I’ve been asked

How Do You Get to the Cook Islands?
Well, some adventurers do a simple flight (non-stop 7.5 hours) from Los Angeles, USA to Rarotonga, Cook Islands on Air New Zealand. This once a week flight (departing LA on Saturday, departs Raro on Friday) gives those who want a quick get-away the chance to experience Roratonga for a week. Here’s the link: https://www.airnewzealand.com/flights-to-cook-islands

But, if you want to venture further afield you will want to catch an Air Roratonga flight to Aitutaki or to one of the other less well known Islands such as … have a look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands

Air Roarotonga flies to Aitutaki from Rarotonga every day and has multiple flights. It is a quick 45 minute flight and you check in at the Domestic airport (which is part of the Airport complex that houses the international flights as well). You can even (if you plan it right) get off your international flight and catch an Air Raro flight to Aitutaki the same day. Check it out here: https://www.airraro.com/en/news/connecting-to-aitutaki-from-l-a

Depending on where you are coming from this might be an easy commute or a marathon. Check out Air Rarotonga here: https://www.airraro.com/en

We decided to catch the Formula 1 Race in Melbourne on our way back to Canada so we ended up booking a non-stop flight from Vancouver to Melbourne (return) and then an Air New Zealand flight to Rarotonga and then an Air Raro flight to Aitutaki…but it does not have to be that hard. If I was to do it again I would try the direct flight from Los Angeles to Rarotonga, do our week in Aitutaki, fly to Melbourne for the race, and then return to Rarotonga for the flight home.
All-in-all, the flights are relatively easy and getting there is a part of the fun and adventure!

Photo credit: Courtesy Air Rarotonga