Hotels in Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are fifteen islands spread across an area of ocean the size of Western Europe, though almost all visitors see just two of them. Rarotonga, the main island, is a green volcanic peak ringed by a single 32-kilometre coast road, a lagoon and a bus service that runs clockwise and anti-clockwise and nothing else.

Aitutaki, 45 minutes north by air, has one of the most photographed lagoons in the world: a vast triangle of shallow turquoise water studded with uninhabited motu, best seen on a full-day boat trip that stops at One Foot Island. Back on Rarotonga, the cross-island track climbs past the Needle rock spire, Muri Lagoon draws kitesurfers and paddleboarders, and Saturday morning at Punanga Nui market is the island's social event.

The country is self-governing in free association with New Zealand, uses the New Zealand dollar and draws most of its visitors from New Zealand and Australia. There are no high-rises, a longstanding rule caps buildings at coconut-palm height, and the mood is relaxed rather than luxurious.