convenient location in Rarotonga

Hi all,

At the end of July I arrive in Rarotonga and will be travelling in the Cooks for about a month.
What would be the most convenient location to start my travels? With convenient I mean close to everything I need to arrange further transport/accomodation etc. but also close to a nice beach. From what I read in the LP it seems Avarua is the only proper town,
but it doesn't sound very appealing to stay there.

I'm in the process of choosing accomodation for the first two nights and see from there how I go about. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Maybe it's important to know I'm a 55yo female solo traveller. I am on a bit of a budget though, as I'll be travelling for about 7 months, so no high end accomodation, but nothing dirt cheap either.

Thanks in advance!

Everything is pretty convenient in Rarotonga, it's only (at most) a half hour bus ride to town.

Muri is the busiest, most popular visitor area. (Still very quiet and low key compared to such areas in other countries.) I thought the beach was the nicest the first time that I visited the Cooks, now I prefer the southern part of the island as Muri has had some ugly structures built on it.

To arrange further transport/accomodation you would either use the phone or internet or travel to town or to the other accomodation. I would base where to stay on what looks like a nice place to stay at.

Take a look at www.ck for accomodations.

Without knowing what your accommodation budget is, or where you are arriving from, these 3 places would be reasonably convenient to Avarua to arrange airfares and further accommodation. 1. Aquarius Hotel directly opposite the airport, so no ground transfers required, bus to town takes 5 minutes 2. Paradise Inn uptown Avarua, easy walk to town and travel agencies, and 3. Vara's Beach studios/cabins or their inland bungalows, and all in Muri (be quick for any of these)!

Thanks, silvanocat and turou.
At the moment I'm looking into Palm Grove on the western side of Rarotonga. If that doesn't work out I'll try one of the places turou mentioned.

You might also want to look at Moana Sands. It's on a lovely stretch of beach and has its own cafe/restaurant.

http://www.moanasands.co.ck/

As silvanocat mentioned, everything is easy to get at and the bus service is excellent.

You could also look at the Muri Beachcomber, but that is in Muri where it's busier, but does have the advantage of being within walking distance of a number of restaurants etc.

http://www.beachcomber.co.ck/

Both those are roughly in the same category as Palm Grove.

I was in Raro for about a week and stayed in Muri for 5 days at a Muri Beach Cottages and then on the West side at the Aro'a Beachside Inn. Both were great. Muri is MUCH quieter than I expected it to be so noise wasn't really a consideration. Plus I was there during the Vaka Eva when the island is hopping in comparison to other times. It ain't Waikiki Beach, let me tell ya. It doesn't take too much effort to have the beach to yourself. Plenty of food/dining options, though not as many or as affordable at in Avarua. But personally, I wouldn't choose to stay in Avarua if you prefer the beach. Not great swimming there but you can catch a bus easily enough or if you have a scooter it's about a 20-minute ride to Muri. Met some people who stayed at Vara's in Muri and it sounded like great fund and the place was oriented to all ages versus being a youth hostel. Another woman traveller I met (in her early 50s) stayed at Aremango Guest House (http://www.aremango.co.ck/accommodation.html) and just loved it. It was clean, comfortable, cheap, convenient and friendly. Prime location, too. Have a wonderful, relaxing trip.

Thanks Spooner, Aremango sounds perfect! Already booked something for the first two nights, but I'll certainly check it out for after that.
Cheers,
Lilau