| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
2 or 3 weeks Cook IslandsCountry forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands | ||
Hi there, I'm looking into a two or three week visit to the Cook Islands after nine months in Australia. I've been reading all the other topics here so far, but most of them are about two weeks. Is three weeks maybe too long because of the cost? And what are toe other islands like? I only read about Rarotonga and Aitutaki. I defenetly want to spend one week on each of those. But what will be the best option after that to go for the last week? For the cost, I'm living on a backpacker budget. Sleeping in backpackers, making my own dinner/breakfast as often as possible and maybe on or two tours, depending on what the offers are in November. Thanks for the help! | ||
Hey Shaap. If you can plan well, you can shave costs, though things can be expensive in the Cooks. I went for 3 weeks last November and did this: 5 days in Rarotonga - 5 days in Aitutaki - 5 days in 'Atiu, 4 days in Raro. Travelling time cuts in there, too, with the international date line and all... Inter-island flights can be expensive, but there are seat sales if you can be flexible once you arrive. Atiu can be tricky as far as transportation because all the villages are in the middle of the island (you can't stay by the beaches that ring the island). If you want to check out the beaches and crazy trails, you really need a scooter (rentals about $25/day). Food can be hard to come by in some respects so self-catering requires you to plan WELL (and there aren't really many restaurants - like 2ish). I had some fresh local tomatoes and green pepper so I was going to make tomato sauce for pasta. No pasta to be found in the 2 stores on the island. Just not available. Corned beef and cabbage was decent. Lots of frozen crap that's expensive. Locals grow their own veggies and raise their own pigs, chickens... A local restaurant owner gave me some fresh eggs. Options can be VERY limited food-wise, so I would really bring some staples from Raro if I went back again. Five days might have been a day too long for me. I started to go a bit stir crazy, even though I read booked, watched a local rugby match, visited beaches and combed for shells, took a zillion photos of pineapples at every angle, in colour and black and white... drank bush beer with locals, went to a coffee plantation etc. Not the best swimming access at the beaches, I found. But it was an amazing Lost World type of island to visit. Tourists - just you and maybe a few other folks. | 1 | |
Aim for at least 7/10 nights on Raro. Once you meet others, you'll have an interesting social life for sure on this more developed island. Best way to get to Aitutaki is to grab a package deal from any one of the locally based travel agencies. Aitutaki including return airfares, accommodation and transfers starts at $443 single for 2 nights. Negotiate the number of nights beforehand. Flights can be changed with additional costs involved if seats are available. There are very few $99 fares available at present - seats are in demand this winter season.During November you'll be competing with the international paddlers who'll probably hop over to Aitutaki for some R&R. There'll be plenty of paddling action around Avarua harbour and out on Muri lagoon to keep people entertained. Aitutaki is a quiet isle. Atiu even more so. Aim for 3/5 nights on Aitutaki, and if you do continue on from there to Atiu, 2 nights will be ample unless you have a special interest in mind. The cave and bird tours on Atiu are wonderful. Take some foodstuffs over, either from Raro or even sourced in Aitutaki. Raro has a wide range of foods and available 24 hours even. The stocks on Aitutaki are improving. I was there 10 days ago just as the monthly ship arrived in port. | 2 | |
Thanx for the reply 's guys. I think I'm gonna aim for the two weeks on the Cook Islands. And what is it with the paddlers? Is there some special event for them in November? | 3 | |
Yep, the annual paddling champs take place in Raro. Main centre for this sport is in front of Trader Jacks in Avarua, but also on Muri lagoon for some of the sprints/junior paddlers. Here's the calendar of events, curtesy of Cook Islands Tourism Authority, Auckland office - | 4 | |