Can you recommend one? Or should I bag the whole cruise thing and just rent a kayak? Any chance I could accidentally get pulled out to sea? I'm sort of scared of that...

Thanks.

I don't remember which company I went with but it was one of the best days I ever had traveling when I went on that day cruise. Take the day cruise, you will enjoy it so much.

I've neever heard anything bad about any of them. We took the "big" catamaran and it was great with the meal cooked on board the boat while we snorkeled and served while we cruised to One Foot. I think Bishops cruises have the small motor boats that take you to the remote motus at the west corner of the reef (supposedly the best snorkeling). IF you have the time, I'd recommend taking both the speedboat trip and one of the catamaran trips (either the Kit Kat or the bigger boat that we took). Beleive me, 2 trips out to the motus is NOT a waste of time.

Regarding being pulled out to sea - The only places that can happen is near the tidal flow exit points. The channel between One Foot and it's next nearest neighbor is one such place as is the channel between the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and the main island of Aitutaki. Other than these types of places (breaks in the reef), you are VERY safe swimming/snorkeling in Aitutaki's lagoon. If you are really nervous about it, just stay in shallow water where you can always just stand up. That's what I do and I still saw tons of fish. The lagoons of the South Pacific are some of the safest places to go swimming/snorkeling - much safer than locales like Hawaii because the water in places like Rarotonga & Aitutaki is usually very calm and often relatively shallow. I'm definitley afraid of rough, deep water (I can't swim) and I LOVE it down there.

Go, relax, and don't worry. You'll be fine.

Ken

Take one that has a canopy cover. It was a relief to have the ride back in the shade after being in the sun a good part of the day. Have a great time!

We took Bishops cruise last year. If you are way into snorkeling, by all means take the Bishop cruise. As LordBalfor says, they have a small boat, only about 8 or 10 people, and take you to the remote southwest corner of the lagoon, where the big boats don't go, along with a couple of other motus of interest. Then, you are taken to Big Foot Island, where lunch is cooked for you, and more snorkeling. The big pontoon boats also go to BiG Foot, but I got the idea you ate on board. If in doubt, ask you hotel people to guide your choice. Either, its totally safe if you are a reasonably good swimmer. The lagoon is of course very calm compared to the open ocean. Since the smaller boat is faster than the pontoons, you will spend more time in the water.
Oh, yes. Be sure to take your passport with you to Big Foot Island. They have a funky little post office out there, and they will stamp your passport for you. INteresting little oddity in my passport. You will enjoy Aitutaki,I bet.

When we were in the Cooks a few years back we took the Bishops cruises option out onto the lagoon. They have smaller boats which are quicker at crossing the lagoon. They also have shade to keep you out of the sun. Very useful after a hot day.

Once on the other side they took us to several small motu before we ended up on one foot island for lunch.

As the others have noted swimming in the lagoon is VERY safe. The water is clear and there are lots of fish to see.

If you are kayaking and are a bit nervous about the open sea, just avoid the channels between the motus (islands) around the edge of the lagoon. At certain times the tide can move through these fairly quickly.

Steve