Hobbiton and thermal pools New Zealand

[suzees]

Will be cruising to NZ in January and am wanting to do day Tour of Hobbiton and Thermal pools in Rotorua. I have been looking on line, but before I book with a tour company was wondering how easy is to take tour from cruise port or do a private tour. I have never booked ship tour as they are too pricey

[icat2000]

Thought of hiring a car?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Do a search in the Aus/NZ Ports of Call board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

 

I'm sure I've seen recommendations there.

[kiwipete]

To do both the thermal area of Rotorua and Hobbiton would be too much.

 

On our last visit to Tauranga we hired a car and did Hobbiton. A great day out and easily done. Would recommend it.

[Suzi66]

Will be cruising to NZ in January and am wanting to do day Tour of Hobbiton and Thermal pools in Rotorua. I have been looking on line, but before I book with a tour company was wondering how easy is to take tour from cruise port or do a private tour. I have never booked ship tour as they are too pricey

 

We did both with our family of 5 through CruiseTauranga. Usually you need a minimum of 6 to get a private company to do a specialised tour for you but they were happy to do it for us. I highly recommend them.

 

It was a long day but a good day. We went to Kiwi360, Te Puia (making sure we saw the Kiwi's) , a general drive through Rotorua, then Hobbiton and returned a different way, stopping at a few scenic places. We also had a look at the beaches at Tauranga.

[DianeandMark]

We are looking to do the same tour in January. There is a tour company called Shore Excursions Group (SEG) that looks okay and guarantee to get you back to the ship on time.

[suzees]

Thanks everyone...will keep looking at options

[Aquarians]

To do both the thermal area of Rotorua and Hobbiton would be too much.

 

Kia ora,

As a local I agree with Kiwipete. To do both would involve spending more time travelling. Hobbiton is a ''single'' attraction on a farm whereas Rotorua has a huge number of interesting sites and would be my first choice. There are extensive geo-thermal areas and there is the added attraction of the unique Maori culture, plus of course the lakes, forest, adventure sports etc. etc.. Suggest try googling both spots to give you an idea of what's on offer.

Aquarians

Edited October 29, 2015 by Aquarians