Hobbiton Movie Set tour: tickets, which tour to book and how to get there

Hobbiton is the film set built for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, on the Alexander family sheep farm near Matamata in the Waikato. It is now a permanent village of hobbit holes, gardens and a working pub, and it is one of the most popular paid attractions in the North Island. It is also simple to visit once you know the one rule: you cannot just turn up and walk around. Every visit is a guided tour, and the good ones sell out.

All prices below are in NZD as at November 2026, from Hobbiton Movie Set’s own website. Hobbiton says current prices are valid for tour departures until 31 March 2028.

The tours compared

There are six regular tours. Most people book the Signature Tour. The other four are the same walk with food, a different time of day or a smaller group added.

A family pass for the Signature Tour costs $332 for two adults and two youths (11 to 17), and is only sold on hobbitontours.com. Infants are free on every tour, but you still have to book them a ticket.

Signature Tour: the one most people need

You check in at The Shire’s Rest, a converted woolshed with a cafe and shop, then ride a coach about 10 minutes through the farm with the Kaimai Range behind you. Your guide walks the group around the 12-acre set, past the colourful round doors on the hillsides, to Bag End (home of Bilbo and Frodo), and into a fully furnished hobbit hole on Bagshot Row. You finish with a complimentary drink from Hobbiton’s own Southfarthing range at the Green Dragon Inn, then ride back.

Evening Banquet Tour: the fan favourite

You walk the set in the last of the daylight, eat a big shared feast in the Green Dragon dining room, then walk back along lit paths carrying lanterns. It is the most atmospheric way to see the place, and Hobbiton warns it can book out months ahead. It does not run from 24 December 2026 to 12 January 2027, and restarts on 13 January 2027.

Behind The Scenes Tour: for the proper nerds

The newest premium tour keeps groups to 28 people, includes a banquet lunch in the Millhouse and a visit to the Art Department workshop where the props and set dressing are maintained, then finishes with a cheese platter at a quiet spot away from the main paths. If you care about how the set is made, this is the one.

Ticket prices and how to book

Book on hobbitontours.com or through a transfer operator (below). A few things catch people out:

1. Book early. Hobbiton releases departures at least 10 months ahead. Popular summer dates and the Evening Banquet Tour fill first.
2. Everyone needs a ticket, including free children. A child without a ticket allocated before arrival is a problem at check-in.
3. Arrive 20 minutes early for the Signature Tour (30 minutes for Behind The Scenes) to print your bus tickets.
4. Bring ID if you want the drink. Alcohol is only served with a passport, NZ driver licence or Hospitality NZ 18+ card.
5. No waitlist. If your date is full, Hobbiton offers free live availability alerts by email instead.

Insider tip: if the Signature Tour from The Shire’s Rest is sold out, check the once-a-day departure from Matamata Information Centre at 45 Broadway. It is the same tour at the same price, and Hobbiton calls it a guaranteed daily service (except Christmas Day).

Special events

Hobbiton also runs ticketed events with feasts and entertainment. The ones listed as at November 2026: A Hobbiton Christmas on 18 and 19 December 2026 (adult $300), the Summer Harvest Festival on 5 and 6 February 2027 ($310), a Mid-Winter Feast in 2027 ($330) and International Hobbit Day on 22 September 2027 ($360). The 18+ Hobbiton Beer Festival on 13 and 14 November 2026 is fully booked.

Getting there from Auckland or Rotorua

The Shire’s Rest is at 501 Buckland Road, Hinuera, in farmland outside Matamata. There is free parking, including some spaces for campervans and coaches, and two EV chargers. Overnight parking is not allowed.

These are routing estimates without stops, based on OpenStreetMap data. Add time for traffic leaving Auckland and for the final rural roads.

Without a car, Hobbiton lists several transfer partners on its website. GreatSights runs day tours from Auckland and Rotorua, with options that add Waitomo or Rotorua sights. Bush and Beach, Auckland Scenic Tours, Cheeky Kiwi Travel and Auckland and Beyond Tours run day trips from Auckland, and FlexiToursNZ does one-way trips between Auckland and Rotorua with Hobbiton in the middle. If you are on a budget, InterCity buses run between Hamilton and Matamata several times a day and stop outside the Information Centre, where the Matamata departure leaves from.

Driving yourself is the cheapest option for two or more people, and it lets you link Hobbiton with Rotorua or Waitomo on the same day. Our car rental guide covers what to book.

A hobbit hole garden on the Hobbiton Movie Set. Photo: Andres Iga via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

What you see on the tour

• The hobbit holes. Hobbiton says there are 44 of them across the hillsides. Most are facades with only a short space behind the door, which is why the gardens, washing lines and tiny details are so convincing up close.
• Bag End. At the top of the hill above the party field. You stop outside the gate for photos and the view back over the Shire, but you cannot go inside.
• Bagshot Row interiors. Every tour now goes inside a fully themed hobbit hole. There are two identical homes so groups can move through without queues.
• The Stone Trolls, tucked into the trees.
• The Millhouse and double-arch bridge, then the Green Dragon Inn, a full recreation of the film pub with an exclusive range of ale, cider, stout and ginger beer.

Hobbiton is carrying out an ongoing maintenance and restoration programme around the set, so you may see contained work areas or hear machinery. Tours run as normal and prices are not discounted for it.

Photos: bring a phone or camera, but drones and tripods are not allowed, and whatever you take on the coach you carry for the whole walk.

Best time to go

Season: the set looks lush all year because the gardens are worked constantly. Summer (December to February) is warm and busy, so Hobbiton recommends sunscreen, a hat and water. In autumn, winter and spring, bring a rain layer and enclosed shoes, because the paths get muddy. Umbrellas are handed out if it rains.

Time of day: early departures are usually calmer before the day-tour coaches from Auckland arrive. The Evening Banquet Tour is the way to see it in golden light.

Accessibility: the walk is outdoors on gravel paths with some slopes. Hobbiton has an accessibility page with detail on the route and adaptive options, worth reading before you book.

Combining Hobbiton with Waitomo or Rotorua

Hobbiton sits neatly between Auckland, Rotorua and the Waitomo caves, so most people fold it into a day of driving rather than doing a return trip.

1. Auckland to Rotorua via Hobbiton. The classic. Take a morning tour, have lunch at The Shire’s Rest, and be in Rotorua for an afternoon soak. See our Rotorua guide for what to do when you get there.
2. Hobbiton and Waitomo in one day. Possible by car: an early Hobbiton tour, then about 1 hour 40 minutes to Waitomo for an afternoon cave tour. Check cave tour times before you book, because last departures are mid-afternoon. Our Waitomo glowworm caves guide compares the tours.
3. Part of a bigger loop. Hobbiton is an easy stop on our 10-day North Island road trip.

Coming from overseas? Most visitors need an NZeTA before they fly, so sort that out before you book tour dates.