The Hobbiton Movie Set is near Matamata, about 65 kilometres east of Hamilton. In good conditions the drive takes an hour through Morrinsville and Matamata, on sealed roads the whole way.
That part is simple. The decision that actually matters is how you make the trip, because the four options give you quite different days for quite different money.
The distance, plainly
Note that the set is not in Matamata town itself. It is on farmland outside it, and the last stretch is rural road, so do not judge your timing by the town centre.
- Hamilton to the Hobbiton Movie Set: about 65 km, roughly 1 hour
- Cambridge to Hobbiton: about 50 km, roughly 45 minutes
- Te Awamutu to Hobbiton: about 70 km, roughly 1 hour
- Auckland to Hobbiton: about 175 km, roughly 2 hours 15
- Rotorua to Hobbiton: about 65 km, roughly 1 hour
The four ways to do it
Self drive
Cheapest and most flexible if you already have a car and are comfortable driving here. Parking at the set is straightforward. The downside is that somebody has to drive, which for a lot of overseas visitors means an hour of concentration on the wrong side of the road at each end.
Coach tour from Hamilton
Good value and no thinking required. You are collected from a fixed point at a fixed time, you travel with a full bus, and you come back when the bus comes back. Fine if your schedule is flexible and you do not mind a group.
Private transfer
Someone drives you there and back, door to door, and waits. More expensive than a coach and considerably more comfortable, particularly for a family or a small group where the per-head cost closes the gap.
Private tour with extra stops
The same door to door transport, but the day is built around more than the set. This is what we do: Hobbiton plus the Okoroire hot springs and a meal at the 1889 heritage hotel, all included at $995.
One thing everybody gets wrong
You cannot turn up at Hobbiton and walk in. The set is on private working farmland and every visit is a timed, guided walk that must be booked in advance. Over summer the popular slots fill well ahead.
So whichever transport you choose, book the movie set ticket first and then arrange the travel around your entry time. Doing it the other way round is how people end up driving an hour for nothing.
How long the whole thing takes
The guided walk itself runs about two hours including the complimentary drink at the Green Dragon Inn. Add two hours of driving and you have a four hour round trip from Hamilton at the absolute minimum.
That is why so many visitors add a second stop. Four hours of your day is committed either way, and the eastern Waikato has enough within half an hour of the set to turn it into a proper day out rather than an errand.
- Okoroire Hot Springs, about half an hour from the set
- Te Waihou Blue Spring at Putaruru, about forty minutes
- Tirau, for the corrugated iron sculptures and cafes
- Matamata town itself, and the Firth Tower Museum
Which should you pick?
If you have a car and you are confident driving here, self drive and spend the savings on a second stop. If you are on a budget and travelling solo, the coach is hard to beat.
If you are a couple or a small group, if anyone in the party would rather not drive, or if you want the day to be more than a two hour attraction visit, a private trip usually works out better on both comfort and time.
