Cook Island Recommendations

We just returned from 3 weeks in the Cook Islands and they were more fun and beautiful than our high expectations! Here are a few recommendations that might help you out if planning a trip there:

Many flights arrive in Rarotonga around midnight or at 5am when everything is closed. The Aquarius Hostel is 100 meters walking distance from the airport terminal and is clean, on the beach, and a great place to crash while you sort out your plan, especially if waiting for a late morning flight to Atiu or Aitutaki. Air Rarotonga opens at 7am. Morning flights to outer islands tend to be booked up, so if you want to head straight from Raro to the other islands, you should book in advance.

In Raro: Aremango's Guest house next to Vara's Backpackers is a nice chill place to hang out on Muri beach. Vara's was booked up when we were there. Bikes are 5 NZD a day and are a great way to explore the island and get some exercize. It took half a day to ride around the entire island.

We spent the majority of our time on Aitutaki. The Matriki Huts [url]www.MatrikiBeachHuts.com[/url] are the best value place to stay in my opinion. You get a beach side hut with a fan available if the breeze is low, a nice deck facing the beach, a small kitchen for self catering a fridge for drinks. There is fantastic snorkeling 50 meters out from the beach. I saw several Moreys, Giant Clams and swam for awhile with an Eagle Ray. There are Stone fish in the Lagoon here so wear reef shoes. Fred and Kristene are fantastic hosts. Unfortunately they will be going back to Canada in October but you will love hanging out with them if you get there in the next few months.

Fred runs the best snorkel tour in the islands. He has a small fishing boat that can take you outside the reef where you will snorkel in the best visabilty you've ever seen and he knows where there are resident Wrasse (huge fish) , dozens of eagle rays, turtles, and the occassional reef shark. He is very knowledgable as a naturalist and has some great stories from his previous life as a stuntman in the film industry.

You can rent bikes or a scooter to explore the island and get a Cook Island's driver license for 2.50 NZD as opposed to 20 NZD in Raro and it's good for use in Raro.

Spyder's is the only internet cafe on Aitutaki and connection is really slow but the guys that work there are cool and a lot of locals show up around 6pm to drink and watch rugby on the big screen outside.

A few Photos of the brilliant Aitutaki Lagoon: [url]http://www.michaelandersongallery.com/gallery.php?gallery=cookislands[/url]

Hope this helps!

-Mike Anderson

I also really enjoyed my time in Cook Islands, but after a while I found myself wanting something to do rather than just laze about (stayed several weeks). If this should happen to you, and you're on Rarotonga, if you like animals, pop into the animal shelter along the main road (near Avarua) and take some of their dogs for a walk on the beach or a swim. They welcome visitors!

Raro Tours always have a few buses waiting for arrival flights. They will take you to your hotel of choice for about NZ$10 (pre-booking a transfer with your hotel tends to be more expensive, and you get put onto the same bus). Most hotels are used to guests arriving at weird hours in the morning.

If you are waiting for a connecting flight, but don't want to spend money on accommodation, there are seats at the check-in area. It can be a bit cold in winter though.