Best Port for Hobbiton?

[jajsmom]

DH is a big Lord of the Rings Fan, so Hobbiton is a must visit for us.  Our cruise has three different ports that have excursions there (Christchurch/Lyttleton, Wellington, and Tauranga.)  Which is the preferred port to do this excursion?  Can we do this privately, or must we do it through the cruise line?  And tour recommendations please if we can do this on our own.  Thank you!

[Jeaannie55]

I’m in New Zealand at the moment, staying with relatives and was taken there yesterday from Auckland.  They are saying definitely leave from Tauranga, it’s about an hour away from there.

we booked tickets on line and were  driven there, it’s in middle earth, so difficult to get to if you don’t have a car! 😬😆

just as a side note, you get to the visitor centre, then everyone ne gets on a bus to take you to the movie set.  It’s amazing, such detail very cute and I would highly recommend doing it if you can.

hope this helps.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, jajsmom said:

DH is a big Lord of the Rings Fan, so Hobbiton is a must visit for us.  Our cruise has three different ports that have excursions there (Christchurch/Lyttleton, Wellington, and Tauranga.)  Which is the preferred port to do this excursion?  Can we do this privately, or must we do it through the cruise line?  And tour recommendations please if we can do this on our own.  Thank you!

Hobbiton is on the North Island and Christchurch is on the South Island.  It is likely to be a tour to the area where parts of the movies were filmed perhaps Mt Sunday where the city of Edoras was built and filmed. 

[jajsmom]

16 hours ago, possum52 said:

Hobbiton is on the North Island and Christchurch is on the South Island.  It is likely to be a tour to the area where parts of the movies were filmed perhaps Mt Sunday where the city of Edoras was built and filmed. 

Once again, helpful.  That's good to know.

[possum52]

49 minutes ago, jajsmom said:

Once again, helpful.  That's good to know.

If you want to visit Hobbiton, Tauranga is the only port of the three you mentioned that you can go there from.

Edited January 25, 2023 by possum52

[Over from NZ]

As others have said - Of those 3, only Tauranga gets you to Hobbiton. Christchurch you could get to Mt Sunday (it's only the land you'll see) and in Wellington you could get to the Weta Studios to see some of the stuff they made. Hobbiton is by far the main attraction if you're a LOTR fan - it's a must-see! Worth every cent. 

[jajsmom]

Thank you both!  I'm learning so much here.

[Over from NZ]

5 hours ago, jajsmom said:

Thank you both!  I'm learning so much here.

If he's a big fan.. come back again.. but next time do it by land, not by cruise. There's sites dotted all over the country that you just won't get to by cruise. 

[roscoe39]

On 1/25/2023 at 5:05 PM, possum52 said:

Hobbiton is on the North Island and Christchurch is on the South Island.  It is likely to be a tour to the area where parts of the movies were filmed perhaps Mt Sunday where the city of Edoras was built and filmed. 

sorry but maybe I misunderstood your post, I assume that the poster was referring to the Hobbiton set, it is better reached from Tauranga and a must see - its about an hour, you could hire a car yourself but remember you can not wander the site on your own. There are set times that tours leave and you are driven down to the site by bus. There are tours to do some of the movie set sites from Queenstown but apart from the view there is noting much to see....hobbiton is still a live set.

Edited January 27, 2023 by roscoe39

[possum52]

Yes they did, but they were talking about Hobbiton/LOR excursions from the other ports they are visiting. Others has talked about reaching the Hobbiton set from Tauranga. I just explained that Hobbiton was on the North Island and what they could do from Christchurch.

[possum52]

5 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

sorry but maybe I misunderstood your post, I assume that the poster was referring to the Hobbiton set, it is better reached from Tauranga and a must see - its about an hour, you could hire a car yourself but remember you can not wander the site on your own. There are set times that tours leave and you are driven down to the site by bus. There are tours to do some of the movie set sites from Queenstown but apart from the view there is noting much to see....hobbiton is still a live set.

Yes they did, but they were talking about Hobbiton/LOR excursions from the three ports they are visiting. Others has talked about reaching the Hobbiton set from Tauranga. I just explained that Hobbiton was on the North Island and what they could do from Christchurch. Perhaps write a reply to the OP rather than to me as I am not wanting to visit any of the LOR sites.

[dreams_of_travel]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:59 PM, jajsmom said:

DH is a big Lord of the Rings Fan, so Hobbiton is a must visit for us.  Our cruise has three different ports that have excursions there (Christchurch/Lyttleton, Wellington, and Tauranga.)  Which is the preferred port to do this excursion?  Can we do this privately, or must we do it through the cruise line?  And tour recommendations please if we can do this on our own.  Thank you!

If you are going to Auckland I can recommend WETA Unleashed there.  It is an in-depth look at their creations, not just LoTR stuff. Their gift shop has all sorts of LoTR things that the WETA workshop were out of, so of course I spent too much there.    I just did a "cruise to Middle Earth", and visited the usual sights in each of those ports.  Christchurch is Mt. Sunday, but you won't have time to actually climb it, sadly.   You could try to arrange a private tour, but it will be pricey. I've done this tour twice with the cruise ship excursion.  Wellington is the WETA workshop. Tauranga is Hobbiton.

 

I do recommend visiting again, and doing a land based tour to see even more filming sites.  There is a land based tour company that specializes in LoTR/Hobbit tours of up to 14days.  I did it about 10yrs ago, and want to do it again some day. They really do a great job, and you get to see lots of the country.

[lisabucsfan1]

4 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

If you are going to Auckland I can recommend WETA Unleashed there.  It is an in-depth look at their creations, not just LoTR stuff. Their gift shop has all sorts of LoTR things that the WETA workshop were out of, so of course I spent too much there.   

thank you!
I'm perusing this entire section of the boards to plan for our 2024 cruise that departs from Auckland...

[SueMo]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:18 PM, lisabucsfan1 said:

thank you!
I'm perusing this entire section of the boards to plan for our 2024 cruise that departs from Auckland...

We are planning a 2024 cruise out of Auckland as well.  If you are able to stay in Auckland a day or two pre cruise, there are quite a few tour companies that will take to to Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworm caves.  That way you can save the port of Taurangua for seeing some of the geothermal parks in Rotorua.

[lisabucsfan1]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:52 PM, SueMo said:

We are planning a 2024 cruise out of Auckland as well.  If you are able to stay in Auckland a day or two pre cruise, there are quite a few tour companies that will take to to Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworm caves.  That way you can save the port of Taurangua for seeing some of the geothermal parks in Rotorua.

Oh thank you for this suggestion!!! I've been torn about the geothermal parks. This could be the perfect solution!

[DogLover]

I nor my hubby are LOTR fans but in 2017 on our Sydney - Auckland cruise, we had a wonderful private guide and our tour included the WETA workshop in Wellington, NZ. It was incredible and highly recommended. 

 

 

[Over from NZ]

If you get real lucky at Hobbiton.. 🙂 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/131171121/ed-sheerans-impromptu-performance-at-hobbiton-a-special-middle-earth-moment

 

[25Brix]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:52 PM, SueMo said:

We are planning a 2024 cruise out of Auckland as well.  If you are able to stay in Auckland a day or two pre cruise, there are quite a few tour companies that will take to to Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworm caves.  That way you can save the port of Taurangua for seeing some of the geothermal parks in Rotorua.

This is what we booked to do pre cruise. For our cruise the port time in Tauranga was so short and I wanted my family to see more then just Hobbiton since they aren’t really fans.
 

I know it’s going to be a super long day from Auckland but I figure we will be jet lagged and can sleep in the long drive from Auckland. 
 

 

[ChangeOrder]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:52 AM, SueMo said:

We are planning a 2024 cruise out of Auckland as well.  If you are able to stay in Auckland a day or two pre cruise, there are quite a few tour companies that will take to to Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworm caves.  That way you can save the port of Taurangua for seeing some of the geothermal parks in Rotorua.

This is a great tip. I'm just now looking at a NZ cruise just for LotR content, so saving this thread for myself too.

[Markanddonna]

We did Hobbiton from Auckland with a tour company about five years ago. 

[Kiwi Dreamer]

Tauranga (Mt Maunganui) - Approximately a 45min drive whereas Auckland would be closer to 2hrs.

[Te Aroha]

Hi, jajsmom

 

I live in Matamata, AKA Hobbiton and thought that this may help you to see what is available. This is the official Hobbiton site and has links to arrange tours with other operators from both Auckland and Tauranga. Some cruise lines also run tours.

 

Tour Information

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/experiences/hobbiton-movie-set-tour/

 

Transfers

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/plan-visit/transfers/

 

Enjoy your visit 🙂

[jajsmom]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:25 PM, Te Aroha said:

Hi, jajsmom

 

I live in Matamata, AKA Hobbiton and thought that this may help you to see what is available. This is the official Hobbiton site and has links to arrange tours with other operators from both Auckland and Tauranga. Some cruise lines also run tours.

 

Tour Information

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/experiences/hobbiton-movie-set-tour/

 

Transfers

https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/plan-visit/transfers/

 

Enjoy your visit 🙂

Thank you!

 

[YoPhilly]

On 1/27/2023 at 11:32 AM, dreams_of_travel said:

If you are going to Auckland I can recommend WETA Unleashed there.  It is an in-depth look at their creations, not just LoTR stuff. Their gift shop has all sorts of LoTR things that the WETA workshop were out of, so of course I spent too much there.    I just did a "cruise to Middle Earth", and visited the usual sights in each of those ports.  Christchurch is Mt. Sunday, but you won't have time to actually climb it, sadly.   You could try to arrange a private tour, but it will be pricey. I've done this tour twice with the cruise ship excursion.  Wellington is the WETA workshop. Tauranga is Hobbiton.

 

I do recommend visiting again, and doing a land based tour to see even more filming sites.  There is a land based tour company that specializes in LoTR/Hobbit tours of up to 14days.  I did it about 10yrs ago, and want to do it again some day. They really do a great job, and you get to see lots of the country.

What is WETA?

[YoPhilly]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:18 PM, lisabucsfan1 said:

thank you!
I'm perusing this entire section of the boards to plan for our 2024 cruise that departs from Auckland...

Lisa, we're on the same cruise as you - Celebrity Edge.  Looking forward to it.