Cook Islands Travel Forum

Just hoping anyone could give their experiences of the Cook Islands & the Maldives. We are trying to figure out whats better to go to, the Cook Islands or the Maldives. We want just total relaxation & snorkeling. Thanks for your time :)

Hi Michael,

I haven't been to the Maldives, but I have been to The Cook Islands. I stayed on Rarotonga at the Rarotongan Beach Resort. It is perfect for the type of holiday you want - relaxation and snorkeling! It also seems to be HEAPS cheaper than the Maldives. I got a package deal for 6 nights pp twin share (added a night onto the usual deals) for around $1400 flying Air New Zealand. This included breakfast and all the activities at the resort. They have masks, snorkels, flippers/fins, kayaks, wetsuits, reef shoes and more available for complementary use. There is brilliant snorkeling right in front of the resort and it is a protected area so there are millions of fish.

It is worth keeping in mind that the flights from Oz via New Zealand tend to get in really early in the morning (i.e. 2:30am-ish) and leave around 4:30am-ish. You get transfers from the resort included in the package, but both of these nights are counted in the number you stay for. This is why we stayed 6 nights, so we'd have 5 full days.

The resort is 4 star, but the rooms are a little dated (we stayed in a garden view room), but they were clean and comfortable and I would stay there again.

Happy holidaying!

Ruth

Many thanks for the help, its great. :)