Tips when you Visit the Cook Islands

1. The most important thing to remember are what we call the 3 "R's" !

a. Respect the people of these Islands ! ( Do not take advantage of their friendly and beautiful nature )

b. Respect the culture of these people ! ( The people of these islands are full of culture, and they are willing to share this with you, do not disrespect this in anyway )

c. Respect the Land ! ( treat this land with respect, do not litter, do not destroy any vegetation or land in any way )

2. Take Reef shoes over to Rarotonga, always wear them when entering the water.

3. When walking in the water, always scuff your feet along the ground. There are stone fish in certain areas within the lagoons and by scuffing your feet along the bottom of the lagoon, they will move away. If you tread on one of these fish, it can be very dangerous for your health.

4. We always take our own mask and snorkel, by doing this, we can go snorkelling any time we want, and do not have to cut our swimming trips short to get our gear back to the hiring place.

5. Remember, even though this is a tropical paradise, it does rain here , so take a light raincoat with you.

6. When booking through your travel agent ( if you use one ) ask them for the flights that land in Rarotonga during the day, and leave during the day. There are two flights most days, one that lands in the early hours of the morning and the other usually lands in the afternoon ( Air NZ ).

7.Don't be scared to possibly contact the resorts directly and see if you can arrange your own trip. They can sometimes be a little cheaper.

8.Also contact the airways, and see if you can find your own cheap flights.
International Flights:
Air New Zealand - www.airnewzealand.co.nz
Pacific Blue - www.flypacificblue.com

Inter Island Flights:
Air Rarotonga - www.airraro.com

9. Take an underwater camera, you will not regret it, with all the amazing tropical fish that can be scene when snorkelling

10. Remember, these are Pacific Islands and are not like normal countries, they do not have a wide selection of products, things like milk etc are all imported and can be expensive, so we take over our own coffee mixture, eg. Jara ( mix of coffee and milk powder, two teaspoons to a cup , and add hot water ).

11. A MUST DO is to go to Aitutaki, even if just for a day trip. This Island is what all picture postcards show paradise to look like, you will not regret it. You can book a flight through your agent or when in Rarotonga or you can book by contacting www.airraro.com directly.

12. Take some insect repellent with you, it may come in handy

13. We should not need to say this, but do take suntan lotion with you, you can get burnt very easily under the sun, and even when the sun is hidden behind clouds you still get sun burnt.