Rarotonga Travel Forum

Has anyone stayed at either of these places? Would love some feedback. Have read differing opinions on Maiana & found it difficult to get straight answers to the questions I asked the owner of Maiana. In light of this we may choose Rau's,but would like to hear about both first, We're not looking for anything flash, just good basic accom. but we do want it to be clean and what it claims to be on the website! Cheers. We are going over from NZ in Late July.

Hi

I stayed at Rau's Guesthouse last year and would highly recommend it.

There's a review on my Rarotonga page if you fancy reading it:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3f8e9/1d1a1e/3/

My room was basic, but spotlessly clean.

The owners are extremely friendly and will help with anything you need. They live elsewhere, but pop down to the guesthouse each day to ensure their guests are ok.

The accommodation has a large living room with TV etc, a fully equipped kitchen and a garage in which you can park your hired car/moped/bicycle.

The location is excellent - right across the road from the beach and just a minute's walk from the nearest bus stop.

I highly recommend this place, it's superb value for money!

Enjoy your trip!

Jonathan

Thanks for your reply Jonathan. Have read your review & most of your Raro page. Great indepth info. Yes, Rau's sounds okay.Can you tell me, what is the beach like for swimming & snorkelling directly out from the guesthouse. It looks like it is close to Avaavaroa Passage and I know you have to be careful not to go too close to these dangerous areas.Also along that stretch somewhere there is a concrete protection wall in the sea. Is that near Rau's? And just to get an idea of exactly where it is, how far is it from there to Saltwater Cafe? One last question! Where is the nearest good bicycle hire place, and snorkel hire?

Hi again,

The beach opposite Rau's is very good for swimming, but probably not so great for snorkelling (there isn't much coral to see). However, if you walk along the beach in the direction of Titikaveka for about 10 minutes then you'll arrive at one of the best places on the island for snorkelling.

I don't know anything about Avaavaroa Passage, but I didn't see any areas that looked particularly dangerous for swimming. There is a small passage near the village of Titikaveka (about 15-20 minutes walk from Rau's), which might well be Avaavaroa Passage. If so, it's only a narrow passage and, at the time of my visit, there were no strong currents to be wary of.

If I remember correctly, the small sea protection wall is also close to Titikaveka village.

Saltwater Cafe is on the edge of Titikaveka village. You can either walk there in about 20 minutes or catch the bus and be there in 2 minutes. There is a bus stop right outside the cafe.

Despite being listed as being located in Titikaveka, Rau's is actually located closer to the village of Vaimaanga. There is a reasonable sized supermarket and a few other shops at Vaimaanga (about 5 minutes walk from Rau's) and this is probably the best option for finding a place to hire bicycles.

I recall seeing a sign advertising the hire of snorkelling equipment near the "Fruits of Rarotonga" shop, which is located at the near side of Titikaveka village, a 10-15 minutes walk from Rau's.

You can visit the Papua Wigmore waterfall on foot from Rau's easily enough - it's a short walk beyond Vaimaanga.

I hope you enjoy your stay on Raro!

Jonathan

Thanks a lot for all the info, Jonathan. Sounds just great!
Cheers, Fay & Francisco