Frequently Asked Questions

Once you have booked your tickets online, you should receive a booking confirmation through to your email address. Please read the information in this confirmation email carefully and ensure you arrive to your departure location at least 20 minutes before your scheduled tour time.

On arrival to The Shire's Rest, please visit our team at the Ticketing desk and present your confirmation. You can show this on your phone, or simply quote your reference number, tour time and party name. Our team will print off your tour tickets and give you further instructions. 

When you make a booking with us online, our system will automatically send you a booking confirmation to the email address you entered. If you haven't received it, we recommend firstly checking your Junk Mail as they can sometimes default there (especially for Hotmail accounts). If you still cannot find the confirmation, please get in touch with our team and be sure to include your full name, email address, tour date and time and the booking reference if you have it. 

Amending a booking

If your travel plans change and you need to amend the date or time of your booking you can do this by contacting our Reservations team via phone on +64 7 888 1505 or by contacting us here. Once we receive your amendment request we will do our best to amend your booking.

Please note, all of our tours are subject to availability.

Cancelling a booking

If you wish to cancel a booking, you may do so by using the above contact details or replying directly to your booking confirmation that was emailed to you when you made your booking. Click here for our cancellation policy and COVID-19 Guarantee.

A Family Pass includes 2x Adults (18+ years) and 2x Youth (11-17 years) tickets for just $306. You can book this special rate for our 2.5 hour Hobbiton Movie Set Tour departing The Shire's Rest or 3.5 hour Hobbiton Movie Set Tour departing Matamata isite by selecting the Fare Type when checking availability for your preferred date. Any additional people travelling with your group can be booked at the same time. Children aged 10 and under are FREE but must have a ticket booked at time of purchase. Please note the Family Pass is exclusively available for bookings at hobbitontours.com and is only valid for the combination of fare types and age ranges indicated above.

To redeem a Gift Voucher, we ask that you please contact our Reservations Team and include your voucher number so that we can secure your booking. Tours are subject to availability.

When you are searching for a tour on our website, there are four status options that may appear - No Departure, Fully Booked, Book Now - Limited Places and Book Now. 

No Departure - the tour experience you are searching for is not available on that date. 

Fully Booked - all tickets for that tour experience on that date are sold out. 

Book Now - Limited Places will appear with a gold button and red writing below. This means that there are only a small amount of tickets left (9 or less) for that tour experience on that date. We recommend booking as soon as possible if you are hoping to join one of these tours as when tickets are fully booked, we cannot increase capacity. 

Book Now will appear with a gold button with white writing on it. This means that there are greater than 10 seats available for that tour experience on that date. We still recommend pre-booking as far in advance as you can to avoid missing the tour day and time that best suits your itinerary. 

The Shire's Rest™ is our headquarters and location where most of our tours depart from. It is located at 501 Buckland Road, Hinuera, Matamata - click here for directions. 

It is located approximately 15 minutes from Matamata town centre, and from here it is about a 10 minute bus ride to the Movie Set which is included in our tours. All tour experiences include a bus ride from our location to the movie set.

You do not need to book a tour to visit The Shire's Rest. On site here at The Shire's Rest is our Ticketing Centre, Retail Shop and Cafe. There is ample parking here on site, with plenty of space for large vehicles and camper vans too. Overnight parking is not permitted. 

Visit our Getting Here page to view a map with driving routes from Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo and Tauranga. You can also view a list here with transfer options from Auckland, Tauranga, and Hamilton. 

There is no accommodation available at Hobbiton Movie Set. 

For hotel, motel and other accommodation options in the Waikato region, visit www.waikatonz.com/accommodation  or contact a local i-SITE or visitor information centre. 

The recent Airbnb promotion was for 3 exclusive stays only to celebrate 10 years since the first Hobbit movie was released and is now fully booked. We will not be offering any accommodation or overnight stays in the future.

Most of our tours currently depart from The Shire's Rest™. You can drive yourself to The Shire's Rest, park your vehicles here and join one of our tours where you will be transported to the movie set via one of our Hobbiton Movie Set coaches. Click here for directions to The Shire's Rest. 

The Shire's Rest is located approximately 15 minutes from Matamata town centre, and from here it is about a 10 minute bus ride to the Movie Set which is included in our tours. All standard tours will be transported to the Movie Set via one of our vehicles unless using a non-collapsible wheelchair.

We also offer a daily service from Matamata isite  where your experience includes return transfers from Matamata town centre.

To ensure all our guests have the complete experience the only way to access the Hobbiton Movie Set is with a fully guided tour.

If you are going to be late for your tour, we recommend you call us as soon as you are able to so we can discuss options with you. If you are unable to call us and arrive late, we will do our best to put you on the next available tour departure. Please note that if we are extremely busy, the next available tour may be several hours later, a different tour experience than initially booked and in rare occurrences may not be on the same day.

Yes, we have ample free parking at The Shire’s Rest available for customers, including space for camper vans and large vehicles. Overnight parking is not permitted on site.

Please note we do not currently offer EV charging facilities. 

Hobbiton Movie Set is only accessible via a guided tour experience.

A tour of Hobbiton Movie Set comprises of:
- A short bus ride from your departure location to the movie set
- A 1.5 hour guided walking tour including time inside the interior of Bagshot Row
- A 20 minute visit to The Green Dragon Inn including a complimentary beverage
- At the end of your experience, you will walk with your guide back to the bus and take another short bus ride to your departure location

These times are approximate only and may differ slightly for your tour experience. 

Tours that include a meal (like Evening Banquet Tour and Second Breakfast Tour or Tour + Lunch Combo) include additional time on the Movie Set but all experiences with us begin with a guided tour as detailed above.

When your tour arrives at Bagshot Row, your group will be split in two, and you will be escorted through one of two interiors to explore at your own pace. There is an allotted period of time for each tour group within the Hobbit Hole and your guide will advise when it is your group’s time to move on and explore the rest of the movie set. 

All experiences except our Private Tour are a shared group service, meaning you will be joining a larger group of other visitors while on tour with us. For our Hobbiton Movie Set Tour and Tour + Lunch Combo experiences, the maximum group size is 41. For our Evening Banquet Tour the maximum group size is 48. For our Second Breakfast Tour and Behind The Scenes Tour the maximum group size is 28.

We have some detailed information on what to expect from the walking tour and pathways on our Accessibility page here. 

To ensure all our guests have the complete experience the only way to access the Hobbiton Movie Set is with a fully guided walking tour. The movie set is located on private farm land and is not publicly accessible outside of our guided tour experiences. 

We recommend you arrive at The Shire's Rest at least 20 minutes before your tour time in order to check in. You may also like to spend some time at our cafe and souvenir store at The Shire's Rest. Most of our visitors spend around 3-3.5 hours in total at The Shire's Rest. 

Hobbiton Movie Set is an outdoor walking tour through meandering paths. For this reason, we recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes for our tour, and checking the weather forecast ahead of your visit. You can find 10 Day weather forecast information for the Matamata area on Metservice. 

In the Summer months, we recommend sunscreen and a hat as the sun can become quite hot, as well as making sure you are well hydrated. In Autumn, Winter and Spring, it's best to be prepared with a rainproof outer layer and enclosed shoes as the paths can become muddy. In the event of rain, we have wide umbrellas available that you can use for the duration of your tour. 

In order to be served alcohol, Hobbiton Movie Set require all customers to produce a form of valid ID. The following forms of ID are accepted; current passport, New Zealand Drivers License and Hospitality New Zealand 18+ Card.

We also recommend our guests bring a camera or a phone with camera capability as our Movie Set is the perfect place to get some great travel photos! Drones and tripods are not permitted.

Please be aware that anything you take with you on our bus must be carried by you for the duration of your tour experience. 

Yes, we operate in all weather conditions. Umbrellas are provided in the event of rain and we highly recommend you dress appropriately for the weather, with enclosed footwear.

In the event of extreme weather conditions we reserve the right to make alternative tour arrangements for you.

We ask that guests wear clothing appropriate for a family friendly environment and highly recommend you also dress appropriately for the weather, with enclosed, suitable footwear. Clothing with objectionable or offensive writing or images are not permitted. Hobbiton Movie Set reserves the right to refuse entry to guests wearing items of clothing or costumes that may be considered offensive or have a negative impact on other Hobbiton Movie set guest's experiences.

Costumes are allowed and welcomed at Hobbiton Movie Set, although due to safety we only allow soft props on the premises. No weapons or accessories that have the potential to harm are permitted. Tours begin with a bus ride to the set so please ensure that your costume is appropriate and functional for this portion of your journey. 

You can find lots of information about accessibility, mobility restrictions and wheelchair use on our Accessibility page here.  

You can bring a stroller or a pram on tour with you provided it is fully collapsible and can fit in the luggage compartment of our buses. It is important to note that the Movie Set paths are made of cobblestones and dirt tracks so it is bumpy and uneven in places. The paths are also quite narrow in places and there are some low level stairs to climb so you may need an extra adult to assist you with the stroller/pram in some locations.

Twin strollers are not recommended due to the narrowness of the paths.

Of course! We want you to take photos and capture memories while on tour with us. Please use handheld equipment only as drone use is not permitted. 

Please be aware though that any photos and video recordings taken on set are for personal use only and not to be sold or distributed for commercial gain due to our licensing agreements with the film companies. 

Public drone use is not permitted on the Movie Set, at The Shire's Rest or surrounding farmland.

You are welcome to film and/or photograph your experience using handheld equipment if the content is for personal use only. Any commercial use is not permitted under our license with the film companies. 

Unfortunately we are not able to permit any pets onto the Movie Set. The only exception to this is for registered service dogs. Please contact our team in advance if you require a service dog to join you on tour. 

Yes you can propose while on tour however it is important to remember that you are part of a fully guided experience when you visit Hobbiton and as such need to move around the set with your guide and group.
That being said there are a couple of ways to find a few quiet moments for yourself.

Top tips for creating your special moment:

• Before you arrive at Bag End your group will be given a chance to have photos taken at the Artist's home, this is the door before Bag End. If you are one of the first people in your group to have your photo you will have the opportunity to wait at Bag End for the rest of your group, giving you the chance for a more private moment. Please just be mindful there is not a lot of space at Bag End, and you will be on the path with the other members of your tour group that are also waiting.
• When you arrive at The Green Dragon Inn you have 15 – 20 minutes to enjoy your complimentary beverage and explore the area. This offers the opportunity to find some space to pop your question with time to take a couple of photos.
• If you are joining a special event or an experience that includes a meal at Hobbiton Movie Set there will be further opportunities for you to create this moment.

It is always a great idea to let the Hobbiton team know you are planning to do this when you book as it helps your guide to be able to assist if possible.

Our Evening Banquet Tour and Second Breakfast Tour experiences both include a guided tour of the Movie Set at the beginning of the experience. This is the same tour experience guests get on our daily tour experience. If you wish to do a tour at a different time of day as well, then you are welcome to book multiple experiences.