The indescribable beautiful seas of the 'last paradise,' the Cook Islands.

During the pandemic when I couldn't go anywhere, I first learned about 'Rarotonga' while looking at beautiful photos from around the world. That's where my Cook Islands travel plan began, and I remembered that a local travel agency had mentioned it on their blog long ago, so I consulted them and asked for arrangements. There were so many things I didn't know, and I asked about various details one after another, but they always answered thoroughly and politely, and they made a travel plan that perfectly matched my wishes, thanks to which it turned out to be a truly wonderful trip.

The indescribable beauty of the sea

In any case, the beauty of the Cook Islands' sea cannot be expressed in words.
The travel plan started with learning about Rarotonga, and although a day trip to Aitutaki was possible, staying in Aitutaki was truly the right choice.
The beauty is too precious to rush back on a day trip.
By the way, during my stay in the Cook Islands, I didn't see a single Japanese person。

It was awesome One Foot Island Cruise in Aitutaki

The only things I had decided on were the Saturday morning market in Rarotonga and hoping to see whales, and then I consulted with the local travel agency to make decisions. They advised me about the Sunday morning church in Rarotonga and Black Rock, where you might see whales (unfortunately, I didn't see any whales), One Foot Island Cruise in Aitutaki , all of which were absolutely correct.

Both the hotels and rooms suggested in Rarotonga and Aitutaki were more wonderful than I imagined.
In particular, Tairoto Bay in Aitutaki has only six villas in total, and thanks to the advice to book early and choose a beachfront room, I was able to reserve the best villa and was very satisfied.
The beach in front of us was all ours! We hardly met any other guests, and we could use the kayak, SUP, and snorkel whenever we wanted. At night, we gazed at the starry sky and played with the rescue cats kept by the hotel, and time passed slowly.

Things to be aware of in the Cook Islands

Here are a few points where we got confused, which might be useful for reference.

1. To the Saturday market, the hotel provided a car in the morning, and we returned by bus. However, the clockwise and anti-clockwise buses (clearly marked on the front of the bus) did not follow the route we were familiar with, and we wondered why as we returned to the hotel. But, well, that was fun too.
   One piece of advice would be, if you're returning from the market bus stop around noon on Saturday, there were too many people this time, and every bus that came was full and kept passing by. If that continues for several buses, it might be good to walk a bit and board from Cook's Corner in Avarua. Buses depart from there according to the timetable.
   
   
2. The Sunset Resort Hotel includes a buffet breakfast, so I was quite full, but if you want to eat something like a sandwich, there's a small bakery across the road from the hotel entrance, which I believe was open from 5 AM to 3 PM.
   They had a fairly wide variety, including cake-like items, and several cars were lined up from early morning.
   
   
3. The itinerary provided clearly stated what needed to be confirmed, including checking the meeting place for the cruise at the front desk in Aitutaki, but Tairoto Bay's office closed at 1 PM, and I was at a loss because I couldn't confirm it.
   Cheran from the hotel explained various precautions multiple times upon arrival, so I must have missed it. Fortunately, I had asked her to call a taxi to a nearby supermarket, so when I asked the driver about the departure location for Vaca Cruise, he kindly took me close by on the way back and explained it was very near the hotel. Everyone was really kind.
   By the way, I was informed in advance that there is nothing around this hotel, so I thought I would need a taxi to go anywhere. It's cash only, $10 per person one way, and they will wait for you until you finish shopping. It was $20 per person round trip, so it was $40 for two people.
   
   
4. The One Foot Island cruise is highly recommended!
   I had checked in advance that there is a post office on One Foot Island where they stamp your passport with a footprint stamp, but the hut that seemed to be the building had 'Vishop Cruise' written on it, so I assumed the post office was gone and didn't go inside. It turns out there is a post office inside, and I'm sure the Captain explained this, but due to my limited English skills, I must have missed it. However, they were stamping passports on the return boat, and when I mentioned this to Cheran at the hotel, they said they have a stamp at the hotel and would stamp it for me. I got it stamped at checkout.

Grateful for the support of the local travel agency

At the very end, due to our carelessness, we left a bag containing valuables on the shuttle bus, but the representative from the local travel agency assisted us despite being extremely busy, and the hotel front desk staff, whom we asked to contact them, repeatedly called the shuttle office, and the bag was safely returned.
I am filled with gratitude.
I'm really glad I asked for the arrangements!
It will be a lifelong memory.