We always dreamed of visiting the South Pacific islands. When my husband and I finally started planning our epic trip there, we discovered the Cook Islands as a possible destination. The island chain appealed to us for a few reasons. First, we couldn’t resist the photos of amazing blue lagoons. Second, we found airfare and Airbnb accommodations to be reasonably priced. And finally, we discovered that getting to the main island of Rarotonga (or Raro as the locals call it), is pretty straightforward with direct flights from Los Angeles and Auckland, New Zealand.
These amazing blue lagoons can be found in the South Pacific islands.
In our research we also discovered that even though Raro offers a strong list of amenities to make it a good travel destination, it’s more of a “busy” island that doesn’t offer some of the quintessential turquoise lagoons and fully laid-back island vibe that we wanted. Enter Aitutaki…another of the Cook Islands!
Aitutaki has one of the largest and most beautiful lagoons in the world. With a wide array of vibrant blue colors, it’s the place you dream about and upload as a screen saver (feel free to “pin” the one we have here!). But, with an added cost for a flight to the island…is it worth it to visit Aitutaki or add it to your Cook Islands trip? We recently spent 6 nights in this island paradise and have some thoughts to share.
Should I go to Aitutaki?
Is it worth it to travel to Aitutaki Cook Islands to see this lagoon?
Here are four things to consider when deciding whether to extend your Cook Islands trip to include Aitutaki:
- Cost – is it worth the extra cost to add this to your itinerary?
- Logistics and time – if you visit both Raro and Aitutaki, it takes time to pack, unpack, get to the airport, etc. Do you have the time to add this to your vacation?
- How laid-back do you really want to be?
- What’s in Aitutaki that you can’t find in Raro?
Cost
Air Rarotonga is the only affordable airline that goes to Aitutaki.
The only way we know to get to Aitutaki (that’s somewhat affordable) is through Rarotonga. The cost for a round-trip flight from Raro to Aitutaki is around $250-$400 USD per person…NOT cheap! With Air Rarotonga as the only airline to choose from, there’s no “tricks of the trade” to get a lower price. In considering the cost to get to Aitutaki, keep in mind the money you spend could cover the food budget for four or five days or pay for two or three nice excursions.
Logistics and time
The Aitutaki airport feels like you’ve stepped back in time. It’s romantic and remote.
Getting from Raro to Aitutaki is a fairly straightforward deal. You only need to be at the airport about 45 minutes before your flight and there’s no security check (as we know it here in the States!). When you get to Aitutaki, it’s very basic as well. Most Airbnb hosts and island hotels offer some sort of transportation from the airport to your lodging to make it convenient. If not, there are a few taxis that meet incoming flights. Both airports are very small and easy to navigate. In fact, both are like stepping back in time and really quite romantic!
However, depending upon where you’re staying in Raro and on how you’re getting to the airport, it can make travel logistics a bit more exhaustive. The island public bus in Raro only comes around once or twice per hour, depending upon the day of the week and time of day, so this may add a full hour to your travel time. Although the flight to Aitutaki is less than an hour, all-in-all it takes about half to three-quarters of a day to leave Raro and get settled in. Since you must return, keep in mind that traveling to and from Aitutaki will take a day and a half out of your trip. If you have two weeks this might make sense. For less than 10 days, maybe not.
How laid-back do you want to be?
Aitutaki has just a few resorts like the Pacific Resort pictured here, but it also offers bungalows, small hotels and Airbnbs.
We’ve heard of places with no paved roads and only one grocery store…but we’ve only visited those by sailboat. Aitutaki is not THAT laid-back…but it’s really laid-back! You can cover the entire island by scooter in less than three hours and that’s driving on all roads. There are less than 3,000 residents and only a few hotel-resorts on the island – the Pacific Resort Aitutaki, the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa, and Tamanu Beach Resort (our favorite, especially for island night!) If you’re looking for a resort experience, be prepared to “pay a pretty penny” though, as room prices range from around $350 per night at Tamanu to $1000 per night for a stay in an overwater bungalow at the Aitutaki Lagoon private island!
View of the outdoor seating area of our favorite restaurant and bar in Aitutaki, the Boat Shed.
Most of the other accommodations in Aitutaki are fairly low-cost bungalows or smaller hotels. We stayed at an Airbnb on the “quieter” southeast part of the island for only $70 per night and discovered that there are only two or three bar/restaurants where you can go to sit back and have food and drinks. We especially enjoyed the “Boat Shed” near the airport as our favorite of the three restaurant/bars we found. Keep in mind that if you stay at one of the island resorts, you’ll have access to their restaurants and bars as well, so you’ll have a few more choices.
With only a few restaurants on the island, the Blue Lagoon was our other regular lunch stop.
If you’re self-catering, there’s only a few grocery stores where you can find most of what you want. Depending on what you need, you may find it at one store but not at another. So, getting food can be a bit of a hunt where you’ll end up visiting all the stores on the island to get what you need. Our recommendation is to start at the largest store on the island, Maina Traders Superstore in the center of town. But don’t expect to find fish! Who would have guessed? After searching for a few days for decent fish, we asked around and found out that the resorts get most of the catch (and families just fish for themselves), so there’s not much left for the rest of us non-fisherman types 😉.
To sum it up…if you’re looking for a real laid-back experience where you’ll be the only scooter on the road for a few miles and all of the locals smile and wave at you, Aitutaki might fit your bill. Just don’t expect to bar hop or find energetic tourist centers.
What’s in Aitutaki that you can’t get in Raro?
The Teking Lagoon tour took us to this amazing motu for a delicious BBQ.
Overall, we were very happy we chose to take the trip over to Aitutaki from Rarotonga. First, the lagoon of Rarotonga is very shallow in many places. This means that a lagoon cruise is pretty limited. However, in Aitutaki there are several really good options for lagoon tours. Our Airbnb host recommended Teking Lagoon Cruises because it focused on snorkeling, which we love. But you can also take many other types of lagoon tours including fishing expeditions and simple lagoon exploration tours. We were very happy with our experience with Teking, which included seeing some huge Giant Travally fish, giant colorful clams, and it included one of the best island BBQs we’ve ever had.
Ootu Beach near the Aitutaki airport has calm waters perfect for kayaking and SUP.
As far as snorkeling goes, we found the fish life in Raro to be as good or better than Aitutaki, so that’s not necessarily a reason to go. However, there are several calm water areas near Aitutaki’s Ootu Beach that are fantastic for kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and swimming. And if you’re a wind surfer, a huge amount of enthusiast flock to the island paradise each year, due to the excellent wind conditions and pristine waters.
Me and my honey on the gorgeous Honeymoon Island (a motu in the Aitutaki lagoon).
Also, the motus (islands surrounding Aitutaki) are really something special with gorgeous water and immaculate white sand beaches. You truly can get that Robinson Crusoe feeling here! In fact, Aitutaki has one motu called “Honeymoon Island” that is a destination wedding spot and another motu called “One Foot Island” where you can actually get your passport stamped at the tiny post office on the island. Even though it is a complete tourist novelty…these islands are actually NOT swarming with tourists! How rare is that?!?! In Raro, you’ll find only a couple motus and they are fairly close to major tourist areas. Above and beyond, the water in Aitutaki is really something special with an absolutely amazing color. If that rocks your boat, it might be worth it alone!
Remote and romantic, Aitutaki is perfect for a relaxing vacation.
We found all of the people of the Cook Islands to be exceptionally warm and friendly. However, the people we encountered in Aitutaki were some of the friendliest people we’ve met around the world! We were asked multiple times throughout our stay about where we came from and what we liked to do. The locals of Aitutaki went out of their way to recommend places to go and things to see. Their hospitality was outstanding!
And last but not least, the island of Aitutaki was laid-back on a level that goes far beyond Raro, which is very appealing. If you are looking for an island that is remote, friendly, laid back, and offers seclusion ripe for romance, Aitutaki is truly your paradise.
Bottom Line
- Go to Aitutaki if cost is not a big concern.
- Go to Aitutaki if you have a couple of days to spare for travel and logistics to get between the islands.
- Go to Aitutaki if you crave a remote island vacation with turquoise water and a Robinson Crusoe feel.
- Go to Aitutaki if you want to feel like you’ve “stepped back in time” to experience warm, welcoming Polynesian hospitality at its best.
