Day 6: Hobbiton

Of course, just about any tourist coming to New Zealand now is aware of the Lord of the Rings movies. And Hobbiton is a must-see for ALL of the people who have come to visit me since I moved here. Which means that the tour guides at Hobbiton are going to start knowing my name before too long.

Hobbiton is the set that was used to film the hobbit village scenes from the movies. It is definitely a tourist thing but not to be missed in my opinion even if you’re not a big LOTR fan. It’s cute, it’s fun, and they do a really good job of managing the number of people on the site and giving you time to take pictures and enjoy it along the way. There have been a few times that I’ve been on the tour when we had kids who misbehaved and were annoying (mostly pre-teens who didn’t respect the set) but for the most part it has always been great.

They offer a fun dinner tour and banquet on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. It’s a bit expensive but we went once when my stepsons came to visit. More food than you could possibly eat and a great variety of Hobbit and Kiwi cuisine. And quality — not your typical buffet food. And with the night tour you get to spend longer on the set and get to go to a few places that the day tours don’t take you which is kinda fun. I believe the night tour is limited to 40 people (maybe even less) so it is a more intimate experience.