Turquoise water
Shallow and clear.
Christopher Johnson from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Tom Ackroyd — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christopher Johnson from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Misolonax — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christopher Johnson from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Christopher Johnson from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY-SA 2.0
Aitutaki is the second most-populated of the Cook Islands, about 260 km north of Rarotonga, and is described as an «almost atoll»: a high main island with a wide lagoon dotted with fifteen islets. The lagoon covers between 50 and 74 square kilometres, and the main village is Arutanga. The lagoon is among the most famous in the Pacific for its shallow turquoise water and white sand, and Aitutaki is the second most visited of the Cook Islands. The island's highest point, the hill Maunga Pu at about 123 m, looks out over the whole lagoon. The best-known islet is Tapuaetai, «One Foot Island», on the south-eastern rim, about 7 km east of the main island. It is 570 m long, ringed by white sand and mirror-like shallows, and in 2008 it was named Australasia's leading beach. Boat trips head out to it, stopping to snorkel among colourful fish. Aitutaki is a short flight from Rarotonga, and lagoon trips are paid. Bring reef-safe sun cream, as the sun is strong and shade scarce on the islets.
Shallow and clear.
White sand.
Colourful fish.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
By a short flight from Rarotonga.
On a lagoon boat trip.