Welcome to Cook Islands Pocket Guide, your ultimate travel companion for exploring the Cook Islands. Founded by Robin and Laura, Cook Islands Pocket Guide is a labour of love and passion for sharing the hidden gems of this breathtaking slice of the South Pacific.
Our Values
At Cook Islands Pocket Guide, we’re not chasing likes or superficial trends on social media. Instead, our mission is anchored in delivering factual and insightful information derived from rigorous research, firsthand experiences and unwavering journalistic integrity. We’re here to assist travellers from all backgrounds in planning their journey to Rarotonga, Aitutaki and the Pa Enua, going beyond the allure of pretty photos to offer practical guidance.
Our core values form the foundation of our work:
- Empowering Local Tourism Businesses: We strive to promote local tourism enterprises, advertisers or not, recognising their invaluable contributions to the Cook Islands.
- Comprehensive Representation: We present our readers with a complete overview of tourism operators and accommodations. That way, they have diverse options that suit their preferences and needs.
- Inclusivity: Our platform caters to travellers, no matter your nationality and socio-economic background, providing a range of options to facilitate enjoyable experiences for all.
- Informed Decision-Making: We empower travellers to make informed decisions by offering transparent and unbiased information, enabling them to craft personalised itineraries that align with their interests.
- Sustainable Travel: We advocate for a positive relationship between travellers and destinations, emphasising the importance of environmental conservation and social responsibility in travel experiences.
- Thorough Fact-Checking: Our team consists of seasoned journalists who thoroughly fact-check all the information we receive. We personally experience most activities and services ourselves to ensure we provide accurate first-hand insights.
More about our standards can be viewed on our Editorial Standards Page.
© CookIslandsPocketGuide.comWhy Trust Us For Your Trip to Rarotonga and the Cook Islands?
Cook Islands Pocket Guide isn’t just another travel website—it’s built on real, on-the-ground experience. Our team spends 3+ weeks in the Cook Islands every year, staying in accommodations, taking tours and testing travel services first-hand to ensure every recommendation is worth your time.
Our Journalistic Approach
We meet strict journalistic standards, fact-checking every detail and keeping our content up to date. Unlike AI-generated articles or crowd-sourced reviews, our insights come from genuine research and professionalism – because great travel advice should be as reliable as it is inspiring.
Trusted by Credible Organisations
Government organisations like Cook Islands Tourism Corporation trust us to provide accurate, independent advice. We’ve also partnered with the Pacific Tourism Organisation since 2019. These partnerships help us bring you the most up-to-date and credible travel information.
Trusted By Our Readers
With thousands of readers each year, Cook Islands Pocket Guide is the Cook Islands’ most trusted travel resource. Don’t just take our word for it—glowing reviews on Trustpilot and social media prove that travellers rely on us to plan their dream trip with confidence.
On the Ground Experience
Not only have we travelled the Cook Islands extensively but we return for 3+ weeks each year, ensuring we always have a pulse on the tourism landscape.
Journalistic Standards
Our team are qualified journalists, bringing professionalism and a more objective perspective on travel experiences in the Cook Islands. Learn more on Our Standards page.
Government Partnerships
We work with with official sources, including Cook Islands Tourism Corporation and SPTO, to ensure our advice is something you can rely on.
Readers Feedback
According to our reader's survey, we have 94% readers satisfaction rate. We're pretty pleased with that, and we love to hear about ways we can improve.
Next Level Readership
Cook Islands Pocket Guide enjoys approximately 910,000 readers each year. That's a fair few people who like what we do and keep coming back for more. Thanks for sticking with us!
4.6 Stars on Trustpilot
The best people to describe who we are and what we do are our amazing website readers and YouTube viewers. See what they have say (and have your say) over on Trustpilot.
Our Collaborations: Working with the Best to Bring You the Best
At Cook Islands Pocket Guide, we’re proud to have strong relationships with a diverse range of organisations and companies, from nationally recognised institutions to small family-run businesses. Whether it’s partnering with major government bodies, such as Cook Islands Tourism Corporation or the Ministry of Transport, or working with independent operators, such as Cook Islands Tours, we’re passionate about creating authentic, reliable and accessible content for travellers.
Partnering with Institutions
Our collaborations with institutions allow us to pass on vital information, such as government policies, regulations and conservation initiatives, in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. From detailed articles on our website to information-rich videos on our YouTube channel, we ensure their messages reach and resonate with our audience.
Supporting Local Businesses
We equally value our partnerships with smaller operators, including “Mom and Pop” shops and boutique companies. The Cook Islands tourism industry wouldn’t be what it is today without these incredible businesses for us to showcase.
A Growing Network of Partners
Since our inception, we’ve had the privilege of working with over 50 organisations and businesses across the Cook Islands, creating a collaborative ecosystem that helps travellers plan unforgettable experiences while staying informed about the country’s tourism landscape and travel regulations.
© CookIslandsPocketGuide.comOur Team
(The awkward part where we write about ourselves).
Robin and Laura, alongside a team of dedicated travel writers, spearhead our efforts to provide travellers with a comprehensive and authentic travel guide.
Their experience of extensively travelling the Cook Islands each and every year, combined with an honorary journalism background, brings a wealth of knowledge and insights to Cook Islands Pocket Guide.
Laura (Editor-in-Chief)
Laura is the content wizard behind Cook Islands Pocket Guide. A trained journalist and editor-in-chief of five additional travel guides for the South Pacific and the South Pacific Pocket Guide YouTube Channel, she ensures that your eyes and ears only receive content of the highest standard. Learn more about Laura.
Robin (Operations Manager)
… And unofficial “Travel Manager”, Robin knows all things logistics when it comes to planning a trip to the Cook Islands. He consistently liaises with key stakeholders in the local tourism industry and relays vital information to viewers/readers between Cook Islands Pocket Guide and our YouTube Channel. Learn more about Robin.
Cook Islands Pocket Guide on YouTube
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© CookIslandsPocketGuide.comOur Sustainability Commitment
At Cook Islands Pocket Guide, we believe responsible travel starts with informed choices. As an SPTO-recognised guide, we showcase all options but prioritise:
- Eco-conscious operators
- Locally owned tours and accommodations
- Reducing over-tourism by promoting lesser-visited areas
Beyond travel recommendations, we take action:
- Our servers run on fossil-fuel-free energy
- We minimise travel impact by researching locally and batching research trips to avoid unnecessary flights
- We contribute to environmental and social initiatives across the South Pacific – learn more in our regional guides found at SouthPacificPocketGuide.com
Sustainability isn’t just a commitment – it’s how we operate.
© CookIslandsPocketGuide.comThe Story of Cook Islands Pocket Guide
Our labour of love began in 2014 with a clear mission: to sustainably guide travellers across the South Pacific. Here’s our journey:
- 2014-18: Launch of NZ Pocket Guide and Fiji Pocket Guide – Our first South Pacific Pocket Guides
- NZ Pocket Guide, formerly BackpackerGuide.NZ, was our first travel guide created for the South Pacific.
- We focused on sustainability and low impact from the outset.
- The site grew rapidly, reaching over 250,000 travellers in the first year, defying our expectations and showing a working proof of concept that could be applied to smaller South Pacific regions.
- With this shift in focus, Laura went from solely creating content to building a flexible travel writing team and a fact-based editorial line. In the meantime, Robin got a web-dev team together to expand our travel guide expertise beyond New Zealand.
- We launched Fiji Pocket Guide, expanding our reach to other Pacific nations.
Our journey continued with a focus on partnership and local engagement:
- 2019-2020: Local Partnerships and COVID Adaptation
- This was the first year (of many!) we partnered with the SPTO to promote sustainable tourism in the Pacific.
- We launched Niue Pocket Guide and Tonga Pocket Guide in collaboration with local governments.
- We ran small-scale sustainable tourism programs which were incredibly fulfilling in Tonga and Niue.
- COVID-19 hit so we updated our content to reflect the changing landscapes of travel during the pandemic.
Skipping to post-pandemic and looking to the future, we’ve not slowed down, continuing to share the beauty of the Pacific:
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and beyond: Launch of Cook Islands Pocket Guide and Continuous Engagement
- Working with the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, we conducted our first extensive on-the-ground research, covering Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
- We launched Cook Islands Pocket Guide and Samoa Pocket Guide.
- Continued on-the-ground research was conducted to provide updates to our guides in Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Samoa and, of course, the Cook Islands.
- Some of our team gained international certifications in drone piloting and scuba diving to provide more unique perspectives on our travel coverage.
And, of course, we are looking forward to more adventures and guides in the coming years.
Whether you’re an adventure seeker, a nature enthusiast, a cultural explorer or simply seeking a tranquil retreat, Cook Islands Pocket Guide is your biggest source of Rarotonga and Cook Islands trip-planning information with more than 500 articles. Join us in creating meaningful connections between travellers and this breathtaking destination. Free. Independent. For everyone.
To become a contributor, advertise or provide feedback, please refer to our Contact Page.