Aitutaki
One look at an image of Aitutaki from the air will probably be enough to have you ready to click on the BOOK NOW button! This place has island and lagoon lovers drooling!
Aitutaki was so remote and isolated before 1942, that when the US military turned up to build an airfield and runway, they had to upgrade the port first so that they could ship in the necessary machinery to build the runway.
While Aitutaki may still be remote, it’s not as isolated, being only a 45-minute flight north of Rarotonga. It’s estimated though, that only one in five visitors to the Cooks make it to Aitutaki.
We suggest that to be a terrible shame and that Aitutaki should be a must on your ‘to visit’ list.
Aitutaki’s barrier reef is roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle with sides 12 km (7.5 mi) in length. Total land area is only 18 sq km (7 sq mi) and about 1800 people live here.
Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler nominated Aitutaki as "the world's most beautiful island" - and he’s visited a lot of islands! Don’t miss it!