Which part of Rarotonga & Aitutaki/Atiu accommodation

Hi - I'm planning a trip to the Cook Islands in October, have done lots of research, & have a few questions before I start booking flights & accommodation. I'm travelling on my own, have found a few budget accommodation options, and while I don't want to be a complete recluse the whole time, I'm not looking for party central either. I'm planning to visit Raro, Aitutaki & Atiu and am flexible re how long I stay on each island.
I'd be grateful for advice on the following:

1) International flight availability seems to suggest I could stay in the Cooks for a total of either 6 days/7 nights or 10 days/11 nights. Would you recommend 6 or 10 days total if I'm planning to visit 3 islands? Would 6 days be too rushed?

2) How would you recommend I split my time between the 3 islands? I want to do a bit of lazing on the beaches, but also walking & exploring (e.g. I'm keen to do the day tour, including Birdman George, on Atiu), little bit of snorkelling, but no fishing or scuba diving.

3) What part of Raro would you recommend I stay on - north, south, east or west? Given that the island is so small, would it really matter if my accommodation isn't on a decent (or the best) swimming/snorkelling spot? Is it worth paying more to stay in a place right on a great beach/snorkelling spot, or is everything so easy to get to that it doesn't really matter where you stay? The 1 budget place I've found in the south (Rau's Guesthouse) is quite a bit more expensive because there are no dorms ($47 single room), but would it be worth staying there if the beach is really so much better?

The places I'm considering staying at are:
-Backpackers International (west)
-Rarotonga Backpackers (west)
-Aquarius Hotel (west)
-Rau's Guesthouse (south)
-Tiare Village (north)
-Vara's (east, Muri beach)

3) The cheapest places I've found on Aitutaki (though they're actually quite expensive for a budget traveller!) are:
-Samade Beach Bungalows
-Matriki Beach Huts
-Ranginui's Retreat

Can you recommend any of these?

4) The acommodation I'm considering on Atiu is:
-Atiu Villas
-Are Manuiri Guesthouse
-Taparere Lodge

Again, could you please recommend any of these?

5) Do you know if it's cheaper to get a package which includes flights/acccommodation/tours etc for Aitutaki & Atiu, or is best just to buy the flights separately & make your own accommodation & tour arrangements?

Thanks heaps - in advance - for your help :-)

The longer you can stay in the Cooks the better. It's lovely, I would allow a day for these experiences: Rarotonga cross-island trek, Rarotonga day at Muri, Aitutaki lagoon cruise, Aitutaki day at Samades (perhaps kayaking to a nearby motu), Aitutaki exploring the west side , Aitutaki day on motu (get someone to drop you off on Maina, Mattias from Matriki took me), Rarotonga day exploring the west side. Already at 7 days.

I haven't been to Atiu. But I plan island holidays (and length of stay) as above with a rough plan and then there are tough decisions to be made as to what to omit.

I would pay extra for Muri. The little motu in the background are what make Muri so special for me. The view from other parts of the island is toward the surf breaking over the reef. It's beautiful also but I prefer seeing little islands in my view. You might want to consider (and I haven't stayed at either, I stayed at a backpackers not on your list that I wouldn't recommend) the Studio at Muri Beach Cottages or Aremango Guest House. I would not stay at Taires unless you hate the beach. It's in a residential area not a casual walking distance from town. The beach at Aquarius is not swimmable either I believe.

Cheaper choices on Aitutaki are Tom's Beach Cottage (I stayed there and would highly recommend) and Josie's which is by Samade's, not right on the beach. I walked through Josie's and it looked very clean. She makes a fantastic burger, stop by for lunch. I also stayed at Matriki's and would highly recommend that also (there you will have your own patio looking at the water plus the water is deep enough for swimming. It's further from town and you have less of an opportunity to meet people vs. Toms). Going up in price Ranguini is in a beautiful location (right next to Samades which is more $) and you get kayaks so it seems like a great choice if you are going mid-range.

I priced going to Aitutaki as a package and on my own and it came out considerably less doing it on my own.

You'll need the 10/11 days if you want to hit all three, because the connections between Aitutaki and Atiu are only a couple of times a week.
I'd do a couple of days on RAR, then to Atiu for 2 or 3 days, then Aitutaki also for 2 or 3 days, then back to RAR for a day or two.

You can get around the island easily by bus most days, but I agree with silvano that Muri is the best. Try Aremango, as she suggested. I lived on the beach near to it (it is on the road, about 80m from the beach), beautiful spot. Vara's is on Muri Beach, but it can get noisy from partyers if that is the type of crowd there that week, it changes a lot.

If you want to include Atiu, I'd seriously consider a package, as sometimes the flights between Atiu and Aitutaki change by a day in one direction or the other, etc. If so, if you are on a package then you probably would not lose any $$$ for changing your Atiu reservation, in particular, at the last minute. Check out Island Hopper, they have good packages. Jetsave also does, but there service can be spotty.

Aquarius is not on the west coast, it is on the north coast, across the road from the airport. It might be good for your last night when you return to RAR.

PS--On Atiu, if you can afford it, the Atiu Villas is the nicest, not fancy, but comfortable, and they have hot water. I don't think the other two places, which are more basic---but cheaper---have hot water. But all three have good ratings for what you pay.

Thank you for all your helpful advice :-)

Came back from doing a very similar thing two weeks ago...

My itinerary (not booked as a package, doing everything separately over the internet - it worked out about NZ$30 cheaper) was: arrive in Raro early Saturday morning, flew to Aitutaki Mon, flew to Atiu Wed, back to Raro on Fri, left Saturday evening. Total 8 days, 7 nights.

Some thoughts:
If I was doing it again, I'd give myself at least one more full day on Aitutaki. I got lucky with the weather - the Tuesday of my lagoon cruise was the best day of the week. But you might not get so lucky, and you really want a good day for that, it's probably the highlight of the whole trip. So give yourself a reserve day - if the weather's good the first day you can spend the second kayaking out to a deserted motu. Don't count on the weather being good every day, at any time of year.
Atiu - one and a half days was doable, I saw everything I wanted to, but two full days would have been ideal to be less rushed. Half a day for a historical island tour or Birdman, half a day for a cave tour (with tumunu afterwards), and if you've got less than two days that's all you've got time for.
With those two constraints in mind, and including time to transfer between the islands (on cute 10-seaters to/from the adorable Atiu "airport"), with 6 days you won't get any time on Raro itself. While it may not be as memorable as your time on the other two islands, it would still be a great shame not to see it properly when you've got all the way there. Bear in mind, currently the flights between Atiu and Aitutaki only operate on Wednesdays. And you can't fly anywhere on a Sunday.

Raro has beautiful hills, Aitutaki has the stunning lagoon, Atiu is less scenic but more interesting / non-touristy (Aitutaki may have a few hundred tourists at any one time; when I was on Atiu I was told there were 16 tourists on the island, and that was the most in months. After a day I knew most of them and a few of the locals as well...). Compared with Aitutaki lagoon, the beaches on Raro (including the fabled Muri) look pathetic. That's not to say they're not nice, just that Aitutaki's Motus are as close as you can imagine to paradise. Going all the way to the Cook Islands and not leaving Raro would be criminal...

For accomodation: Raro Backpackers (West coast) is a beautiful spot, with beautiful buildings (a rarity among backpacker places). Taken on its own, it's the best backpacker place I've stayed in ages. The beachside location almost always has more people / atmosphere. The hillside location is very quiet unless the beachside gets full and they send people up there (and it's about a 10-15 minute walk uphill from the beach and from the main road for buses). How much partying there will be depends on who else is there, but the usual order seems to be Vara's > Beachside > Hillside. The only problem with Raro Backpackers is location, you'll be wanting to go elsewhere on the island most days.

If you're going to get a scooter, it's not a problem - the island is so small that anywhere is good. But time constraints meant I didn't have a scooter (it takes a few hours to get your licence from the police station, and they won't do it on Saturdays after about 2pm or anytime on Sundays. If you're going straight to one of the other islands, get your licence there instead - the hours may not be regular but it'll be almost instant). If you're not going to get a scooter, you're reliant on the buses - one per hour in each direction on weekdays, one direction only on weekends. In this case, your best choices would be either Muri if all you want to do is laze on a beach all day, or otherwise somewhere within walking distance of town (where the buses start and end) if you want to get around and do stuff.

On Aitutaki, the main budget places are either Tom's or Paradise Cove. Tom's is a huge house, with (from memory) 6 rooms; there's a good chance you'll be the only one there, you almost never even see Tom. Easy walk into 'town', and there's a great unhealthy friend chicken and fish place opposite... Paradise Cove seems to get a few more backpackers, but you get less space. It's a more beautiful spot (with all the expensive beach bungalows), but further from town. There's also the Paratrooper Motel, which is the cheapest of the lot and you get what you pay for.

On Atiu, Are Manuiri is friendly, small (4 rooms?), and a great central location. It does have hot water, unless it's been cloudy for the last few days; and a kitchen. There's also a homestay whose name I can't remember if you want to be completely mothered for a few days... Those are the two cheap options. All the accomodation seems to be run by foreigners on Atiu, and they all know each other well (there's only 450 people on the island after all!), so things like tours and activities available don't vary, your main decision is whether to stay in the village itself (Are Manuiri) or with a scenic view elsewhere (everywhere else).

Good job Big Stu, not much I can add. I would suggest the ten day stay to try and do the three islands, as suggested by Raro. As far as lodging on Rarotonga I would suggest you also take a look at Maina Beach Bungalows, I sent a couple there for a month last year and they had a great time. Not on Muri but across the street from a good swimming and snorkeling beach.

I would try to spend two days each in Aitutaki and Atiu and split your time on Rarotonga before and after your trip to the other two. Look into the timing of the Air Raro Aitutaki-Atiu package and then go from there.

On Aitutaki, I would concur with Stu on his choices, I have visited them all but Matriki Beach Huts, which is new since my last trip.

On Atiu make sure you go on the tour with Birdman George (take a long insect repellant) it is a great tour. Stay at Atiu Villas or Are Maniuri, both are excellent, with Atiu Villas having the advantage of a restaurant on site.

Have A Great Trip!

Papa Mike

have stayed at Rarotonga Backpackers twice, once in hillside accomodation and once at beachside.
Beach Hut $70 per hut (double) self contained. They do have dormitories $12 a night I think?
Check out their website.
Clean, friendly and well run - not noisy, a mixture of old and young.
Would recommend.

Thanks again everyone - you've been really helpful.

Just one other question - someone told me that there's been a recent dengue fever outbreak in the Cooks. Is this a really big problem? I read on a travel advisory website that you should make sure you stay in a place with screens on the windows and air con. I'm gueessing the cheaper places don't have these things?

I forgot to ask BigStu - was it easy enough to organise your own activities on Atiu e.g. can you just book them through your accommodation? I'm interested in Birdman Gerorge, Anatakitaki Cava and tumunu.

Also - would you organise itinerary around being back on Raro for Friday nightlife or is it just as fun on Aitutaki?

Friday night on Aitutaki is fun, no problem. It's Sunday that is a lot slower, with a lot less places open than on RAR.

Budget places and moderate places don;t have AC, power is too expensive. Some backpacker places do have insect screens, most don't, you'll have to e-mail them. You can buy a cheap mozzie net for your own bed at Vonnia's in town, maybe NZ$40-50, esp. good if you are in a budget place on Aitutaki and Atiu. Millions of mozzies on Aitutaki. More mozzies at the hillside parts of Vara's and Raro Bkpkers, stay on the beach if the mozzies are bad. October is so-so re mozzies, just beginning to get warmer and more humid.

Check out Vaikoa. Wonderful, welcoming family. They have cheap self contained rooms but also 2 absolute beach bungalows... basic...a large one and a small one.We stayed in the large one and absolutely loved it. You can't go wrong. It's next to are Tamanu and half the price of Samade, where we also stayed for 3 nights. I didn't wanrt to leave there. best part of the beach for swimming, snorkelling and kayaking. We also made friends who stayed with Matriki. They enjoyed it but when they saw our bungalow said they would choose that next time.
We also spent 3 nights at Atiu Villas which we thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.We did all the tours and enjoyed the cave tour the most.
The CI is a wonderful destination and a very easy, safe holiday. Please feel free to PM me if you have any further questions.

Gonzie - no problem at all booking things when you get to Atiu. At Are Manuiri, when I arrived I was sat down with the information on the available tours, and just told to phone them up to arrange. At other places they might make the phone call for you, but really no difference; especially since most of the tours are run by the various guesthouse owners.

The cave trip would be my #1 choice. Wear swimming gear underneath, there's a gorgeous pool as you exit the cave for a candlelit swim - a bit cold but worth it for the experience. Wear decent shoes or (preferably) hiking boots - you don't have to be a mountain goat to walk over the raised coral, but good solid soles make life so much easier. The walk isn't strenuous by any means, and it's not even that long; it's only described as moderate / hard because it involves walking over the sharp rocks (tip: it's much easier to walk on the top of each rock than try to fit your foot in between the gaps...). On the way back from the cave, you'll stop at the tumunu, and the guide will come back and pick you up maybe an hour later, so count both of them as one tour. It's perfectly possible to do the Birdman George tour in the morning and the cave in the afternoon.

Mozzies: Tom's on Aitutaki had mozzie nets over all the beds. Didn't need them when I was there (August) so I can't tell you how good they are. On Atiu, the time you're most likely to get bitten is while you're at the tumunu, due to location and timing (around sunset), so when you go on the cave tour take your repellant with you or just wear long sleeves & legs.

(slow reply, sorry, been away!)

Thanks heaps Big Stu - very helpful :-)