Beautiful Island Paradise
Written: Aug 21 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful, small, affordable, and has extremely friendly people!
Cons: Some air pollution. Food can be a little bit pricey because it may be imported.
The Bottom Line: Rarotonga is beautiful, friendly, small and not yet overrun by tourists. Visit other islands in the chain for an amazing experience.
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| uberkelly's Full Review: Rarotonga |
Rarotonga was one of my last stops during a recent Round-the-World trip.
Coming from New Zealand, it was a great change to be in the warm and tropical surroundings. One of the first things that struck us was the friendliness of the people. Even when I went home to New York several days later, I could feel myself smiling and saying "hello" to people more than I used to.
Transportation: Raro is a small island that you could circumnavigate in about 45 minutes. It is common to rent a motorbike or even a car for transportation. There is one main road around the island (and a couple inner roads). One of the most enjoyable things was hopping on the scooter and flying down the road and watching the waves so blue they looked like Windex. (Of course, if you are driving you should be looking at the road!) You don't have to have a special license to drive there unless you rent your bike from Budget or something like that. It cost us about $15 NZ a day for a motorbike. If you don't get your own transportation, there is a bus that circles the island all day and you can buy a ticket for it.
Lodging: There are many upscale places to stay in Raro, but there is budget lodging as well. The Backpackers International hostel we had reservations at was very dirty so we moved to self-contained units elsewhere on the island. We stayed at Puaikura Reef Lodges and Aroko Bungalows, which were both beautiful and perfect, and around $70 a night. (That was very expensive for us, but we splurged and enjoyed it a lot.)
There are many interesting shops in Raro, including the huge T-shirt factory, where you can get cheap flowered shirts for all your friends. There are shops selling home-made perfume, soaps, and preserves as well.
As far as snorkeling: We had quite a few rainy and windy days. We attempted to snorkel a few times, but never had perfect conditions. My boyfriend did a (scuba) dive there and said it was fantastic. The beaches were plentiful and never crowded. The interior of Raro is very mountainous, lush, and green. We never ventured into the inner paths, however. The Muri Lagoon is very pretty and suited to relaxing and lazing on the beach or in the water (just watch out for stonefish.)
Food: Paulina's Polynesian restaurant (next to the T-shirt shop in Avarua) has delicious and cheap island food. Across the street is the Blue Note Cafe, which is also a nice place to hang out. We ate at That's Pasta, expecting a bad imitation Italian meal. But the owner is Italian and the pasta was wonderful! The best food we had was at a brand new restaurant call the Tamarind House. It is a beautiful building with a great location near the water. The food was upscale, reasonable, and wonderful!
My biggest recommendation is that if you visit Raro, you should go to Aitutaki as well. It is just a short 30 min flight to the tiny island but it is different enough from Raro that it is DEFINITELY worth the trip! You can buy a flight from the tour operators in town. Aitutaki is smaller, less developed, has fewer people and is even more friendly than Raro. The lagoon there is stunningly gorgeous!
Some tips about Raro:
* Be aware that Roosters may wake you up early in the morning.
* And watch out for the stumpy dogs you see everywhere on the island when you are riding your motorbike.
* Go to the small convenience stores first thing in the morning and they will have all sorts of still-warm bread and pastries. YUM!
* And don't forget to buy some tuna or other fish from the supermarket--it is cheap, delicious, and was probably caught that morning!
* One bad thing about Raro is that there is a waste disposal problem. Often you will see columns of smoke. It maybe be coming from burning trash, which could contain plastics and other materials that can be toxic and hurt your little eyes and nose to breathe!
* Watch out for the interesting triangle-shaped $2 coin.
* And lastly, their beer, Cooks Lager, should only be consumed by the brave!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
uberkelly
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Member: Kelly O
Location: New York
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
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