Shore excursion to Hobbiton

[cruznqueen]

Just wondering if anyone has done a shore excursion to Hobbiton?  Our ship will be in Auckland from 8am to 5pm and it says that we tender.  Is this enough time to do this?

if you have done this who did you use?

thanks in advance

Mary

[zalusky]

I can't speak for Viking on this tour but we did Princess stopping in Tauranga 8AM to 6PM and did Hobbiton and we had plenty of time.  Of course the distance from Tauranga is 55KM = 49min and the distance from Auckland is 179KM = 2 HR 15Min.

 

If they have a scheduled excursion via the ship you should not have to worry as its all taken into account.

 

 

[Markanddonna]

We took a private excursion to Hobbiton and it was a long day- 7:30-5:00, so a ship excursion is really your only bet unless you get a private car to hire. Hobbiton is one of my three top excursions in my many years of extensive travel and I'm not even a big Hobbit fan. It was like being in a fairytale.

[WESTEAST]

We did a private tour with Cjays Cruise Tour Group from Tauranga and along with beautiful scenery from the port to Hobbiton, we were surprised how much we enjoyed the Hobbiton Movie Set tour.  It was wonderful and if you have a chance, it is not to be missed.

[Kiwi Dreamer]

A very long day from Auckland so would recommend if docking in Tauranga. 

[hulagrandma]

We will be on the Ovation for Transpacific and will be in Auckland from 9-5 is it enough time

to do this. We would love to see Hobbiton.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 4/10/2022 at 8:20 PM, hulagrandma said:

We will be on the Ovation for Transpacific and will be in Auckland from 9-5 is it enough time

to do this. We would love to see Hobbiton.

I'd only risk it if you can do it as a cruise line excursion. 

[hulagrandma]

Thanks for your reply, let me see if this will be offered...

[Markanddonna]

On 4/10/2022 at 6:20 AM, hulagrandma said:

We will be on the Ovation for Transpacific and will be in Auckland from 9-5 is it enough time

to do this. We would love to see Hobbiton.

We are also on that sailing and I don't think it will be enough time to go independently. Only would go if the ship offers it. I believe our tour started about 7:30 from Auckland and we returned after dinner time.  Might I recommend going to the Auckland Museum.  I would return there in a heart beat!

 

[Thrak]

We are planning a B2B2B for October/November 2023. We looked at the February/March cruises and nothing "fit" with what my wife wants to do so...

 

The New Zealand portion of the cruises ports at Tauranga and is there for a full day. Wondering what the weather is likely to be at this time. It looks to me like it would be better to book a private company for Hobbiton rather than taking the Princess excursion. From what I can see it's about $50 US cheaper to take the private tour that picks you up at the ship and returns you afterward. Am I on the right track or am I full of hooey???

[possum52]

We did a NZ cruise in November, we were fortunate and had fine weather for the whole cruise. It was slightly cooler in the very south but the northern ports had lovely sunny days. But of course weather is unpredictable so I would always suggest always taking a light waterproof jacket.

 

We did all private tours and never had a problem. Also of course much cheaper than ship's tours. I would suggest to check the companies by looking at reviews of their tours.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 5/26/2022 at 1:06 PM, Thrak said:

We are planning a B2B2B for October/November 2023. We looked at the February/March cruises and nothing "fit" with what my wife wants to do so...

 

The New Zealand portion of the cruises ports at Tauranga and is there for a full day. Wondering what the weather is likely to be at this time. It looks to me like it would be better to book a private company for Hobbiton rather than taking the Princess excursion. From what I can see it's about $50 US cheaper to take the private tour that picks you up at the ship and returns you afterward. Am I on the right track or am I full of hooey???

NZ weather is unpredictable. Pack layers, a good rain/wind jacket, and an umbrella. 

 

You should be fine to do a private excursion to Hobbiton from Tauranga. It's only about an hour's drive over to Hobbiton and the actual Hobbiton tours are very well organised. Your private tour company would book a timeslot for your Hobbiton tour and the tour takes about 90 minutes from memory. It's well worth it.