Cook Island Travel Guide

The Cook Islands lies in the heart of the South Pacific about 700 miles west of Tahiti and almost the same distance east of Tonga. To the north and south is open water - it's almost 2000 miles to Auckland and 3000 miles to Hawaii. Paradise is indeed remote.


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The beautiful island of Rarotonga Cook Islands is one of the South Pacific gems. Small enough to explore at will, with both lush rainforest and lovely beaches, Rarotonga is similar to Hawaii of 30 years ago. There's lots of accommodation around the island and only a few large resorts (the largest has 170 rooms over 3 floors). Most accommodation is self catering, offering just a handful of beach bungalows and private holiday homes are common. Independent restaurants thrive making it a good choice for those who like to venture out to eat and there's a good scope of tour companies offering trips into the rainforest, scuba diving, sailing and historical tours. The Polynesian locals are probably the friendliest in the entire Pacific and New Zealand influence (and money) have helped develop this island to make it a clean and comfortable place to visit. As an all round holiday destination, Rarotonga cannot be beaten.

Aitutaki Cook Islands is a stunning lagoon island with a truly laid back South Seas feel. The main island has quaint fishing villages, some nice beaches, lots of tropical flowers and a few restaurants and shops. The island is smaller and less populated than Rarotonga and is almost entirely flat making it easy to get about by bike or foot. There are just three luxury hotels on Aitutaki and a dozen or so budget beach and garden bungalows. The best swimming beaches on the main island are on the north west coast and at the southern tip of the islands characteristic hook.

The best beaches in the Cook Islands, if not the South Pacific, are found on the small uninhabited islands around the edge of the large lagoon. Only two of these islands offer accommodation - the luxury Pearl Beach Resort which is connected by a small bridge to the main island and exquisite and secluded Akaiami Lodge on Akaiami Island where the Teal sea planes once landed on their "Coral Route".

Four tour companies offer cruises around the lagoon and visit the stunning One Foot Island. Some tours visit Moturakau, location of the original Ch4 docu-soap Shipwrecked. Air Rarotonga fly from Rarotonga to Aitutaki 4-6 times a day and also offer day excursions for those staying on Rarotonga.


Book your Holiday with the Specialists:


South Pacific Holidays & Resorts ; Beautiful Cook Islands Holidays & Resorts
fiji resort & holidays ; samoa resort & holidays ; tonga resort & holidays ; tahiti resort & holidays ; vanuatu resorts & holidays ; new caledonia resort & holidays ; australia resort & holidays

Thank you for visiting our website and we hope you have found it inspiring and useful.

If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try South Pacific Travel Guides - the regions most comprehensive travel guide for the islands. Alternatively, if you're simply after accommodation, search South Pacific Resorts the largest directory of hotels in the South Pacific with thousands of unique photographs, location maps and unbiased write ups: Cook Islands Resorts ; Fiji Resorts ; Samoa Resorts ; Tonga Resorts ; Tahiti Resorts ; Vanuatu Resorts ; New Caledonia Resorts ; Hawaii Resorts.

Other South Pacific Travel Resources - useful travel websites from the region


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