Hobbiton, Wellington's studios, Glenorchy and the Fiordland valleys — how to fold the famous landscapes into a real holiday.
Plenty of people first saw New Zealand on a cinema screen. The good news is that the landscapes are real and easy to reach; the risk is spending three weeks ticking off car parks. Here's how we handle it.
The one you should actually book
Hobbiton, near Matamata, is a built set you can walk through with a guide and it's genuinely charming whether or not you've read the books. Two hours, book ahead, and combine it with Rotorua or Waitomo on the same day.
The ones that are just great places anyway
- Glenorchy and the Paradise valley, 45 minutes from Queenstown — the landscapes behind half the films, and the quietest scenic drive near town.
- Fiordland's valleys on the Milford road, and the Eglinton flats.
- Mount Sunday in the Canterbury high country — a long day from Christchurch, worth it for the drive alone.
- Tongariro, whose volcanoes need no introduction.
You'll see these on any good route without a detour; we just tell you which ridge is which.
Wellington
The film studios are in the suburbs and a small museum-workshop tour is fun for an hour. Wellington itself — Te Papa, the waterfront, the coffee — is the better reason to stop.
What we don't do
We don't build whole itineraries around locations, and we'd gently talk you out of it. Two or three well-placed film moments in a trip that's about the country itself is the version people come home happiest with.
Ready when you are
