Rarotonga & the Cook Islands

Money & costs

Costs

The Cook Islands is a midway point on the South Pacific price ladder; it's more expensive than Fiji, but prices are nowhere near the horrendous levels of Tahiti and French Polynesia. Rarotonga is steadily repackaging itself to cater for slightly fewer travellers with slightly deeper pockets. The price of accommodation will be your major outlay - generally prices for a private bungalow on Rarotonga start at around NZ$120 upwards, although there are plenty of budget rooms available in hostels and guesthouses for between NZ$20 and NZ$80. Solo travellers will find accommodation particularly expensive in the Cook Islands - prices tend to be given for the room or villa, rather than per person.

Budget travellers should be able to get away with spending between NZ$40 and NZ$75 a day if you're happy to stay in a hostel, cook your own food, and you're not planning on doing too many organised activities; NZ$100 will allow you to explore a few of the island's restaurants and bars as well. Midrange travellers staying in a nice private villa should plan on about NZ$250 to NZ$350 a day per couple, which will include a few meals out, tours and activities, though you could bring costs down by self-catering, renting a house and looking after your own entertainment. Top-end travellers could easily find themselves forking out in excess of NZ$700 a day, staying in luxury villas or resorts, eating at the best restaurants and doing all the organised activities on offer.

The Cook Islands is heavily dependent on imports (primarily from New Zealand) and there's a healthy slug on top of New Zealand prices to cover the shipping costs (shipping is a major element in the high prices of most Pacific islands). This is especially noticeable in the food prices, which are quite steep in comparison to the US, New Zealand and Australia.

Many visitors to the Cooks come on all-inclusive package holidays. Check out the packages available from travel agents; sometimes you can get accommodation-and-air-fare packages for about the same price as air fare only, or even less! Don't feel bound by the package terms: there's usually nothing stopping you from taking five days in relatively luxurious accommodation as part of your package and then moving into a hostel for another couple of weeks.

A 12.5% value-added tax (VAT) is figured into the quoted price of just about everything. If a price is quoted to you 'plus tax' or 'plus VAT', you must add 12.5% to see what you'll actually pay. If you're staying at a resort that includes VAT in its restaurant prices and you're charging meals to your room, make sure you don't get VAT added again when you pay the bill.

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Tipping

Tipping and bargaining are not customary in the Cook Islands. In fact, some people say that you'll offend Cook Islanders by tipping them, but that's not really true - they'll just think you're a mug.

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Money

New Zealand coins and notes are used in the Cooks. There is some Cook Islands money in circulation, identical in value to NZ dollars. The only Cook Islands note is the $3 note, which makes a novelty collector's item - you can buy them at the Philatelic Bureau on Rarotonga, or ask for one in your change when you pay your departure tax at Westpac. There are two versions - a green one depicting the legend of 'Ina and the Shark, and a pink one with generic Cook Islands scenes on front and back.

There's also a complete set of Cook Islands coins - 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2 and $5. The old, huge $1 Tangaroa coin is now a collector's item (they're also available at the Philatelic Bureau), having been replaced by a smaller, wavy-edged $1 coin, still bearing Tangaroa's image. The $2 coin is an oddity - it's triangular! The $5 coin is larger than the rest and made of brass.

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ATMs

The two travellers' banks on Rarotonga, Westpac and ANZ, are both in Avarua. Travellers cheques and cash (major currencies) can be changed at either bank. They also give cash advances on Visa, MasterCard and Bankcard. Travellers cheques and major currencies in cash can be changed at some of the larger hotels, but the banks offer a better exchange rate.

ANZ Bank has two ATMs, both on Rarotonga - downtown Avarua and at Wigmores Superstore on the south coast. There's also an ANZ agent at Mango's Trading on Aitutaki, with an ATM outside. Westpac has two ATMs on Rarotonga - in Avarua and at the airport - and a branch with an ATM at the Administration Centre on Aitutaki.

Both Westpac's and ANZ's ATMs are linked to the international Cirrus/Maestro systems so most travellers can access their home bank account. Check with your bank before you leave about their charges for using overseas ATMs - depending on your bank, this can work out as one of the cheapest ways to access your money, and more convenient than constantly changing travellers cheques.

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Cash

Cook Islands money, whether coins or notes, cannot be changed anywhere else in the world, so be sure to either spend it or exchange it before you leave the country. It will only be good for a souvenir when you arrive somewhere else.

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Credit cards

Visa, MasterCard and Bankcard are readily accepted at most places on Rarotonga. Westpac and ANZ banks in Avarua give cash advances on all three cards; outer-island branches may accept these cards. American Express and Diners Club are accepted at more-expensive hotels and restaurants.

Bank agents on the outer islands usually give cash advances on Visa, MasterCard and Bankcard, but it can be a slow process. Make sure you're going to be around for a few days or the cash might arrive after you leave.

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Moneychangers

There are not many places you can change money - just the Westpac and ANZ Banks in Avarua, at the GlobalEx booth next to Jetsave in Avarua, and at some hotels. You're better off changing all your money on Rarotonga rather than hoping to be able to change money on the outer islands - the fees will be higher and you might occasionally find they've run out of cash. Westpac has a branch at the Rarotonga international airport, open for all arriving and departing international flights.

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Travellers cheques

You get about 4% more for travellers cheques than for cash. Some of the outer-island bank agents will change NZ-dollar travellers cheques but not US dollars.

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