cook islands
 

please tell me about your trips to the cook Islands ,We are a family of 4 Adults visiting NZ & the Cook Islands in March 06

Written lots about the Cooks (specifically Rarotonga & Aitutaki) but rather that repost ALL that stuff here, just take a look here:

http://www.epinions.com/user-lordbalfor/show_~content

and here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor

Ken

we loved the cooks! our kids are still begging to go back. lowrise, uncommercial, preserved culture, safe, friendly islanders, like stepping back in time.
must do's:
rarotonga - piri's bbq, cross island trek
aitutaki - lagoon cruise

I'll be able to tell you more about the Cooks after our visit in December......

I CAN'T WAIT!

Milliemoo

I visited the Cook Islands this past Sept (Raro and Aitutaki) and loved it! What a great place to relax! It was much more pleasant than Tahiti and Bora Bora, IMHO.

I want to recommend a book to you. It's Papa Mike's Cook Islands Handbook by Mike Hollywood. I got it either on Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. It was an interesting (and accurate) short read.

I traveled only to Rarotonga, but took Papa Mike's advice to do the 1-day trip to Aitutaki and enjoyed it soooo much! I'd love to go back there and spend a few days next time.

Raro was just as Mike described it. The Cook Islanders are very friendly and helpful people. No McDonalds or Starbucks. Just beautiful beaches, stunning scenery, and peace and quiet!

Do enjoy it.

To Simpson: How would you compare the Cook's to Fiji and what is the cost of things such as eating, golf, amusements, etc? Thank you, Larry

Hi there,
Cook Islands are incredibly beautiful. Honeymooned at the Pacific Resort and Villas. I'd recommend the villa (brand new, much much nicer than the garden bungalows). This resort is right on a nice stretch of beautiful beach. You can canoe and swim off it to another little island. The bungalows are comfortable and clean but there's no A/C so it's pretty warm. The decor is poor. We had a few tropical critters in the place which I should have expected but didn't like. The gardens are great, the pool is small but nice and the territorial views are great. The food here and in many places in Raro is fair. Stick to fish. I also walked through the Rarotongan Beach Resort which looked very nice. The Edgewater looked acceptable but no accomodation here is like The Ritz. The snorkeling at the fruit stand is really fantastic. I couldn't believe it. There's a bus that conveniently goes around the island and you can rent scooters but you'll need a Raro driver's license. Bring your current license. Driving is pretty easy, not a lot of traffic! If you can go to Aitutaki (you have to fly a short ways) it is ABSOLUTELY worth it. If that's all you hear me say, please remember that. It is breathtakingly beautiful and the water is even more amazing than Raro in my view. Go to One Foot Island. The kids will love the beach activities and perhaps the local dancing at night. Otherwise, it's pretty quiet and relaxing. Have fun!

Is there any budget accomodation on Aitutaki? I will be in the cooks for 5 days at the end of October/early November.

Disregard my previous post. I read LordBalfors website and am good to go!