Cook Islands vs. Fiji vs. Somoa

My wife and I have a bunch of flyer miles on United and can go to Fiji, Cook Islands or Western Samoa and are wondering if anyone has suggestions - we can only go to one. Our plan is to take two weeks for the trip and pick two places to stay. We consider ourselves travelers and not tourists. We avoid resorts and like to see as much of the culture of a place as possible. We’ll have our two boys with us – they’ll be approx. 5 and 2 at the time of travel. Snorkeling and nice beaches are our main priority. All three places look amazing – if you like one over another please let us know why and the best time of year to go, places to stay, etc. It would be great to visit all three, but we just don't have the time. Any advice would be appreciated.

I haven't been to the Cooks, but out of the other two Fiji definitely gets my vote.
I've had some unpleasant experiences in Samoa (see the link in my signo),and in any case, found Fiji a lot more interesting, simply because it's a much bigger country with many more islands, thus offering greater scope for "getting off the beaten track". In this respects Fiji surely beats the Cooks, too. OTOH, the Cooks are probably the most developed of the three, which might be an issue when travelling with such small kids.
Beaches can be found found in any of the three countries. Coral reefs get more diverse westwards so could be best in Fiji, but NOT if you stay along the most developed, rather misleadingly named "Coral Coast"!

I have been to the Cooks(twice) and Fiji but not Samoa. This would be a difficult decision as both places have lots of positives and we enjoyed both. But for your purposes I would suggest the Cooks. Their smaller size would be easier for traveling with young children. They have great beaches for children and the snorkeling is good (although Fiji has better coral). With two weeks I would split the time between Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Being smaller islands you have an opportunity to interact with the Islanders and get an insight to their culture. There are lots of houses available for rent(some right on the beach), just pull up some of the main Cook Islands web sites for information. On Rarotonga there is an excellent bus system that you can use in lieu of car rental, another great way to meet locals. Aitutaki does not have a bus system but we enjoyed biking there as it is fairly flat - it's a small place so taxis would not be that expensive. As for when to go, I would suggest their winter months of July, August or September - the weather is cooler and not as humid - November to April will be the hot, humid time and the possibility of cyclones exists. Hope this is of help.

I agree 100% with newfie, having lived in the Cooks for 12 yrs. Great place for young kids. Lagoon is pretty shallow and safe. Check out Muri Beach (SE side of Rarotonga) and Titikaveka (S side of RAR) for good snorkeling and relatively safe areas. Then head to Aitutaki for 4 or 5 days.

Go the the main website www.ck for lots of good, unbiased info.

Fiji would also be good, but the large main island does not have a lot of good beaches or snorkeling. You'd really need to get to an outer islet or island. If you were on your own it would be a toss-up between Fiji and the Cooks, but with two youg kids it's a lot easier to get around Rarotonga (only 20 miles around) and Aitutaki (less than half that size). Fiji has lots of islands and lots to see, and is a great place, ut with kids I'd try the Cooks first.

Thank you so much for the great info - I really appreciate it.

Air New Zealand doesn't fly between the U.S. and Fiji anymore. The flight between Los Angeles and Nadi is a codeshare with Air Pacific, so you can't redeem you UA miles on that flight.
The only way to get to Fiji would be to fly via New Zealand (or via both Sydney and Auckland if there are no more award seats on the non-stop flights to Auckland) and then get a flight from Auckland to Fiji.
It is still considered a USA - Oceania region award trip and it will cost the same amount of miles (80,000 in economy, 120,000 in business) as a direct flight to Fiji would have been, but you'll have to take two or three flights and it will take a couple of days to get to Fiji.