Red Carpet Tours (Lord of the Rings Tours) - Massey

Red Carpet Tours is truly the only way to see Middle Earth. Every detail is thought-out and everything was just so easy which made the trip even more wonderful on top of all the beautiful places we were taken, all the amazing locations we got to see and all the amazing people we got to meet. There was a perfect balance of free time, activities and all things LoTR! Red Carpet Tours fearless leader Julie is truly fantastic -- she made our journey one for the books! If you're thinking of going to New Zealand and/or you're a LoTR, Hobbit, Tolkien fan you absolutely have to do a tour with Red Carpet....a trip of a lifetime!

I took my first Red Carpet Tour in 2018, expecting it to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  It was so fantastic that I returned this year for a second tour!  I cannot say enough good things about the experience.  Not only do you get to see the most amazing locations from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies (Hobbiton! Mordor! Edoras!) but you also get to meet many of the farmers who own land featured in the films.  My best memories from New Zealand are hearing stories from the friendly people who live and run the farms at Trollshaw Forest and the Pelennor Fields and the Laketown refugee camp. My guide for both tours was Julie, who is everything you want in a tour leader – an enthusiastic fan, a warm friendly person, incredibly organized, expert teller of bad jokes.  We had about 25 people on tour, and Julie helped everyone organize optional activities and find great food.  She even helped orchestrate a proposal for a couple on tour!  At each filming location, Julie had screenshots showing us exactly where scenes were filmed and an impressive prop bag full of swords and costumes.  We had tons of fun recreating scenes from the movies, however far you wanted to go - I can now say that I have gone swimming at the spot where Sam almost drowned chasing Frodo. We did most of our traveling on a large tour bus with lots of room to spread out (we also took a ferry, and an optional helicopter trip).  Julie made sure that everyone was well fed like hobbits, stopping often for second breakfast and afternoon tea, and scheduled plenty of bathroom stops because of all those Flat Whites we drank (best coffee ever).  On longer travel days we’d watch the Lord of the Rings movies, and Julie kept us entertained with information about the places we traveled, behind-the-scenes movie facts, and Tolkien trivia.  In rural locations our group would stick together for the whole day, while in cities we typically did Lord of the Rings activities in the mornings and early afternoons (a highlight was spending time with Daniel Reeve,who did all of the calligraphy for the movies) and had the rest of the day free to wander on our own. If you are a huge Tolkien fan – of the books or movies or both – you will find many international nerd friends on this tour. If you get dragged on this tour by a friend or family member who is a huge Tolkien fan, you will still love the beautiful locations that we visit and the adventures New Zealand has to offer – hiking, swimming, bungy jumping, jet boating, flying in a helicopter, and being driven around by an eccentric farmer on a bunch of movie theater seats strapped to the back of a vintage pickup truck.

Everything about this tour was amazing. For a Tolkien fan, I can't imagine a better vacation. Not only did I get to see Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movie locations and meet people who worked on the movies, I got to befriend an entire tour full of people who love Tolkien as much as I do. New Zealand is gorgeous and I highly recommend exploring it with Red Carpet.

I've completed a bucket list trip with Red Carpet Tours. It was beyond any dream and expectation. After returning I am still processing emotions! New Zealand - every positive thing you have ever heard, read or seen about this country is true. When you are actually standing on New Zealand land, breathing clean air and eating the best fresh food in the company of friendly people - makes for a very very happy person. This was a perfect trip. Our Fellowship of Tolkien fans included reps from nine different countries. This is a wonderful number to match the 9 travelers from "distant lands" that left Rivendell on the famous quest to save Middle Earth from Sauron's evil plans. Our tour guide, Julie, was enthusiastic, creative and on top of every aspect of this tour. She took fantastic care of each one in our group with her personal touch and thoughtfulness. Julie and her team have put together an experience worthy of all ardent Tolkien fans. You get to go to places others are not allowed. It was so cool to pull up to a private farm where filming was done and see Julie has the key to open the gate! It is obvious that the Red Carpet Tour group loves what they do. That love is reflected in their choices of locations to visit and people we got to meet. If you are not a Hobbit or Lord of the Rings fan (hard to believe & why aren't you a fan?) this tour is still perfect because she shares wonderfully detailed stories of the history & culture of her country. Every day in NZ on this Red Carpet Tour was filled with lots of joyful events in good company with Tolkien fans! I would do this again in a heartbeat. ?

LOVED IT! Big Lord of the Rings fan here, loved the knowledge and details that the guides gave us. The dinner banquet was fantastic! I loved that you felt like a real Hobbit passing the dishes around the tables! Excellent

Wow...AMAZING! Taking a Red Carpet Tours trip through the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations was a longtime dream for my wife and I, and we finally got the opportunity to do it this April. If you are thinking about booking, do not hesitate and book right away! Julie is an amazing tour guide, whose knowledge and passion for both Tolkien's works (book and film!) and her home country of New Zealand imbue every moment of your trip. Every day was an incredible experience of both Middle Earth AND New Zealand. Even if you or one of your companions is only a marginal fan of Lord of the Rings, New Zealand is such a beautiful country you can't help but have an amazing time. Red Carpet Tours has access to sites and locations that nobody else does, and Julie makes it all extremely easy. We had a great time with our tour group, but you don't feel like you get lost in the shuffle of other people. Julie makes sure you feel like you are always getting the experience you want out of YOUR trip. From Hobbiton, Rotorua, Wellington, touring Weta Workshop, helicopters on the South Island, kayaking in the Pelorus River, climbing Mount Sunday (Edoras!) as well as re-enacting some of the best scenes in the movies with a bunch of fellow passionate fans - this tour has everything. You will not regret booking a visit to Middle Earth through Red Carpet Tours. Do. It.

It was a trip of a lifetime to be able to visit Middle Earth. Julie James was a knowledgeable and entertaining host and the many film locations from LOTR and the Hobbit were stunning. Accommodations along the way were excellent, the food was wonderful and the people were welcoming. Worth every penny.

We went on Red Carpet Tours for our honeymoon in March 2020 and opted for the 6 day version to bookend our trip with some personal days in Auckland and Wellington. The tour was amazing! My husband and I are both more casual LoTR fans (we both saw the movies multiple times and I read the books, but we don't know every detail) and we never felt like we were being left behind. In every filming location we visited, Julie set the scene for the group to remind us of the context and helped us stage our own reenactments for photos. The site mentions being able to access places you wouldn't be able to on your own, and that's absolutely true: the company has longstanding relationships with the people who worked on the films and we were able to go to a lot of remote areas. Sir Richard Taylor even came over to say hi to us in a restaurant because he recognized Julie! You can tell she loves her job as much as she loves the franchise. The days are long with some very long drives, so you'll likely want to bring something you'd like to do on the bus. There are frequent breaks for meals and snacks, and they're very transparent about what is covered and what isn't so you can plan ahead. We ended up making a lot of friends on the tour and watched their progress on the second half of the trip on the South Island, and it also looked amazing. Clearly we'll have to finish our journey in the future!