I am at very initial stages of planning a special trip for my husband and me for our 10th anniversary for summer 2003. This is somewhat of a honeymoon substitute trip for us since we never had time or money to go on a honeymoon when we were married.<BR>Initially, we were thinking about French Polynesia but now I have been reading great things about Fiji and Cook Islands and am wondering if someone would care to compare them for us.<BR>We are thinking about going for 2 weeks and prefer small upscale hotels/resorts (we would probably split our time between 2-3 hotels). Things important to us: quiet non-Americanized and non-crowded places, great views, beautiful beaches with clear water and good snorkeling. Things not important: nightlife, shopping, activities. Basically we want to spend the two weeks relaxing in comfort and beautiful surroundings, read, take walks, swim and snorkel. <BR>To give you ideas about our likes and dislikes: we travelled to Costa Rica twice in the last couple of years and loved it. We also spent 2 weeks on Kauai this year which we enjoyed (but Kauai was a bit too American (and therefore familiar) for our tastes, prefer more foreign and exotic places). Our budget is about $10K (including flights from NE).

Having been to all three, I would say for a 2 week vacation where you probably want to feel like part of the culture & not on an "all-inclusive" type vacation, I would say the Cook islands. If you were going for a private reclusive honeymoon I would say one of the upscale islands in Fiji but 1 week there would chew up your budget. I would go to Rarotonga & either stay at Pacific resort or rent one of the houses on the island. Look into "reflections on rarotonga" or the island villa the pacific resort rents for self-catering. Then go to Aitutaki & stay at Pearl Beach, beachfront or partial overwater bungalows, great location, romantic, terrific lagoon. Or there is a new Pacific resort opening on Aitutaki that looks interesting. To me French polynesia is now too crowded, though beautiful & worth a visit, we were lucky enough to go many times before the lagoon overwater bungalow explosion that in my opinion detracted from what the islands had to offer. Fiji is fantastic & the people being the biggest draw for their sincere friendliness. We prefer the outer island resorts which are very upscale, excellent food & accommodations & activities but overall less interaction with the local population that you would have in the Cooks. The Cooks, though less exotic in feel, are very comfortable to get around & feel part of the island culture quickly. On Rarotonga you can drive around the small clean island, eat many places, snorkel, hike, dive, relax. Your budget would be generous for 2 nice weeks in the Cooks. Hope that helped.

Thanks, Peggy, for your thoughts and suggestions. I definitely need to do some more reading and research but your input is very helpful. You confirm my suspicions about French Polynesia - it certainly is beautiful from all the pictures we saw but it seems like it is full of young honeymooners in search of the best "activity" and the best overwater bungalow, with not too much thought for local people, local culture, customs, geography, or even spending time together getting to know each other as you should during your honeymoon.

I'd have to agree with Peggy overall. She has a good handle on the character of the Cooks. I don't think I'd mention the Island Villa and Reflections in the same sentence however. We stayed at the Island Villa and found it to be alright (with a few nice features), but we toured one of the Reflections units and I have to say that it was like something out of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" - of course it costs a whole lot more. If you are interested, there's few photos of the Island Villa in my "Cook Islands Resorts and Rental Houses" photo album on Webshots. The URL is:<BR><BR>http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor<BR><BR>By the way, we found the food at the Pacific Resort on Raro to be "less than exciting" and of the 3 other couples that I spoke too about it, the feeling was the same all around.<BR><BR>On Aitutaki I'd go with the Pacific Resort over the Pearl Beach. I much prefer the water conditions at the Pacific Resort. Once again, I have some photos of both of these places on Webshots (the Aitutaki album this time). The URL is the same as above.<BR><BR>Enjoy your stay,<BR><BR>Ken <BR><BR>

I have been doing quite a lot of reading and research on these destinations since my initial posting and I am still undecided.<BR>Here are my impressions so far from my research:<BR>French Polynesia - most unusual and beautiful scenery of the three; very expensive and maybe overdeveloped and overcrowded; no good mid-range accommodation options.<BR>Fiji - a good variety of accommodations; interesting culture with some Indian culture in the mix; not as crowded as French Polynesia; exotic.<BR>Cooks - down to earth and inexpensive; no interesting cultural or historical sites; least exotic of my three choices.<BR><BR>Would someone care to comment on my observations? How accurate are they? Esp. Ken, whose reviews on eopinions are excellent and were of great help to me. <BR>I am really interested in knowing the "crowd factor" for these islands, esp. for travel in July or August.<BR>I am looking for a place with beaches that are not crowded and restaurants where I can get in without reservations and a long wait (by that standard alone, Kauai was crowded in my book), no traffic.<BR>So far I am leaning towards Fiji the most.

Hi Iza,<BR><BR>First of all, thanks for the nice comment. I'd have to say that your observations are probably about right (at least in relative terms). I've not been to Fiji yet (it's on our list), but what you are saying sounds about right by everything I've read/heard. I do suspect that July/August is one of the busiest times (whatever that equates to) in each of these areas. <BR><BR>Keep in mind a couple of things about Fiji:<BR>1) It is BY FAR the largest of the places you mention, with many, many islands (some of them quite substantial in size).<BR>2) It has BY FAR the largest population. I've read that Fiji's population is greater than that of ALL the other South Pacific islands combined.<BR>3) People seem to like it a lot. No one I know who has been there did not like it. Most folks tell me that the Fijians are the nicest people they've ever met (I think it would take a lot to pass the Cook Islanders).<BR><BR>All in all, any of them will be a wonderful choice, so wherever you decide, don't second guess yourself afterwards. This is, in my opinion a win-win-or win situation. However, considering your desire for the foreign and exotic, either Fiji or French Polynesia would probably suit you best - and out of those, Fiji as the top choice (taking into account your interest in culture). So yes, I think you are on the right track.<BR><BR>Ken

PS: Don't know when you last took a look at my albums, but in the last couple of days days I've added a bunch of additional pictures to the 3 Cook Islands albums and the Bora Bora album (max number of pictures per album was raised).<BR><BR>Ken

I thing your general impressions are pretty accurate. But your vacation can be as you make it. I have been to Tahiti & her islands, Cooks Islands & Fiji at least 3 or 4 times each & Samoa once & every trip was different. There are so many different things to discover anywhere you go. FP to me being crowded is relative to the other places I go so compared to Hawaii is probably isn't! Fiji can be enjoyed from inexpensive to ultra expensive but the people are wonderful no matter where you go. We have visited 4 different areas, west being drier & the northeast being the most tropical but wetter. Check out www.fijireservations.com for a lot of info on all the resorts & links to their websites. Good luck!

Ken & Peggy, thanks again for your input. Your comments and suggestions are so helpful.<BR><BR>I think what I will do is try and come up with a possible itinerary and hotel choices for each of these destinations and go over them with my husband.<BR>So far for FP my itinerary of choice would be Moorea, Bora Bora and Huahine split about evenly (probably Pearl Beach resorts on Moorea and Bora Bora and Te Tiare on Huahine).<BR>For Fiji, I was thinking about one week of exploring and staying at less expensive places (any suggestions for places to visit and hotels?) and then staying a week at a place like Yasawa Island Resort (we really like the type of the decor in that place - exactly what we are looking for). We could increase our budget if needed but based on some package prices I saw we would probably fit into our original budget.<BR>On Cook Islands we could do a week on Rarotonga (hotel suggestions? Reflections is probably a bit overdone for our tastes) and a week on Aitutaki (I like the look of that new Pacific Resort) - any additional suggestions?.<BR><BR>Is there any good hiking or biking on any of these islands?<BR>Thanks in advance for any additional advice.<BR><BR><BR>

The biking on Huahine was good as most of the roads are paved and there is little traffic. Fun place to pack a lunch & explore or try one of the local spots along the way.

Hi Iza just brousing and I saw your post!!! I am dying here, Kauai this year, French Polynesia the next. Sounds like a good life!!!<BR><BR>Just wanted to pass on that a neighbor in Honolulu that visited the cook islands once told me that they looked very much like her image of old Hawaii. She lived on Oahu for 60+ years so she new Oahu when it looked like Kauai. But I understood to be talking about the culture as well as the landscape. She spoke about wide open spaces and friendly, abundant indigenous local life. Anywho, this has always peaked my interest and Lonely planet tells you the cook islands are cheap. I think that part of the world would be a nice compliment to where you went in 02. Cultural roots will be similar.<BR><BR>

http://community.webshots.com/album/37835528PFgzCz<BR><BR>for vacation photos inside "new Pacific Resort"<BR><BR>This is a great website to look up photos of hiking trails or landscape in any area you want go

Sarah, fancy meeting you here!<BR>French Polynesia was my dream vacation for a while and now it looks like we'll have an opportunity to go away without our daughter (who is really looking forward to staying with her grandparents, although a bit disappointed at the same time that she won't get to stay in an over water bungalow). <BR>And of course, as you notice, I started planning the new trip as soon as we were back from this year's vacation ;-)<BR>(just as a backup plan I am also scouting some places in the Caribbean - in case we really decide that 10 hour flights are not worth it).<BR>Thanks for the link to the pictures.

I think the flights are worth it Iza just remember long car rides you may have endured earlier in life. I find getting planes with 4 isles, maybe large back windows in the back (where you can hang out away from seat), individual TV sets on the back of the seats make all the difference in the world. You do get use to it after a while Iza and your experiences are so much richer than the people who restrict travel to 5 hour flights. I have taken 4 day weekends in Italy. I think 5 would work better but still I its a great buzz one minute; what are the sales on shoes at lord and taylor in midtown, next minute I am shoe shopping in Milan with jaw dropping breaks inside the Duomo. I LOVE IT but the trick is getting use to the long flights. I know 7 hours is easier than ten but I actually went to Oahu (not for everyone) one year for a 4 day break, gets me through to ski season.<BR><BR>Here is my question though. How do people find out about airfares into places like the cook islands. I had trouble on Orbitz. I would not always know where the major airport is and the system will now always accept a quiry from a NYC airport. How do you figure this stuff out. Seems like when ever you are flying into an obscure location (obscure to east coast US) you have to call around to get flying details. Anyone have a better option?

Sarah, now that you mentioned the long flights to Europe, you are absolutely right. I come from Poland originally and still have family there. I go to visit for a week or sometimes shorter and never think twice about 10 hour flights!!<BR>I think it's the combo of the 6 hour flight from the East coast to CA and then 10 additional hours that scares me off. <BR>I know this summer you broke your flights up and stayed overnight in CA. Did it make it easier?

Sarah, Check Pacific-for-less.com for airfare or packages to Cook Islands. We got great airfare last time from Claudia. Other people have suggested South seas Adventures also. Good luck!

Really made a difference on the return. I think I had one day somewhere where I was a little tired but nothing like the red eye return where I am a zombie for a week. I also lasted longer on the first day because we got there earlier and we had rested. Two 6 hour flights was better than one 10 hour flight. Like having an nice breakfast skipping airplane food getting on the plane at a comfortable pace. Something fun about taking a direct from Newark though. Get to mingle with locals visiting or returning home. On that flight I feel normal about my enthusiasm for Hawaii.

thanks Peggy

You might check out discoverwholesaletravel.com for flights and hotels too.