23 best things to do in the Cook Islands

Home to 15 islands in the South Pacific, the Cook Islands are a paradise that will steal your family’s heart. Famous for crystal clear water and a snorkelers paradise, you’ll find so many things to do in the Cook Islands, in and out of the water. From sandy beaches to passionate locals, you will love it and your kids will too. You can spend your days simply eating, cycling, kayaking and immersing yourself in waters too blue to be true.

The Cook Islands are in a free association with New Zealand. You’ll find that prices are usually in NZD and the currency is accepted everywhere. As well as the local Cook Islands coins. All prices below are in New Zealand Dollars.

Things to do in Rarotonga

As the largest island and home to Cook Island’s international airport, Rarotonga is the unforgettable gateway to the Cook Islands. The tropical island is dominated by a once almighty volcanic pyramid, worn down by time to sawtooth peaks. Although it is the largest it’s still tiny as far as islands go. At just 32 kilometres in circumference, it takes just 45 minutes to drive all the way around.

1. Punanga Nui Markets

At Raratonga’s weekly Punanga Nui Markets, stalls are laden with brightly coloured pareo (sarongs), black pearls and flowers.

The kids will have their necks decorated with flower garlands and chins sticky from devouring tropical fruit. You can buy local handicrafts like ukuleles fashioned out of coconut husk. The markets also sell beautiful handmade blankets and rito hats.

2. Ride Cooks Island Bus around the island

The Rarotonga bus will get your family acquainted with the sites, from beaches and lagoons to shops and churches. Two bus routes, serviced by 12 busses, are aptly referred to as the anticlockwise and clockwise routes. To travel around the whole island by bus takes 50 minutes are there are 81 stops to get off and explore.

Price: $8 adult return, $4 child return

3. Hire a car and go exploring

If you want more flexibility for your stops and schedule you can hire a car at the airport. It’s the most flexible way to explore all the things to do in the Cook Islands. You’ll discover sacred sites, limestone churches, inland villages and plantations. Plus you can stop whenever you want to shimmy along a palm tree, explore another impossibly blue lagoon and collect fragrant fallen frangipani.

4. Wigmore’s Waterfall

Located about three kilometres past the Rarotongan Beach Resort is the only waterfall on Rarotonga. It’s best to walk the path to the waterfall, as the road is lined with tall, vine-wrapped trees and cascading streams. Bring your water shoes if you plan to swim and wear plenty of bug spray.

5. Titikaveka Beach

If you and your kids adore white sandy beaches and turquoise lagoons, then you will find paradise at Titikaveka Beach. Beaches on Rarotonga and the island of Aitutaki are some of the most picturesque and tranquil beaches in the South Pacific, and Titikaveka Beach is the best of the lot. It’s the perfect spot to swim, snorkel, try your hand at kayaking or simply stretch out on the sand.

6. Black Rock Beach

On the northwest of the island, the shores and basalt rocks of Black Rock Beach are bathed in sun all day long. The kids will love discovering rock pools, snorkelling and jumping from the rocks into the turquoise ocean. An offshore reef means there are no waves at this beach.

Steeped in history and legend, it is culturally significant site for the Rarotongan people. You can ask the locals to share their stories with you. Black Rock Beach is also a great spot to watch a pastel pink sunset.

For sporty families, a tennis centre, beach volleyball courts and Rarotongas’s only golf course are located at Black Rock.

7. Raro Reef Sub

Submerge your family under the sea in the Raro Reef Sub. The semi-submersible boat tour along Rarotonga’s northern coast. You’ll visit shipwrecks – including the RMS Maitai, which sank in 1916. Kids will be absorbed spying turtles, spotted eagle rays and schools of giant pouty fish that look like they’ve been overdoing the collagen injections.

The reef sub has daily tours from Avatiu Harbour on the North side of Rarotonga, just 5 mins from Town.

8. Koka Lagoon Cruises

Koka Lagoon Cruises will take you to the azure waters of Muri Lagoon. Revel in the tropical waters, snorkel through coral gardens past giant clams and schools of colourful fish and snap selfies with the jungle backdrop.

The crew will entertain you will ukulele playing, pareu tying, weaving, a coconut tree climbing show and coconut husking. Then they will cook up a fish BBQ lunch.

Koka Lagoon Cruises contributes a percentage of its sales to the Rarotonga Lagoon Conservation Trust which has been established to protect and preserve Rarotonga’s lagoon ecosystem.

Departs 10am Sunday to Friday for 3.5 to 4 hours

Cost: Adults $89, kids $45, 5 and under free

9. Captain Tama’s Lagoon Cruizes

Captain Tama’s is another glass-bottom boat tour of Muri Lagoon and a great Cook Island activity for families.

The kids will have a ball searching for giant clams and tropical fish in the crystal clear waters of the lagoon. The tour includes snorkelling gear and a fish BBQ lunch.

Tours depart daily from 11am to 3pm

Cost: Adults $89, kids $45, 5 and under free

10. Aroa Lagoon Marine Sanctuary

The crystal-clear azure waters of Aroa Lagoon Marine Sanctuary could keep you entertained for your entire holiday. The sanctuary is just metres from Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium. The fantastical marine microcosm is perfectly protected from the open ocean by an encircling coral reef.

11. Te Vara Nui Village

Te Vara Nui Village is Rarotonga’s leading cultural attraction, located in Muri Beach. Run by passionate locals sharing their history and traditions through music and dance.

The Cultural Village Tour offers an authentic glimpse into the past, with demonstrations of traditional carving, costume making and story-telling, while the Over-Water Night Show and Dinner delivers an electric cultural performance with musicians, dancers and fire breathing men. Kids can get involved and play the pate (log drum) or perform an impromptu hula. The show is surrounded by stunning rock gardens and waterfalls.

12. Avarua

Avarua is the main town of Rarotonga and the capital of the Cook Islands, but it retains the relaxed and friendly ambience of the rest of the country. The town is where you’ll do most of your shopping for souvenirs, clothes and jewellery, and there is a bustling outdoor market and national museum. Just east of the main traffic circle is the Seven-In-One Coconut Tree, a perfect circle of coconut palms. According to local legend, it’s actually one tree grown from a single coconut with seven sprouts.

13. The Muri Night Market

Located at Muri Beach Village, sample local foods from family-run stalls, enjoy free entertainment and mingling with tourists and locals alike.

Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings from 5pm, the night markets offer a variety of food from local BBQ meals, seafood, fresh drinking coconuts, chicken curries, wok-fried noodles, pizza, desserts and more.

14. Head to church

Tradition and heritage are trademarks of the island and Sunday church is a big park of Rarotonga’s local culture. Visitors are welcome to attend the busy services in pretty stained-glass whitewashed churches. Sit in between local ladies dressed in their prettiest muumuus and woven rito hats on the coral-hued pews. The services are uplifting with cascading multipart harmonies, guttural grunts of the imene tuki (hymn of grunts) and hymns sung in the Maori language.

The London Missionary Society (LMS) introduced Christianity into the Cook Islands in 1821. From humble beginnings, the Cook Islands Christian Church now has 22 branches in the Cook Islands with some dating back to the early 19th century.

15. Maire Nui Gardens

Located on the south coast of Rarotonga, Maire Nui Gardens offer a comprehensive look at the Cook Islands’ rich plant life, some of which are not only beautiful but have medicinal uses. There are nearly three acres of trails lined with palm trees, lily ponds and flower beds. Keep an eye out for lizards and colourful birds.

Cost: $5

16. Cocoputt

When you’re ready for a little friendly family competition, head to Cocoputt in Aroa to test your skills on an 18-hole mini-golf course. Great fun for the whole family and there’s a cafe for lunch or a snack.

Things to do around the Cook Islands

17. Snorkelling

Both Rarotonga and Aitutaki have excellent swimming, snorkelling and diving, with warm water and good visibility all year round. Titikaveka Lagoon in South-Eastern Rarotonga and Aitutaki Lagoon have colourful reefs and calm water that’s safe for kids to explore.

18. Whale Watching

In 2001, the Cook Islands declared a large economic marine zone a Whale Sanctuary. From July to October, Humpback whales move into the inshore reefs and can often be seen right off the beach. Several tour operators in Rarotonga and Aitu offer whale-watching boat tours.

19. Cycling

Because the islands are so small, cycling can be a great way to get around. It’s cost-effective too because bikes can be hired quite cheaply on Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

20. Bushwalking

There are several great places in the Cook Islands for bushwalking and hiking. The Cross-Island Track on Rarotonga and the Vai Momoiri Track on Aitu both have spectacular views and shouldn’t take more than a few hours to complete.

Things to do on the other islands

21. Aitutaki

Aitutaki is the Cook Islands’ second most visited after Rarotonga.

The main town of Arutanga is a sleepy village with a worn but lovely old church and an outdoor market. Aitutaki’s lagoon is beautiful and has many small islets scattered around the clear, turquoise water. Several operators run excellent cruises around the lagoon and its islands.

22. Cave tour on Atiu Island

Atiu is the third most populated island with some stunning beaches.

You can explore the caves of Atiu Island and embark on bushwalks through the lush jungle where you’ll hear the songs of the island birds. Tours go through coral limestone caves, carved out by the flow of fresh water over Atiu’s acidic, volcanic soil.

Visit Anatakitaki cave for a chance to spot the kopeka, a bird unique to Atiu which is able to echo-locate to find its nest in the dark.

23. Mangaia Island

This volcanic plateau is full of beautiful locations to have all to yourself. Explore uninhabited beaches, discover cave systems that are the part of legends, visit the 1904 Saragossa Shipwreck at low tide, go to a church service and then eat a giant Mangaian donut.

Best accommodation for families

The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium

The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium has amazing snorkelling at the Aroa Lagoon Marine Sanctuary just metres from the door of the resort’s beachfront villas. Squeeze in a relaxing aromatherapy massage while aged 4 to 11 are kept entertained at the resort’s free Moko’s Kids Club. There’s also the Playland Creche for babies and toddlers and a Teen Zone.

Spend your day’s kayaking, paddleboarding or submerged in the dazzling blue waters of the resort’s private beach. There are daily activities for everyone, such as lei making, ukulele lessons and fish feeding. As an added bonus, two children aged up to 11 years can enjoy a complimentary stay when sharing a room with up to two adults.

The Edgewater Resort & Spa

Any day that starts with a complimentary tropical breakfast is going to be a good one, and at The Edgewater Resort & Spa, that’s exactly what’s on offer. Sprawled across 2.5 hectares, this resort has something for everyone: a tennis court, cooking lessons, live entertainment and themed nights, Coconut Kids Club, a salon and spa, and a sand deck beside the pool (best enjoyed with a cocktail at sunset). Accommodation offers views of the garden, lagoon and beach, and can cater for up to six guests.

Read: The Best Family Resorts in the South Pacific

Getting to the Cook Islands

Rarotonga Airpot is 6 hours from Sydney and 4 hours from Auckland. Air Rarotonga is the domestic airline flying between the islands.

You can read our complete family-friendly guide to the Cook Islands here.

Main image © Cook Islands Tourism