Holiday Suggestions
Take a Package
Sketchbook therapy on Atiu a drawing tour with Judith Kunzle - download PDF
Natural History tour of Atiu, Mangaia and Mitiaro with Gerald McCormack - Download PDF
Design your Own
You can create your own holiday on the internet and take advantage of the lower airfares and accommodation discounts, but what you first need to do is decide how long you want to stay on Atiu. This may sound counter-intuitive as many vacationers start at the beginning of their holiday. So first decide how many days you want to stay on Atiu.
Days on Atiu Island
With One Day get you a brief look and with luck you can do the Kopeka bird cave tour when you arrive, visit a tumunu in the evening and a coffee or burial cave tour on the following morning and then depart. All who do this are very disappointed as there is so much more they end up wanting to see.
Two Days gives you a chance to include an island tour and/or hire a vehicle and see some of the island yourself. Two days are still insufficient to see all the island and it is much better to consider three days or more
Three Days gives you a chance to see most of Atiu and do about half of the tours available. This is our recommended minimum stay.
Stay Four Days to One Week and you will begin to know the local people personally and become involved in their lives. You will join in the local events and will not want to leave because of what is happening the next day.
If you stay More than a Week you will find it very hard to leave. You will become invovled with the characters on the island and be absorbed into the daily life. You are then in the dangerous position of "going troppo".
Having determined your length of stay on Atiu decide whether you want to see Aitutaki and how long you want to stay there. Now you have enough information to make the next step. Try one of the options below.
Rarotonga and Atiu Island Holiday.
You can fly to Atiu on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You can return on the same days. Choose your weekdays of travel so that you get the number of days you wish to stay on Atiu then :-
Check the availability of Atiu Villas or some other Atiu Island accommodation
Check availability of flights between the islands on Air Rarotonga
Check availability of accommodation on Rarotonga for when you arrive and before you leave the Cook Islands. We suggest Aroa Beachside Inn, Puaikura Reef Lodge or you may wish to use some other Rarotonga accommodation.
If everything fits then book :-
Air Rarotonga Flights, Atiu Villas, Aroa Beachside Inn, Puaikura Reef Lodge or other accommodations.
Explore three of the Cook Islands, Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Atiu Island.
You can travel the three islands from Rarotonga to Atiu to Aitutaki and back to Rarotonga or you can go the other way around. The key to which way you go is the flights between Atiu and Aitutaki. Flights only happen on a Wednesday. This then is the day you travel between the two islands. You have to build your holiday around this day or else lose a day traveling. The flight between the two islands takes 45 minutes.
You can travel to Atiu if you are coming from Rarotonga on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and you are returning to Rarotonga you can return on these days. You can travel from Rarotonga to Aitutaki any day except Sunday and you can also return on these days. There are at least 3 flights a day.
You should now have the following numbers and dates:-
Nights in Atiu
Nights in Aitutaki
Date you fly Atiu to Aitutaki or Aitutaki to Atiu on Wednesday
Date you fly from Rarotonga to Atiu or from Rarotonga to Aitutaki
Date you fly from Aitutaki to Rarotonga or Atiu to Rarotonga
Day you arrive Rarotonga
Nights in Rarotonga when you arrive
Day you depart Rarotonga
Nights in Rarotonga before you depart
Now you are ready to test availability.
Check the availability of Atiu Villas or another Atiu Island Accommodation of your choice.
Check Tamanu Beach or another Aitutaki Island accommodation of your choice.
Check inter-island flights with Air Rarotonga
Check availability of your Rarotonga accommodation when you arrive and when you depart. Try Aroa Beachside Inn, Puaikura Reef Lodge or another Rarotonga accommodation of your choice.
If it all fits then book. Otherwise, change the time spent in Rarotonga when you depart and arrive, or try juggling interisland flight dates or even try going the other way around the three islands.
If you have got it all together, you are a whizz. If you want to check you are on the right track at any stage, send an email to Us with an outline of your travel plan and we will reply confirming whether it will work.
