Aitutaki Accommodation and Scuba Diving

Hi,

I will be travelling to Aitutaki soon and was wondering if anyone can recommend good accommodation under $40 per night for a single? I would like something that is mainly clean and critter-free.

Any recommodations would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is the diving better off of Raro or Aitutaki?? What dive company would you recommend?

Thank you.

Amy

There are a couple of backpacker-type places, but I don;t know which ones are still operating. Maybe Josies? But most won;t have screens, and mozzies can be bad on Aitutaki.

Maybe JeanieJ can give you an update.

Actually, snorkeling off Maina Islet in the Aitutaki lagoon is probably as good as scuba diving in the ocean off either island.

Tom's Beach Cottage, I stayed there two years ago. No critters and clean.

I also saw Josie's and it looked good. She makes fantastic hamburgers so stop by for lunch wherever you decide to stay.

My wife and I enjoyed the scuba diving off Aitutaki more that Rarotonga. Can absolutely recommend Bubbles Below, Onu is a really nice bloke. A nice friendly outfit. The othe company run by Neil Richardson, well that bloke we found a bit abrupt and rude, and never dived with him so can't comment on that part. But Aitutaki has really really nice drop off right outside harbour entrance, also with a couple of lovely swim throughs and some eagle rays that seem to hang around there. Along with a plethora of beautiful fish. Much better than snorkelling in the lagoon, although that is lovely in itself, but a couple of days before we dived there, what did these annoying Americans take a photo of diving with..........a humpback whale. Good luck seeing that inside the lagoon!!!!!!! By the way enoyed the diving off Raro as well, nice formations and fish and sharks etc.

Have fun.

My girlfriend and I stayed at Tom's this April. Clean, mossie screens on bedroom windows, basic kitchen if you want to self cater for the odd meal. The kitchen and two bathrooms might get a little crowded if more than 8 people are staying. Tom allows you to pick coconuts off the trees in his garden, so you can sip them on the beach in front of the house whilst watching the sunsets. Some of the places mentioned in travel guides as being in backbacker budgets have been 'upgraded' by the time we got there and are now much more expensive, hence why we stayed at Tom's. We also dived with Bubbles Below and we recommend them. The dive site Johnandjen talk about where the reef opens by the harbour is very good. This and the other nearby divesite are pretty much the only ones used by BB (or Neil R), as fuel prices and availability make going further round the reef too expensive.