Australian travellers will be able to access the Cook Islands from next week after a travel hiatus of two years.
With New Zealand permitting quarantine- and isolation-free travel for Australian citizens and resident from 13 April 2022, the Cook Islands will come back online for holiday seekers once again.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
Graeme West, General Manager of the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation for Australasia said Cook Islanders are “waiting with open arms and big smiles to greet their first Australian visitors in just over two years.”
“Because tourism is the mainstay of our economy, the last two years have caused significant financial hardship for many people,” West said. “We are looking forward with much anticipation to welcoming Aussies back to our beautiful islands.”
“Our tourism infrastructure is well established and offers a wide range of fantastic choices for accommodation, restaurants, and outdoor activities,” West said.
The Cook Islands has been dedicated to protecting its people and visitors and boasts a fantastic vaccination rate of 97% of the eligible population.
There are some requirements that travellers must comply with. All visitors over 5 years and 3 months of age (changing to over 16 years of age from 2 May 2022) must be fully vaccinated and provide an official International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (ICVC) issued by the Australian Government. A supervised RAT within 24 hours of departure from Auckland to Rarotonga is required and currently must be taken in NZ. However, from 2 May 2022, Australian visitors can take a supervised RAT or PCR test in Australia 48 hours prior to their scheduled flight time from Auckland to Rarotonga.
Visitors must complete a Cook Islands contact form no more than 96 hours prior to the scheduled departure time from Auckland to the Cook Islands.
From 13 April, Australian travellers can travel to the Cook Islands via Auckland on Air New Zealand, or with Jetstar from 2 June. Air New Zealand’s direct service from Sydney to Rarotonga are expected to recommence later this year.
For more information and details on entry requirements are on The Cook Islands Travel Requirement checklist – see cookislands.travel.