Content. I would be more than content to return to Rarotonga on a yearly basis. Renting a house, a car, inviting the fam, Aunts and cousins next time. It’s a nearly perfect balance of distance yet familiarity. Exotic but not commercial. Small enough to not get lost, big enough to have a choice handful of beaches to frequent. The reef keeps the ocean calm. All’s well, unless it starts raining sideways, but even then, it’s cozy and comfortable.

So the food may be a bit pricey. What do you expect. Honestly. Go look at a map. It could be a lot worse. The only other downside (am I just a big downer?) is the wifi. But it’s no deal breaker. It’s been a few months, so I’m guessing I spent $75 ish in wifi cards for the two weeks. Take. My. Money. Each of the rental accommodations had routers set up, and it seemed that all over the island was the same deal. Everyone hits up bluesky for their data needs. It’s a complete luxury, not a necessity. Your on vacation, go to the beach.

Let’s talk about food. If my memory serves me, the evening market (dinner market) was 4 days a week. Trader Jacks has reasonably priced pizzas. Palace Burgers has a cheap night (Monday?) and the grocery stores have takeaway. My mouth is watering at the thought of the mushroom chicken kebab place at the market, served over rice, slapped with rich caramelized sauce. Fresh fruit smoothies next door, and for dessert, fresh soft serve; lime-passion fruit-soursop, so bloody good. Let’s go.

Next time we’ll have to plan for at least 2 Saturdays. In January we arrived on a Sunday morning and left on a Friday night. That means just one Saturday market. The market of flowers. Flower crowns, eis, the aroma of monoi, frangipani and jasmine engulfing the alleys of stalls. They sell quickly. So when you see something that strikes your fancy, scoop it up. They’re works of art that last but a couple days, and are strangely hard to find on island on non market days.

The beaches. The beaches are usually empty. It’s insane. People come to the island, book a resort, and stay the entire time at said resort. The beaches are amazing. The sand is amazing. I’m a self proclaimed sand/beach connoisseur, and I know good sand. The right texture, consistency, colour. Not muddy, mucky, sticky, orange, brown. We’re talking powder. Pure as the driven snow. Pounded coral. White, silky, clean and pristine. Garbage free. It’s what beach vacation dreams are made of. Let’s go.