Rarotonga
The main island: a lagoon, a mountainous interior, a 32km ring road and two buses.
Cook Islands country guide
Cook Islands Travel Guide
Fifteen islands in the middle of the Pacific, a lagoon at Aitutaki that people rank the best in the world, and a bus that goes clockwise and one that goes anticlockwise.
NZ$40
A dorm bed, from
15
Islands
32km
Right around Rarotonga
2
Bus routes, clockwise and anti
Small, easy and further than you think
The Cook Islands are fifteen islands scattered across an area of ocean the size of western Europe, with about 15,000 people. Almost everything a visitor does happens on two of them.
Rarotonga is the main island: a volcanic peak wrapped in a lagoon, with a 32km road around the edge and two bus routes, clockwise and anticlockwise, which is genuinely the whole public transport system. You can circle the island in under an hour.
Aitutaki, 45 minutes north by plane, has the lagoon: a vast triangle of shallow turquoise water with motu islets around the rim, regularly called the most beautiful lagoon in the world, and the reason most people come.
The country is self-governing in free association with New Zealand, uses the New Zealand dollar, and English is universal, which makes it one of the easiest Pacific destinations to travel. A week is enough.
Where to go
Rarotonga and Aitutaki carry almost all visits. The outer islands need time and planning.
Aitutaki
1 hostel
The lagoon people come for, 45 minutes north by plane, with motu islets around it.
What kind of trip is this?
The Cook Islands are a lagoon and slow-days trip, easy to organise and hard to leave.
Beach in Cook Islands
Aitutaki's lagoon, and Muri on Rarotonga.
Adventure in Cook Islands
A cross-island trek and a lot of snorkelling.
Culture in Cook Islands
Island night dancing and a strong church tradition.
Food in Cook Islands
Ika mata, market food and surprisingly good coffee.
Budget in Cook Islands
Not cheap, though the buses and markets help.
City break in Cook Islands
Avarua is small, and that is the appeal.
What to do
- Punanga Nui market on Saturday morning
- The harbour
- A round-island bus ride
Spots to visit
- Avarua
- Rarotonga ring road
Best cities for it
Things to do
Things to do in the Cook Islands
Aitutaki's lagoon cruise is the thing. Boats leave in the morning, stop at motu islets and snorkelling spots, land at One Foot Island where a small post office stamps your passport, and come back in the afternoon. It costs NZ$120 to NZ$180 and it is the reason most people fly up.
On Rarotonga, the cross-island track climbs past Te Rua Manga, the rock needle at the island's centre, and descends to a waterfall on the other side: three to four hours, steep, muddy and not to be done alone after heavy rain.
Muri lagoon is the snorkelling and kitesurfing centre, and the ring road makes cycling or scootering the island straightforward.
Island nights (buffet dinners with drumming and dance) run several evenings a week at various venues, and Cook Islands drumming is fast, loud and genuinely impressive.
Food and drink
Eating in the Cook Islands
Ika mata is the national dish (raw fish marinated in lime and coconut cream) and it appears everywhere from market stalls to restaurants.
The Punanga Nui market in Avarua on Saturday mornings is the week's event: produce, cooked food, coffee and crafts, and the cheapest good eating on the island. The Muri night market runs several evenings with food stalls around a common seating area, which is the standard cheap dinner.
Most accommodation has kitchens, and self-catering from the supermarket is how a lot of people manage the cost, since almost everything is imported.
Atiu, one of the outer islands, grows coffee that is genuinely good and turns up in cafés on Rarotonga.
Nightlife
Going out in the Cook Islands
Rarotonga has a handful of bars around Avarua and the resorts, and a famous weekly institution in the Friday and Saturday nights where the whole island seems to end up in the same two or three places.
Island nights are the more organised version (dinner, drumming and dance) and they are worth doing once even if they feel arranged.
Aitutaki is quieter again, with a couple of bars and not much else.
Sunday is church morning, and while it is less absolute than in Tonga or Samoa, many businesses close and the singing at a CICC church is worth getting up for. Beer is NZ$8 to NZ$12.
Getting around
Getting around the Cook Islands
Rarotonga's public transport is two buses: one goes clockwise, one goes anticlockwise, both around the same 32km ring road, roughly hourly. A ride is about NZ$5 and a day pass is better value. That is the entire system and it works.
Scooters are the local choice and require a Cook Islands licence, obtained at the police station in Avarua for a small fee: a practical curiosity that many visitors end up enjoying.
Air Rarotonga flies to Aitutaki several times daily, taking 45 minutes and costing NZ$400 to NZ$600 return, which is the single largest cost of most trips here.
Outer islands beyond Aitutaki are served infrequently and need planning around fixed flight days.
Costs
What the Cook Islands cost
This is not a cheap destination. Dorms and budget rooms start around NZ$40 to NZ$90, restaurant mains are NZ$25 to NZ$40, and almost everything is imported from New Zealand with prices to match.
The Aitutaki flight at NZ$400 to NZ$600 return and the lagoon cruise at NZ$120 to NZ$180 are the two costs that define most trips, and both are worth it.
A day on Rarotonga without flights comes to NZ$90 to NZ$160. Self-catering, the Saturday market and the NZ$5 bus are what bring that down. The currency is the New Zealand dollar, with local coins that cannot be spent elsewhere: keep one as a souvenir rather than trying to change it.
Safety
Staying safe in the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands are very safe, with minimal crime and a population small enough that everyone knows everyone. Petty theft from unlocked accommodation is about the extent of it.
The main hazards are the road and the reef. Scooter accidents are the most common cause of injury to visitors: the ring road is narrow, locals drive it fast, and many travellers ride without helmets or experience. Wear a helmet regardless of what anyone else does.
In the water, the lagoon is shallow and calm but reef passages have strong outgoing currents, and going over the reef edge is dangerous. Coral cuts infect quickly; reef shoes are worth having.
Cyclone season runs November to April. Medical facilities are basic and serious cases are evacuated to New Zealand, so insurance covering that matters.
Entry and documents
Entry and documents
Most nationalities receive a free visitor permit on arrival for 31 days, extendable up to six months, with onward travel and pre-booked accommodation required: that second condition is enforced more here than in most places, so have your first nights booked.
Passports need six months' validity.
The Cook Islands are self-governing in free association with New Zealand, and Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship, but the islands are not part of New Zealand for entry purposes and you clear immigration on arrival.
When to go
April to November is the dry season, and June to September is the cool, clear heart of it. December to March is wetter with cyclone risk.
Jan
Hot, wet and cyclone season
Feb
The wettest month
Mar
Still wet and humid
Apr
Drying out. Good and quiet
May
Dry season proper. Pleasant
Jun
Excellent. Cool, dry and clear
Jul
Peak season. Best weather, busiest beds
Aug
Excellent, and whales sometimes pass offshore
Sep
Superb and easing off for crowds
Oct
Still dry, warming. Good value
Nov
Warming and wetter. Cyclone season begins
Dec
Hot and wet, but busy over Christmas
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs for Rarotonga, which barely change. The variable is rain and cyclone risk, and July and August are both the best weather and the busiest and priciest months.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, in New Zealand dollars.
The Aitutaki flight at NZ$400–600 return and its lagoon cruise at NZ$120–180 sit outside these figures and are what most trips are built around.
—
- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
What's on
What is on while you are there
Te Maeva Nui in August is the biggest week of the Cook Islands year.
Late July and August
Te Maeva Nui
Rarotonga
A week of dance and song competition between islands, marking self-government in 1965.
Every Saturday
Punanga Nui market
Avarua
The week's event: produce, cooked food, coffee and crafts from early morning.
Several evenings weekly
Island nights
Rarotonga · Aitutaki
Buffet dinners with drumming and dance at venues across the islands.
October
Gospel Day
Nationwide
Marking the arrival of missionaries in 1821, with nuku performances at churches.
April to November
Dry season
Nationwide
Clear water and the most reliable weather.
November to April
Cyclone season
Nationwide
Wetter and riskier, though often still swimmable between systems.
Cook Islands travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Aitutaki worth the flight?
For most visitors, yes: the lagoon is the reason to come to the Cook Islands at all, and it is regularly ranked the most beautiful in the world. The flight is NZ$400 to NZ$600 return and the lagoon cruise another NZ$120 to NZ$180, which together are the biggest cost of a trip here.
How do you get around Rarotonga?
Two buses: one clockwise, one anticlockwise, around the same 32km ring road, roughly hourly, about NZ$5 a ride. That is genuinely the whole public transport system, and it works. Scooters need a Cook Islands licence from the police station in Avarua.
How long do you need?
A week. Four or five days on Rarotonga and two or three on Aitutaki is the standard shape, and the islands are small enough that longer becomes very relaxed rather than busier.
Are the Cook Islands expensive?
Yes, because almost everything is imported from New Zealand. Budget rooms from NZ$40 to NZ$90, restaurant mains NZ$25 to NZ$40, and a day around NZ$90 to NZ$160 before flights. Self-catering and the Saturday market help.
When should I go?
April to November for the dry season, with June to September the best weather and also the busiest and priciest. December to March is wetter with cyclone risk.
Do I need to book accommodation before arriving?
Yes. Pre-booked accommodation is a condition of entry here and it is actually checked, unlike in many places where it is nominal. Have at least your first nights confirmed.
What is the cross-island track?
A three to four hour walk over the middle of Rarotonga past Te Rua Manga, the rock needle, descending to a waterfall. It is steep and muddy, and not one to do alone after heavy rain.
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