Our final stop of the 2015 New Zealand Road Trip revolved around Hobbiton.
Mr. J, a huge Lord of the Rings fan, needed to see Hobbiton. I enjoy the movies as well, but I am not a super fan.
Is it touristy? Yes. Is it commercialized? Yes. Is it amazing? Yes.
Hobbiton
Our Experience
We booked the Movie Set Tour for the last spot of the day. (Note, the price has gone up, since our visit in 2015.)
This was not our ideal choice. However, we did not plan ahead because we did not know exactly what day we would reach the area in our camper van. Also, the Inn was partially under renovations during our visit. The renovations are complete now (January 2017).
Shire’s Rest
Our departure point was from the Shires Rest.
This is the main entrance to Hobbiton. The Shire’s Rest has the ticket office, a cafe, and gift shop.
We picked up our tickets, used the facilities and grabbed a water to wait for our tour to begin.
The anticipation is mounting!!!
Transportation to the Set
To kick off the tour, we all piled onto a very nice coach bus.
The bus drives the group out to the movie set. On the ride, your guide explains the family farm operations and fun facts about the making of the Lord of the Rings (plus the Hobbit Movies).
After about a 20 minute drive, we arrived at the movie set.
Hobbiton – the Set
This part of the tour, you walk through the movie set and check out all the hobbit houses.
We really enjoyed the tour, and the “fun facts” our guide shared. The attention to detail is pretty amazing.
The guide also lets you stop at a couple of different houses to have your picture taken in the house. Our guide was nice enough to take our picture for us.
Enhance…..
We really enjoyed the tour, but its not over yet.
The Green Dragon Inn
The pinnacle and last stop of the tour. The Green Dragon Inn is only accessible through the official Hobbiton Tours.
At the Green Dragon, you enjoy more scenery and a beverage of your choice from the Inn’s selection.
I went with the Cider, and Mr. J went with the ale. A non-alcoholic ginger beer is also available. I cannot say enough about NZ ciders, I really, really enjoy them.
You can sit down and enjoy your beverage by the fire (if it is a crisp day, like it was for us).
You will get weird (almost paranoid) looks when the guide tells you it is time to go, and your response it “I live here now.”
We were literally the only ones by the fire. Everyone else was in the banquet room or outside taking pictures. I think you need to sit down, relax and take it all in.
Recommendation
If you are a Hobbit or Lord of the Rings fan, then this is a must see.
We really enjoyed the tour, and our visit to the Green Dragon Inn.
The most annoying part was waiting for the people in prom dress to finish their iphone photos. I would suggest the private tour to avoid people. The private tours were all booked. And as you can see from the post, we were able to get some great photos for our memories.
The best part of the tour is learning all the behind the scene movie factoids.
The post New Zealand Road Trip – Last Stop: Hobbiton appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.