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As I’ve mentioned earlier, my husband and I only had two nights in New Zealand. I went back and forth on whether we should fly to South Island and join up with in-laws who had our kids with them.
In the end, due to complicated logistics (more flying, which my husband hates) and added expense of paying cash for tickets from Queenstown to Melbourne, I decided to base our short stay in Auckland.
One of the reasons I went this route is the tour I’m about to review. I understand that organized tours aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for short stays in an unfamiliar environment they can be a great way to see a ton in a limited amount of time.
There is absolutely no way we could do all this stuff on our own, not to mention, neither one of us are comfortable driving on the left side of the road. I’m happy to say that despite a hefty price tag this tour was 100% worth it.
For awesome tips on visiting New Zealand with kids, make sure to read this guest post from my reader Seth.
Booking the tour and picking the right combo
After doing some research, I decided to go through Viator.com A quick tip! If you don’t have an account, look for a pop-up on the site offering a 10% discount on your first tour after signing up for a newsletter. I got the email with a code only few minutes after submitting my email address. Note that it expires thirty days after you receive it.
Originally, I was planning on booking a full-day Waitomo and Rotorua Tour At the time the cost was $257 per person, so it would be a total of $514 (before 10% off discount). However, I’ve noticed that for $312 per person we could see the mentioned two sights, plus Hobbiton. For those not familiar with “Lord of the Rings” series, Hobbiton is a movie set created specifically for the franchise.
We’ve seen the trilogy, though wouldn’t describe ourselves as rabid fans. Still, I figured I would rather spend $55 extra per person and be disappointed by Hobbiton than wonder if we made a mistake by skipping it when we are back in Florida. Besides, several of my readers visited the set and enjoyed the experience.
We paid $561 for both of us when factoring in 10% off discount. The price included all admission fees, plus authentic Maori lunch in Te Puia cultural center. I consider it to be a very good value for two people.
I’ve checked and we would have to pay close to $300 in fees alone if we decided to tour on our own. Assuming a car rental rate of $100, plus at least $60 for gas, it meant an upcharge of only $100. Plus, like I said, we wouldn’t be able to do all this stuff on our own anyway.
Of course, if you have a family of four, the decision won’t be quite so simple. Still, if like us, you are only going to be on North Island for two nights, I recommend you consider splurging on this one. I’m cheap, so that should tell you something.
Alternatively, you may want to rent a car after landing in Auckland, tour Hobbiton and overnight in Rotorua. Hit the Waitomo caves the following day before getting back to Auckland to catch your flight. Or do it in reverse order. My in-laws stayed in Woodlyn hotel near Waitomo caves where you can sleep in a boat, plane, train or even a Hobbit house. It doesn’t get more unique than that.
Few things to be aware of if you decide to take a tour:
1) The tour is very long and clocks in at 13 hours.
We were picked up at Hilton at 6:30 AM and got back at around 7:30 PM. Speaking of Hilton, we were the first ones to board our 16-seater mini-bus, which meant we had our choice of seats. Personally, I recommend setting up camp in the very back. The seats are wider, and you have more privacy.
It was a very exhausting day, so it may not be a great option for young kids. I wouldn’t take a child in diapers or one who is in the middle of potty-training. Older kids should be OK as long as you bring some entertainment to keep them busy between stops.
2) The tour is very fast-paced.
This isn’t a criticism of the company because there was literally no choice on this one. Every tour group is assigned a specific time slot at each of the locations, so there isn’t a whole lot of time to meander. Some of our fellow travelers ( a mix of Aussies and Canadians) took their sweet time anyway, which caused the driver to drive rather fast to the next destination. I don’t think we were in danger, but I was a bit nervous at times.
While we found Hobbiton to be fascinating, if you’ve never seen the movies and have zero interest in “Lord of the rings” universe, you may want to do a cheaper Waitomo/Rotorua tour that stops at a sheep farm. You would also have more time at a Maori cultural center and be able to see a haka performance.
3) If you are in New Zealand during winter, make sure to dress warm.
It wasn’t super cold, but the air was damp. My husband ended up getting sick the following day, though his immune system is somewhat compromised due to skin medication he takes daily.
4) If you are prone to motion sickness, you may want to skip this tour.
I don’t usually have an issue, but felt a bit nauseated at times. Most of the tour traverses the countryside, so roads are winding and narrow. But the scenery is gorgeous and everything is so green.
Watching the sunrise near Auckland
Hobbiton
Aside from pulling over for the shot above, Hobbtion was our first official stop on the tour. After a short bus ride to the set, we were assigned a guide to take us around. The young gal was amazing. You could see just how much she enjoyed this job, and her enthusiasm for all things Hobbiton was truly contagious.
She told us some interesting facts about the set and how it came about. Basically, it was an obscure farm when Peter Jackson’s scouting agents spotted it from the helicopter, and the rest is history. Amazingly, not much has changed in the area, and you can see Kiwi farmers going about their daily business right outside the Hobbiton perimeter.
I was really impressed by all the attention to detail on the fictional Shire set. I thought the mist actually added haunting beauty to the area.
In front of Frodo’s house
My husband is an amateur photographer, so he took a few nature shots as well.
Overall, I give Hobbiton five out of five stars. Highly recommended, but only if you have some interest in Lord of the Rings.
Rotorua
After leaving Hobbiton, we started our long drive to Rotorua. On the way, we passed some small towns and lakes, and even spotted a black swan.
You are allotted only about 2 hours in Te Puia cultural center ,so I suggest you eat your lunch (provided with tour) quickly and get going. I thought that the center is a beautiful showcase of the Maori culture. They even have an institute on premises where you can watch young Maori artists at work.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we didn’t get a chance to watch haka performance.
I’ve never seen geysers before, so it was awe-inspiring to finally witness them in person.
The park has several trails, and I wish we had all day so enjoy the beautiful scenery.
This was my favorite stop on the tour, but I wish we had more time to explore.
Waitomo caves
One of the reasons I wanted to stay on the North Island was so we could see glowworms in Waitomo caves. This is a unique experience you can only get in few places in the world, and New Zealand is one of them. So, how was it? Pretty cool, though not as cool as photos suggest, so set your expectations accordingly. You are not allowed to take photos inside the cave, but the website I’ve linked to should give you a pretty good idea. Basically, the cave looks sort of like a starry sky.
You first tour the cave itself and the highlight, aka the ride to see the actual worms, occurs at the very end and lasts only a few minutes. Our boat guide was an interesting Maori fellow with a beautiful singing voice. He sang a traditional native song while we were gliding through the cave in total darkness. Very special! If you don’t get treated to a serenade, just hum Sky full of stars by Coldplay to set the mood. I’m sure other tourists won’t mind, especially if you happen to be Chris Martin. 🙂
I thought the history of how the cave was discovered was quite neat. I also like the fact that it’s family owned, and most of the workers are related by birth to the original explorers. That’s the kind of nepotism I can get behind.
My husband said that Waitomo caves was his favorite stop on the tour.
Using points and credit card bonuses to offset the cost of tours
Viator.com purchase codes under “travel” category. As such, it would be reimbursable if you get Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard or Capital One Venture Rewards Visa. These cards give you flat rebate against travel purchases.
Both tours I’ve mentioned are also listed in Ultimate Rewards travel portal, so you can use your UR points to cover the cost.
If you don’t have any UR points, you can sign up for cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred. You will be able to redeem points at 1.25 cents apiece towards travel, including tours. If you happen to have Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem your UR points at 1.5 cents apiece which, in my opinion, represents excellent value. Read more on all of these offers in my Hot Deals page.
Bottom line
As you can see, it was a lot to pack in just 13 hours, and 7 of them were spent on driving alone. That said, I have zero regrets, and would do it all over again. Though I would make sure that my husband wears his winter hat. I’m not sure when we will be back in New Zealand (if ever), so this was a great way to sample the best of what the North Island has to offer. Hopefully, someday we will make it to the South Island, but our two nights in New Zealand certainly didn’t disappoint.
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Yeah, it’s a tough one. What you say makes sense. Having done both, I think if I were an international tourist, I would prefer Hobbiton in reality but would choose Waitomo in practice. Haha! Waitomo is neat because it’s unique. You can’t see glow worms anywhere – but it’s still a cold dark damp cave (and I get that creepy claustrophobic feeling a little). If you get Hobbiton on a nice day – you are still in the sunshine with rolling hills and a village ambience around you. I just looked and it looks like they start charging for children at age 9 and you have to have one paid adult for each free child (That must have changed recently because we had a 9-year old with us when we went and three kids with two paid adults so I’m happy that we did it when we did!).
@Talchinski Your comment made me laugh because it’s so true! Most people would secretly prefer Hobbiton, but would choose Waitomo caves in practice. Hobbiton is most certainly unique, but it’s still a man-made attraction. But I agree, it is a beautiful area that I recommend folks visit if they can swing it financially and IF they can see Rotorua and Waitomo caves as well.
Yeah, when in NZ, just do it. You hope you’ll be back, but you might never. 🙂
I am not a LOTR fan at all. Have seen the movie but it’s not my thing. Regardless, I loved Hobbiton! I loved the creative detail that went into it! We are a family of 5 and thought it would be very expensive, but were pleasantly surprised to only pay for 2 tickets since children were free at the time (not sure of current policy).
We recently went to Waitomo and enjoyed it. But also really enjoyed the second cave – Ruakuri Cave. I’d recommend Nancy look into that cave!
I actually enjoyed Hobbiton way more than I thought I would. It was more of an afterthought, to be honest, but the place surprised and delighted me. That said, if someone is on a budget or debating between Waitomo caves and Hobbiton, I would recommend the caves, hands down. I don’t regret visiting it, but it did cut into our time in Rotorua. It’s a tradeoff that may not be worth it for everyone. If you have a lot of time to explore, that’s a different story.
Nancy did mention that her daughter can get in to Hobbiton for free, but not the sons. Not sure on the pricing since we went on a tour. I know the tour does have a discounted rate for kids, that’s probably why.
It’s fun that you got to see Hobbiton. We had a rental car and stopped in the nearby town. We found out it was $75/person to visit, so we definitely decided it was not worth that much (for 4 of us). It would have been nice to see, but at that price there were so many other things to do.
@Flyernick I’m glad we toured Hobbiton, but I agree that it is skippable. At the end of the day it is just a movie set. While impressive, it doesn’t really compare to Rotorua and Waitomo Caves. That’s a lot of money for a family of four, so I can certainly understand why you made that decision.
I’ve been waiting for this post, as this is the stuff we want to do on our trip to New Zealand. I love the spiderweb photo! So we’re actually thinking about skipping Waitomo Caves and instead going to a walk-up cave near Rotorua that has glow worms. I’m just not sure it will be as awesome as gliding in a boat under the glow worms. There is really so much we want to do in NZ that it’s overwhelming.
Nancy, that might be a viable alternative. Obviously, I can’t comment on how it compares to Waitomo, but I wouldn’t do a stressful detour just so you can go on a boat and hear a song. As I said in the post, in reality it doesn’t look as impressive as it does on website photos.
I would say, do your research and if others recommend Rotorua option, go for it. I understand that with kids it’s important to keep things relatively simple. I’m sure if you’ve seen one glow worm, you’ve seen them all.
I definitely recommend Rotorua. What a neat place!