View Our
Cook Islands Travel Guide & Slide Show



Travel Facts

The Cook Islands lie in the South West Pacific. There are fifteen island groups in all. Rarotonga is the largest island with half of the countries 18,000 population but it is only 26 sq. miles in size making it easy to get around. Rarotonga is volcanic in appearance with several mountain peaks over 500 metres high.

A 30-day visitor permit is granted to all Nationals on arrival at Rarotonga Airport, the only International airport in the islands (valid passport and onward ticket required).

Currency on the island is the NZ$ and electricity is 240v. English is widely spoken along with local maoris dialects. The Cook Islands are 10 hours behind GMT and a massive 20 hours behind New Zealand. International dialling code is (679) and direct dialling is available using calling cards purchased in units of NZ$5, 10 and 20. Internet connections are available on short term leases or there are lots of Internet cafes around Rarotonga charging about NZ$5 for half an hour.

The climate in the Cook Islands is pleasant all year round. From Dec-Apr it is slightly hotter and more humid. The winter months from Jun-Oct are usually quite dry. Average temperatures are 29/23c in Jan to 25/18c in July.

Air New Zealand is the only international airline to visit the Cook Islands year round. Aloha Airlijnes offer a seasonal service during the peak tourist months of Oct to April. Direct flights are available from Los Angeles (with connections to London), and from New Zealand (with connections to Australia). Alternative routes allow travellers to connect from the Cook Islands to either Tahiti or Fiji on route across the Pacific.

Several in-bound tour operators are based on Rarotonga and can help arrange local transfers to outer islands and sightseeing tours.
This Picture Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Picture, the photographic division of South Pacific Travel Guides. This leading independent travel publisher is based in Fiji and aims to provide unbiased travel information to help potential holiday-makers plan their trip to the South Pacific. We do not sell individual hotels, tours or packages - we simply provide an overview to help you make the decision and provide links for you to make further enquiries and bookings. All the pictures in this website have been taken by us and try to show a true representation of our destinations. No picture has been staged - all were taken as presented.


One of our most useful holiday planning websites is our unique interactive picture maps showing pictures of beaches, scenic attractions and hotel locations from around the south pacific islands:

south pacific pictures :
cook islands accommodation pictures ; fiji islands hotel pictures ; samoa islands hotel pictures ;
tahiti islands hotel pictures ; tonga islands hotel pictures ; hawaii accommodation pictures ;


For a comprehensive hotel guide with over 2000 pictures:

south pacific hotels
cook islands hotels ; fiji hotels ; samoa hotels ; tahiti hotels ; tonga hotels ; hawaii hotels


 For more detailed maps showing towns and villages please visit:

south pacific maps :
cook island maps ; fiji maps ; samoa maps ; tahiti maps ; tonga maps ; hawaii maps ;


Or Search our companion guides:
South Pacific Travel Guides - comprehensive travel guide for the islands
South Pacific Resorts Search - listings of all resorts in the South Pacific
Beautiful Pacific - South Pacific Islands - travel agent offering personalized bookings

Our small team of researchers travel around the south pacific on a regular basis to update our guides and to ensure their accuracy. Please feel free to contribute your own travel experiences to pass on to fellow travellers.

If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try the following specialist websites:

The definitive, most informative hotel guide to the South Pacific:


Search for South Pacific Resorts

Hawaii Resorts ; Fiji Resorts ; Cook Islands Resorts ; Tonga Resorts ;
Samoa Resorts ; Tahiti Resorts


Last Updated
30 March 2005
by


Pacific Travel Guides
PO Box 10146, Nadi Airport, Fiji

Contact Us


Travel Resources