This 17-night journey takes you to the several prominent film locations from both the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy.

The Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm is only the starting point for serious Tolkien fans. This 17-night journey takes you to the several key filming locations from both the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy.

includes:

  • Round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Auckland, returning from Queenstown
  • 15 days Group C Car Rental (Intermediate Auto), Pick-up Auckland, drop off Queenstown
  • Two nights Skycity Hotel Auckland
  • One night Standard B&B Matamata region, including dinner and breakfast
  • One night Novotel Rotorua Lakeside
  • Two nights Chateau Tongariro
  • One night Waikanae Beach B&B
  • Two nights Novotel Wellington
  • Two nights Bloomfields B&B
  • One night Punakaiki Resort
  • One night Distinction Te Weheka including breakfast
  • Three nights Rydges Lakeland Queenstown
  • One night Distinction Luxmore Hotel
  • Hobbiton Movie Set & Farm Tour, Matamata
  • Evening Maori Cultural Experience including Hangi Dinner, Rotorua
  • Half-day Middle-earth tour, Wellington
  • Half-day Safari of the Scenes, Queenstown
  • Milford Sound Cruise
  • Ferry transfer from Wellington to Picton, vehicle and 2 passengers
  • US/foreign taxes & fees including Sep 11 Security Fee

Upon arrival in Auckland, collect your rental car and make your way to the SKYCITY Auckland for a two night stay.  Enjoy two days in Auckland at leisure before making your way from Auckland to Matamata, the home of The Hobbiton Movie Set.  Start with a "Kiwi" barbecue lunch at the Shire's Rest Cafe then enjoy a tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set from The Lord of The Rings film trilogy. Complete your Kiwi style experience this evening with a Farm Stay. Enjoy a three-course hosted dinner featuring fresh New Zealand produce and complimentary wine or beer. A continental or cooked breakfast is also included.

After breakfast take a short drive to Rotorua, the geothermal wonderland that abounds with culture and history.  This evening enjoy a cultural Maori experience and a hangi meal, a Maori tradition where meals are cooked beneath the surface of the earth. Learn about the Maori culture and enjoy a night’s entertainment of local singing and dancing.

From Rotorua, travel to the stunning Chateau Tongariro Hotel located within Whakapapa Village - in the heart of the Tongariro National Park. The hotel is surrounded by a stunning natural playground bursting with diverse landscapes for visitors to discover.  The location was used in the original trilogy for the lanf of Mordor and is home to one of New Zealand’s nine Great Walks.  This time around, the area was used for landscapes of the Long Valley and Lonely Mountains in The Hobbit.  Tongariro is a unique experience that offers world class ski runs, arid badlands, crater and alpine lakes, sparkling rivers, breath-taking lunar landscapes, lush rainforest and alpine meadows to explore.

From Tongariro, travel to Waikanae Beach for an overnight stay in a comfortable bed and breakfast.   The area is full of history including Captain Cook’s Landing site from 1769, Whyllie Cottage, Hot Springs and the Tairawhiti Museum and the Te Moana Maritime Museum.

From Waitkanae Beach take a short drive south to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Located on the southern top of the North Island, Wellington is home to WTA Digital, Sir Peter Jackson’s computer effects house and Weta Worshop (home of props and models).  Although neither is open to the public for tours, The Weta Cave is. The Weta Cave screens a first-ever behind-the-scenes look at Weta and interviews with Weta co-founders Sir Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Jamie Selkirk. In the mini-museum, you come face to face with some of the characters, props and displays from your favorite movies. Read the stories of how they were brought to life and learn about the artists who created them.

Leave your car for the morning to enjoy a wonderful guided half-day tour of the film locations with an expert guide in a small group.  The tour takes you to the filming locations for Rivendell where Frodo recovered from his knife attack; the Anduin River where Aragorn was washed ashore after the attack of the Wargs; the Gardens of Isengard, the site of the Orcs Felling the Trees and where Gandalf rode to see Saruman. Visit the Mount Victoria lookout and Hobbiton Woods where you can race to the Ferry and get off the road; Buckland Forest where the Hobbits hid from the Nazgul/Black Riders and where they found the mushrooms on the road; Dunharrow Rohirrim encampment; visit the quarry for the filming of Helms Deep and the fortified ravine in Rohan and Minas Tirith.

From Wellington, cross the spectacular Marlborough Sound by ferry to the South Island and make your way to Motueka and Bloomfields B&B where you will stay for two nights.  Explore the Able Tasman National Park, another of New Zealand’s Great Walks and see where the Forest River scenes in The Hobbit were filmed at Pelorus Bridge.  To the west is Takaka featuring Takaka Hill used as landscape for the Westfarthing Countryside and Weatherhills.

Continue south down the west coast of the South Island taking in small villages and farming areas to Punakaiki, best known for its Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.  Punakaiki offers a wide variety of beaches, forest and mountain walks, wildlife viewing and fabulous coastal views.

Wind further down the west coast to the Glacier region of the South Island and spend a night close to the Fox Glacier at Te Weheka Inn. Immerse yourself in the Glacier Country landscape and make footprints on a high alpine snow fields, journey deep into the towering rainforests, explore the blue ice caves of the glaciers, tackle a trout on a beautiful lake, jetboat up a glacial river, or contemplate the mountain reflections in Lake Matheson.

Continue to Queenstown,   New Zealand’s southern adventure capital.  Much of New Zealand’s dramatic mountain scenery is easily accessible from Queenstown and the area was an important film location for both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.  

Join a half-day tour that takes in recognizable film locations and stunning natural scenery. The Glenorchy Safari of the Scenes takes you from Queenstown to Glenorchy stopping at breath-taking viewpoints along the way. Follow the Dart River from Glenorchy to the spectacular filming location for Isengard offering stunning views of Mt Earnslaw. Travel to Paradise and discover the area used for the Forest of Lothlorien.  On your return to Queenstown, stop at 12 Mile Delta to explore the location of the Ithilien Camp.

Drive south to Milford Sound, a world-renowned natural wonder. Nowhere else in Fiordland do the mountains stand so tall, straight out of the sea.  Luxuriant rainforest clings to sheer rock walls and waterfalls tumble thousands of feet to the sea below.  Enjoy a cruise on the Sound before returning to Te Anau for an overnight stay.  Return to Queenstown the following morning to return your rental car to the airport.