Snorkeling tours and other activities in Rarotonga

[SheilaNC]

Hi,

We had booked a snorkel tour with Captain Fantastic and then discovered it was from a different island than Rarotonga :(

So....I'm wondering if anyone who has been there can share what they liked best when visiting that island and any excursions (private or self) they did that we could replicate. We have a group of 18 that was going to do the tour noted above together so need to get information to them. Thanks for your help.

[Seal]

Hi,

We had booked a snorkel tour with Captain Fantastic and then discovered it was from a different island than Rarotonga :(

So....I'm wondering if anyone who has been there can share what they liked best when visiting that island and any excursions (private or self) they did that we could replicate. We have a group of 18 that was going to do the tour noted above together so need to get information to them. Thanks for your help.

 

We made it to Rarotunga on our last TP cruise--for the life of me I can't remember what we did--most of us felt that there wasn't much to the island--we've missed it in the past--maybe that's ok--we could have gone for a ride around the island--but I can't remember what we really did--we usually go snorkeling/catamarran etc.

 

Maybe Princess has something that looks good--Have Fun

 

Nancy:D

[TriviaGeek]

Hi,

We had booked a snorkel tour with Captain Fantastic and then discovered it was from a different island than Rarotonga :(

So....I'm wondering if anyone who has been there can share what they liked best when visiting that island and any excursions (private or self) they did that we could replicate. We have a group of 18 that was going to do the tour noted above together so need to get information to them. Thanks for your help.

 

We were just there in October and we were blown away by the beauty of the island. We did a 4x4 expedition on the island with a large CC group and had a blast. We had good tour guides who took us all the way around the island where they cooked us lunch and talked about their history. They then drove us up and through the middle of the island. It was a blast! There was also some great pearl shopping (half the price of Tahiti prices)! The only regret we had was that we didn't get to snorkel. Some friends of ours walked down the road a ways and snorkeled out near one of the resorts. Said it was amazing. The lagoons looked beautiful like Tahiti. Have fun!

[SheilaNC]

TriviaGeek,

Thanks, we were unable to book the 4X4 tour as they are completely full, but did find a dive shop that will pick us up at the ship and take us to their beach, rent snorkel equipment, etc and bring us back. We're also just considering taking the public bus to Muri Beach to snorkel on our own...depending on vote of the group.

[laurieb]

do you have a link to that dive shop?

[SheilaNC]

Here you go! http://www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com/

[laurieb]

thankyou!

[konatyme]

Sheila,

My husband & I flew to the Cook Islands a couple of years ago & spent about 2 weeks, partly on Rarotonga & partly on Aitutaki. We absolutely loved it. Super-friendly people there! We love to snorkel & went often to the marine preserve opposite a little snack shop called "Fruits of Rarotonga", southwest of the Muri Beach area. Although we rented a scooter for the time we were there, you can ride a bus from the town of Avarua; two buses circle the island every hour, one going clockwise & one counterclockwise. (I heard that you could leave belongings at the snack shop for a minimal charge while you snorkel. We didn't try it because we could leave what little we needed to in the "trunk" of the scooter.)Because you're snorkeling in a lagoon, the water is very calm. We saw lots of beautiful fish (you usually don't see any very large ones, because they stay outside the reef, so we never worried about sharks!), and some absolutely gorgeous bright blue starfish. You just walk right into the water off a rocky beach. It's very easy. If you go counterclockwise around the island from Avarua, you'll pass an interesting old Cook Islands Christian Church.

Avarua isn't a large town, but there were some good shops. Beachcomber Gallery had some great wood carvings & other artwork; Perfume Factory (a few blocks off the main street, I believe) had some nice small black pearl earrings for a very reasonable price, as well as some really good coffee liquer & nice coconut soap. I also got a wonderful black pearl necklace & earring set at Harbour House (pearls came directly from a pearl farmer on Manikiti Island, a small island in the Cook Islands chain).

We had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant near Avarua called the Tamarind

House. It's a 100-year old colonial house right on the beach. I don't know whether or not it was open for lunch as well.

There are cars available to rent, but you have to have a Cook Islands driver's license. All you have to do to get one is go to the Police Station in Avarua & show your driver's license, but it takes a little bit of time. There may be a line if you don't get there early. When we were there, they were open 9:30 AM-3:30 PM on weekdays & 8:30 AM-10:30 AM on Saturdays.

Hope this helps. If you have other questions, please let me know & I'll try to answer them. As I said, we absolutely LOVED the Cook Islands & would go back in a heartbeat!(Our Sept. 2008 cruise from SF to Sydney is supposed to stop there. I hope we make it!)

Pat

[SheilaNC]

Pat,

Thanks for the helpful information. We will certainly be snorkeling on some beach and Muri seems to be the nicest - so you know, since it's so popular, if it's likely to be crowded? Also interested in taking the bus around the island even if just one way to get a sense of the whole island. Do you know price and best place to get on/off the bus?

[cheznandy]

Pat,

Thanks for the helpful information. We will certainly be snorkeling on some beach and Muri seems to be the nicest - so you know, since it's so popular, if it's likely to be crowded? Also interested in taking the bus around the island even if just one way to get a sense of the whole island. Do you know price and best place to get on/off the bus?

 

 

Heres a bus timetable, the cost is at the bottom:)

 

http://cookislands.travel/images/stories/cookislands/bus_timetable.pdf

 

Chez

xx

[SheilaNC]

Chez,

THANKS for the link to the bus schedule. I've shared it with my Roll Call.

 

Sheila

[konatyme]

Sheila,

We didn't snorkel at Muri because the waters there weren't part of the marine preserve. In fact, we didn't even go to the beach there because we liked the snorkeling at the preserve (& because we had a great beach at our small resort), and because Muri is the location of one of the (few)

large resorts on Raro. Since that resort is there, I suspect it could be a little more crowded than some others, but truthfully, we were never anywhere that could really be called "crowded". I can't remember whether or not you mentioned when you'd be there. We were there in July, which of course is their winter, but also the drier (& non-cyclone!) season, and the time when many tourists from New Zealand visit to escape their winter. The weather was great.

I see you received a link for bus info, so I won't repeat that. If there's anything else I might help with, please let me know.

Pat :)

[SheilaNC]

Pat,

Thanks for the info...you helped me decide to do the Marine Preserve. We are on the island for just one day on Celebrity's Mercury and snorkeling is a high priority. The Dive Shop near the preserve is able to pick us up, provide snorkel equipment for those who don't have their own and bring us back to the ship. Do you remember if there is any shade on or near the beach and any place to rent chairs for the non-snorkelers - some in our group are from northern countries without much exposure to the sun and I always try to avoid it except when I'm in the water especially in the south pacific. Thanks

 

Sheila

[konatyme]

Sheila,

As I said earlier, the "beach" here is pretty rocky, as I recall. I'm sorry, but I really don't remember for sure about shade. Seems like there were some trees between the road & the water, but can't remember. We just went there, got in the water & snorkeled, and then left when we were done. We may have some pictures of the area, but I'm not "savvy" enough to know how to get them posted here. My husband's out of town on business right now, but maybe he can figure it out this coming weekend. I'll dig out the pictures & we'll try! I'm pretty sure there's nowhere close to rent any kind of beach chairs. The only establishment very close by (that I remember, anyway) was the Fruits of Rarotonga shack. I don't think they had any kind of rentals, but we weren't really looking for that, so I could be wrong. They did have some great fruit jams, muffins, etc.! (Maybe the dive shop you're working with could tell you for sure about beach chair rentals.)

Pat