Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Best time to go? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands
kornspitz 22:18 UTC 19 Sep 2011 | Hi everyone, we've chosen the Cooks (Raro and Aitutaki) as our honeymoon destination. The wedding is in Feb, but as it's still rainy season in the Cooks, we have decided to go later on in the year. If you could chose a month, when would you go? We'd like to do the cross-island hike, heaps of snorkelling, go swimming, explore Raro on a scooter, do island-trips from Aitutaki. I've been thinking of May....after the rainy season, and still warm... but then again, maybe August would be better as less rainy? (I do realise that it can rain all year) If you could chose, when would you go and why? Thanks a lot! :) Edited by: Kornspitz |
h2ooh 00:46 UTC 20 Sep 2011 | Any time is a good time to go to the Cook Islands. The water will be warmer in May. The whales show up in August. You didn't say how long you were spending in the Cooks but you may want to spend a few days on Raro and then go over to Aitutaki. Then decide where you want to spend most of your time. That would also give you a chance to include Atiu on your way back to Raro if you wanted to. For getting around Raro I'd recommend a car. Raro has a lot of traffic and scooter accidents are common. Aitutaki has very light traffic and is great place to explore by scooter. | 1
kornspitz 01:48 UTC 20 Sep 2011 | Hi, thanks! We'd be spending just under two weeks in the Cook Islands. Probably 3 on Raro's sunset coast, then 4 on Aitutaki, then 4 on Raro's east coast, maybe not particularly in that order. So what month would you guys chose? :) | 2
h2ooh 14:49 UTC 20 Sep 2011 | I would choose August because of the chance to see the whales and the offshore fishing is better. I can also tolerate the cooler water for snorkeling better than most folks. You may not want to leave Aitutaki after four days. | 3
agingaquarian 23:56 UTC 20 Sep 2011 | Hi My favourite times are May and October/November. May is still warm but humidity is dropping and water is still warm. October/November - spring coming into summer - water can still be cool but is warming up. I totally agree with H2ooh - hire a car on Raro - scooter accidents are common and sometimes fatal. It can rain at any time of the year, of course. It's a matter of luck. And, btw, I have seen whales in October - though not many! | 4
lilau 06:57 UTC 25 Sep 2011 | Totally agree with H2ooh about Aitutaki. Much more quiet than Rarotonga, the people are more friendly, the lagoon is stunning and the sunsets are beautiful. Definitely honeymoon stuff! Try to get someone to drop you off on one of the uninhabited motu's for the day, bring food and drinks and you'll be as close to paradise as you can get. I was there in August and the weather was sunny and warm for the best part of my stay, although there were some rainy days as well. | 5
kornspitz 17:36 UTC 25 Sep 2011 | Thanks everyone, as I said in my opening post, we are definitely going to Aitutaki (in my opinion, there's no point in going to the Cooks if you dont!), it's just the question of when! I'm thinking May or June.... sounds like it's still warmer, not that busy, and also, because we're getting married in February, we'd like to go as soon as we can, rather than waiting many months more if we don't have to. | 6
traveller73 04:38 UTC 27 Sep 2011 | beautiful beautiful beautiful, the cook islands, my favorite place on earth and Aitutaki my favourite between the two. if you go there go to honeymoon island with kiaorana cruise and see by yourself. the colour of the water is stunning, nobody on the motu. quiet, relaxing, beautiful,, difficult to explain in words. a world apart. not very expensive if you choose well, good food, slow traffic(very slow) but not in rarotonga. raro is beautiful too but compared to aitutaki is new york city. but if you arrive from los angeles raro will seem very very very relaxed. i have been to the cooks twice and stayed 3 weeks, 1 month each time. i even got married there(in aitutaki). in raro best place to hang out and sleep is muri beach, in aitutaki for me is the area of ootu beach. rent a car and explore the island. i actually wouldnt have wanted to leave, ever. would love to live there. best months to visit are May to september. i was there once in august and once in may. would love to visit the nortern atolls too but it is very expensive to get there. we'll see | 7