Fodor's Expert Review Te Vara Nui

This popular new attraction presents a crash course in Cook Islands cultural life. The Te Vara Nui experience has two components: a late-afternoon village tour and an evening dinner and show—these can be combined. A warrior greets guests at the village gates and escorts them to a series of huts—the coconut hut, the witchdoctor's hut, and the carving hut, to name a few—along with the marae, an open-air sacred site. Here guests learn about the Cook Islands Maori history and culture. This 2.5-hour tour is followed by a delicious dinner buffet of local and western foods and a one-hour high-energy show, arguably the best cultural performance on the island, with hula and fire dancing. The village is a short distance from the Muri resorts.