Cook Islands Rarotonga and Aitutaki South Pacific Paradise Complete Guide 2026
Browse more guides: Cook Islands travel | Oceania destinations Cook Islands Rarotonga and Aitutaki South Pacific Paradise Complete Guide 2026 TL;DR I planned my Cook Islands trip around two anchors and one promise. The anchors are Rarotonga, the 67 square kilometre volcanic main island ringed by a 32 kilometre coastal road, and Aitutaki, a 45 minute flight north with an 18 square kilometre landmass floating inside a 50 square kilometre triangular lagoon dotted by 15 motu. The promise is that the Cook Islands stay small on purpose. The country counts 15 inhabited islands across 240 square kilometres of land scattered over an ocean territory roughly the size of India, and it markets itself to under 200,000 visitors a year. I crossed the Te Rua Manga needle on the Cross-Island Trek, swam off One Foot Island Tapuaetai, ate ika mata from a Punanga Nui Market stall, and stood at Avana Harbour where seven great Maori canoes are said to have departed for Aotearoa around 1350. The country ...