I have never seen any of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies. I have never seen any of ‘The Hobbit’ movies. I have never read any of the books either. I don’t like science fiction or fantasy. That said, I went to the Hobbiton movie set as a special day and night time tour excursion with the Azamara Quest cruise on our overnight stop in Tauranga. Hobbiton was the highlight of the cruise for me, without question. So why would someone who has never seen any of the movies love Hobbiton? It’s simple…Hobbiton is one of the coolest things in New Zealand!

When I first saw the excursion list for the Tauranga overnight stop there were a few good options. One was Rotorua where I visited in 2003 and thought it smelled bad but was pretty interesting. But I’ve seen pictures of Hobbiton on social media for the last year or two and always thought it looked cool. As it turns out, Hobbiton is one of the coolest things in New Zealand and here’s why.

Located on a working farm about an hour or so from Tauranga; Hobbiton was originally set up as a massive movie set by Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson, to be used for several movies. It was one of several sets they built around New Zealand. However, it’s the only one that still stands. It now gets about 2000 visitors a day!

Hobbiton is immaculate. It is impeccably designed and kept extraordinarily clean with attention to detail that would have Disneyland jealous. So even if you haven’t seen any of the movies or read any of the books like myself-you appreciate the incredible design and attractive look of Hobbiton.

Whether or not you’ve seen any of the movies or read any of the books, you’re aware of them and know how wildly successful they have been. The Lord of the Rings has left an indelible mark of pop culture and even I know the name Frodo! So seeing this Hobbit village in its massive scale and perfect upkeep was really cool.

What really made me think that Hobbiton is one of the coolest things in New Zealand was that I got to do a day and night tour. Actually it ended up being a twilight and night tour, which made it even cooler I thought.

I was able to walk around Hobbiton and take pictures of the Hobbit Holes and houses and all the little intricate details like laundry, plants, wood and axes, etc. The village is so colorful that you cannot help but smile as you feel like you’re in Alice in Wonderland or something.

After the day tour, they set up a massive feast for the tour participants and it’s literally a feast fit for a king. There is no way anyone finishes their food or the delicious local beers. You sit communally with the other people from your tour-we had about 50 people altogether.

After the feast, they take you back through Hobbiton for a night tour. This is equally fun, except very different. The main differences to me other than the obvious lack of daylight were the intricate details. You smelled fires burning inside the Hobbit holes or little candles were in the windows. It made it feel like there were really Hobbits living there. You couldn’t help but appreciate it.

The guides are excellent and relate everything to the books and movies if you know them well. But even for me, they made me feel like I was a part of the story. They also gave tons of good background information on the set now and during filming. Plus they led a singing and dancing party and who doesn’t love that!

All in all, I loved this trip and I highly recommend it to anyone. Hobbiton is one of the coolest things in New Zealand and a must if you’re on the North Island! It was the highlight of the cruise for me!

Sharing is caring!