diving rarotonga/aitutaki
- Thread starter Benawa
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Wingy
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Id hazard a guess its the same reason as Rangiroa and FP - distance, everything has to be shipped in. Those prices are the same I paid in F.P and NZ and Aus..are you sure tips are part of the culture there? I honestly have no idea but you don't tip anyone in Aus after paying $50 for a boat dive nor was there any expectation of tipping in Rangiroa. Just an assumption based on diving that region although i havent personally dived raro yet.
It was a few years ago and while tips were not expected regularly, could slready see that it wouldn't be long before they would be. Best of luck. I enjoyed most of my dives at Raro, regardless that at thst time the Crown of Thorns were decimating the reef. Sharks on most every dive, some cool formations too. Meals were expensive! But I found the island to be very very beautiful. Have you enquired as to whether or not you could decrease the cost of esch dive by booking a block of them? Where are you staying on Raro? Unfortunately, the dive op I would have given my recommendation has either been sold or retired out.
clownfishsydney
Contributor
Rarotonga is not worth diving. Visibility is 50 metres, but there is nothing to see, no fish, no gorgonias, no sponges. We dived there for a week and I was very disappointed (I have dived all over the Pacific as well as northern Europe).
You would not tip if you did dive there, unless you had exceptional service. Proper wages are paid, unlike some other places.
You would not tip if you did dive there, unless you had exceptional service. Proper wages are paid, unlike some other places.
Wingy
Contributor
Thanks for the heads up 
We dove with Cook Island Divers. The guide's name was Ian, and we liked him a lot. The boat was very minimal (but it didn't matter much because we were within arm's reach of shore most of the time). I'm not sure if it had O2 on it, though.
The diving was hard coral, as all the diving we did in the South Pacific was. We did see a Spanish Dancer and several large morays. I didn't think the diving in the region was at all spectacular, with the exception of Rangiroa, but it was easy and the visibility was great.
The diving was hard coral, as all the diving we did in the South Pacific was. We did see a Spanish Dancer and several large morays. I didn't think the diving in the region was at all spectacular, with the exception of Rangiroa, but it was easy and the visibility was great.
Dive Rarotonga
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Hi Benawa, tipping is not the norm here on Rarotonga. I'm not sure where you normally dive, but NZ$50/boat dive is not expensive when you compare to other places in the region. We do have everying imported, including fuel and power is extremely expensive. The other thing is that in the Cook Islands staff are paid a semi-realistic minimum wage - so you can't compere to places like Asia where staff are paid extremely poorly and live on tips.
As for the diving, Rarotonga is a desination with diving - not a dive destination. That said we have exceptionally clear water (30+m pretty normal) and we do certainly have plenty of coral and fish.. so I'm not sure where people are diving??? I suppose it all comes down to what you expect. If you expect the Red Sea you'll be dissapointed, but compared to many placed in the South Pacific, Rarotonga has better dives. The best coral is at sites like Mushroom Forest and Swiss reef (North), the West is the place for carverns/swim thoughs and the South is good for passage diving athough here the coral is not so good - perhaps this is where clownfishsydney was diving? BTW The coral on the island is virtually all hard coral.
As for the diving, Rarotonga is a desination with diving - not a dive destination. That said we have exceptionally clear water (30+m pretty normal) and we do certainly have plenty of coral and fish.. so I'm not sure where people are diving??? I suppose it all comes down to what you expect. If you expect the Red Sea you'll be dissapointed, but compared to many placed in the South Pacific, Rarotonga has better dives. The best coral is at sites like Mushroom Forest and Swiss reef (North), the West is the place for carverns/swim thoughs and the South is good for passage diving athough here the coral is not so good - perhaps this is where clownfishsydney was diving? BTW The coral on the island is virtually all hard coral.
Raro is the only time I've been in a swirl of barracuda, something I would have expected more at Sipidan. Interestingly, the barracuda didn't show in Sip but were spectacular at Raro. A lovely gift from the sea. I had colorful wrasse charging me and biting at my hair wispies that were floating up. Think they could see their reflection in my mask. Saw many peacock groupers and again, sharks on near every dive . . .it's hard for me to say I didn't see much. But yeah true, no soft corals, can't remember for sure about sponges but some formations were so lovely! Yes, a beautiful island with diving but I didn't think it was all that mundane.
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