Wellington's Original LOTR Experience - includes Weta and Lunch

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Delve into the heart of Wellywood and visit the Weta Workshop, a physical effects workshop who created all the props, armour, weapons, costumes, miniatures and prosthetics for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Learn the secrets of movie magic on a behind-the-scenes tour by a Weta employee, who will explain the creative process behind bringing these films to life. You'll also have chance to take photos with various characters and weapons, as well as treating yourself to a souvenir or two, if desired.

   1.5 hAdmission included

2. Enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the harbour and city from the Mt Victoria lookout. Your guide will talk about the landmarks you can see from the top and help you take photos. Mt Victoria is always on the list of things to do in Wellington, so we thought we'd save you the trouble of walking up the hill to get there!

   15 min

3. Drive past the Embassy Theatre that was used to host two world premieres of the Middle-earth movies - The Return of the King and An Unexpected Journey. Your guide will share stories and pictures of how Wellington was transformed literally into the middle of Middle-earth.

   Passes by

4. Descend into the forested slopes of the nearby Outer Shire, where our expert guides will explain the process of film making and entertain you with stories of how the Lord of the Rings movies were brought to life. You will follow in the footsteps of Frodo and the Hobbits as they began their quest to destroy the One Ring. You will see the "shortcut to mushrooms", "get off the road" and hide from the Black Riders before fleeing to the Buckleberry Ferry. You will have the chance to recreate some of the most famous scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring and make your social media streams go crazy!

   1 h

5. Enjoy a feast fit for a Hobbit to recharge your batteries for more film locations in the afternoon

   1 hAdmission included

6. See a section of the Great River Anduin as the Fellowship make their way to Parth Galen

   15 min

7. Harcourt Park aka The Gardens of Isengard. Here you will see how this normal, everyday park was transformed into the scenes where Gandalf rode to Saruman seeking council and the wizards walked through the gardens discussing their situation. This is also where the orcs began felling the trees once it was revealed Saruman had turned to the dark side...

   30 min

8. Kaitoke Regional Park, a stunning, thousand year old, temperate rain forest. This was used as the location for the beautiful Rivendell, the last homely house east of the sea. Here you will immerse yourself in the magical setting and learn how the area was transformed into Elrond's house, Frodo's bedroom and the bridge where Arwen and Aragorn share a kiss. You can release your inner Elf and snap a photo reenacting a famous Legolas image and then recreate the scene where Frodo leads the newly formed Fellowship towards Mordor by posing in front of the Rivendell gate tower which is the only Lord of the Rings replica structure in the whole of New Zealand outside of Hobbiton. You will also see a scene from the Fords of Isen, where Eomund was found by Eomer at the start of The Two Towers, and have a chance to cross a swing bridge and visit a giant 800-year-old native Rimu tree and learn something of New Zealand's flora and fauna.

   1 hAdmission included

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 604 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Wywy was hilarous and...

  Wywy was hilarous and great to talk to, one of the coolest tours ive done. Loved seeing all of the behind the scenes models and props

  Dane_HOctober 2026via Viator

• 5Must-do for all LOTR fans!

  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about all things LOTR and was an excellent storyteller! I thoroughly enjoyed the Weta Workshop tour and seeing all the amazing props and costumes that were made for movies other than LOTR. Seeing the film locations with the sets no longer there required your imagination—but you can’t be an LOTR fan without one.

  Joyce_KOctober 2026via Viator

• 5Fun LOTR Tour

  Such an awesome way to see some of the filming locations from LOTR, learn lots about how the movies were made and see some beautiful scenery around Wellington. The tour guide was fantastic and knowledgeable and the lunch was great. Overall really great day and highly recommend doing

  smichaela92September 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Amazing guide

  We had the best guide on our tour; Marc. Ha was a Ringwraith, an elf, a Gondorian, a Rohirrim and a bunch of other things in the original films and had so many great stories to tell from the set and from behind the scenes. Being on the actual locations are cool on its own, but it’s a different thing entirely when you’re there with someone who worked on the films, both behind and in front of the camera. Marc’s passion for the films and everything Tolkien radiates and really elevated the whole experience.

  EpleterteSeptember 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Best tour ever - Brilliant!

  Fantastic tour - our guide was extremely well versed, friendly and had a huge knowledge base. He exuded his love of all things LOTR. You could tour all the locations by yourself and come away none the wiser and disappointed. We came home and replayed the movies and instantly could recognise the locations we visited. Sorry, I can't remember the guides name - maybe in his 50's - runs marathons and has visited and researched Tolkiens home and history. Thanks so much - very highly recommended

  Quest653329August 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Must do experience for all LOTR fans!!

  If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan and coming to NZ, I would go to Wellington just to do this!! The weta workshop was amazing and then visiting all of the locations around Wellington where LOTR was shot was breathtaking. Our guide Sarah was so knowledgeable of not just LOTR but also Wellington and all of the surrounding areas. She brought props for photo opportunities at filming locations as well as snacks and drinks for everyone along the way. Truely an unforgettable experience and I can’t recommend this enough.

  Henry_HAugust 2026via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Wellington

• Its from-price is close to the median of the 36 day trips we list in Wellington.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 1 of 36.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Wellington

Wellington is New Zealand's capital, a compact harbour city of steep hills, a waterfront museum, a cable car and a famously strong wind.

Wellington wraps around a deep harbour at the southern tip of the North Island, with hills rising steeply behind the waterfront and Cook Strait beyond the heads. It is the seat of government, and the Beehive, the executive wing of Parliament, stands among the other parliamentary buildings. Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum, sits on the waterfront. The wind is a local legend.

Top-ranked sights in Wellington: Mt. Victoria Lookout, Wellington Cable Car, Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa).

See all 179 experiences in Wellington