Things To Do in the Cook Islands
Where to eat, swim, walk and unwind — a local guide to the islands. 79 places listed
79 places
One Foot Island (Tapuaetai): the passport stamp and the sandbar
The most photographed motu in the Cook Islands, reachable only by boat, with a tiny post office that will stamp your passport. Here is what it is actually like when you get there.
Pa's mountain and nature walks
Guided walks focused on plants, traditional medicine and the natural history of the island, led by one of Rarotonga's best-known characters.
Paddleboarding and kayaking on Muri Lagoon
Flat, shallow, sheltered water and four motu to aim for — the best paddling on the island, and easy enough for beginners.
Photographing the Aitutaki lagoon
The colour is real, but it does not photograph itself. When to shoot, where from, and why midday is both the best and the worst time.
Punanga Nui Market, Avarua: Saturday morning on Rarotonga
The island's main market, in Avarua. Produce, cooked food, crafts and music from early on Saturday. It winds down by early afternoon, so this is a morning outing.
Punanga Nui on a Saturday night
The Saturday morning market is well known. Some Saturday evenings the same site runs again with food and music — a different, quieter thing.
Rakaura Marae and Mangaia's archaeology
Mangaia has drawn archaeologists and anthropologists for decades. Marae sites, terraces and cave burials make it one of the most studied islands in the Pacific.
Rarotonga on a rainy day
Tropical rain here is heavy and usually short. What to do while it passes, and which plans genuinely need to change.
Respect and etiquette in the Cook Islands
A handful of things that matter locally and are easy for a visitor to get wrong without meaning to.
Rima Rau and the burial caves of Atiu
Limestone caves used for burial for centuries, holding the remains of ariki and their families. Confronting, significant, and only visitable with the right guide.
Snorkelling gear, reef shoes and what to bring
What is worth packing, what to buy on the island, and the two items people most regret leaving at home.
Snorkelling on Aitutaki: where to go and what you will see
Giant clams, reef fish and coral gardens in water shallow and clear enough that you barely need to swim. What the lagoon holds, and where the good spots are.
Sunday in the Cook Islands: what is open and what is not
Sunday matters here in a way it does not in most places visitors come from. Church is the centre of the day, a lot of businesses close, and a trip planned without knowing that goes sideways.
Sunday on Atiu
On an island of a few hundred people, Sunday is the centre of the week. Church, singing, rest, and almost nothing open.
Takitumu Conservation Area
A protected area of native forest in the island's south-east, run by local landowners, and home to the kakerori — a bird brought back from near extinction.
Teruarere Cave, Mangaia
A cave system of seemingly endless connected chambers running toward the reef, holding ancestral remains and extraordinary limestone formations. Guided access only.
The Ara Metua: the thousand-year-old inland road
The older of Rarotonga's two ring roads, running inland through plantations and villages. Slower, greener and far more interesting than the coast road.
The Cross-Island Track and Te Rua Manga (The Needle)
The island's best-known walk: roughly 6km from the north coast to the south, past a 413-metre volcanic spire, finishing at a waterfall. Three to four hours, and steeper and muddier than most people expect.
The Divided Church of Mauke
Two villages agreed to build one church and then could not agree on how. The result is a single building with two front doors, two aisles and a line down the middle — and it is still in use.
Titikaveka: the south coast snorkelling
Clear, calm water on the south coast with some of the best shore snorkelling on Rarotonga, and a fraction of the people at Muri.
Travelling to the Cook Islands: entry, health and insurance
Practical basics — entry requirements, what medical care exists, and why travel insurance matters more here than in most destinations.
Tumunu: Atiu's bush beer tradition
A two-hundred-year-old drinking tradition in huts on the edge of the plantations, descended from orange beer taught to Atiuan warriors by whalers. Visitors are welcome.
Turtles in Rarotonga: where and when
Green and hawksbill turtles are seen regularly off Rarotonga, particularly on the northern and western coasts. What is realistic, and how to behave around them.
Vai Tango: swimming in a limestone cave
The most accessible freshwater cave pool in the Cook Islands — deep, clear water under overhanging stalactites, with steps down to it. Locals swim here after church.