The main island of Rarotonga, is ringed by coral reefs. The huge waves of the Pacific smash down on the protective ridge, while inside the azure waters of the lagoon are as smooth as an ice rink

The Cook Islands consists of two main groups, one in the north and one in the south. The southern group is nine "high" islands mainly of volcanic origin although some are virtually atolls. The majority of the population lives in the southern group. The northern group comprises six true atolls.

The Cook Islands offer exceptional opportunities for deepsea game fishing as well as saltwater fly and light tackle sports fishing.
A bonus for visitors from July to October is the strong possibility of seeing humpback whales which often come very close to Rarotonga's shoreline on their migration route north from the Antarctic.
Sometimes these whales will breach and those lucky enough to witness this will have another permanent memory of their trip to the Cook Islands.

The year-round warm water with temperatures of between 23º and 30º, the easy accessibility and the circular shape of the island of Rarotonga allows divers to go out in virtually any weather to take advantage of shelter from rough wave action.

There is a huge variety of coral and splendid visibility of 100 to 200 feet. There is a wide range of diving sites including caves, wrecks and simple submarine terrain for beginners such as sand rivers.
Favorite dive spots to name but a few are the Ngatangiia Swimthroughs, the Matavera Drop-Off, the Mataora Wreck, the Papua Canyon, the Sand River and the Koromiri Coral Garden.
The abundant reef life among 73 types of live coral features hundreds of fish species, a bonanza for underwater photographers. Experts rate the reef drop-off as the highlight for divers off Rarotonga. This begins at about 100 feet and plunges down to 12,000 feet -- Rarotonga is an extinct volcano.