an independent tour to accommodate us. so I booked through the ship. The price was not more but our tour group is larger. It is what it is!

 

I hope you enjoy them, and it will be far more relaxing than trying to do the Waitomo Caves from Tauranga. Tauranga, Rotorua, and Hobbiton are a good combination as you go around in a big triangle.

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I realize you've decided to go with the /Glowworms tour, but just in case someone pulls this post up looking for info, I thought I'd share the benefits of the alternate destination you mentioned. We loved our Tauranga tour that included Te Puia.

If you are interested in geothermals this is great, similar to Yellowstone.

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