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laurentmoran

maggie78

CaptKDB:

Sorry, but I had to put my 2 cents in here. I used to live in the Cook Islands and I really recommend against it as a honeymoon vacation. 

 First of all, maybe it's because I lived there but I got to know the locals very well and they weren't that friendly. Maybe they are nicer to visitors, but I saw a lot of fights and didn't feel safe at times.

  Yes, it's cheaper, but you can't eat their local seafood there because of ciguetera (it's fish poisoning, you can look it up). So consequently, food is expensive because it's shipped in and not really that good. 

 Finally, there's really just not much to do. They have one little waterfall that's nothing to write home about. There is one long hike from one side of the island to other. You won't get a bungalow over the water, but you can stay right on the beach. The water is very calm and protected...snorkeling and diving is pretty average because they had an outbreak of crown of thorns (a poisonous starfish that eats the coral reef).

 It takes 30 minutes to drive around Rarotonga and about 15 minutes to drive from one side of Aitutaki to another.

 I'm sorry if I come off really negative, but I didn't have a good experience living there. I travel around the world for my job and get to live in really cool exotic places...I can honestly say, this was my least favorite place I lived in.  But you know? Each to their own. Obviously, previous posters have really liked it. 

My DH is Cook Islander and my MIL and one BIL lives there currently. As you could see from my pp we have a great time each time we go. You can eat the fish, any open sea fish is fine to eat, the fish posioning is from fish caught within the reef only. Tuna sells for $6 a kg, very cheep comparred to oz or nz. We were there in June and there were no signs of crown of throns. Aititaki lagoon is one of the most spectacular I've been to and like you I have also travelled rather extensively. I don't know when you were there last, but like I said we were there in June.

CaptKDB

 I'm a marine biologist and I study the effects of crown of thorns on reefs. The Cook Islands were hit very hard from these pests and their coral reef is in pretty bad shape. I followed up with my research in May of this year, so the last time I was there was about a month before you...unless miraculously, the problem has been solved in a month...

 Like I stated, it's just a personal opinion. I didn't post to cause arguments. I didn't like the Cooks, but that's not to say the original poster won't like it.