How to Spend a Fun 5 Days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Dreaming of turquoise lagoons, palm-fringed beaches and laid-back island life? Spending 5 days in Rarotonga is the perfect amount of time to experience the best of the Cook Islands without rushing. Whether it’s your first visit or a return to paradise, this guide shows you exactly how to make the most of 5 days in Rarotonga, with practical tips and unforgettable experiences woven into each day.

Where are the Cook Islands?

The Cook Islands are a stunning group of 15 islands located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. They are divided into two main groups: the Southern group, which includes Rarotonga and Aitutaki, and the more remote Northern group of coral atolls only accessible by boat.

Rarotonga is the main hub and home to the international airport, making it the starting point for most visitors.

The official languages are English and Cook Islands Maori, reflecting the islands strong Polynesian heritage and the official currency is the New Zealand dollar, making it an easy travel destination for New Zealanders and Australians.

How to Get to Rarotonga?

Most international visitors reach Rarotonga by transiting through Auckland, which is what we did. Air New Zealand offer frequent direct flights to Rarotonga from Auckland. However, the layover time was a little excessive. We decided to extend our stay in Auckland, see a little bit of New Zealand’s Northern city and sleep in a bed rather than at the airport! We had a wonderful couple of days in Auckland, which you can read about by clicking this link. I highly recommend extending your layover here.

Jetstar also offer flights from Australia but not from every capital city. In May 2026, Jetstar will be introducing direct flights to Rarotonga from Brisbane. Yay!! This will make it even easier for Australians to visit this pacific paradise.

There are also direct flights from the United States with Hawaiian Airlines offering services from Honolulu.

I should mention here for all of us Aussies traveling to the Cook Islands that you will cross the international date line, which takes a while to get your head around. I’m sure all the New Zealanders are familiar with it but for me, I found it a little confusing. We flew out of Auckland on the morning of the 14th January and arrived in Rarotonga (a 3-4 hour flight) at lunch time on the 13th! Be sure to factor that in on your return flight home, as you will lose a day and may end up flying in on the morning you are due to start work – like I did! 🥱😜

When to Travel to the Cook Islands?

All the tour guides will tell you that the best time to travel to the Cook Islands is in the dry season from May to October. The weather is sunny and less humid, with day-time temperatures around 24-28 degrees Celsius. But if you are like me and accidentally book your holiday to the Cook Islands in the middle of the wet season, do not worry! We had wonderful weather!

How can you accidentally book a holiday I hear you ask. Well, I was browsing relaxing beach holiday destinations and was exploring the Cook Islands, as several of my friends have been and raved about it. I was looking at their recommended accommodation – Magic Reef Bungalows – and there was only 1 absolute beachfront bungalow left…. so, I booked it on a whim! I thought it was one of those, book now, pay later options…. but when half of the cost came out of my credit card, I realized my mistake. Ooops, looks like we were going to the Cook Islands! Happiest accident I have ever made!

I had booked in wet season and was very worried that we would be facing torrential rain every day…..much like our wet season in Darwin and the Northern Territory in Australia. However, we had beautiful weather! Maybe, it is because we are used to hot humid weather being from Queensland, but we didn’t find the humidity too bad at all. We did get a bit of rain at night, which was lovely to fall asleep to, and some rain on our last day – but we were quite sunburnt by that stage so welcomed a little rain!

Other travellers we spoke to, that were staying on the other side of the island, said they had experienced a lot more rain than we did. Locals will tell you that the weather is changeable with sunshine on one side of Rarotonga and rain on the other. Or rain in Rarotonga but sunny in Aitutaki. I guess you can be lucky or unlucky with the weather whatever time of the year you go.

The advantages of spending 5 days in Rarotonga during wet season are less crowds, accommodation is less expensive and flights are less likely to book out. While the rain usually comes in short intense bursts, the islands are kept lush and green.

The happy sweet spot would be to travel to the Cook Islands in the shoulder months of April and November.

Where to Stay for 5 Days in Rarotonga?

I mentioned before that my friends raved about Magic Reef Bungalows and now, I’m going to rave about them too! We absolutely loved our stay here. Let me tell you the reasons why….

• airport transfers $12NZD
• absolute beachfront bungalows
• complimentary fruit platter, wine, juice as well as fresh bread and homemade jam on arrival
• well-stocked with coffee, tea and milk
• Spacious, clean and comfortable villas.
• gorgeous large 4 poster bed
• Outdoor shower and bath
• EVs available to rent on site
• large swimming pool
• complimentary snorkel and beach gear
• plenty of restaurants within walking distance
• amazing sunset viewing
• last but not least -the staff! Friendly and helpful who go above and beyond to make your stay unforgettable.

Jason met us at the airport and greeted us with a traditional ei (pronounced ay), which smelt divine! On the drive to Magic Reef Bungalows, he pointed out places of interest and possible dining options. On arrival he gave us a tour of the grounds, showed us where everything is, poured us our welcome wine and left us to settle in.

Jayne, the onsite manager, who I dealt with during booking was amazing. Lots of friendly advice and recommendations and helped organize us for our late flight on our last day.

We really loved the authentic islander feel of the bungalows, with lots of rattan and modern comforts like air-conditioning!

How to Get Around in Rarotonga

Getting around Rarotonga couldn’t be simpler. There are 2 bus services that run the loop around the island every hour. One runs clockwise and the other runs anticlockwise, and they are labeled as such. You can pay the $5NZD fare per trip as you board the bus, or you can buy a 10-trip card (which saves you a bit of money and can be used by multiple people). Simply tell the driver where you want to go and he will drop you right out front. Bus stops are identifiable by witches’ hats but in our experience, you can just hail the driver and he will stop. Be aware the frequency of the bus services diminishes after 4pm.

Another option for getting around Rarotonga is to hire a car or moped. Highly recommend doing this on at least one of your days in Rarotonga. We took advantage of the EVs available for hire at our accommodation for the convenience and no fuel cost- cheaper if you hire for 2 consecutive days. The basic cost for general car hire was around $50NZD a day. We loved the freedom of exploring the island at our own pace, stopping when the urge compelled us and not worrying about bus schedules.

Where to Eat in Rarotonga

You won’t go hungry in the Cook Islands! With so many tempting cuisines on offer, choosing what to eat becomes its own delicious challenge! I am just going to highlight the places we enjoyed eating at which were mostly within walking distance of our accommodation or easily accessible by bus.

Night Markets

The Muri Night Markets are one of Rarotonga’s most vibrant and relaxed dining options. Set along the Main Road in the heart of Muri on the island’s eastern side, the night markets operate from Tuesday to Thursday and again on Sunday. The stalls fire up from 5pm with everything from fresh seafood, smoky BBQ plates, curries, wok-fried noodles and sweet treats.

Alcohol is not available for purchase at the markets….but top tip…. head to the convenience store located right next door to pick a couple of cold beers to enjoy with your dinner.

Grab a seat in the open-air dining area and enjoy!

Street Vendors

Don’t be afraid to try some of the roadside street vendors. We happened to be driving past with the window down and could smell the scent of sizzling BBQ and just had to pull over. A quick snack of marinated kebabs and spring rolls were just the ticket to keep us going. This was our first taste of island cuisine and we were excited about what we would be eating for the rest of the week!

Best Burgers

One evening we decided to watch the sunset from the deck of our bungalow – amazing! However, the sun sets a little late around 7.30pm and we discovered that by the time we wandered down the road to find a place for dinner, a lot of the kitchens had closed…. except for Raro Burgers.

OMG! The best burger I have ever tasted! The locals eat here too….so you know it’s good. I couldn’t find a website for them, but they are located between Castaways and our accommodation, Magic Reef Bungalows.

Castaway Beach Bar for sunset cocktails

The menu is pretty standard with pizzas, seafood and burgers etc on offer…but the big drawcard is the happy hour cocktails and the fantastic sunset viewing!

The bar staff are very friendly, nice tunes playing the background and the drinks were great value! Highly recommend a few sundowners at Castaway Beach Bar.

Cafe TLC

We discovered the yummy food and the lovely owners of this cafe at the Punanga Nui morning markets, where they have a stall. Their cafe is located on the main ring road opposite Manuia Beach Resort, Arorangi. The fresh home-made meat pies were yum and the iced coffee made on coconut milk packed a caffeine punch!

Their motto – everyone needs some TLC – is pretty accurate. You need to try it!

Manuia Restaurant and Beach Bar

Speaking of Manuia Beach Resort – their Restaurant and beach Bar are next on my dining recommendations. Don’t let the sand floor fool you – this restaurant offers food that will surprise you. The tourism award winning restaurant offers a blend of European and island cuisines. The food was excellent! They offer a 3-course special for $69 or dine à la carte.

I tried the roast prime pork, and it was divine! Bonus, it’s on the Western side of the island so has stunning sunset views.

Waterline for Casual Adult Dining

This was our dinner venue on our first night as it was an easy stroll along the beach from our accommodation. For relaxed beach side dining, chose to dine on the sand or on the deck, but note – this restaurant doesn’t cater for kids, it’s for teens and adults only. A few colourful locals at the bar too 😜

Antipodes Restaurant for Fine Dining

For something a little bit fancy, you might like to try Antipodes. We didn’t get the chance to book here but it is on my list for next time. Once again, it is an adult-only restaurant and patrons must be over 16.

The al fresco style of dining not only offers a selection of a la carte dishes, but also a range of shared boards, platters and entrees, and because of it’s elevated position, the views are pretty special too.

Itinerary for 5 Days in Rarotonga

Finally, we get to the itinerary! With 5 days in Rarotonga, you will easily fit these activities into your itinerary, with plenty of time to just relax. Remember you are on holidays, on ‘island time’ – and that should definitely include some form of doing not much of anything…. think good book, glass of chilled wine and stunning sunsets all with the backdrop of gentle ocean waves breaking on the shore. Ahhh bliss!

Day 1: Do the Island Loop

The whole island of Rarotonga is only about 32 kilometres around, which means you can cruise the coastal road in roughly 45 minutes! Of course, it’ll take you longer if you stop at every gorgeous turquoise beach for a swim or at a roadside cafe for a bite.

Hire a car or a moped and spend the day doing the island loop. Doing this on the first day will give you a good layout of the land and help you navigate for the rest of your stay. We stopped at beautiful swim spot after beautiful swim spot….probably should have reapplied the suncream after each swim though, as we got a little cooked on that first day. We joked we got cooked in the Cook Islands – more like roasted!

Day 2: Aitutaki Day tour

You absolutely cannot miss Aitutaki! This tiny island and its vast impossibly clear lagoon are often called one of the most beautiful places in the world, and it genuinely lives up to the hype. You can choose to stay on the island and honeymooners often do, but we chose to do a day trip there instead. It is quite expensive to stay there and flights need to be factored into the cost as well as tours to the outter islets.

For us it was more cost effective to pay the $700 NZD each to go on the day trip with Air Rarotonga and Vaka tours. It seems expensive and I guess it is for a day trip, but it is 100% worth it.

Transfers are included from your accommodation to the airport, where we were checked in for the short flight to Aitutaki. Our guide for the day Ali, met us at the Aitutaki airport and our tour began with a drive around the little island, a cafe stop for a coffee and toilet break, before heading to our floating home for the day, a traditional double-hulled Vaka.

We glided from one unspoilt islet to another with the highlight being the famous One Foot Island. It’s the kind of place that makes you double‑check your camera because the colours look unreal. So many shades of blue, it really is stunning!

In between all the swimming and snorkeling, we were well fed and watered. The buffet style lunch on board was the best we had on our holiday. All the beverages, including beer and wine were included. The multi-talented staff kept us entertained while we cruised with many island tunes.

Around 4pm we were taken back to the airport for the flight back to Rarotonga. Adding Aitutaki to your Rarotonga itinerary turns a great Cook Islands holiday into an unforgettable one.

Day 3: Swimming with Turtles

This was my non-negotiable activity in Rarotonga – I really wanted to swim with turtles! There are a cluster of tour operators around the Ava’avaroa Passage area offering guided turtle-swimming tours. This area is the main turtle hotspot and the place that most tour operators use for their tours.

Initially, we thought we could snorkel around there ourselves, or nearby, and spot the turtles on our own. When we mentioned it to the manager at our accommodation, we were warned not to try swimming there by ourselves. The passage is notorious for strong undertowes and rips, and even seasoned swimmers have gotten into trouble, some drownings have even occured. So please, go with a good tour operator.

Luckily, I think we found the best!

We wanted to support local and had read good reviews about Turtles Rarotonga – a small operator that runs out of Blaze’s Place Cafe.

In true Postcards from Abroad style, we rocked up not having booked anything, just confident that something would be available. 😁 We had actually walked from our last snorkeling spot, rather than waiting for the bus, not thinking it would take that long. It took us over an hour…. and we picked up a gorgeous stray dog that followed us the whole way! I shall call him Lassie!

Rarotonga has a lot of dogs! Greece and Türkiye may have cats, but Rarotonga has dogs. Lassie walked beside us, stopped when we stopped, never barked, waited for us when we went into a shop and unbelievably, tried to follow us out into the ocean, swimming towards us until our guide Brendon, had to shoo him back to shore!

Enough of dogs, more about the turtles! We asked if there was any chance of doing a swimming with turtles tour that afternoon and luckily, Brendon had a tour kicking off in 10 minutes! Even luckier, we were the only ones on it! For $120NZD each, we had Brendon to ourselves for an hour, plus photos and videos were included in the price.

After getting fitted out with flippers and a snorkel and a brief safety talk, we were on our way! Brendon had a paddleboard for us to hold onto if we felt tired or needed a rest. It also helped guide us out through the passage safely.

Did the Experience Meet our Expectations?

Initially, I felt a little underwhelmed – lots of snorkelers out there bumping into each other and visibility was low with lots of algae in the water being churned around. I know those sea-scooters are a thing, but I didn’t like the sound they made underwater. It kind of took away from the magic of it all, that underwater wonderland magic. I can only imagine what the turtles think of them…. pretty sure they would be as happy as we were when their tour was over and they left. That’s when the real wonder started to happen for me.

As the waters began to clear out of people, the turtles started coming up from the ocean floor, visibility improved and suddenly we were swimming side by side with turtle after turtle. It was amazing! They didn’t seem to be fazed by us, in fact they seemed a little curious.

Brendon told us not to touch the turtles for their safety obviously, but also that will cause them to swim away. There are rules to adhere to when you swim with turtles that your tour operator should discuss with you before you go out.

Amazingly, there are a few turtles in the passage that are over 200 years old! Black Beauty is one of them …. she can stay underwater for hours! We were hoping to catch her as she surfaced but she was just sleeping. We still managed to dive down to see her. What an unforgettable experience! There are also families of Eagle Rays that frequent the passage. They were a bit too far down for us to free dive to, but Brendon managed to get some photos of them for us.

Heading back to shore for a shower we couldn’t wipe the smile off our faces. That afternoon will stay fondly in my memories for many years to come. Can you believe who was waiting for us when we got back to shore?? Yes, Lassie was there…. he had waited 2 hours!

To finish off a top day, Brendon cracked open a fresh coconut (or nu) for us each, which we thoroughly enjoyed while waiting for the bus to take us home. A little sad, but also a little relieved that Lassie parted ways with us when we got on the bus…. I was beginning to think he was going to follow the bus!!

Of course, Brendon might be booked up, and if he is, here are some other turtle tours that get good reviews.

Day 4: Market Day and Cultural Night

Saturday in Rarotonga is all about the Punanga Nui markets!

Punanga Nui Markets

The Saturday morning markets in Rarotonga — known as the Punanga Nui Markets — are the island’s lively weekly gathering in Avarua, right in the main township. From 8am until around midday, the whole area buzzes with food stalls, fresh produce, handmade crafts, island music, and the smell of BBQ drifting through the air. It’s the perfect spot for tourists to grab breakfast, shop for locally made souvenirs, and soak up a fun slice of Cook Islands culture before the day heats up.

There was a little rain in the morning as we set out for the markets, but it soon cleared and the day did indeed heat up. We were going to a cultural show and dinner that night, so we really wanted to buy a locally made fresh head ei at the markets to wear that night. We found some gorgeous ones that were selling very quickly. They even stored them for us until we were ready to go.

It’s worth noting here that a tourist wearing a head ei is not seen as culturally disrespectful or insensitive at all. We checked before we purchased them, because we didn’t want to offend anyone, but we were assured by many people that they loved seeing tourists wearing them. They were beautiful and I felt beautiful wearing it.

Te Vara Nui Village Cultural Show and Dinner

The cultural show and dinner is divided into two parts – the Cultural Village tour and the Polynesian ‘The Legend of Tongaiti’ dinner and show. You can choose to do one or the other, or both. We chose to do both.

Cultural Village Tour

In this tour, guests are taken through a series of huts, each one focusing on a different aspect of traditional Cook Islands Māori Life. We found this part of the evening very interesting, with our hosts answering questions and interacting with the guests, making it quite entertaining. If you choose just to do the Cultural Village Tour, it is $65NZD per adult.

The Legend of Tongaiti Show and Dinner

Following the Cultural Village Tour, guests that have purchased the dinner and show tickets move to the dining area. Sections at a time move to the buffet to help themselves to dinner and the same again for dessert. Drinks are not included in the cost and need to be purchased separately. After dinner, the theatrical show begins which includes storytelling, dancing and drumming. Tickets for the dinner and show are $155 NZD per adult. The combination package, which we did is $185NZD per adult, and they have family packages.

We loved the theatrical show and the village cultural tour, but we thought the dinner was a little underwhelming for the price.

Day 5: Captain Tamas Muri Lagoon Tour

Two very similar operators offer Muri Lagoon cruises in glass bottom boats which include snorkeling and lunch. Koka Lagoon Cruises are geared more towards families, while Captain Tamas lagoon cruises are a little bit more geared towards the adult guests. Having said that, there were quite a few children on our boat and there was nothing inappropriate said – nothing the kids understood anyway! 😁

I have friends that did this activity and said it was the highlight of their trip to the Cook Islands. I think because we had already done our day in Aitutaki and our swim with the turtles, all snorkeling was spoilt for us after that! The snorkeling was ok, but not great. The lunch provided was good though, and the guides on the boats were a lot of fun.

The Cook Islands Accidentally Stole My Heart

I didn’t expect to love the Cook Islands as much as I did. I thought we would be doing not too much of anything except laying on a beach towel and sipping cocktails! Of course, that is something you absolutely can do in the Cook Islands if you want some R&R but there is so much more to do if you want to! 5 Days in the Rarotonga will give you the best of both worlds – time to explore and time to relax.

I think when I accidentally booked my holiday to the Cook Islands, it was the happiest accident I have ever had!