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What to do in Rarotonga??


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So - my husband and I just spent two incredible weeks in the Cooks; mostly on Raro but also spent four days on Aitutaki as well.

 

There is so much to do! We snorkeled almost every single day; we loved Black Rocks a lot (saw lots of blue sea stars and other fish) and also Muri Beach has great snorkeling one morning during high tide. If you prefer hiking, they have a good cross island trek - we weren’t really fit enough to do it but it’s a good day hike I think. Probably one of my favorite things was the Raro Buggy tour through the abandoned Sheraton resort. We got so covered in mud but I couldn’t stop laughing cf9e3e673b7ca61a497572a3042e5225.jpg

 

What else? There are lots of great restaurants; breakfast was honestly my favorite thing each day. We rented a car while we were there although I wish we had gone for the scooter licenses and tried those - I was just too nervous. They also have some stand up paddle boarding and lots of other water activities.

 

Oh, I loved going to the brewery tour at Matutu too! It is this little local set up but I learned a lot about it and their beers are really good; well worth the $10-15 NZD.

 

I can’t adequately describe how much I loved the Cook Islands and I hope one day to make it back. It was the vacation of a lifetime.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Take the bus around the island. It runs hourly and you can get off at a stop and re-board later. Great way to get oriented. Good shops for black pearls. Good restaurants also. People in Raro are so friendly. It doesn't feel like a tourist trap at all. Also, there is a little perfume factory, with wonderful floral scents for very few $$$.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/23/2018 at 2:10 PM, Sny said:

Take the bus around the island. It runs hourly and you can get off at a stop and re-board later. Great way to get oriented. Good shops for black pearls. Good restaurants also. People in Raro are so friendly. It doesn't feel like a tourist trap at all. Also, there is a little perfume factory, with wonderful floral scents for very few $$$.

I love this idea for our day in April 2019. Would love to know where you stopped along the way. Did you feel pressure to get back to port on time? Thanks so much, Karen

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We stayed in Raro for about a week for a wedding in about 2000; so we took the bus all the time.  We had rented a cottage near the Rorotongan Beach Resort and there was a beautiful beach adjacent to the resort, open to the public.  There is a bus stop at the resort.  You might want to just take the bus all the way around the island to get oriented.  Ask the driver and other passengers for suggestions.  People are SO nice.  We had lunch at Trader Jack's one day, nice view of the water, etc.  Bought some black pearls at a shop - I remember a couple shops, across the street from one another.  There are some beautiful beaches in the southwest part of the island, and some little restaurants down there.  Enjoy your day and kick back. 

We are stopping there with Crystal Symphony in March and one of the primary reasons we booked the itinerary was to see Atutaki and visit Raro again. 

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More tourist head to Muri Beach and take a Capt Tama cruise of the marine reserve. Others go to the Fruits of Rarotonga, grab a snack, go across the street and snorkel in the marine reserve. Others shop in Avarua for pearls and beautiful bed spreads. Others will go to Wigmore's waterfall behind the old Sheraton property. Some will take the inner island trek with 'Pa'. Some will head over to Black Rock. Car rentals are cheap on Rarotonga 😉

 

Bananas around Avarua

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Muri Beach area

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A typical sunset when cruising around the Cooks.

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Downtown Avarua

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Black Rock

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Wigmore's Waterfall

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On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 10:22 PM, preston said:

Are there any beaches near where the tenders drop us off?😎

PRESTON, NO beach close to the pier. A 'Low Key' island with Mom n Pop lodging and facilities for the most part..

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On 11/5/2018 at 2:39 PM, happy_travellers said:

Thanks for the beautiful pics, makes me even more excited.

What would be your perfect port day  for Rarotonga?

Also have you made it into port every time, I heard it might be a 50/50% chance of being able to tender?

Thanks, Karen

 

During their rainy season it could be 50/50 - I went in late January to early February this year and I believe they had a ship have to skip port before I arrived; however, another one was able to bring in the tenders during my time there.

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Every one of my trips were during the rainy season and as I said only once were we not able to tender. I think this really depends on the confidence the captain has in his/her crew. Some crews who are working in the South Pacific constantly are better prepared to deal with the tendering in rough seas.   

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12 hours ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Every one of my trips were during the rainy season and as I said only once were we not able to tender. I think this really depends on the confidence the captain has in his/her crew. Some crews who are working in the South Pacific constantly are better prepared to deal with the tendering in rough seas.   

Thank you . We are going in April so maybe we will have better luck. Karen

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