Avarua
Avarua is a district and township in the north of the island of Rarotonga, the largest island of the Cook Islands.
Avarua is a district and township in the north of the island of Rarotonga, the largest island of the Cook Islands. It serves as the capital of the country and is divided into 19 tapere (sub-districts). It is an important commercial and economic centre, with the country's main airport and harbour (Avatiu) here. The district had a population of 5,120 in the 2021 census.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Avarua
5 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01National Stadium
The Tereora Stadium also known as the National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Avarua, Cook Islands. It is currently used mostly for rugby matches.
3.7 km · multi-purpose stadium in Avarua, Cook Islands · Wikipedia - 02St. Joseph's Cathedral, Avarua
St. Joseph's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rarotonga and is located in Avarua in the north of the island of Rarotonga the largest and most populated island of the Cook Islands a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand The cathedral was dedicated in 1994 by Cardinal T Williams, Archbishop of Wellington.
1.1 km · church in Cook Islands, New Zealand · Wikipedia - 03National Library of the Cook Islands
The National Library of the Cook Islands – Runanga Puka, part of Te Puna Korero – Sir Geoffrey Henry Culture Centre, is the national library of the Cook Islands. The building was opened in 1993, and is next to a similar building that houses the Cook Islands National Museum.
100 m · national Library in Avarua, Cook Islands · Wikipedia - 04Ikurangi
Ikurangi is one of the four major peaks of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It has an elevation of 485 metres above sea level and overlooks the capital Avarua and the village of Matavera.
1.8 km · mountain in New Zealand · Wikipedia - 05Cook Islands National Museum
The Cook Islands National Museum is part of the Sir Geoffrey Henry National Culture Centre in Avarua on Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. Its collection includes contemporary and historic artefacts, as well as replicas of objects in foreign institutions.
100 m · museum in the Cook Islands · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Cook Islands Library & Museum
Includes an audiovisual that you can sit and watch.
- 02Cook Islands National Museum
Maire Nui Gardens, is the botanical gardens of the island, around 3 km clockwise from Muri, about 600 m past the Fruits of Rarotonga.
- 03Te Ara – Museum of Cultural Enterprise
Includes displays about the history of the Cook Islands.
From Wikivoyage: Avarua, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
The diving in and around the reef is breathtaking. With warm tropical waters of around 27 °C in summer time, only a short 3-mm wetsuit is required. If you are a certified diver, you can book a dive with one of many dive operators on the island. A two-tank boat dive costs about $140 with all equipment provided. There are wrecks (well broken up) to explore, small cave systems and plenty of fish.
- 01Dive Rarotonga
- 02Pacific Divers
- 03Adventure Cook Islands
Aroa Beach, enquiries@adventurecookislands.com.
From Wikivoyage: Avarua, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Local produce tends to be seasonal. Mangoes grow wild, and are plentiful and cheap during summer. Avocados are also plentiful in summer and autumn. Outside of season, however, these fruits can be hard to come by. Passionfruit, guava and paw-paw and oranges are other seasonal fruits freshly available in season.
From Wikivoyage: Avarua, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Avarua
- Airports
- Rarotonga (RAR), 4 km
- Stations
- Rarotonga International Airport, 3.6 km
- Papeete → Avarua1146 km · quickest by air, 5h 44m · $280–430
- Pago Pago → AvaruaTrain, bus, flight, ferry and road, side by side
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Avarua
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Avarua. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get aroundThere are no generally scheduled boat or ferry services between the inhabited islands.
From Wikivoyage: Cook Islands, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-05.
- 01261 km
- 023,941 km
- 034,810 km
- 045,442 km
- 056,258 km
If you know how people move in Avarua – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.