Mangaia’s coast is mostly coral rock, with small sand beaches cut into it at intervals. The fringing reef is close and narrow.

Swimming

Possible at some of the beaches at the right tide, but conditions vary a great deal along the coast and locals know where the safe spots are. Ask rather than guess.

Walking the coast road

The main road is flat and quiet, and walking a stretch of it is one of the better ways to see the island — the villages, the makatea wall inland, the reef on the other side.

Atiu’s coast is makatea cliff broken by small sandy coves. Taungaroro, Matai and Takauroa are among the better known.

What to expect

Beautiful, small, and empty. With a handful of visitors on the island at any time and locals having little reason to sunbathe, having a beach entirely to yourself is normal rather than lucky.

Swimming

The lagoon is narrow and shallow. It is fine for a dip and some snorkelling at the right tide, but it is not Aitutaki and it is not Muri. Come for the solitude.

Practical

• Reef shoes — the entry is often coral rather than sand.
• No facilities at any of them. Take water and shade.

Aitutaki faces its lagoon to the east, which means sunset is over the open ocean from the western side of the island — and the light across the lagoon behind you is often better than the sun itself.

Where

• The western shore, for the sun going down over the water.
• Maungapu, if you are prepared to climb for it — the whole lagoon changes colour.
• On the lagoon itself, if you take a sunset cruise.

Practical

It gets dark quickly this close to the equator — there is not much dusk. If you have walked up Maungapu, start down before the light goes.

Ootu, at the northern tip of the main island near the airstrip, is among the better beaches you can reach without a boat.

What it is like

Long, sandy and shallow, with the lagoon opening out to the east. Calm in most conditions.

Why it is useful

Its proximity to the airport makes it the obvious place to spend the gap between a lagoon cruise finishing and a flight leaving — which for day-trippers is often an awkward couple of hours.

Most Aitutaki photography is taken from a boat, which gives the impression the main island has nothing. It does — it is simply different.

The eastern shore

Calm and shallow, sheltered by the lagoon. Pleasant at higher tides and close to much of the accommodation. At low tide the water pulls back a long way.

The southern end

Deeper water in places and good for a proper swim rather than a wade.

What to expect

It is quiet — often you will have the beach to yourself. It is also not the technicolour lagoon of the brochures; for that you need to be out on the water.

Honeymoon Island is one of the smaller motu in the Aitutaki lagoon — a low sandbar with a scatter of vegetation, ringed by very clear shallow water.

What it is like

Quiet. There is nothing built on it. Depending on the season there are nesting seabirds, and you are asked to keep clear of them.

Getting there

Boat only. Most lagoon cruises stop here or at Maina; a private charter or water taxi lets you choose the timing.

Practical

• No facilities of any kind.
• Almost no shade.
• Take everything out with you, including food scraps.

Aro’a sits on the west coast, which means two things: the reef is closer in, and you get the sunset.

Snorkelling

Because the lagoon is narrow, you are over coral within a minute or two of wading in. For shore snorkelling without a boat trip, this stretch of coast is among the best on the island.

Sunset

West-facing and open. There are places to sit with a drink along this coast, which is a large part of the appeal.

Black Rock — Tuoro — is a dark volcanic outcrop standing out from the pale sand on the north-west coast. It is one of the more reliable swimming spots on the island and the best-known place to watch the sun go down.

Swimming

The water here is calmer and deeper than much of the lagoon, and the area is popular with families. It is also a common entry point for snorkellers.

Its meaning

In Cook Islands tradition, Black Rock is where the spirits of the dead departed on their journey to Avaiki, the ancestral homeland. It is worth knowing that as you stand there. Treat it as a place with significance, not only a viewpoint.

Practical

• Close to Avarua and easy to reach on the bus.
• The rock is slippery. Take care climbing it.
• There is little shade during the day.

Muri is not the only lagoon on Rarotonga, and for some things it is not the best one. The reef runs almost all the way around the island, so there is calm water on every coast — but the character changes considerably.

The west coast

Arorangi and the beaches south of it face the sunset, which is the main reason to be there in the late afternoon. The lagoon is narrower than at Muri and the snorkelling directly off the beach is often better because you reach the coral sooner.

The south coast

Quieter again, with some of the clearest water on the island and several of the better snorkelling spots. Titikaveka has a deservedly good reputation. There is less infrastructure here — fewer places to buy a drink, fewer people about — which is either the appeal or the drawback depending on what you want.

Reading the water

This is worth taking seriously. The reef has passages where water that has come over the top flows back out to sea, and the current through them is strong. They are usually visible as a darker channel with the surface moving in a different direction from the water around it.

• Do not swim in or near a reef passage, however calm the lagoon looks.
• Conditions change with tide and wind. A spot that was fine yesterday morning may not be today.
• Ask locally. People will tell you plainly where is safe on the day.

Aitutaki’s lagoon is the thing people travel here for. It is enormous, shallow and enclosed by a triangular reef, with a scatter of small islands — motu — around its edge. The colour of the water is not an exaggeration of the photographs.

How it differs from Rarotonga

Rarotonga is a mountainous island with a narrow lagoon around it. Aitutaki is a much smaller volcanic island sitting inside a very large lagoon. The practical consequence is that on Rarotonga the lagoon is somewhere you walk to, and on Aitutaki most of the good parts are somewhere you take a boat to.

The motu

The best-known are One Foot Island (Tapuaetai), Honeymoon Island and Maina. They are small, sandy and mostly uninhabited. One Foot Island has a small post office where you can have your passport stamped, which is a genuinely charming thing rather than a gimmick.

Seeing it properly

A lagoon cruise is how most visitors experience Aitutaki, and it is worth doing. Typically a day on the water with snorkelling stops, time on one or two motu and lunch. There are also private charters and water taxi transfers if you want to go at your own pace or reach a particular motu.

From the shore

You can swim from the main island — the water off the eastern side is calm and shallow — but it is a different experience from being out on the lagoon. Do not judge Aitutaki by a swim off the beach.