The Cook Islands Travel Specialists
Our Cook Islands specialists are experienced and passionate about the region - between them they have spent many weeks a year researching new experiences and ensuring everything is of the highest standard. They know these islands inside out.
HelenThe Cook Islands Specialist01993 838 824
To get a taste of traditional Cook Island life join a progressive dining evening where your three-course dinner is hosted at three different local houses.
The Cook Islands travel specialist - Helen
LouThe Cook Islands Specialist01993 838 813
The best sunsets can be seen from the west side of the islands so make sure you get there at least once during your stay.
The Cook Islands travel specialist - Lou
Practical Information
Often overlooked, these little islands receive far fewer visitors than Fiji and French Polynesia, and are all the better for it.
The main island of Rarotonga is so impressive that few venture further, but the tiny atoll of Aitutaki is even more beautiful, guaranteed to take your breath away.
Accommodation
Even though mass market tourism is unheard of in the Cooks, there is an impressive range of boutique resorts and luxurious retreats offering ‘barefoot luxury’ experiences in small, intimate settings.
Intrepid travellers should head for the remote islands of Atiu or Mangaia, which are virtually untouched by tourism and very rewarding; be warned, in remote regions the infrastructure is still basic and accommodation often simple and rustic.
Language
English is widely spoken and understood, but the local language is Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan), which is a Polynesian language similar to New Zealand Maori and Marquesan (the language spoken most widely in French Polynesia). There are some dialectic differences between the islands and some of the northern islands have their own completely separate language.
Food & Drink
Local fruit, vegetables and inexpensive fish are to be found at the local markets and if your accommodation has a kitchen we recommend that you dine on home cooked local produce at least once during your holiday. Hotel restaurants rarely cook local food but regularly hold 'island night' buffets and barbecues where you can sample local dishes, and you may be invited to an 'Umukai' which is a traditional feast cooked underground. In the past the most important drink was kava. Kava is offered at village welcoming ceremonies and if you are privileged enough to be welcomed in this way be sure not to decline! You are more likely to come across tumunu, which is a beer brewed from the oranges found all over the islands.
Tipping
Tipping is not customary in the Cook Islands and it is frowned upon to haggle over prices.
Money
The Cook Islands use the New Zealand dollar but you may occasionally be given your change in Cook Islands cents and dollars. These have the same value but be sure to spend all of this currency before leaving the country since it cannot be exchanged anywhere else in the world.
Social
Friendliness and respect are the most highly valued courtesies in the Cook Islands. A smile and a greeting will work wonders when it comes to interacting with the Cook Islanders, who are themselves gentle, soft, and extremely hospitable.
Under The Skin
Read
It's worth waiting until you are in Rarotonga to purchase books about the country. Far more are available there than we can get our hands on back here in the UK. 'Years of the Pooh-Bah: A Cook Islands History' by Dick Scott is readable with plenty of pictures to help you conjure up images of life years ago in The Cooks. 'Cannibals and Converts' written by a local Cook Island Maori who became a missionary later in life is an extraordinary account of the many things he witnessed during his life.
Listen
You will hear lots of music while you are in the Cooks, it seems any local can pick up a drum or guitar and play a tune. You will also hear the music in full flow if you attend a Island Dance and Cultural Evening. The best place to pick up a CD of this music is at the bustling Saturday market in Avarua - you won't miss the stall, the music will be blaring from giant speakers!
Watch
The first series of 'Shipwrecked' a Channel 4 reality programme was filmed in The Cook Islands, seen as an idyllic desert island location.
Eat
Being an island of the South Pacific you will not be surprised to learn that much of the local dishes are based around fish. A refreshing and delicious meal for a hot day is Ika Mata - raw fish marinated in lime juice mixed with coconut cream and other ingrediants from the surrounding land.
Drink
Coconut water of course!
Word
Kia Orana (may you continue to live). All purpose greeting.
Trademarks
Friendly, musical, undeveloped, beautiful.
Locally woven hats, paua shell jewellery, black pearls.