With Africa behind me, I’m now looking forward to a little bit of South Pacific relaxation. Last year I went on a repatriation job to retrieve an Australian from Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Spending only 8hrs on the island, I vowed to return as a tourist. Next week, myself, four friends and of all people my mother will be lounging on the beach soaking up the South Pacific sun on our Easter Sunday.
The Cook Islands lie in the South Pacific in between Fiji and Tahiti to the northeast of New Zealand. Consisting of only fifteen islands with a population of approximately 20,000 people, this is my kind of place.
Rarotonga International Airport is the international gateway with services on Star Alliance Air New Zealand direct to Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland; Virgin Australia direct to Auckland; and Air Tahiti to Papeete. My friends and I will be flying on the direct flight from Sydney to Rarotonga, while my mother will be traveling from Traverse City to Chicago to LAX on United/Continental and then on to Rarotonga with Air New Zealand.
Doing a random flexible day search on kayak.com a roundtrip from Traverse City, Michigan to Rarotonga is roughly $1,100-1,300 with the Star Alliance routing. While from LAX nonstop, I’ve seen prices under $1,000. Alternatively, using a United/Continental award a return Saver Economy ticket is 70,000 miles or 120,000 for business.
As most of you are aware I love getting to random obscure places. Having had a taste of the Cook Islands I’m really looking forward to exploring what the main island has to offer.
As a further update, I’ve recently had to take on additional workloads both as a nurse as well as in my university law degree. For these reasons I do not feel I can contribute fully to the Frugal Travel Guy and will be taking a step into the background. For those of you that appreciated my stories and tips, thank you for your support and continued loyalty to the FTG blog. Although I consider Australia home and may seem a world away, I will always be available to answer emails and as time allows you can expect to see me pop up here and there.
Deal of the Day
For today’s Deal of the Day AutoSlash is donating a $50 Hertz Gift Card for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post to be eligible to win.
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