Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Accommodation Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands
23angelface 15:14 UTC 08 Sep 2008 | Hi, We're heading to the Rarotonga late February and thinking of staying in the Bella Beach Bungalows on the south side of the island. Has anyone any experience with this accommodation or this area of the island? Also I was hoping someone could tell me how fabulous the weather will be around this time. Thanks guys |
papamike 15:15 UTC 09 Sep 2008 | Bella's is on the beach near the village of Titikaveka, reasonable snorkeling, four studios all in close proximity, reasonably priced. Never stayed there, but have driven by, I think one of the house rental places in Avarua handles rentals. Weather is a bit on the warm and humid side in February. You will be on beach with some breezes. Bella's is not A/C but has ceiling fans. I will be down in Raro in February, maybe run into you in town and get your impressions of the Cook's, is this your first trip? Papa Mike | 1
23angelface 07:52 UTC 10 Sep 2008 | Haven't heard anything bad as yet so I have gone ahead and booked it. I'm so looking forward to our stay. Yes it'll be my first time there and it'll be my first time being that side of the world as we are doing around the world trip starting from home (Ireland). So if you have any other advice about Raro where to go, what to do it woulkd be much appreciated. And I hope we do meet during our stay. | 2
raro 06:46 UTC 17 Sep 2008 | Bella Beach are nice little cottages, nice beach, at the end of a friendly village (Titikaveka). I used to live about 6 houses away, many yrs ago. Some TT'ers stayed there a couple of yrs ago and had some recommendations as to each of the 4 units, maybe you can find it in a search. Just make sure you close and lock all the windows and the door when you go out to dinner, etc. Not a lot of crime on RAR, but what little there is is aimed mostly at rental houses. Most of it is on the west side (Arorangi), but there are a few bad eggs in Titkaveka as well. Bring reef shoes for walking and snorkeling in the lagoon. If you want more sand, head to the right when you go in the lagoon. If you want better snorkeling, go left about 100m or so, into the deeper (6-8ft) water near the barrier reef. You can rent a motorbike for maybe NZ$20/day, it's worth it for a few days, esp. on sundays when bus service is more limited, and less shops etc are open, so it's a good day to explore and head to dinner elsewhere on the island. As Mike said, it will be warm (actually hot!) in February, and it will be very humid. Load up on bottled water and put it in the fridge/freezer for a late night cool drink, you'll appreciate it. | 3