raro mountain safari tour

Just got back from a fantastic morning exploring the island in a unique way with fun & informative drivers/guides. We got to see some of the places that really are off the beaten track and also enjoyed hearing stories and information about the local people culture & customs. Plenty of opportunity to take photos and see scenery that is very different from the beaches that most tourists usually end up on. For anyone visiting Rarotonga this is a great tour to do near the start of your holiday as it's a good way of getting a real feel for the island. The drivers/guides are all locals & so much fun - very knowledgeable and helpful. At the end of the tour lunch is served at the beach - yummy chicken, salads and fruit. We didn't actually have the best weather but the drizzle sort of added to the fun up in the mountain! Highly recommended.

This tour is different from many other offerings on the island as it focuses not on the lagoons or culture but on showing the other side of the island. Going inland was so interesting and eye opening on how thick and steep the terrain is. The guides were also knowledgeable and fun.

Really enjoyed this tour, great for people of all ages. Our driver/guide was a real character and so entertaining. Loved the lessons on "borrowing" very useful information indeed. Would recommend this to everyone who wants to see a bit more than just the beach.

A group of 6 (4adults 2children) booked to go on this tour- was not at all happy that 1. I was charged a surcharge for using a master card 2. Children were charged the same amount as an adult $60 which did not include a light snack/lunch. Although the views were amazing I don't think I'd recommend for younger children or elderly as there are no safety belts for the bumpier/steeper areas of the tour.

We took this tour on the day of our renewal of vows so I was hoping we didn't get tipped out on the off road part of the trip (we didn't). I think the main attraction of the tour is not so much the bumping about off road but the ability to meet knowledgeable guides who can explain to you the history, culture, and beliefs of the local people. So the tour discusses important sites in the context of the culture of the people, the launching site for the waka which came to NZ, the waterfall, and the offroad trip up The Needle. There is a stop at a noni juice place - maybe a bit annoying for some but pretty standard on many tours around the world in my experience. That also introduces you to some locals and gives you an insight into life in the Cooks. Decent lunch afterwards. We basically paid at the end of the tour which tells you something about how trusting and not pushy about money the locals are.

In April this year, my husband and I went on the honeymoon of a lifetime to the Cook Islands. Everything about the trip was wonderful (and I encourage you to visit the islands) with one major exception: Raro Safari Tours. We booked a 'Safari Tour' having spent a week exploring the island in our hire car and on foot. We really wanted to get the "off-road" "safari" experience as advertised on all of the company's leaflets and marketing material. The tour is advertised as a "4x4 off road tour "that goes "where no other tours dare". Our experience was very different from that advertised.Our tour lasted 4 hours, of which no more than 30 minutes was spent awayfrom the two main tarmac roads of the island - which are easily accessible by foot, car, bike... (you get the picture) and all but one of the stops made was easily accessible by scooter or rental car. The stop in the Avatiu Valley, on the one non-tarmaced road, we could have walked to with ease up the dirt road. We do not believe that thiscan be classed as an off road adventure. All but one of the stops made waseasily accessible by scooter or rental car, we were not taken to see the TeRua Manga close-up s promised, but instead viewed it from afar across a valley. Whilethe view was beautiful, it wasn't what was advertised in the posters andliterature. We also spent (wasted) 40 mins of the tour visiting a Noni juice factory notmentioned anywhere in the advertising, where we stood around in a storage shed while the proprietor (think sleazy 'snake oil salesman') talkedcontinuously about his product before pressuring us to buy some. We feltour participation in the tour was being exploited to sell his product and itmade us very uncomfortable and unhappy with the experience. While the drivers were charming, this experience simply isn't what isadvertised and we noticed that in the comments book, other customers hadalso felt as we did. When I emailed the company to complain and request a refund of the NZ$160 we had paid, I got a shockingly rude response. So rude in fact that I forwarded it on to the agent we'd booked with (Te Vara Nui Tours), who passed it on to the Cook Islands Tourist board. The staff there (at the Cook Islands Tourist Board) were so horrified by the awful rudeness and terrible service that they called my husband and I to invite us out to lunch so that they could formally apologise for the experience! (As a side note - this was the one positive from the experience. Metua Vaiimene, the Director of Destination Development was charming and fun and we had a great lunch with him at Cafe Salsa!)EVERY stopping point on this tour is AT THE SIDE OF A ROAD and is clearly marked in the guidebook and tourist maps so is easily and publicly accessible. Please don't waste your money getting these charlatans to take you to a place you can reach more easily and pleasurably yourself!

Piling into the back of a landrover we toured the back roads of Rarotonga learning about the culture and island. Visiting the site where the seven boats left the Cook Islands which brought the Maoris to New Zealand was interesting as we heard the historical tale when recently in New Zealand. The tour culminated with a generous buffet lunch.

This particular tour gave a great opportunity to see the mountains of the Cook Islands. We had a driver called Mr Useless and was a very funny man only adding enjoyment to the safari. They take you to some great sights & as value for money would recommend doing when in the Cook Islands.

Did this tour and enjoyed the day, our guide was very informative about the plants fruits and history of the island. If you don't like bumps give it a miss but if you get the right mix of people you will have a fun tour.

You learn abut the history and culture of Rarotonga and the Cook Islands and can even go to the top of the island to view. A fun trip.

It was informative about the culture, history and geography of the island. The staff were friendly and had a good sense of humour.It was good value for money.The lunch provided was simple, fresh and plentiful and also very nice. (BBQ and Salads)A great way to travel to the high peaks of internal Rarotonga.

A great day out. Well worth the trip with friendly and funny drivers, each with a story to tell. Not just a beach tour, but a few wonderful inland trips to some very interesting sites and some wonderful back stories to be told. Bring your sense of humour, and a water bottle, and enjoy the day out.

We enjoyed this tour, the guides were interesting, informative and funny. Lunch was great too. Thanks to the guides for sharing their knowledge and history.

We loved this tour, it was a very interesting and informative tour, the guide was very knowledgeable and funny....this tour is a must.

We went on this tour last week and was suspicious when the knackered old jeep turned up with a driver who spoke very little English and understood less. We got into the jeep thinking we had been short changed on the first claim "professional, friendly, knowledgeable guides" quickly backed up by the driver clumsily pointing out trees in broken English! When one of the group asked him questions he just smiled and said Yes!We drove up to the hospital on a small hill and the jeep really struggled and groaned.Then when we started up the mountain track it struggled so badly that it eventually stalled. By now we were on a dirt track with a dangerously steep drop over one side. We started panicking and asking to get out, but the driver continued to try and restart the jeep, at which point it started falling backwards and gaining speed.The children were screaming and the adults shouting but the driver couldn't stop it.After some distance (approx 15meters) and with the cliff side dangerously close he managed to steer it into the bank, throwing us all into a heap - at which point it went up into the air and landed on the side.The driver jumped out and ran off! It later transpired he had gone to get help - but he didn't even check on us first!Everyone was bashed and bruised and one had a serious cut to her hand. I had hit my head on the metal bar and blacked out (I'm in my 50's!) but my husband managed to get me out.Not knowing what was happening but realising we were a long way from help, we started walking down the mountain track until I could call a local friend for help.She called the Safari office to be told there had NOT been an accident, we had just broken down and the manager had gone to check - and would not be told differently. Eventually we met the driver and soon after a mechanic arrived with another jeep, laughed and joked to the driver whilst leaving us stood huddled together with no help.The original driver got in the replacement jeep and signalled for us to get in and he'd take us to our hotels!! We had to demand to be taken to the hospital.No representative came to the hospital to support us or the injured driver - let alone take us home. They just left the driver to do that (we refused and our friend came for us - who had also called the police).The next day after giving a statement to the police a lady from the company came with the driver and apologised, but when I started to tell her we had been badly let down by the company during and after the accident, she was more offended and insisted she had been very upset by the news and had indeed called the driver "50 times that night" to check up on him and the poor owner was in NZ with his sick mother!I put the attached photo on facebook and had surprising responses, including one friend how said on her 'safari' the driver got out of the vehicle and punched a local in the face then explained it was because he had flipped him the bird!Seriously, don't take your life, worse yet, your children's lives in your hands with this bunch of cowboys! If you are considering it - take a look around the jeeps first! You'll make the right decision!