Visit the enchanting Waitomo Glowworm Caves for a guided 45-minute tour through this underground wonder, seeing stalactites, stalagmites, and sparkling glowworms. A hidden gem near the township of Matamata, the Hobbiton Movie Set is a world-famous film location for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. See the Hobbit Holes and learn how this private farm became Middle Earth.
Posted By : Langjitianya
The confirmation letter had Cordis Auckland as the depart location (also this is what is listed in the depart location when we booked the tour online). However, our family arrived earlier and waited there for 15 mins without seeing the coach (while some other tours' coaches were in front of the hotel). The meeting time passed, so we got worried and called the Contact Center. The call is quickly answered and the operator is helpful, however we had to run 15 mins to get to another meeting location as the coach has left Cordis already. The issue discovered is that the coach actually waited in the bus stop on Symonds Street, but this location is not written in the text box that highlights the depart location, but rather in smaller font below the text box in the confirmation letter. For the rest of the trip, it was mostly good (lunch was good, the driver to Rotorua is especially nice and helpful, but the wifi didn't work on the bus, the Waitomo cave was not really impressive comparing to what I saw elsewhere and the Hobbiton tour was in such a hurry that you don't have much time to take photos). The pick up was really a problem - a bad way to start your vacation. What made it worse is that when we arrived at the new meeting point and pointed the problem to the girl who signs people up, she said "that's not our problem"
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Posted On : 2024-04-11 06:59:07
Posted By : PhilisAnn_B
Don’t let the staging area fool you… There is an amazing Hobbit village waiting for visitors on the other side of the road. Our knowledgeable guide did a great job of pacing our large group past and occasionally into the MANY uniquely designed Hobbit homes. This 2+ hour tour was just amazing!
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Posted On : 2024-04-02 11:49:16
Posted By : Nicole_W
I was so appreciative of the absolute precise timing of the entire day. Every minute of the tour was planned and it made it so smooth and organized. The driver, Rachel, was excellent. I really enjoyed the informative commentary on the bus. The tours were both wonderful. I would highly recommend this itinerary for anyone looking to go to Hobbiton and Waitomo from Auckland!
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Posted On : 2024-03-30 09:10:18
Posted By : Jacqueline_H
First time to Auckland and arrived 10mins in advance at the meeting point, but no one contact us as usual, and tried to contact the tour operator but no response at all, and finally the bus be left without any notification. Our family’s first trip in Auckland is completely ruined. Don’t join the tour rendered by ‘GreatSights’! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
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Posted On : 2024-03-29 05:13:52
Posted By : John_L
Hobbiton was fun, but our experience was shattered when our bus driver failed to return us to our ship in time. Our cruise left us stranded in Aukland, and that's where the expenses started racking up! We spent nearly $1,000 on hotels, food, taxis & bus fares. Not to mention the additional $700 spent on another Viator excursion that was missed the following day.Needless to say I was very underwhelmed with the overall experience. Note to self, you can't trust tour operators outside of the ones provided by the cruise to return to the ship in a timely manner. Our proposed 10 hour excursion turned into an 11.5 hour excursion. Ugh!!!
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Posted On : 2024-03-23 16:10:37
Posted By : John_S
The Waitomo caves were first, and impressive. Hobbiton, however, was fantastic. The attention to detail, friendliness and knowledge of the tour guides excellent. A true once in a lifetime experience. A+++++
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Posted On : 2024-03-22 16:12:54
Posted By : rajbanisetti
Great tour, the Waitomo caves are really cool, and the Hobbiton is spectacular. The bus is very comfortable, nice lunch and the tour guide Rachel is awesome.
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Posted On : 2024-03-21 17:03:50
Posted By : MariaCarissima_Y
The whole experience is very memorable. Being able to see and imagine them filming or using the sets for the film is fantastic. The guide was also very helpful with the information that he shared with us, even took time to take our photos for us.
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Posted On : 2024-03-20 23:46:05
Posted By : Micaila_H
The tour guide was awesome, such a sweet guy and walked us through the drive. The whole thing was very organized and I’m so glad we did this, I would do it again!
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Posted On : 2024-03-19 16:08:31
Posted By : mario
Both Hobbiton and Waitomo are great places to visit. Great guide who explained all from start to finish.
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Posted On : 2024-03-17 17:09:47