Australia
Glowworms, geysers and the Shire, the big three in two private days.
A two-day private run down the Thermal Explorer Highway with your own guide and vehicle, stopping at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Rotorua's geothermal country and the Hobbiton Movie Set. Entries, accommodation and meals extra.
More New Zealand trips
From
$1,819 AUD
per person
4.9 from 88 Google reviews
Booking guarantee Price Match Promise Secure payment via Square
Instant confirmation
Booked instantly · confirmation and ticket by email within 30 minutes.
No change fees from us
Need to move? Just message us and we'll arrange it for you.
Licensed local operator
An established operator with public reviews.
Pick an available date. Your confirmation and ticket arrive together in one email within 30 minutes.
Available, pick any date Instant booking, confirmed in minutes
$1,819 AUD pp
Choose a start date →
If the North Island had a greatest-hits single, it would be these three tracks: glowworms at Waitomo, geothermal Rotorua, and the Shire. This two-day private tour strings them along the Thermal Explorer Highway with a guide and vehicle to yourselves, no coach schedules, no strangers' bathroom breaks.
Day one goes underground at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, drifting by boat beneath a ceiling of living lights. Then it's on to Rotorua: the Government Gardens and museum, the lakefront with Mokoia Island offshore, and optional geothermal add-ons at Wai-o-Tapu or Waimangu, plus helicopter flights if you're feeling ambitious. The return leg delivers the finale: the Hobbiton Movie Set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Attraction entry fees, your accommodation and meals are paid separately, and Māori cultural experiences and thermal spas can be added too. Two days, three icons, entirely on your terms.
Private guide and vehicle
Waitomo glowworm caves
Geothermal Rotorua
Hobbiton Movie Set
Optional Wai-o-Tapu add-on
Pickup from Auckland
Head south from Auckland to Waitomo, about 2.5 hours away, and slip underground to float beneath the glowworms on a guided boat and walking tour. Want more? Adventure options include black water rafting with tubing, abseiling, waterfalls and climbing. Then follow the Thermal Explorer Highway through Waikato farmland and up the Mamaku Ranges, with your guide filling you in on the region. You arrive in Rotorua with views of Lake Rotorua and Mokoia Island, and the evening is yours, with an optional Maori cultural evening with live performance at your own cost.
Start the morning around Rotorua's lakefront, Government Gardens and the Rotorua Museum in its grand Victorian bathhouse, with Redwood Forest, Blue Lake and Lake Tarawera as options. From there you can add geothermal parks (Wai-o-Tapu, Waimangu Volcanic Valley or Hells Gate), a Skyline Gondola and luge ride, a soak at the Polynesian Spa, or a scenic flight, all optional extras. If you leave Rotorua by lunchtime, you can add an optional stop at the Hobbiton Movie Set near Matamata on the way back, with Bag End and the Green Dragon Inn. You are back in Auckland around 5pm, at the airport, cruise terminal or your accommodation.
Got a question that's not here? Ask us or hit the chat, instant AI reply with a follow-up from the Wanderlust crew.
Public reviews of the operator who runs this tour on the ground.
The operator's track record
Review excerpts below are from Tripadvisor.
"But this is something you won’t see anywhere else. The glowing critters at the top of the cave are otherworldly."
paulzik2025
Tripadvisor review
"Everyone who visits New Zealand should do this tour. You will learn a lot about the Māori culture and people. Also you will see the lake itself and the redwoods with the walkways up in the trees."
paulzik2025
Tripadvisor review
"This tour offers the absolute best combination of personal warmth and cultural education."
TSSNM
Tripadvisor review
Traveller reviews, source shown on each · shown as excerpts.
New Zealand
9 days · 8 nights
4.9 (575 · Trustpilot)
Auckland to Wellington
6 meals included
$1999 AUD
≈ $222/day
New Zealand
9 days · 8 nights
4.9 (575 · Trustpilot)
Christchurch to Queenstown
7 meals included
$1999 AUD
≈ $222/day
New Zealand
17 days · 16 nights
4.9 (575 · Trustpilot)
Auckland to Queenstown
13 meals included
$4399 AUD
≈ $259/day
From
$1819
