Practical Information

Important phone numbers: 

Banks

The local currency is NZ dollars.

Local banks are ANZ bank, Bank of the South Pacific (BSP) and Bank of the Cook Islands (BCI)

Opening hours are from 9am – 3pm Monday to Friday

BSP opens on Saturday from 9am-12pm

All banks have ATM machines located outside the banks. There are also ATM machines located around the island. Most local stores accept credit and debit cards. 

There is also a Western Union money transfer service in town. 

Communications

4G mobile phone services are provided by Vodafone Cook Islands. There will be a Vodafone stand at the conference that will sell Cook Islands SIM cards.  These are quite expensive.  A cheaper option is accessing Vodafone Wifi hotspots at a number of locations around Rarotonga. To access these, you must buy a prepaid wireless access card available from the Vodafone stand. The cards start at NZ$15 for 50 megabytes of downloaded data.  

As well, the Centre of Excellence in IT at USP has provided us with an internet centre that you can access between 7.30am and 7pm each day.  You are welcome to go in and use their computers to access the internet.  It will cost you nothing.   

Health

Mosquitos can be a problem and precautionary measures are recommended such as insect-repellent and long sleeves/trousers in the evening if outside. There is no risk of malaria in the Cook Islands but dengue fever is spreading across Polynesia so cannot be ruled out. This is transmitted by a daytime-biting mosquito which can be present in rooms. 

The nearest pharmacy is located in town approximately a two minute drive or five minute walk, located behind the Empire Theatre. Another pharmacy is located in town within the CITC Main Store, Avarua.  

Markets

Punanganui Market – located in Avarua. Operates on Saturday morning 6am-12pm where arts and crafts, local produce and local foods can be bought. 

Muri Night Market – located on the south-eastern side of the island. Go up to the main road and turn right. Approximately a fifteen to twenty minute drive from town. Operates Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 6pm -8pm. 

Supermarkets

Foodland is located in the middle of town, Avarua. Opening hours are from 8:30am to 4pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays until 12pm. 

Other supermarkets include: 

Prime Foods located in St Joseph's Rd, Avarua, (8am-6pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays 8am to 4pm)

CITC Supermarket located in Avarua (8am – 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays 8am to 4pm)

Super Brown operates 24/7 (there is one in  Tupapa, five minute drive going clockwise from town and one in Nikao, 10 minute drive going anticlockwise from town)

Oasis Store (located in Nikao, approximately a five minute drive from town past the airport) operates 24/7

Wigmores Superstore (located in Vaima’anga, approximately a twenty minute drive from town) operates 24/7. 

There are also many smaller convenience stores all across the island.

Transport

The conference is providing a specially dedicated shuttle bus service. Please see the PIURN shuttle bus timetable for more details.

There is also a public bus service to get around Rarotonga.  The service is hourly round the island (both clockwise and anti-clockwise). The schedule for the bus can be found at https://www.cookislandsbus.com/schedule. The closest bus stop to the conference venue is on the main road by the TEM Store and the Paradise Inn. It costs $5NZD for a single far, $8 for a return fare, or $30 for a 10-trip concession card. All fares are paid IN CASH to the driver.

There are also several taxi companies in operation, please see the table above for phone numbers.