11 Best Boat & Sailing Tours in Rarotonga & the Cook Islands

Experience the beauty of Aitutaki's lagoon on a private sailing charter with Tavai Inventure Tours. This eco-friendly adventure, led by the renowned Captain Ted, offers a unique way to explore the stunning lagoon and its enchanting motus.

You'll visit smaller islands, including the famous One Foot Island, with ample opportunities for snorkelling and discovering the underwater world. The six-hour journey includes a delicious lunch, fresh local fruit, water, and refreshing coconuts.

As the only tour operator in Aitutaki offering lagoon sailing with no ecological footprint, this tour is perfect for environmentally conscious travellers. The experience is weather-dependent to ensure your safety and enjoyment.

See more eco-friendly tour options in the 10 Best Eco Tours in Rarotonga & the Cook Islands.

Location: Pick-up from accommodation, Aitutaki. Tours depart at 9:30 am and return at 3:30 pm.

Raro Reef Sub offers one of Rarotonga's most unique boat tours, taking you to the deep outer reef to observe marine life through the boat's underwater observatory. You'll have the chance to spot large pelagic fish, turtles, sharks and even whales during the 1 hr 30 mins journey.

The semi-submersible vessel cruises around the RMS Maitai shipwreck and hard-to-reach locations. Tours run from Sunday to Friday, with multiple daily departures (weather permitting) between April and December/January.

As a bonus, a portion of your trip fee supports local conservation efforts! This is also a spectacular option with kids, as listed in the 40 Best Things to Do in the Cook Islands with Kids.

Location: Avatiu Harbour, Avarua, northern side of Rarotonga.

Koka Lagoon Cruises offers one of the most well-rounded half-day experiences on Rarotonga, combining glass-bottom boat views, guided snorkelling and a barbecue lunch on a private island, all with a live ukulele band setting the mood from the moment you step aboard.

Departing at 10 am from Muri Beach, the four-hour "Rarotonga Glass Bottom Lagoon Cruise" takes you to the Tikioki Marine Reserve, where you'll snorkel among colourful fish and giant clams (gear provided) before heading ashore on Motu Koromiri for a barbecue feast prepared by on-site chefs.

Back on the water, the fun continues with a coconut demonstration and pareu tying, with the crew keeping the energy high throughout. Resort transfers are included, with pick-up and drop-off from all resorts island-wide via Cook Island Transport. Cruises run Sunday through Friday, and children five and under go free.

Almost identical to Koka Lagoon Cruises, Captain Tama’s Lagoon Cruizes also offers a fun-filled half-day on the waters of the Muri Lagoon daily. The main differences are that the cruise departs a little later (11 am instead of 10 am for Koka) and the crew are a little more “cheeky”, which might not click with everyone’s humour.

Nevertheless (or more, depending on how you look at it), the tour still includes an awesome time snorkelling, indulging in an island barbecue on the island of Koromiri, and watching a fun coconut and sarong demonstration.

Location: Muri Beach, Muri, east coast of Rarotonga. Just look for the yellow boats!

Silent One Lagoon Charters is a family-run operation offering private snorkelling charters, whale watching, lagoon fishing and water taxi runs across the stunning waters of Aitutaki's lagoon, seven days a week.

Run by husband-and-wife team Ki and Lovey, every charter is kept strictly private, so you'll never be grouped with strangers. Your guide always enters the water first to assess conditions before signalling guests in, which says a lot about how seriously they take safety and comfort.

The full-day snorkelling charter covers the entire lagoon and includes a freshly caught barbecue lunch prepared on the day, right in front of you. Whale watching (with an impressive 80% success rate) lets you swim alongside humpback whales with your guide. Tours are fully customisable, and the team can even accommodate guests with limited mobility.

If you're looking for a lagoon cruise in Aitutaki, Teking Lagoon Cruises is a popular option for their boutique, small-group tours.

Their most popular offering, the "Small Group Snorkelling Tour", visits four of the lagoon's motu and three snorkelling spots, with a focus on ecology and conservation that gives you a more connected experience.

With their largest boat carrying no more than 24 guests, they can reach parts of the lagoon that larger cruise-style boats simply cannot.

Expect a full day of exploring, snorkelling and learning, plus a stop at their private island for a fresh barbecue-style lunch and the famous fish feeding spot (which is genuinely something to see).

Families are welcome, with child and infant rates available. Private charters (small, medium and large) and two-hour sunset cruises with Champagne are also on offer.

Learn more about the latter in The Best Sunset Cruises in the Cook Islands.

Location: Ootu Beach, Aitutaki, transfers are included.

One of the best private boat tours in Aitutaki, Kutekute Tours & Transfers specialises in sunset lagoon tours. Be transported to a mix of exciting snorkelling spots with the optional extras of twilight snorkelling and a unique water hammock float.

You’ll then enjoy a stunningly presented beach picnic platter on the uninhabited Moturakau as you watch the sunset. The tour is the only tour to return to the mainland after dark, allowing you to stargaze on the journey back to Ootu Beach.

See more experiences like this in the 20 Most Romantic Things to Do in the Cook Islands for Couples.

Location: Ootu Beach, Aitutaki, transfers are included.

Wet & Wild are the kings of watersports on the Aitutaki Lagoon, and even outside of the lagoon with whale watching/swimming tours and deep sea fishing tours available. Choose your flavour: deep sea fishing, casting, jigging, spearfishing, kitesurfing or exploring the lagoon.

From July to the end of October, you can join a shared tour (around three hours, on one of Aitutaki's largest boats, carrying up to 20 guests) or book a private tour that wraps up in approximately two hours. Guides stay in the water with you, and it's not unusual for guests to rebook two to four times during the same stay.

Outside of whale season, Wet & Wild runs half-day and full-day boat charters covering deep-sea fishing, spearfishing, island hopping, wakeboarding, tube riding and snorkelling. They also offer kiteboarding and wing foiling lessons and rentals, with transfers to the kite area included.

If you really want your time to be all about the whales, Wet & Wild offer "Whale Retreat" packages that take things to another level entirely: seven nights of accommodation, all meals, daily boat transfers and five hours on the water per day across five days, with whale watching, lagoon snorkelling and island hopping built into every week. Groups are capped at ten guests on a private boat.

Cruise the Aitutaki Lagoon on a Polynesian-inspired double-hulled vessel as part of The Vaka Cruise. The six-hour cruise offers plenty of snorkelling time with giant trevally, giant clams and all sorts of tropical fish.

You’ll also set foot on One Foot Island and enjoy an island-style lunch on the boat. A ukulele band keep you entertained throughout the whole trip!

Compare the cruise with others on the lagoon in the 10 Best Lagoon Cruises on Aitutaki.

Location: Ootu Beach, Aitutaki, transfers are included.

Bishop's Cruises is one of Aitutaki's premier lagoon cruise operators and the only double-decker vessel on the lagoon, making it one of the most comfortable and spacious ways to explore the famous turquoise waters.

Their fleet includes a cosy 16-passenger boat with a minibar and a spacious 45-passenger catamaran equipped with a minibar, changing area, and toilets.

The flagship "Day Cruise" departs at 10 am from Ootu Beach and runs for approximately six hours, stopping at four key spots: Akaiami Island (the historic site of the Cook Islands' first international airport, where TEAL passenger seaplanes once landed), Moturakau Island (known for its reality TV filming locations and a nature walk through local flora and fauna), a marine reserve snorkel site near One Foot Island (where giant trevally, giant clams and bonefish are regulars), and One Foot Island itself for a barbecue lunch prepared using Bishop's own permanent on-island facilities.

Snorkel gear, towels and transport to and from your accommodation are all included.

The crew are mostly local-born Aitutakians who grew up on the water, many with over 30 years of experience with the company. Private charters are also available for half or full days, using a smaller boat that can reach spots the main vessel cannot, with a fully flexible itinerary that's entirely up to you.

For some high-speed thrills that are suitable for adrenaline junkies of all ages, Rongohiva Watersports offers an exciting speed boat and banana boat tour in Rarotonga. The experience has you blasting across the waters outside of the lagoon for one hour and 30 minutes of pure adrenaline fun!

They also offer whale watching boat tours in the season, which you can learn more about in the 5 Best Whale Watching (& Swimming) Tours in the Cook Islands.

Location: Avatiu Harbour, Avarua, northern side of Rarotonga.