Full Day Lord of the Rings Tour
5
LIKELY TO SELL OUT*

Full Day Lord of the Rings Tour

By Xplor Tours
Recommended by 91% of travellers
91% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
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Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 0-90, max of 17 per group
Duration: 360–390 minutes
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More


  • Driver/guide
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Live commentary on board
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
  • GST (Goods and Services Tax)
  • Guaranteed to skip the lines
What's not included
  • Bottled water
  • Coffee and/or Tea
  • Gratuities
  • Lunch


Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.
  • i-SITE Bus Pickup Point, 145 Wakefield Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
    The Wellington iSite Bus Stop at 145 Wakefield Steet is the alternative pick up point if you are not arriving off a Cruise Ship or your Hotel is outside of the CBD pick up zone.
Pickup details
  • A PICKUP LOCATION MUST BE GIVEN AT TIME OF BOOKING If you are unsure, please select 'i-SITE Bus Pickup Point' when booking. This can be amended later if required. DO NOT put 'I will select later'. ******CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS WILL BE COLLECTED FROM THE PORT IN THE DESIGNATED PICKUP AREA, YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO IN TO THE CITY****** Please select "Wellington Cruise Ship Port, Pipitea" option as your pickup location and enter your ship name in the additional booking details. Your pickup time will be 45 minutes after the ship has docked (even if your ship has been delayed or arrives early) with 8.45am being the earliest pickup time. For the convenience of other guests, please ensure you arrive at the tour area promptly as the tour may not wait for you. Look out for the Xplor Tours guides who will greet you. NON-CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER BOOKINGS: Pickup times may differ from tour start times if there are multiple guest pickup locations. We will contact you in advance of your tour with your estimated pickup time if this is the case.
Hotel pickup offered
During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.
    Port pickup offered
    During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included ports.
    • Wellington Cruise Ship Port, Pipitea, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
    Additional pickup options
    During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included pickup points.
    • i-SITE Bus Pickup Point, 145 Wakefield Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
    End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

      • Infants must sit on laps
      • Service animals allowed
      • Near public transportation
      • Pushchair accessible
      • Not wheelchair accessible
      If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 66479P9

      • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
      • Most travellers can participate
      • Cruise Ship Passenger bookings should select the following option as their pickup location which is the Wellington Cruise Ship Port: Aotea Quay, Pipitea, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
      • Cruise Ship Passenger bookings should add their ship name in special requirements field.
      • PICKUP LOCATION MUST BE GIVEN AT TIME OF BOOKING: Default pickup location Wellington iSite Visitor Centre, if you do not know your hotel at time of booking. You can amend your pickup when you know your hotel, if it is located in the CBD pickup area.
      • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
      • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
      • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 17 travellers

      • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

      If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 66479P9

      From
      $295.00
      per adult
      Select date and travellers

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      About the operator
      Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
      • Xplor Tours
        585
        Wellington, New Zealand
        Joined in June 2017
      • meijer7
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great tour, especially if you are a fan of the movies.
        Great tour, we were visiting on a cruise ship. Easy meeting place where the ship docked. Richard our tour guide was excellent. Visiting the locations & recreating the scenes from the movies was great & Richard took photos of us which makes great memories. WETA tour was excellent the guide was excellent very informative & we learnt a lot. Highly recommend this tour for anybody especially if you love the movies.
        Written 15 February 2025
      • Karen K
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great day in Wellington
        We had a great day in Wellington. Our group of 6 people chose this activity for our cruise port day. 2 other people from our ship had also booked this tour so we were 8 in total. Our tour guide, Brian, was terrific, describing the views we saw and history of Wellington. He gave us time to see everything but also kept us moving to get to all of the highlights, answered all of our questions, took pictures for us (and other visitors at WETA studios), and was accommodating - some of us went to the museum, some to Lambton Quay for shopping and some went back to the ship. We had lunch at Chocolate Fish Cafe which was delicious. I would highly recommend this tour
        Written 15 February 2025
      • jimr821
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great 1/2 day tour
        Our Guide James was very knowledgeable about the LOTR filming productions as well as others. We visited some interesting sights where some of the first scenes were filled. Also the incredible WETA workshop. We highly recommend this tour to LOTR and Hobbit fans.
        Written 14 February 2025
      • KristieB758
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great way to get a feel for Wellington if you are here for just 2-3 days
        Stan was great and the tour folks were wonderful to communicate with prior to coming to Wellington. Stan was super knowledgeable about the area and with everything we saw. Even little tips about things you may not have noticed such as the lights on the crosswalks.
        Written 10 February 2025
      • MikePerry2015
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Excellent day out
        Spent an excellent day with Ross from xplor tours in Wellington Very personable and entertaining Great local knowledge and obviously nurtures great relationships with the vineyards we visited Would 100% recommend to anyone
        Written 4 February 2025
      • sallie999
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Fabulous half day bus tour of a beautiful city!
        Merv was an excellent guide. Full of local knowledge and passion for his city. He went above and beyond! A great half day tour - highly recommended!
        Written 20 January 2025
      • benhV4025XG
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Absolutely wonderful and easy transfer experience from Downtown Wellington to Trentham Racecourse for the Wellington Cup
        On behalf of Sporting Tours in Auckland, I wanted to pass our gratitude onto everyone from Xplor Tours who organized our group transfer from downtown Wellington out to Trentham Racecourse for the Wellington Cup over the weekend. It was great to have our driver Merv (who coincidently is known to Sporting Tours as one of our past tour participants) to transfer the group out to the racecourse (and even choose to take the alternative route to get there, cutting the apparent wait time in traffic in half - Thanks for doing that Merv). It was all very easily organized when there was also a delay in the days racing and we had to coordinate a later departure time, Merv was more than happy to accommodate. Thank you to everyone involved, from the initial contact in booking with Richard, to the operational details coordinating with Nicky - it was all done extremely professional and easy to deal with. We will definitely continue to use Xplor tours for any of our tours like this in the future. Kind regards, Ben, Kel, Des, Chris & the Sporting Tours team.
        Written 19 January 2025
      • X4842EJjulieo
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Marty the tour guide is outstanding
        This tour was wonderful. Marty was an exceptional guide and took us to many places we didn't expect. The only issue was that the Te Papa Museum guide was not good at all. A suggestion is that everyone should be given the option of a self guided tour
        Written 14 January 2025
      • merrifawcett
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great tour with local guides
        The tour included all the renowned sites and attractions. Our guide Merv was the best and made us all feel valued and welcome. The tour picked us up from the cruise port which was excellent.
        Written 2 January 2025
      • 197friedad
        0 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        no show tour guide -
        The tour guide didn’t turn up at the stated time of 8.15am we waited u tul 8.40 - could t contact him and Viator support said they could t reach him either - SO WE DIDNT GET TO DO THE TOUR SO CABT LEAVE A COMMENT - will be looking to get a refund
        Written 26 December 2024
      • Steve H
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Great experience in wonderful Wellington
        Dennis was really friendly and informative. Knew all of the facts. Highly recommend this tour of Wellington and beautiful coastline.
        Written 26 December 2024
      • JoshInUSA
        0 contributions
        3.0 of 5 bubbles
        Just ok. Look for another company for a better experience.
        Just ok. We spent our time waiting for late arrivals and the tour guide who was lost trying to find a hotel in the morning. We were very rushed and almost missed our Wētā Studio tour because of this. Van driver spent too much time talking about American politics.
        Written 26 December 2024
      • 785donnaf
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Awesome
        Wayne did a great job on the tour pointing out details and trivia questions about LOTR! Kiki was our guide at the WETA workshop and was outstanding! She was easy to follow and understand! The mind blowing talent of the artists there have contributed to hundreds of movies!
        Written 26 December 2024
      • erikfA2334DV
        0 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Half day lord of the rings tour
        Me and my partner did the half day lord of the rings tour with the guide Lester. He was very nice and knew a lot about the movies. Hel told us interesting extra information about what happened when they recorded the movies which other lord of the rings tours that we have been to do do not. He also gave us some extra guiding about the maori people which was really interesting. Good time for everything and you have time to walk around in the weta cave and the shop
        Written 14 December 2024
      • francescaaV1168PZ
        0 contributions
        4.0 of 5 bubbles
        Well guided tour
        I did the half-day tour of Wellington with Merv. The tour was up to the expectation for the time spent and Merv's knowledge of places and local customs was worth the money. Yes, this tour is recommended if you wish to have a well guided peak of all Wellington points of interest.
        Written 7 December 2024
      See all 585 reviews
      These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

      Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

      Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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      5.0
      5.0 of 5 bubbles47 reviews
      Excellent
      40
      Very good
      3
      Average
      4
      Poor
      0
      Terrible
      0

      maria m
      2 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Dec 2024 • Family
      It is a rare thing to find such a knowledgeable and engaging individual such as Leister. He managed to impart Māori tikana and Peter Jackson’s and Richard Allen’s passion and expertise with humour, fine detail and natural story telling. What an asset to Xplorer, to LOTR and to the country he is! Such a gentleman. If you want an all-inclusive beautiful expert of Middle Earth, go with Leister. Nga mihi nui e hoa
      Kind regards
      Mary & Maria
      Written 11 January 2025
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Lester is the bomb! Thanks for leaving your wonderful review for him. He consistently delivers excellent tours for us and we are so lucky to have him as one of guides.
      Written 29 January 2025
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Linda D
      Waterford, MI126 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Lester did an amazing job of bringing to life the different LOTR filming locations. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. Lester even did a welcome Haka with a blessing for our trip. Weta Workshop and Cave were a highlight, just amazing to see their work, especially as it pertains to LOTR. We stopped for lunch (our dime) at a local bakery and had a delicious chicken meat pie. Would highly recommend this tour.
      Written 8 February 2024
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

      loloevv
      Evansville26 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      The previous reviews are all correct; this is a great tour! Lester was friendly and knowledgeable with an ability to bring the filming locations to life with stories, descriptions and pictures. Weta Workshop was a must see and exceeded my expectations.

      A bonus for this excursion was that Lester even did a traditional Haka to welcome us! Great way to spend a full day off the cruise ship and no worries about getting back on time.
      Written 4 February 2025
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

      Fearless51192251104
      1 contribution
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Sept 2024 • Friends
      Had a wonderful time! Not only did we see the places where some of the LOTR was filmed, but we were also given a quick tour of Wellington as we made our way to specific sites as a bonus. The all day tour was definitely worth it! I will also say that Richard was excellent in making sure that my friend who has slight mobility issues was provided with assistance when needed. He was very patient and helpful. While my friend was not able to see every location of filming, she was very happy at being able to be as close as she could be. Great company and stellar service! Keep up the good work!
      Written 5 September 2024
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      What a great review and thank so much for taking the time to post it. I really enjoyed your company while showing you around Wellington.
      Written 16 September 2024
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Danny H
      Brisbane, Australia28 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Jan 2024 • Family
      We had a lovely day with Mitch on the Full Day Lord of the Rings tour. We were picked up from the Cruise Ship at the Port with no difficulties and returned in comfortable time for departure. Mitch was a wealth of information on the movies along with his folio of photos. I did a quick check and his pictures were biggest compared to other Groups :-). Weta workshop was a highlight, such amazingly creative people in one place, mind blowing. I can recommend the tour and recommend as a self organised cruise tour. Very good value for money.
      Written 15 January 2024
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Fabulous review for Mitch Danny, and thank you. It's a great tour especially for the die-hard LOTR fans. Thanks for choosing us.
      Written 23 January 2024
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Teagan B
      2 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Dec 2022 • Couples
      This tour is an amazing way to spend your day. Our guide Grant was absolutely fantastic, his LOTR/ Hobbit knowledge surpassed anything we were expecting and he was a great conversationalist. Do not miss out on the Weta Workshop! The cafe we went to for lunch had really delicious food aswell.
      Written 22 December 2022
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Thank you for your review it is really appreciated. Grant is a real LOTR and I am glad you enjoyed the tour with him
      Written 29 December 2022
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      J B
      1 contribution
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Oct 2024 • Family
      This day out is a must for any LOTR films fan – and Lester, our guide, was truly amazing! We had hours of fun moving from one place to the next; noticing all the ways the lie of the land had changed over the years; viewing scores of rare, behind-the-scenes photos; hearing Lester's wonderfully detailed stories of the films' production – covering every aspect you can think of from location scouting, to acting methods, to the VFX work, to the movie premieres.

      It was the personal touches that made the experience so memorable, and as first-timers in NZ we really appreciated Lester taking the time to share a whole range of other insights with us too. There were many highlights from our time in North Island, but for me personally, this was the best !

      (James, Ian and Will; UK trio; went early October 2024)
      Written 22 November 2024
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Thank you James, Ian and Will. Lester is an amazing guide for us and I will copy and email your post to ensure he sees your lovely words. Thanks for visiting NZ and come back again soon.
      Written 21 December 2024
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Allison N
      4 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      My husband and I came to Wellington specifically for this tour and it was definitely worth it! Stan, our guide, was informative and kind, and spent the day driving us to various film locations and included photos to show us the scenes in the film. As LOTR fans, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing everything from Rivendell to Helms Deep and Isengard. One of the best parts was the tour of Weta Workshop! We can’t recommend this tour enough for LOTR fans and hope you enjoy the excursion as much as we did :)
      Written 1 June 2023
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Thanks for your great review Allison. Stan always delivers wonderful tours for us and good to hear you enjoyed your experience.
      Written 6 June 2023
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Darlie Z
      16 contributions
      3.0 of 5 bubbles
      Dec 2022 • Couples
      Positive:
      The guide went extra during the tour. He’s friendly and shared a lot of interesting facts about the movie.

      Not so fun:
      We felt the tour is rushed. We spent a lot of money for the tour, and hoping we could explore and take time to take pictures.

      The way the guide shared the facts felt like a quiz in school. 😵 we reminded him that we don’t remember most facts about the movie and I think better for him to “share” facts not quiz us about the movie.

      we needed more time at Weta Cave shop. 10 minutes x enough for us. :(
      Written 21 December 2022
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Thank you for your review. I will pass on your comments to the guides.
      Written 29 December 2022
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Tracey S
      8 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Oct 2024 • Couples
      This trip was amazing. Our guide Lester was extremely knowledgable and we had plenty of time to fully appreciate all of the Lord of the Rings locations. The photos of the film action in each location helped us visualise how the scenes were created. Lester also managed to sneak in a Haka. If you are a LOTR fan - do not miss this trip.
      Written 20 October 2024
      This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
      Fabulous review for Lester - thank you Tracey. He is an amazing guide for us, and especially enjoys delivering our LOTR tours. Glad you left Wellington with lovely memories.
      Written 7 November 2024
      This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

      Showing results 1-10 of 47
      *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

      Full Day Lord of the Rings Tour provided by Xplor Tours

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