Enter Homes In Hobbiton On A Film Set Tour In New Zealand

As the set-jetting trend continues with travelers, Hobbit and Lord of the Ring fans can now see more of the iconic Hobbiton, home of the Hobbits. The New Zealand filming location is now offering new film set tours of those quaint little homes. Located on North Island, this pastoral paradise is now opening its doors to visitors.

Visit Hobbit homes in Hobbiton

More than two decades ago, Peter Jackson and his film crew transformed the Alexander Sheep Farm into Hobbiton. The film set featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies and look totally quaint as they are. However, while you may have seen the outside of the homes, the good news is that Hobbiton is opening its doors to visitors.

Hobbiton movie set tours have been running for some time, guiding visitors through the quaint village. However, until recently, visitors could only view the exterior of the 44 hobbit holes, carved into the lush green pastures.

Now, New Zealand is once again cashing in on its Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movie set, with film set tours taking visitors through the circular doors of the Hobbit homes. Here, they can enter these homes on Bagshot Row – namely the Proudfoot and Twofoot family residences. These tiny subterranean homes were once the homes of the iconic protagonists, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

View the cozy interiors

On entering the circular doors of the Hobbit homes visitors will see cozy interiors, looking warm and inviting and with a crackling fire in the hearth. Moreover, everything in the home has been created on a Hobbit-size scale throughout. In fact, there is much accuracy and attention to detail created to represent how the homes appeared in the movies.

If visitors are tall, they might need to bend their heads for the low ceilings. However, the tiny, scaled furnishings and diminutive clothing items are truly beautiful. Visitors will also see the well-stocked larders, portraits on the walls, books, heirlooms and other trinkets that they saw in the movies.  Moreover, they will also see handwritten excerpts from The Fellowship of the Ring, as penned by Bilbo, on his desk.

To keep the tour immersive and intimate, each is limited to 40 guests and split into two groups. Obviously, with such limited space in each Hobbit hole, it is best to keep the numbers low.

Bolstering tourism in the region

The new Hobbiton tours, which have expanded to include interiors and passageways of the Hobbit homes are hoped to bolster tourism in the area. Admittedly, the 12-acre film set has been a major attraction for fans from around the world but now the experience includes the quaint interiors, giving a sense of the true Hobbit home.

According to Travel Noire, work on the interior features started in March this year in the nearby town of Matamata. Once complete, they were installed on the site. As a result, this is sure to attract Hobbit fans from all over the world to this picturesque area of North Island.

Meanwhile, the tour isn’t restricted to the Hobbit homes. Visitors will also be taken past The Millhouse, over the double-arch stone bridge to the Green Dragon Inn. Once there, guests will enjoy an authentic beverage from the Southfarthing range at the end of their journey in Middle Earth.

Find out more about the tours on the Hobbiton Movie Set Tours website here.