Aitutaki means ‘a little paradise’, and the name couldn’t be more apt for this small Pacific
archipelago encircled by a huge lagoon widely considered to be the world’s most beautiful.
Crystal-clear warm water, shallow depths averaging five metres and steady winds make the
breathtaking turquoise lagoon an ideal place to learn how to kitesurf – but that’s just one of the
many available activities. Among the most popular to sign up for is a snorkelling tour by boat,
which takes in some of the 14 tiny motu – islets that curl around the eastern fringe of the lagoon.
You can also rent kayaks, book scuba diving trips to the outer reef, or simply lounge around
onthesparklingwhitesandsattachedto yourresort.AITUTAKI LAGOON
Snorkel, kitesurf or simply float around in a crystal-clear
Pacific-island lagoon that honeymoons are made of
HowdoI get
there?
Aitutakiis a
50-minuteflight
fromthemain
island,Rarotonga.
AirRarotongaalso
o ersdaytripsto
Aitutakifromthe
mainisland.
Whereshould
I stay?
There’sno‘bad’
spotto stayon
themainisland,
withmost
accommodation
optionslining
thewestcoast.
Is thesnorkelling
anygood?
Asthebottom
of thelagoonis
mostlysandy,you’llneedto jump
ona lagoonboat
tourto gainaccess
to thebest
snorkellingspots.
Aretheresharks
in thelagoon?
Sharksareonly
veryrarelysighted
in thelagoon.
You’remuchmore
likelyto spota
turtle,alongwith
loadsof colourful
giantclamsonthe
coralbombies.
Is theremuchelse
to doonAitutaki?
Yes,youcanlearn
abouttheisland’s
historyandculture
ona Punarei
CulturalTour,
ledbylocals.Country Cook Islands ) Region A i t u t a k i i s l a n d ) Type Natural lagoon ) Activities Swimming,
snorkelling, kayaking, kitesurfing, scuba diving ) Family friendly? Ye s