Cook Islands tips & recommendations

[ellen10]

We are looking at booking a holiday to the Cook Islands. Thinking of spending some time in Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Probably about 10 days.
Looking for some ideas and recommendations. I have seen that Jetstar now have a direct flight to Rarotonga, but with mixed reviews.
We love to swim and snorkel. I don't know anyone who has been there before.

 

[Happy Dude]

I visited RAR in 2003 and stayed in private beachfront/over water (almost) villas in the Titikaveka area. Not bad snorkelling that side. They'd be found on AirBnB now but I booked through a local or NZ based real estate agent. Self catered with most stuff brought from AUS, as the shops were/are pretty limited and everything is imported. Flew via Auckland at terrible and easily confused times on an Ansett 20k return rewards ticket. No cash payment either - that's how long ago it was. Caught a taxi from the airport and then just used the bus to check out the rest of the island. Didn't go to any resorts or restaurants etc at all.

Do go to a church service on Sunday and join in with the locals in their colourful sun dresses and hats when they raise the roof during hymns. I also did a "tour" with a guy named (*checks notes*) Piri Puruto, which was terrific. He was pretty old then, and was a former southwest pacific boxing champ, but had no trouble climbing coconut palms etc. He cooked up a tasty fish and vege feed in the underground umu. Not sure if anyone is carrying on or doing similar, but we certainly enjoyed it. I do wish I'd bothered to drag myself away from the beach to do the walk over the top of the island though.

 

[randompunter]

@randompunter is it the overnight Jetstar flight?
I will be interested to hear what you thought of it.

Luckily RAR - SYD is a daytime flight. SYD - RAR sounds awful though!

 

[bPeteb]

Here's link to our trip to both Raro and Aitutaki 15 years ago (wow, how time flies). We also visited Aitutaki again on The World on our Pacific cruise. Raro is the one place I said after visiting I want to retire here.

Aitutaki lagoon is so beautiful you can do at least two day cruises and they will be completeley different experiences (we've done three in two visits!).

aussiepanda's Trip: Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

View the journal, photographs, and videos for aussiepanda's trip: Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

v2.travelark.org

I know both places that we stayed still exist.

 

[missali]

We are looking at booking a holiday to the Cook Islands. Thinking of spending some time in Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Probably about 10 days.
Looking for some ideas and recommendations. I have seen that Jetstar now have a direct flight to Rarotonga, but with mixed reviews.
We love to swim and snorkel. I don't know anyone who has been there before.

Raratonga is nice but Aitutaki is stunning! Worth the extra flight $. I'd go back in a heartbeat. It’s every bit as good as the photos!

 

[Tacce73]

We had been looking at the Cook Islands or Fiji for our next sun and water holiday. I love swimming and snorkelling.
After watching the show Travel Guides the other night we thought lets do it!
I usually book all my holidays myself, but trying to do some research on places to stay and resorts etc, plus airfares and put it all together.

I am wondering should I use a travel agent. I have also looked at some package deals from MyHoliday. I did send off a quick enquiry last night, waiting to hear back from them.

@luxury-lizard your trip looks perfect, I would like to do something similar. Did you book it yourself or go through an agent?
I will look forward to your report back.

Same here. Been looking at these two for a solo trip in a couple of months.

 

[Brissygal]

I have been to the Cook Islands 3 times, most recently 10 days in May. Have always done the stopover with Air NZ via AKL. Aitutaki is a must see and Pacific Resort your best bet. Agree with comments regarding availability of fresh food there. However, in Rarotonga I would recommend staying at Sands Villas self-catered accommodation at Titikaveka www.sandsvillasrarotonga.com you are literally 6 steps from the front door into the lagoon. We hired a little car to run around the island for a couple of days, previously we hired scooters, getting a bit old for that now. It's a fabulous spot to swim, snorkel, (kayaks available) relax, unwind, read a good book etc. They do have WiFi, so if you can't do without your latest Netflix episodes, all good you won't miss out. Charlies restaurant and bar a 10 minute walk, and great fresh fish sandwiches.

 

[ramboflyer]

I've been looking closely at the Cook Islands for a trip next May for our 50th wedding anniversary (I haven't discussed yet with Mrs ramboflyer!). I was pleasantly surprised to see in todays newsletter that there was a thread going on. I have already learnt some useful information e.g we usually mainly self cater but that looks difficult because of the lack of groceries to buy.
I'm weighing up between a Myholidays package and booking it all myself. In isolation I can book flights and accommodation for less but they have some good inclusions which overall might be worthwhile.
The impression I get from research is that the Cook Islands is safer than the other Pacific islands where cyclones, tsunamis, flooding, political unrest and even wild dogs could be a problem (Smartraveller).

 

[ellen10]

@ramboflyer I was also looking at the Myholidays packages for November but I couldn't get my preferred dates. They do have some good inclusions. I think they use the Jetstar flights and not AirNZ.
I am now looking at going next year. And will look at all options and it is good to get some first hand information.

 

[ramboflyer]

@ramboflyer I was also looking at the Myholidays packages for November but I couldn't get my preferred dates. They do have some good inclusions. I think they use the Jetstar flights and not AirNZ.
I am now looking at going next year. And will look at all options and it is good to get some first hand information.

I'm not a fan of Jetstar but sometimes you have to grin and bear and it if you want a direct flight to get there and back in the shortest time. I would happily pay for extra legroom seats for a little more comfort. It looks like 72,000 FF points would get the 2 of us there and back with some good availability, although I think the taxes and fees were quite high.

 

[burmans]

Went there a few years ago with my sisters and family (Kiwis). Kiwis go there a lot so are very familiar with the lack of (or high prices of) groceries so one of our luggage was an esky full of meat! No problem bringing it in and on the flight from Auckland there were plenty with large bags full of provisions!

Fish is easy to find though!

 

[ramboflyer]

@ramboflyer I was also looking at the Myholidays packages for November but I couldn't get my preferred dates. They do have some good inclusions. I think they use the Jetstar flights and not AirNZ.
I am now looking at going next year. And will look at all options and it is good to get some first hand information.

You may already know this but the prices Myholidays quote are for certain dates, probably off peak times. When you go a bit further and look at say May 2025 there could something like $400 per person extra.

 

[luxury-lizard]

So far after 7 nights on Aitutake - we've been on Rarotonga for 3 nights - 2 more to go. If anyone asked me perhaps 5 on Aitutaki and 7 on Raro would be better - there's probably a bit more to do here. We staying at Te Manava Luxury Villas which are a "sister" property to the Pacific Resort Rarotonga about 1.2 K's away. The villas are AMAZING - ours it right on the beach with a private swimming pool - it's a 1 bedroom but can be extended to a 2-bedroom. With our pay 4 stay 5 deal it works out at about $AUD 800 per night. The villas are fully self-contained with a full kitchen and Nespresso machine (bring your own capsules as the ones they supply are not the "real deal"). The villa also has a washer and dryer which is great.

They offer a free on demand shuttle to the Pacific Resort if you want to eat there and/or use their facilities - or you can walk or kayak along the beach to the resort (or other ones which are closer).

I strongly recommend hiring a car for your stay - everything is pretty spread out - but the drive around the whole island is about 30k's. We got one for about $50 per day from Avis - there may be less expensive options. Also most/all tours do not offer resort pickup and taxis are $30 pp (or so the guest service lady told us). Grocery shopping is much better than on AItutake with 3 'supermarkets' - the best on is Wigmore's which has a good selection - and yes food is expensive but not as much as on Aitutaki (eg. a 450g Puhoi yoghurt on AItutake was $17 - here's it's $10.50). The biggest issue is finding fresh fruit and veggies - extremely limited as supply is seasonal - they do have nice lettuce (hydroponic). There are a few bakeries - the best being Rarotonga bakery (near the airport) - nice French sticks and loaves - note Wigmore's sells bread from this bakery. Wine and beer are reasonably priced but if you like a cool G&T for sundowners bring a bottle of gin with you.

There are lots of tours - we took the Ariki Adventures turtle tour yesterday with handheld electric underwater scooters - highly recommended (other operators do a similar tour but without the scooters) - it's about $180pp and operates according to the tides so times vary a lot - our tour was at 4pm. Snorkelling with the scooter is dead easy and they have 1 guide per 4 guests.

More to come with more photos.

 

[willclan]

We went to Cooks a few years ago and loved it. A bit less developed than Fiji but the people are just as friendly.
Had a great package from Luxury Escapes for Pacific Resorts on Rara and Autaki, which is well worth a visit. Would certainly recommend a visit to anyone.

 

[KathN]

I’m on Rarotonga now for a winter getaway. Got a Jetstar holiday deal for AUD$5k for 2 guests inclusive of fights ex Melb (Y) and 14 nights accommodation.
JQ flights went well with QF lounge (Melb and Sydney) and movies on own device.

Raro is idyllic, warm, welcoming, little traffic and beaches are rubbish free. Coral beaches in the north where I’m staying. It’s humpback whale season and this is the best area to see them (I have seen whales every day!). Sandy beaches a plenty.

I recommend getting a SIM card unless you get unlimited data at hotel (was told data is chewed quicker here due to the old system ) and couple of days car/scooter hire to explore rest of island with ease.

Next week’s activity is scuba diving.

 

[RooFlyer]

Any further updates/tips @luxury-lizard @KathN ? Esp specific boat tours or companies at Aitutake & Raro. I'm not much into snorkelling - would the ones you took LL be wasted for me?

 

[luxury-lizard]

If you don't want to snorkel then I would not recommend such a tour as you would end up waiting on the boat while the rest of the people snorkelled - up to 3 * 45 minutes. You could consider a private boat tour - atoll hopping with a picnic lunch. I can't recommend a particular company for this - but check online or ask your hotel. I seem to recall there are other group boat tours with a beach picnic and optional snorkelling.

 

[bPeteb]

Any further updates/tips @luxury-lizard @KathN ? Esp specific boat tours or companies at Aitutake & Raro. I'm not much into snorkelling - would the ones you took LL be wasted for me?

Raro is just a couple of tours on the lagoon at Muri. We didn't bother.

Aitutake is definitely a snorkelers paradise. We've done three different lagoon cruises and all focused on snorkeling. I suppose you could just sit on the boat, but you can only look out across the water for so long. You stop on one of the islands for morning tea and then of course for lunch.

Do you fish RF?

 

[KathN]

I heard good reviews about Captain Tama’s lagoon cruise that it was good fun. I went out with Dive Raro.

Any further updates/tips @luxury-lizard @KathN ? Esp specific boat tours or companies at Aitutake & Raro. I'm not much into snorkelling - would the ones you took LL be wasted for me?

 

[RooFlyer]

Raro is just a couple of tours on the lagoon at Muri. We didn't bother.

Aitutake is definitely a snorkelers paradise. We've done three different lagoon cruises and all focused on snorkeling. I suppose you could just sit on the boat, but you can only look out across the water for so long. You stop on one of the islands for morning tea and then of course for lunch.

Do you fish RF?

Yes to fishing. Never done deep sea but from what I've seen, I'd like it.

I can see I'll have to brush up on my snorkelling before I go. If the cruises are anchor in deepish-water then snorkel, I'd avoid; but if a mix of beach and anchor, that would be fine for me.