Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Remote Places, and not too expensive... Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands
lenacologne 16:25 UTC 01 May 2014 | Hey :) I´m planning a RWT and therefore I want to spend 2.5 weeks on a pacific island... Originally, I wanted to visit Tahiti, but I´ve read, that it´s a stunning place to visit, but with a lot of tourists and very expensive ... I search for rather remote places and those, where I could sleep in a hostel or backpackers place for smaller prices. I love hiking and I search for beautiful beaches. Do you think, the Cook Islands could be an option, or have you any idea what could fit in my plan? I come from the US and will continue in NZ... Thanks a lot so far! |
watsoff 17:01 UTC 01 May 2014 | Cook Islands see a lot of tourists as well, as does Fiji. But they have the infrastructure for budget travellers, even though Fiji is aiming more for high-end tourism these days. Was so disappointed to find mostly all low-end and budget hotels closed down when I went there for the umpteenth time last year. Then there's Tonga and Samoa, both getting a fair chunk of the tourist trade as well, but not as much as Cooks and Fiji. PNG would be ideal if you had longer time to spend in the country, but it is expensive. So you might want to look into Vanuatu or Solomon Islands, you stand a better chance of getting to relatively remote places in both countries, although there won't be any infrastructure for tourists in many areas, not in Solomon Islands anyway. No hostels in Solomon Islands either, but there are guest and rest houses, and you could arrange for a village stay before you go. IMO, even though Solomon Islands is my hands-down favourite, I rather think Vanuatu might be a better bet for you. Maybe to see in Vanuatu (volcano) if you want to get off Effate (the main island), but that requires air fare. Getting to other islands in Solomons is somewhat less expensive as you can take a ferry, or fly, choice is yours. Don't forget to take malaria precautions if you choose PNG, Solomons or Vanuatu. Right now Honiara (Solomons) is slowly, and I do mean slowly, recovering from the flooding that almost wiped out Chinatown and there are lots of homeless in town right now. But the hotels are open. This isn't affecting the outer islands, though. Enjoy wherever you go! | 1
araura 22:00 UTC 01 May 2014 | I wouldn't say the Cook Islands gets a lot of tourists- only about 125K a year. Disneyland gets that in a day. Take a look at Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. It's a real getaway place and the lagoon is rated by most travelers as one of the most beautiful in the world. There is a direct flight from LA to Rarotonga once a week on Air New Zealand. Here is a web site that shows most of the accommodations on Aitutaki that can be searched by price: http://aitutaki-accommodations.com/Aitutaki_Accommodation.html | 2
ozziegiraffe 12:56 UTC 02 May 2014 | The effects of the Honiara flood are not really affecting tourism in Solomon Islands, and they are actively encouraging visitors. Guadalcanal has numerous hiking options, but currently some are harder to get to, because of the floods. Savo is easy to get to from Honiara, and offers several hikes. If you can organise a village stay somewhere in Solomon Islands, tell the hosts you enjoy walks, and they will take you to some fascinating places. However, it is unwise to take off on your own, as you may be offending kustom. | 3
lagoon 18:14 UTC 03 May 2014 | The Cook Islands is still a good choice, inspite of an increasing number of tourists spread over a year. Rarotonga (capital island) has the best hiking and beautiful beaches, but can become busy at times. Some good choices for budget accommodation including hostels and holiday rental studios. Easy to get about the island by bus. Villages have stores and fresh produce stalls. Have a look at Backpackers International located near a lovely beach. Next best hiking and a beautiful island to explore on foot is Mangaia. Oldest island in the Pacific with raised coral cliffs nearer the coastline. A large network of walking tracks and roads that criss-cross the interior. Beaches aren't as stunning as Rarotonga, or Aitutaki, but the water is very clear with remote coves for batheing. Need to fly from Rarotonga to Mangaia. Atiu island would be another recommendation for the Cook Islands. Again it has an interior network of trails, and is renowned for its caves and birdlife. Air Rarotonga offer an air service from Rarotonga to Atiu that can include Aitutaki. Atiu has very good budget-priced accommodation and homestays. Daily flights from Rarotonga to Auckland by Air NZ mainly, but also Virgin. | 4
Laszlo 16:25 UTC 06 May 2014 | I agree with watsoff that the Melanesian countries could offer a more remote and traditional experience than pretty much anywhere in Polynesia. However, if you want the Pacific country to be an easy stopover between the US and NZ, your choices are somewhat limited to French Polynesia, the Cooks and Fiji, I think. The outermost islands of any of these are still pretty remote, but in the Cooks and FP they can be expensive to reach. Some of the outer islands in Fiji, including pretty much the entire vast Lau group, are very remote and can be reached cheaply by boat, but they don't offer hostels or indeed almost any tourist facilities. Take your pick! | 5
h2ooh 15:23 UTC 22 May 2014 | #Lenacologne The Cooks offer one of the best experiences for out-of-the-way SP destinations there is. However, I don't consider Raro or Aitutaki a good choice for what you describe in your post. I do recommend Mauke, Mangaia or Mitiaro. They are safe, quiet, pristine, scenic, friendly and, once you get there, relatively inexpensive. My favorite is Mauke where you can stay for as little as $40/night daily rate and less if you stay 2.5 weeks. The $40 rate is for an accommodation for two people so if you had someone with you, it would of course, cost you less. The catch for the outer islands of the Cooks is the inter-island flights. At $500 to 700NZD RT it is expensive. But you won't regret your choice. We've also been to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Tahiti and we like the Cooks better by far. The biggest difference is probably the people.We find the outer Cook Islanders to be the friendliest and most courteous people of all the places we've traveled. | 6