Looks like I will be attending a conference in Rarotonga later this year for work and looking at extending the trip by a week to get in a bit of a vacation if my wife can join me. Any tips, can't miss places/nearby islands to visit etc would all be greatly appreciated!
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Cook Islands
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Last: 2 mo ago by AgInSingapore
No tips, but I'm following! Would love to dive and snorkel down there.
what type of conference is in Rarotonga??? That's awesome, but you gotta really want to get there. I haven't been but after visiting Bora Bora and looking at other islands in the general area, I found this place in the Cooks and it's on my bucket list now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aitutaki
Aitutaki Sandbank
I read an article from an SI Swimsuit photographer who traveled to the most beautiful places in the world for shoots and said this was the most beautiful place he had visited. Felt like he probably had a good idea what he was talking about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aitutaki
Aitutaki Sandbank
I read an article from an SI Swimsuit photographer who traveled to the most beautiful places in the world for shoots and said this was the most beautiful place he had visited. Felt like he probably had a good idea what he was talking about.
Thanks for that! Exactly the type tip I was looking for.
Definitely off the beaten path… the conference is focused on underwater minerals.
Definitely off the beaten path… the conference is focused on underwater minerals.
I saw a reddit post that was about Cook Islands and one poster mentioned Aitutaki being his and his wife's favorite place to visit. But he said it is very low key just hang on the beach and chill for most part.
man I thought Bora Bora was hard to get to!East Dallas Ag said:
what type of conference is in Rarotonga??? That's awesome, but you gotta really want to get there. I haven't been but after visiting Bora Bora and looking at other islands in the general area, I found this place in the Cooks and it's on my bucket list now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aitutaki
Aitutaki Sandbank
I read an article from an SI Swimsuit photographer who traveled to the most beautiful places in the world for shoots and said this was the most beautiful place he had visited. Felt like he probably had a good idea what he was talking about.
Would love to go to Aitutaki!!!
Right up our alley... I doubt I will ever be back so trying to take advantage of travel paid for by the company.
Two questions:
1. What kind of company sends employees to a conference in the Cook Islands?
2. Is your company currently hiring?
1. What kind of company sends employees to a conference in the Cook Islands?
2. Is your company currently hiring?
I think Hawaiian Airlines flies there once weekly from HNL
We have settled on the direct flight to Auckland ex Houston and then we can catch the next flight to Rarotonga. It's not too bad in that way.
Honeymooned there for 10 days, unreal experience and will go back when time permits. That was in 2014 so not sure of what has changed but I don't imagine much, at least I hope not!
Can add more when on a computer and not try to type it up from my phone.
Can add more when on a computer and not try to type it up from my phone.
Just wanted to follow up… would love to hear your feedback when you get a chance.
I'm in shipping myself but there is a deep water minerals/mining conference being held there that we have interest in and need to learn more about.
Would love to visit that place one day! Please let us know how it goes
Kia orana! I am so sorry, I completely forgot about this thread. We went in April of 2014.
Getting There - Flew into Rarotonga on Air New Zealand from Auckland after spending a few days there. Biz class, great airline, safety video at the time was with the SI Swimsuit models (Safety in Paradise), song from that video still makes me smile thinking back on the whole trip.
Stayed: Sea Change Villas in one of their beachfront villas. South side of the island, about as far as you can get from the airport (which isn't all that far). had a little kitchenette so we would pop down to Wigmore's Superstore for snacks, drinks, etc. If you happen to need a wider selection of stuff, head back to CITC Supermarket up closer to the airport
Transport on the island: We rented a car since we were there for quite a while. There is a bus service that runs the ring road in clockwise and anti-clockwise routes, we never messed with it since we had a little tiny Toyota. My first time driving right hand drive vehicle, probably the perfect place to get the feel of it as speeds are low and so is traffic volume.
Food: Look, this place is REMOTE, so no ultra high end dining experiences (that could have changed by now but I don't imagine it has). We enjoyed grabbing fish sandwiches at The Mooring Fish Caf, the overall vibe at Trader Jacks for a local hangout and a burger or pizza, had one 'fancy' dinner date night at an Italian joint that I can't recall the name of. Get referrals from the locals, bound to be some new joints and places I'm forgetting
To Do (at least for us):
Basically every day walk out into the lagoon and snorkel around checking out all the juvenile fish, and other sea life.
Tour the places all along the ring road, we'd see something, we'd pull over and check it out.
Cook Island Cultural Center show one night for the experience.
We dove one day (we're advanced open water) but it was just meh, lagoon snorkeling was cooler and you can walk all the way out to the barrier.
We also went fishing one day outside the barrier reef, some small tuna, hooked into a bull mahi but lost it about 10 feet from the boat. It was fun to just have beer and look at the island from the seaside.
Jeep tour into the mountains for sights like Wigmore's Waterfall and Te Rua Manga (use caution if they try to get you to eat some of the wild chili growing there if have an aversion to spice)
There is a market on Saturday (I think) that is open up in Avarua near the airport, fun to walk around and see what they are peddling
I made sure to go to the post office and send post cards home to family, can't say I know too many folks who vacationed here and got a couple pieces of their triangle shaped coins as mementos, and of course the three dollar bill
We checked out their whale museum, just for something to do one day, did not take much time
Day trip to Aitutaki was awesome, it was a 'tour' so not like we got to go roam around and explore too much but they take you out, feed you, let you swim in the lagoon, feed GT's, hike on the little islets, etc. etc. The lead dude was one of the locals in the Air New Zealand safety video, which was too funny.
If you can find a dark spot on the interior of the island, star gazing is legit.
Departed to Sydney for one night before back to the grind in Singapore.
whew..... again sorry for the delay
Getting There - Flew into Rarotonga on Air New Zealand from Auckland after spending a few days there. Biz class, great airline, safety video at the time was with the SI Swimsuit models (Safety in Paradise), song from that video still makes me smile thinking back on the whole trip.
Stayed: Sea Change Villas in one of their beachfront villas. South side of the island, about as far as you can get from the airport (which isn't all that far). had a little kitchenette so we would pop down to Wigmore's Superstore for snacks, drinks, etc. If you happen to need a wider selection of stuff, head back to CITC Supermarket up closer to the airport
Transport on the island: We rented a car since we were there for quite a while. There is a bus service that runs the ring road in clockwise and anti-clockwise routes, we never messed with it since we had a little tiny Toyota. My first time driving right hand drive vehicle, probably the perfect place to get the feel of it as speeds are low and so is traffic volume.
Food: Look, this place is REMOTE, so no ultra high end dining experiences (that could have changed by now but I don't imagine it has). We enjoyed grabbing fish sandwiches at The Mooring Fish Caf, the overall vibe at Trader Jacks for a local hangout and a burger or pizza, had one 'fancy' dinner date night at an Italian joint that I can't recall the name of. Get referrals from the locals, bound to be some new joints and places I'm forgetting
To Do (at least for us):
Basically every day walk out into the lagoon and snorkel around checking out all the juvenile fish, and other sea life.
Tour the places all along the ring road, we'd see something, we'd pull over and check it out.
Cook Island Cultural Center show one night for the experience.
We dove one day (we're advanced open water) but it was just meh, lagoon snorkeling was cooler and you can walk all the way out to the barrier.
We also went fishing one day outside the barrier reef, some small tuna, hooked into a bull mahi but lost it about 10 feet from the boat. It was fun to just have beer and look at the island from the seaside.
Jeep tour into the mountains for sights like Wigmore's Waterfall and Te Rua Manga (use caution if they try to get you to eat some of the wild chili growing there if have an aversion to spice)
There is a market on Saturday (I think) that is open up in Avarua near the airport, fun to walk around and see what they are peddling
I made sure to go to the post office and send post cards home to family, can't say I know too many folks who vacationed here and got a couple pieces of their triangle shaped coins as mementos, and of course the three dollar bill
We checked out their whale museum, just for something to do one day, did not take much time
Day trip to Aitutaki was awesome, it was a 'tour' so not like we got to go roam around and explore too much but they take you out, feed you, let you swim in the lagoon, feed GT's, hike on the little islets, etc. etc. The lead dude was one of the locals in the Air New Zealand safety video, which was too funny.
If you can find a dark spot on the interior of the island, star gazing is legit.
Departed to Sydney for one night before back to the grind in Singapore.
whew..... again sorry for the delay
Very much appreciated! Was giving thought to a few nights in Aitutaki as well? We are fine beach bumming… swimming and snorkeling in the lagoons. Did you wish you had bit more time to explore there or was a one day trip enough?
Had I known in advance we were going to take the trip to Aitutaki (spur of the moment thing, honeymoon and all) I think I would have planed for more time there, but having only really researched Rarotonga I didn't feel like I missed by only taking the day trip since our villa had the lagoon and private pool and we were very much just chilling out.
Also, we took in a Sunday church service at the Titikaveka location of the Cook Is. Christian Church and really enjoyed the choir singing in native dialect and then they had all attendees fellowship after the service at the pastor's house (well out in his yard under big tents with local foods)
Also, we took in a Sunday church service at the Titikaveka location of the Cook Is. Christian Church and really enjoyed the choir singing in native dialect and then they had all attendees fellowship after the service at the pastor's house (well out in his yard under big tents with local foods)
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The lack of pictures in this thread makes me sad.
Very cool! Thanks again for your good info!
… and I'll share pictures and give my own fresh update to all in September.
… and I'll share pictures and give my own fresh update to all in September.
I've wasted a lot of time looking at hotels on Aitutaki and decided this is the best, would appreciate if you'd stay there and report back
https://www.pacificresort.com/aitutaki/
https://www.pacificresort.com/aitutaki/
Sorry, photos are on an SD card or framed on the wall, and admittedly I don't have the ability to post pics here on TexAgs. Everything you see online that isn't altered is exactly how it looks, I can promise that. The GT's eating from your hand (as long as you let go of the hot dog before they got right on you) were amazing, enormous fish.
I'll see what I can do!
So final plan is 3 nights at the Pacific resort Aitutaki followed by 6 nights at Manuia Beach Hotel in Rarotonga for the conference… full recap to come later this year.
My best friend, also an Aggie, is very well traveled as are his parents. They all said it was the most beautiful water they had ever seen. One of his pics:
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That's awesome, very jealous! Look forward to the report later on.
Returned this weekend from Rarotonga after spending the week there and promised everyone a report that was interested…
First of all… it is simply not easy to get there but that's also one of its benefits. We flew Houston to Auckland and then back to Roratonga via Air New Zealand. It is the only way to get there in a single air booking. We left on Friday, got to Auckland on Sunday and landed in Rora Saturday afternoon.
The island is unreal beautiful… natural state with minimal development. There are no major hotel chains, restaurants you've heard of or Starbucks . It's not as polished as the big name islands which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person.
I don't claim to have been everywhere and seen everything but it is by far the best off the beach snorkeling I've ever experienced… crystal clear with endless places to swim in the lagoon and see all at shallow depth. The variety and numbers of small reef fish were incredible. There are some nice pieces of coral here and there but this is about the endless variety of fish (oh and a moray eel that snuck up on me far too close for comfort).
You have to be a bit careful about where you stay if your in search for sandy bottoms… the southern end/muri lagoon have some of the best of that (with reefs still easily accessible). We stayed on west end and while there was small patch you could get in bare foot and enjoy the sand… most is rocky reef with requirement for reef shoes. If you can spring it, Pacific Beach Resort is the go-to in terms of overall experience and location. There are others in that same general area as well but PBR is going to give you the closest feel to the nicer Caribbean/Hawaii resorts.
We were lucky enough to have the humpbacks whales around… constantly swimming by just off the barrier reef separating the lagoon from the deep sea. New experience for me thus we enjoyed most every evening with cocktails, whale watching and nice sunsets.
It's not what I would call a foodie paradise but good food can be found… Tamirind House was the best of the nice restaurants but there were several smaller places like the cafe at beachcomber, waterline bistro and the many food stands on side of road or at the various markets.
Couple activities we really enjoyed were the Raro Safari Tour… essentially a 3 hour tour in a land cruiser of the island covering its history, beaches and mountains including a four wheel drive required drive up to an incredible spot high up overlooking it all. Would be perfect way to start a trip and get your bearing. I also did a private half day fishing charter with Game Fishing Rarotonga. Our catch for the day was five really nice yellowtail tuna which made for some incredible fresh sashimi. We worked hard to try and get a marlin or wahoo to jump a lure but no such luck this round.
Blacks pearls are the big deal there in terms of shopping… I avoided that as much as I could but Bergman and Sons is your place for all things Cook Islands Black Pearls.
As a side note… my boss and his wife made it over to Aututaki. They stayed 3 nights at the Pacific Beach Resort on that island and gave it high reviews and that's saying something as they only stay at very nice resorts. They have been all over the world and confirmed One Foot Beach is the best they have ever seen… the colors you have to see in person to believe. Said pictures do not do it justice… hopefully I'll get a chance on another trip
First of all… it is simply not easy to get there but that's also one of its benefits. We flew Houston to Auckland and then back to Roratonga via Air New Zealand. It is the only way to get there in a single air booking. We left on Friday, got to Auckland on Sunday and landed in Rora Saturday afternoon.
The island is unreal beautiful… natural state with minimal development. There are no major hotel chains, restaurants you've heard of or Starbucks . It's not as polished as the big name islands which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person.
I don't claim to have been everywhere and seen everything but it is by far the best off the beach snorkeling I've ever experienced… crystal clear with endless places to swim in the lagoon and see all at shallow depth. The variety and numbers of small reef fish were incredible. There are some nice pieces of coral here and there but this is about the endless variety of fish (oh and a moray eel that snuck up on me far too close for comfort).
You have to be a bit careful about where you stay if your in search for sandy bottoms… the southern end/muri lagoon have some of the best of that (with reefs still easily accessible). We stayed on west end and while there was small patch you could get in bare foot and enjoy the sand… most is rocky reef with requirement for reef shoes. If you can spring it, Pacific Beach Resort is the go-to in terms of overall experience and location. There are others in that same general area as well but PBR is going to give you the closest feel to the nicer Caribbean/Hawaii resorts.
We were lucky enough to have the humpbacks whales around… constantly swimming by just off the barrier reef separating the lagoon from the deep sea. New experience for me thus we enjoyed most every evening with cocktails, whale watching and nice sunsets.
It's not what I would call a foodie paradise but good food can be found… Tamirind House was the best of the nice restaurants but there were several smaller places like the cafe at beachcomber, waterline bistro and the many food stands on side of road or at the various markets.
Couple activities we really enjoyed were the Raro Safari Tour… essentially a 3 hour tour in a land cruiser of the island covering its history, beaches and mountains including a four wheel drive required drive up to an incredible spot high up overlooking it all. Would be perfect way to start a trip and get your bearing. I also did a private half day fishing charter with Game Fishing Rarotonga. Our catch for the day was five really nice yellowtail tuna which made for some incredible fresh sashimi. We worked hard to try and get a marlin or wahoo to jump a lure but no such luck this round.
Blacks pearls are the big deal there in terms of shopping… I avoided that as much as I could but Bergman and Sons is your place for all things Cook Islands Black Pearls.
As a side note… my boss and his wife made it over to Aututaki. They stayed 3 nights at the Pacific Beach Resort on that island and gave it high reviews and that's saying something as they only stay at very nice resorts. They have been all over the world and confirmed One Foot Beach is the best they have ever seen… the colors you have to see in person to believe. Said pictures do not do it justice… hopefully I'll get a chance on another trip
Good writeup, it's a special place for sure, glad yall enjoyed the trip. And I had forgotten about the pearls, got my wife a couple pair of black pearl earrings from Bergman when we popped in as a honeymoon gift.