Besides Hobbitoon Village, there are only a few attractions (none worth stopping for) if you’re driving up to Cameron Highlands from Ipoh.
But with its steep entrance fees, will this latest attraction prove to be a waste of time and money?
We checked out this place 3 days after it opened and here’s what we think!
What Is Hobbitoon Village?
This is a mini (and unofficial) version of Hobbiton™ in Matamata, New Zealand. It takes heavy inspiration from the official Hobbiton™ but isn’t under the same management or company.
The official Hobbiton™ was built originally as a movie set for the world-renowned movie franchise, Lord of The Rings by Peter Jackson (based on a book and world created by J.R.R. Tolkien).
Today, Hobbiton™ is an internationally famous tourist hot spot that we visited ourselves back during our working holiday in New Zealand. That was in 2017.
How Much Does Hobbitoon Village Look Like New Zealand’s Hobbiton™?
From the photos, the resemblance is obvious.
But there are some key differences. For starters, Hobbitoon Village is set on a hill with lush montane forests around.
While Hobbiton™ is on a mildly hilly terrain (in comparison).
We’ll touch more on the differences we observed later in this post.
Where Is Hobbitoon Village?
You can see Hobbitoon Village along the newer route (via the Simpang Pulai exit) up to Cameron Highlands from Ipoh.
The exact site of Hobbitoon Village is in Mukim, Perak. And it takes under 40 minutes to drive here from Ipoh with light to moderate traffic.
The first signage for the attraction begins 300m from it. There are also several vertical green banners along the roadside.
Turn in when you see two large white letters for Hobbitoon (one of these is reversed for the exiting route).
The drive in is quite steep but the road is well made.
What Are The Fees You Have To Pay?
For now, there are no parking fees although we did see a guard post being built at the entrance to Hobbitoon during our visit.
The closest car park to the visitor center is open-air, spacious, and tarred. We could see other car parks being prepared at lower levels.
Entrance fees regardless, if you’re a foreigner or local, are RM40 per adult, and RM20 per kid. There appear to be no exceptions in pricing for seniors or OKUs.
If you are from Perak, show the counter staff your IC to get local discount.
PS: There are toilets at the visitor center and another at the very top where the tavern restaurant is. You don’t have to pay any fees to use these.
How Long Does It Take To See Hobbitoon Village?
If you’re not planning on taking many photos, it might take you 20 minutes tops to explore what Hobbitoon Village has right now.
For those that don’t stop to take any photos or eat (we did see one couple who just rushed through the whole place unimpressed), it might even be 10 minutes.
We spent a lot of time taking photos and recording videos. We walked through the whole place twice, ate a bit at the café and stopped for an ice cream. Our total time spent here was about 2 hours.
If you like taking photos, we estimate that you might take an hour to do so at a leisurely pace.
What Is There To Eat At Hobbitoon Village?
Mid-way up the hill, there is a viewing platform with seating and a man-made water feature. You can buy ice cream of various flavours for RM10 per stick.
We got the strawberry chocolate, and we liked that the flavoring was natural. The overall taste was more sour than sweet. However, the chocolate flavor was not obvious.
You can be a lot more original than us and pick other flavors like sweet potato or butterfly pea.
The only real food you can buy at Hobbitoon Village for the moment is at the highest point of the park.
This is inside the tavern-styled restaurant with seating on a windy terrace that has great views of the surrounding scenery. They serve Western cuisine like burgers, big breakfast, pasta, etc. And they have some cakes at the counter.
The drink menu is quite interesting, but we chose to get a simple hot latte to share. It was good – not too sweet and very smooth.
Food on the other hand was just so-so (Big breakfast) and probably not worth the RM28+ it cost.
What Is There To Buy At Hobbitoon Village?
You can’t buy any Lord of The Rings merchandise or souvenirs (not even fake ones) here.
What they sell at the gift shop are locally made chocolates (Beryl mostly) and some cute knick-knacks and plushies that are probably made in China.
The most practical purchases would be the hat and visor selection that they sell right at the entrance to Hobbitoon Village.
Things To Know Before You Visit
- Getting up the hill is only by foot and quite steep in many places – there are no handrails for the entire pathway up
- It gets extremely windy here
- It feels hot during midday – pathways are not sheltered
- The cool effect of the wind will downplay sun exposure – be sure to have sunscreen on
- There is no alcohol for sale at the restaurant
- There are no guided tours here like there are at the official Hobbiton™
- You can’t go inside any of the hobbit houses except for one and there’s not much to see inside except a simple wooden bedframe with no bedding
- There is no accommodation available (yet)
- This is not the same place as Hobbiton Village under CH Flora Park
- If you’re planning to eat here, expect to spend more than RM40 per person for food and drinks
Conclusion
Our verdict is that Hobbitoon Village is done very nicely – better than our expectations. In our opinion, it could pass as a B-grade version of the real Hobbiton™.
Is the RM40 worth it? We think that if you are a fan of the franchise (and I am personally quite a fan of the movies, not so much the books), you can appreciate that it’s a lot cheaper to come here than to visit the real deal.
But at the same time, you can’t buy legit merchandise from the movie franchise from here. Nor will you learn about the real stories from filming the actual set from this place. So, if you are a big fan, we would still recommend going to New Zealand if you can.
Beyond the novelty experience of visiting the Shire in the cooler climate of one of Malaysia’s most popular highland regions, the surrounding scenery is lovely (so is the strong breeze that this location).
Thus, even if you’re not a fan of the franchise, you might want to make a visit here as you can take as many photos of the charming setups as you like.
You can include a visit to Hobbitoon Village as part of a day trip from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands with RayTherTour. Book a tour (WhatsApp).
