Island Flights and Home Rental

Were off to Cook Islands for three weeks in February and really looking forward to it. Hoping to visit Aitutaki and maybe Atiu as well as Rarotonga. Just wondered if anyone knew when the best time to book the inter island flights would be? Is it best to book as far in advance as possible or might it be cheaper to wait until we get there?

Also if anyone could reccomend a good house to rent for a couple on Rarotonga that would be helpful. Were looking to spend around NZD$1000 for the week. I've seen a few places but its hard to tell what there like.

Thanks for any help!

i waited til 2 months before my arrival date and i paid 2.5 times more than if i had booked early and got the super saver. i'm kicking myself. the only good thing is my new fair is fully flexible and refundable. still - $250 v. $99 Rar-Ait return. ouch!
you might have better luck if you picked a house or two and then asked for opinions - there are so many. Or at least start w/ which side of the island you prefer.

Thanks for the info I guess we better get the flights booked asap then.

We've seen a few houses on rentraro.com around Muri that we like the look of but we cant decide which to go for. Reihana, Muri Lagoon View, Torea, Muri Kite Moana, Muri Tamaariki Villa and Muri View all look pretty good. If anyone has stayed in any of them or has any more information that would be really useful

did you search any of those on google? i did out of curiosity because i don't know any of them by name. try this link for some 1st hand opinions?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g309713-i2628-k1506944-Renting_Homes_on_Rara-Rarotonga_Southern_Cook_Islands.html

Yeah I did have a look but there seems to be no first hand info about most of them. Thinking now about Avana Watefront Apartments instead as you can get a pool for the same money albeit there not on a nice strech of beach. Thanks for your help though.

Hi there.

I stayed at Reihana's in 2004. the place is in a great location, right in the middle of Muri Beach. It's a studio, so it's rather small, but it has everything you need.
I also stayed at Torea Muri in 2007. It is quite a bit larger than Reihana's, as it has a living area as well as an actual bedroom. for the price, I preferred Torea Muri, but it's not really on Muri Beach. It's actually closer to Titikaveka. If you're looking to be right in Muri, then Reihana's is your better bet. Also, there were 2 crazy dogs that lived right next to Torea Muri. They would bark at all hours of the night. I'm not sure if they're still there. Just a heads up.
We've rented from rentraro 3 times. They are very nice people and we never had a problem with any of the places we stayed at.
Hope this helps.