Trails of Middle Earth - Lord of the Rings Sightseeing Tours

Trails of Middle Earth - Lord of the Rings Sightseeing Tours

Trails of Middle Earth - Lord of the Rings Sightseeing Tours
4.5
Cultural ToursSightseeing ToursDay Trips
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
About
We are the Lord of the Rings specialists offering a comprehensive and interactive tour in the heart of Middle Earth. Our friendly, knowledgeable guides will take you on the ultimate LOTR experience. You can dress up in costume, handle an extensive selection of Authentic Replica Props and even view items from productions. With Half, Full day & Private Tours available, we have something to suit everyone.
Queenstown, New Zealand

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Tours and Tickets by Trails of Middle Earth - Lord of the Rings Sightseeing Tours

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 wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles246 reviews
Excellent
206
Very good
14
Average
10
Poor
7
Terrible
9

Rafaela Stoletniy
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020 • Friends
I highly recommend this tour. Francesco was very knowledgeable and professional guide. The tour was small which I love it as it was much personalised. I did not feel that we rushed despite the 3 hours tours, where we've visited many places. Overall, the tour was highly interactive, interesting and educational. It was a pleasure being part of this tour as when finished I clearly had the WOW impresion. I congratulate the company on the outstanding delivery of this tourism product which I really enjoyed and will recommend to my family and friends.
Written December 22, 2020
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, we take pride in our guide's knowledge and aim to have all participants be involved in the adventure as much as possible, we are glad you picked up on these aspects. We hope the rest of your time here in Middle Earth was as enjoyable as it was with us and we hope to see you again next time!
Written December 30, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Miranda
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Friends
Had a spectacular day with Trails of middle earth tours! Stunning locations paired with extensive Lord of the Rings knowledge. Dressing up as Lord of the Rings characters with props in front of the Lake was so much fun and a massive highlight! 10/10 would recommend this tour to anyone!
Written February 8, 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 for joining us in Middle Earth. We had an amazing time hosting you as part of our Fellowship. We hope to see you again someday on one of our Unexpected Journeys!
Written February 8, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

A. Morton
Wellington, New Zealand3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
Review from an 8 year old fan: I liked hearing the stories of the actors and the crew members. I liked playing with the swords and axes.

Great tour, Shane was very knowledgeable and took us to many of out of the way places (we did the morning Touching The Ring Tour). Both kids and adults loved it.
Written July 15, 2020
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 visiting us here in Middle-earth, we like to think the magic of this place can appeal to all ages! We are glad the whole family had a fantastic time, and we hope to see you back here again someday!
Written July 17, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Marco A
Rio de Janeiro, RJ6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Friends
Our guide Francesco showed a lot of knowledge about Lord of the Rings and ALSO ABOUT NZ HISTORY, a bonus that we really appreciated!!! Not to mention his kindness and all the fun! Vehicle is great! I took a seat in the last row and really felt like 1st class! Heaps of leg room and a cup holder for my coffee haha. Perfect temperature inside and great background soundtrack for his commentary! Strongly recommend! Even if you haven’t watched the movies it’s a must do when in QT (you will want to watch to movies then... haha) Ah! There is more! How cool was the chance to take photos with the costumes and props!? Five star!!!
Written January 4, 2020
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 very much for your review, we are glad you loved Francesco's knowledge on not just LOTR but also the surrounding region and NZ history. We believe it is very important for our guests to not only understand the lengths that Peter Jackson went to creating these films but also the vital geographical and cultural history of the area. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your time in Middle-Earth as much as you did our tour!
Written January 9, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Anna S
Sao Paulo, SP4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
As a fan of Lord of The Rings, this tour is a must do!
Not only the locations are beautiful, but all the information from the guides are top notch!

10/10! If you're going to Queenstown just book it already! Definitely a day to remember:)
Written February 1, 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.
Thanks for your review, we are glad you had as an amazing time discovering Middle Earth as we had showing it to you. All the best on your adventures!
Written February 2, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Prabpreet K
Santa Rosa, CA1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Amazing experience ! Our guide, Francesco was very knowledgeable, kind and enthusiastic ! We had a great day and visited some iconic LOTR locations, also had great props and pictures from the movies !! Would recommend 10/10
Written February 21, 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 for your awesome review! We were so thrilled to host you in Middle Earth, and we hope to see you return again someday. All the best on your future adventures!
Written February 21, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

RedmooseNH
Washington DC, DC62 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
We found this tour mis-leading and disappointing-although felt badly for feeling that way. The tour guide was really nice and very enthusiastic. We choose this tour because it was all day and we wanted to see as much as we possibly could. At a pricey $299/NZ/person it was a real splurge for us-but we thought we were in for an over the top amazing day and that it would be worth that much money. They had told us 'more than 30 locations'-but we only went to 3 sites! We found that extremely misleading. They considered 'locations' to be anywhere they could show a scene. We thought we'd be driving all over the place-but nope. The tour went to Arrowtown, the Kawarau gorge, and Deer Farm Park-that was it!!! What there was, was good, and again the enthusiastic guide was good-but after about 30 minutes at Deer Farm we'd had enough and we spent 2 hours there looking at a million little hills being told that this and that had been shot there. But honestly after a bit all the rocks/hills looked alike. The thing that really got us was we went to a winery in the morning - I was the only one in the group that drinks any wine so I kept saying 'lets not waste the time, lets not waste the time'-but we went anyway. I mean-why on earth were we going to a winery on an expensive LOTR tour??? I think there must be an arrangement with the winery because after I quickly sipped and left, we used their parking lot to be shown replica swords and Gimli's helmet. These were neat but I really just wanted to go see more sites. I don't really understand why we wasted a bunch of time taking photos with us holding these replicas. We did a similar photo thing at Deer Farm with replicas of knives and a hobbit cape. There were SO many other things we could have been seeing in the area. When we asked about that we were told that it they were too far to go to. So the next day we headed out on our own and were shocked to find that 12 Mile Delta was maybe a 15 minute drive out of Queenstown-where part of Ithilien was filmed, Sam saw the Olipants, and Smeagol caught the coneys. We then drove on to Glenorchy where a ton more stuff was done. We were out and back in just a couple of hours-so an all day tour could easily have included those areas. This tour could EASILY have been done in a half day for half the price given what was included. If you are interested in having a bunch of photos of yourself taken with replicas from the movie this is for you. We wished we'd done one of the other tours.
Written September 13, 2007
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.
As the guide on this tour I wish to make clear that there is absolutely no arrangement with the vineyard mentioned. I also guide a wine tasting tour and this is my personal favourite. It is very close to a LOTR location. If the tour group size is small I sometimes include a 15 min visit to this vineyard as I am proud of our local wine. The weapons viewed at the vineyard are carried in the tour van and would have been viewed elsewhere if we had not visited the vineyard. I am sorry the reviewers were disappointed with the tour, which is a specialised LOTR tour including lots of background information on the filming process and insider stories. I believe that they would have enjoyed a more general sightseeing tour.
Written October 8, 2007
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Anika
Wellington, New Zealand10 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2014 • Solo
Good things first: Well yes, you'll see some sceneries (actually 3, but for sure not "more than 20") and yes, Bob is a nice guy (it's probably not his fault if the company he works for is greedy and overpriced...).

BUT: The only reason it's a "full day" tour is because you hang around in the same location (only 3 in total) for ages or walk around really slowly (or both). And Bob stops his car 100 times in random spots cause he can't tell stories and drive at the same time (That's actually what he said!) So the whole day is filled with listening to some movie stories or re-watching some scenes (thanks, i've seen the movies, this is why i do this bloody tour!) instead of seeing more locations!
I already got a bit sceptic in the morning when I asked Bob how many different places we would visit during the day and he said "I won't tell you, the tour should be a surprise". Which from my point of view now is a tactic for not revealing that it's only 3 locations. I think this whole "more than 20" advert is an "interpretation trick": as soon as some spot is used in different parts of the movie they make it count as several locations, and every mountain peak or lake that is visible somewhere in the background counts as well. Dear "Trails of middle earth"-guys, that's seriously cheating and gives bad karma! just sayin'...

AND (even more important): WHAT on earth is worth the 300 (!!!) Dollars? (Cause actually i wouldn't complain this much if it had cost me 150 or so, that would have been ok...)

- The fuel for the car? I don't think so. The sceneries are all really close to Queenstown and easily acessable, so if you have the option to go by rental car get a LOTR location guidebook and do it yourself (you don't go any further than 12 Mile Delta and Arrowtown anyway with this tour...)
- The Lunch? It's ok but average, and the weapons...well, that's a nice idea but doesn't explain the massive price of this tour with. (As an example: The LOTR Tour in Christchurch provided lunch and weapons as well, the trip was so much longer and still they were much cheaper!) The "gifts" are some papercopies which won't cost the company anything as well, so again, nothing to make people pay sooooo much!

There are other Tour operators in Queenstown which cost half the price and they take you to spectacular locations at Skippers Canyon (by boat) and Glenorchy/Paradise (by horse). Don't waste your money (and time, all the scenes could easily be seen within half a day) on this tour.

I was really looking forward to doing the Trails of Middle Earth and have never been so disappointed before (actually this is my first bad review ever, but i really HAD to tell this...).
Written March 19, 2014
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 taking the time to post your review. We are sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the tour with us. Our prices are comparable with other Full day tours in Queenstown, as prices rise each year we have to keep up with that. The other points you have mentioned we will take them on board in order to constantly improve the Lord of the Rings experience
Written August 12, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

P K
Auckland, New Zealand1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2014 • Couples
Don't bother, it's not worth the money they charge. They sell it as more than it really is. Although the scenery was amazing, it could as well have been anywhere. We were standing on a hill, or under a tree, being told this was the very place they filmed such-and-such a scene, and shown a small, dog-eared, laminated print-out of a still from the movie, but it could have been anywhere, and any scene. The weaponry was sold as being authentic 15000 dollars worth of weaponry but when you swung the swords they rattled and it included only a tiny selection of a few swords and an axe.
We were supposed to get a collectible souvenir. But as we left we had to remind the tour guide of this. It turned out we were going to get a part of the script (by email!!!!) which is not what we expected, or want. and we still haven't even received that email!!!
Total stars: none! (But on this website you're forced to fill in at least one.
Written January 22, 2014
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 of our Trails of Middle Earth Tour, We are sorry you were unable to enjoy it. All our sites are official LOTR sites endorsed by Ian Brodie Location Guide Book author, Which all companies refer to, plus some of our guides who worked as extras also confirmed. The laminated stills are replaced on a regular basis. Regarding our weapons, there are 11 swords plus an axe which are authentic Weta Workshop replicas taken from casts of the original, worth over $15,000 which we have been using since the first films came out. Unfortunately regarding the souvenirs we had run out of our booklet which is a copy of the script plus the call sheet from 12 Mile Delta. which we never send by email. Again we are sorry you did not enjoy our tour as our tours are aimed at LOTR enthusiasts.
Written January 27, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

dunmetiel
Bandar Puchong Jaya, Malaysia875 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2012 • Couples
This was the first of 3 LOTR tours I went on in my NZ holiday. At NZD299/person, it was really quite a lot for me to pay for a 7-hour tour around the Queenstown area, but because I am a big fan, I booked it anyway and was very looking forward to it.

I enjoyed certain parts of the tour, in particular, the filming locations themselves. We were first taken to Kawarau River for the filming location of the Argonath which was quite spectacular. Then we went to Arrowtown for some of Isildur's scenes. However, because we were already in the Arrowtown area, I had expected to be taken to the filming location of the Ford of Bruinen where Arwen crosses the river to save Frodo but the tour did not include this which was quite disappointing.

We were taken to a parking area overlooking a lake and the guide pointed to us a mountain in the distance where filming had taken place (but we did not actually go to this mountain). Here, the guide took out some replica LOTR props like swords and cloaks for us to play with. The selection was quite good compared to the other LOTR tours I went on, but too much time was spent here. Being a big fan and already owning one of the replica swords myself, I was not as excited as some of the other people in the group.

Lunch was at the Remarkables Park town. From the restaurant, we had a beautiful view of the Remarkables and Deer Park Heights where some scenes in the second movie was filmed, but again, we did not actually go to Deer Park Heights. During lunch, the guide let us look at the actual screenplays and other production materials, which the other LOTR tours I went on did not have.

Then it was on to the last location, Twelve Mile Delta, for the Oliphaunts scene and other scenes involving Frodo and Sam with Faramir. I enjoyed this location as well even though it was drizzling. The guide also showed us the flower that inspired the Simbelmyne and the trees which inspired the Lothlorien foliage.

Many reviewers have said that this tour has a lot of 'insider information', but in fact, half of the 'insider information' told to us during the tour was nothing new to me at all after I'd watched and read so many interviews of the cast and crew many years ago. Hence, I was not that impressed with this aspect of the tour. Of course there were a couple of information that was new to me but most of them were not because I'd already read about them previously.

The tour is good if you're not too big a fan and/or want to pay someone to take you around while you sit back and relax while seeing some locations. If you're a big fan, then much of the 'insider information' would be nothing new to you anyway and if you don't mind driving and figuring out the routes yourself, it would be cheaper to get Ian Brodie's guidebook and drive to the locations on your own. This way, you would definitely be able to cover more locations and at your own time.

In my opinion, the 'insider information' and playing with the props is not worth the high cost of the tour based on the reasons already mentioned above. It would be more worthwhile if the tour gave us access to at least one location that was private or where we couldn't have gotten to it ourselves. Having said that, I did enjoy being able to not worry about driving and figuring out the routes myself. After so much driving around NZ, it was nice to have someone drive me for a change while I enjoy the scenery of Queenstown.
Written January 20, 2013
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.

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