Cook Islands Hotels Guide - (BeautifulPacific.com)

Beautiful Pacific

Cook Islands Hotels Guide

Plan your trip with this alternative cook islands hotels organizer with some great package deals - search over 20 specialist cook island resorts by price or region and compare against each other. All lodgings are presented with independent reviews, amenities and activities, location maps and pictures.

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Hotels Cook Islands

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Cook Islands hotels is concentrated on just two small islands: the main island of Rarotonga and the lagoon island of Aitutaki about a 40-minute flight north of Rarotonga. Outside of these two main tourist centres there are few hotels options - only on Atiu will you have a choice of places to stay and these are all budget style lodges run by locals, usually without reliable communication.

Ninety percent of tourists spend their entire stay on Rarotonga, the main population centre for the Cook Islands. This high volcanic island with lush tropical rainforest tumbling from its rugged mountain peaks is an extremely scenic island and one of the best holiday destinations in the South Pacific. The island is circled by white sandy beaches and a turquoise lagoon. The island takes only an hour to circumnavigate by road - the most common transport is by moped but there is a public bus that travels in each direction every hour. Almost all the land between the coastal road and the beach is occupied - much of it by tourist hotels. There are only a handful of large resorts and these are limited to three storeys high. What you will find is lots of small properties often owned by local Rarotongans. Most bungalows offer self catering facilities - not so much because everyone wants to cook for themselves but because there are so many independent restaurants around the island which make dining out very popular.

The most affordable hotels on Rarotonga is found on the mountain side of the coastal road and several properties actually straddle the coastal road offering both beach bungalows and mountain bungalows. The beaches are very pretty all around Rarotonga - several stand out as particular attractions, notably Muri Beach which offers the best swimming lagoon and several uninhabited islands on the fringing reef which make great places to explore. Because the lagoon is protected by a fringing reef, there are no waves along the coast and often the lagoon is too shallow for swimming. For those preferring sunset views and a more protected location are better off along the West Coast which has the islands second highest tourist hotels concentration. Snorkelling is best along the South Coast which in general is the quietest stretch of Rarotonga's coastline. However, because the island is small and mopeds / cars are cheap to hire, it doesn't really matter where you stay as the main reason for visiting is to explore the island at will - Rarotonga offers the most accessible sightseeing in the South Pacific with great beaches, excellent hiking trails, lots of organized day tours to keep you informed and lots of independent restaurants and cafes dotted around the island to enjoy at night.

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The outer lagoon island of Aitutaki is one of the most picturesque in the South Pacific. What makes it so pretty is the uninhabited islands that fringe the lagoon, all promoted by small boat day cruises. The main island of Aitutaki has a charming laid back atmosphere with villages strung out along the coast. The island has rolling hills with plantation style bush and there are pretty beaches along the west coast north of Arutunga Village and at Ootu Point which are both the main centres for hotels on Aitutaki. Most day cruises depart from Ootu Point with the most popular destinations being One Foot Island which has a gorgeous sand bar and Maina Island which has great snorkelling and lots of sea birds. Most day cruise incorporate a snorkel in the lagoon and a beach BBQ lunch. The only place to stay on the islands is at the upmarket Akaiami Lodge where the Air New Zealand flying boats of the 1950s used to refuel in their trans-pacific flight. There are four to five daily flights between Rarotonga and Aitutaki and it is also possible to visit on a day tour with an island excursion but this is rather rushed.

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