We spent the extra money to get on the early access tour through Bush and Beach. It was totally worth it! My family of 4 and one other person made up our entire group. We were the first group into Hobbiton. We took all of the pictures we wanted without anyone else in the shots. Our driver Geoff got us there first and he kept us informed about Hobbiton and New Zealand on our way there. Our Hobbiton guide Jan met us at the park and guided us through all of the sites. We even got to see part of Hobbiton that most people do not get to see. Some people from another group were coming in after us and when some of their party began to catch us up she made sure that they went back to their group. I really appreciated that. She gave us all kinds of interesting information and even took some photos and even suggested some shots for us. We had breakfast we called it second-breakfast in the Green Dragon Inn in our own private room. Our family looked online to see what we would buy at the souvenir shop so that we knew ahead of time what we would purchase. I really recommend this because you don't have a lot of time there. Don't miss this.

It was totally worth getting up early! The tour is amazing, we arrived before the crowds, and the photo ops were premium! Thank you for a wonderful time and making memories to last a lifetime!

We booked this tour because of the 'beat the crowds' we were hoping for and we were not disappointed! As fans, this was a must trip for us and we felt the cost was well worth it. We had 6 of us in a comfortable minivan to the farm, our friendly and knowlegable driver was Sean Shawn The size of our group allowed us to be first on set with unobstructed views of the shire no crowds, our private guide was friendly and knowledgable Anthony. We had a private room at the Green Dragon Inn for breakfast. And the ice-cream was quality and quantity. Be sure to verify your booking a couple days before because we were traveling and called the day before the tour and they almost cancelled our reservation, with a couple calls, Yuki straightened everything out.

Just a glitch along the way but the tour and meal afterward was so good!

We took this tour in late September 2017. It was absolutely awesome! We loved our driver David. It was like driving through the country with our New Zealand friend! There were five of us on the tour and we were the first people to enter Hobbiton that day, before the crowds arrived. We also were taken to an area that other tours do not get to enter. The breakfast at the Green Dragon was a buffet feast, lots more than we could eat. Then David drove us back to the souvenir shop and gave us plenty of time to shop. We stopped for ice cream halfway back and then arrived back in Auckland around 3pm. This tour is more expensive than the others, but I am soooooo glad we did it. Also a note: We first booked this tour for a different date, but I let the company know that we were flexible and could go the next day if our tour didn't have enough people. Sure enough, that is what happened. Otherwise, we would have been put on the regular tour. So thanks Bush and Beach for the great communication!

The early morning small group was brilliant. Our driver made sure that we had time for breakfast on the way, yet still got us the first entry to Hobbiton. Our guide there was great, and she made sure that we had the best look into all the sights and Hobbit holes. Brunch at the Green Dragon was excellent, and plenty of it. Hobbiton is a pleasure to visit and presented a really natural setting that you can just imagine populated by hobbits when we are not looking. Giant ice creams on the way home concluded a lovely day out.

The staff were fantastic and very professional, the tour was very comprehensive and full of interesting information and breakfast brunch was wonderful. Well worth the extra.

This tour, and our guides, far exceeded our expectations! Our guides were warm, friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable! The scenery could not have been more spectacular! From pick-up to drop-off, we found the whole day to be seamless and magical! Thank you!!

Our tour was first on set which made the experience worth the added cost. Highly recommend this for any LOTR fans!

This was the best of my NZ tours. Outstanding in every way. I'm so glad I paid extra for this tour. Our group was small, eight people I think. And we were the first group through, which meant that we didn't have 30-40 people like the groups following us getting in the way of our photos. Dawn was our driver, and I really liked her. The fact that she laughed at all of my jokes was a big plus! The included breakfast was large and memorable...mugs of ale, stout, or cider included! It was enough for first and second breakfasts, and elevenses as well. One of the gents on our tour was celebrating his birthday, and the Green Dragon staff brought out a birthday cake for us all to enjoy. Don't go all the way to Middle Earth, then skimp on this tour. Lay out the extra bucks for this early tour. You'll be so happy you did!