Rarotonga – Cook Islands

12 April 2018
Rarotonga tortue-turtle-cook

After spending 4 days in Aitutaki I flight back to spend 3 days at Rarotonga. Luck was with me because the rain stopped on the island 😊.

  • Presentation

Rarotonga is the main island of the Cook Islands and its complete tour is about 31km. It has the same concept as Tahiti i.e. a volcanic island with mountains in the center. The capital (Avarua) is located north of the island, do not miss its market on Saturday!

  • Accomodation

I took a Airbnb close to Muri at the south of Rarotonga’s island. It’s simple I felt here with my family! A truly adorable German-Maori couple who love animals and who like their guests to feel at their best. When I arrived they dropped me off at the Avarua’s market (only on Saturday morning). Sunday night they brought us (with the Canadian family staying there as well) to the night market. They have a small farm consisting of cats, chickens, goats, pigs. And besides Easter day we saved a little chick just born. He was too cute! Don’t you think?

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  • Food

On Rarotonga I didn’t really errand, I mainly eaten at the market (very good and cheap) and once in a restaurant at the waterfront. Obviously the note wasn’t the same! But we must agree small pleasures 😊. On vacation I rarely eat two meals a day, a good breakfast like in the Airbnb is enough for me to hold all day!

  • Trip on the island

Two buses run on Rarotonga Island: one in a clockwise direction and the other in the opposite direction. I personally didn’t take it, I made a few trips with my Airbnb and they also lent me a bike. Otherwise you can rent them their car or via an agency. Be careful, the bus doesn’t run on public holidays and there are no real timetables or bus stops. You wait for it to come to the side of the road and signal it 😊.

  • Beaches and activities on the island

The most famous beach of Rarotonga is Muri. But it’s a very tourist beach, even if we aren’t on top of each other, don’t expect to be alone! There are small islets nearby that you can reach on foot (it’s shallow a lagoon). I also went a little further (towards the west) to find a beach without anyone 😊. Please note that there are potentially dangerous beaches for swimming and snorkeling!

Although the lagoon is very different from Aitutaki you can still make beautiful snorkeling or diving if you are enthusiast. At the market you will be given a lot of flyers for tours and other tourist attractions. Personally I chose to swim only with turtles but you can also go fishing or take a day cruise around the island.

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  • Swimming with turtles

On Rarotonga I had the chance to swim with the turtles in their natural environment. It was magical!!

I was the only one to have a GoPro, I couldn’t dive because of my ears so the team kindly offered to dive for me and bring me a video 😊

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  • Report

Of course, after Aitutaki I find Rarotonga a little less extraordinary! But we’re not going to lie, it still rocks more than Paris beach 😉. Try to aim for a rain-free period I think that with a big blue sky I benefit from it :). You will notice that here there are no stray dogs, it’s a regulation imposed by the government: no more than 2 dogs per household and they must be sterilized and declared. I think it’s really great as an initiative! I see a lot of tourists only going to Rarotonga and come back marveling. In my opinion, this remains a destination where one really benefits with a comfortable budget. I planned a trip to Fiji before coming back to France that will allow me to compare a destination more “cheap” with Rarotonga.

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9 Comments

  • Reply Les îles Cook - Résumé, astuces et budget - Travel and run Monday April 16th, 2018 at 05:20 AM

    […] – Aitutaki – Rarotonga […]

  • Reply lilytoutsourire Friday April 20th, 2018 at 02:24 PM

    Ton article donne tellement envie !! 😍 Je veux trop y aller maintenant ahha

  • Reply Claire Latour Friday April 20th, 2018 at 02:27 PM

    Bien vu l’initiative pour les chiens!

  • Reply Céline Friday April 20th, 2018 at 02:35 PM

    Qu’est-ce qu’elle est belle cette tortue ! <3 Je ne connaissais absolument pas Rarotonga ni même d'une manière générale les Iles Cook. Aussi, la découverte est totale, merci !! Ça donne quand même bien envie de faire ses valises tout ça… 🙂 Au plaisir de te lire, à très vite, bonne journée !

  • Reply Manayin Friday April 20th, 2018 at 02:41 PM

    Ca me fait totalement rêver ^^ (et le petit poussin est vraiment trop chou effectivement !) C’est tout de suite agréable de tomber sur un Airbnb avec des gens accueillants ! En tous cas tes photos me font vraiment envie, surtout que je n’ai jamais eu l’occasion de faire un tel voyage 🙂

  • Reply Magda Friday April 20th, 2018 at 02:42 PM

    Belle conclusion. Rien avoir avec Paris plage :).

  • Reply Cj-en vadrouille Friday April 20th, 2018 at 06:48 PM

    Quel beau voyage . Merci de m’y avoir emmené en imagination.🙂🙂

  • Reply Laurane Friday April 20th, 2018 at 10:41 PM

    C’est magnifique 🙂
    Ils ont été super sympa de te proposer de te filmer les tortues sous l’eau !

  • Reply Cindy - Les Voyages de Cindy Friday April 20th, 2018 at 11:54 PM

    Je ne connaissais pas du tout cette destination. Ca a l’air vraiment sympa.
    C’est vraiment agréable aussi d’avoir un contact avec un local grâce à ton Airbnb ça donne un autre goût au voyage.

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