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Avarua
Capital of the Cook Islands

Avarua

Avarua is a district and township in the north of the island of Rarotonga, the largest island of the Cook Islands.

Plan a trip to Avarua→From Papeete

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.

Get in

Getting to Avarua

  1. 01
    Rarotonga International Airport

    These airlines run regular flights to and from Rarotonga: Air New Zealand operates eleven flights a week from Auckland, and three flights a week from Christchurch seasonally from May to October 2026.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Cook Islands Library & Museum

    Includes an audiovisual that you can sit and watch.

  2. 02
    Cook 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.

  3. 03
    Te Ara – Museum of Cultural Enterprise

    Includes displays about the history of the Cook Islands.

Do

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.

  1. 01
    Dive Rarotonga
  2. 02
    Pacific Divers
  3. 03
    Adventure Cook Islands

    Aroa Beach, enquiries@adventurecookislands.com.

Eat

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.

How locals move

Getting around Avarua the local way

  • 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. Last edited 2026-05.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.