Ranginui's Retreat

Aitutaki is a South Pacific paradise catering mostly to New Zealand and Austrailia. There's little commercialization that makes it quiet and localized. I've been to Aitutaki 22x since 2005, last 2023, so have the keys to local living. Rent a scooter and discover the island and local snorkeling on the northwest beach at the west end of the old runway. Stayed at Ranganui Retreat every time. Their lagoon front cabins are affordable and clean without the expensive resort charges. A week's stay includes a lagoon tour by their own Wet n Wild operation. WnW offers kite sailing, snorkeling, kayaks, fishing and whale tours. The operators are local watermen. Ranganui has a swimming pool which is great for an instant cool off. Nearby are Koru Cafe for breakfast coffee and lunch. And, The Boat Shed bar and restaurant. All at the Ootu popular beach. Ootu is located on the windward side so the cool ocean breeze is good on hotter days. There's a locally maintained free golf course if you can borrow some clubs. A truly unique experience. The difficulty with Aitutaki is getting there. Now US flights go LAX through Honolulu with airfare around $1000 rt. On Hawaiian Air plus local Air Raro flight, $300 usd/rt. Only spend a day or two on Rarotonga, it has good snorkeling, scuba and some surfing. But go stay on Aitutaki for relaxation. The day trip lagoon tour from Raro is good but overly expensive. Just stay there. There's a good reason I've been 22x.

We stayed at Ranginui's Retreat for 5 nights and enjoyed our stay. It is located at the quiet part on the island. Dylan met us at the airport and he was friendly. The housekeeping staff were helpful too. We rented a car from them and it was handy to travel around in Aitutaki. Beautiful beach just in front of our bungalow. The water is not too deep, so we had lovely swim. The swimming pool was well maintained. My daughter enjoyed her time in the pool as well. Our room was clean and it was good to have air conditioning in hot days. Koru Cafe, Blue Lagoon Restaurant (Aitutaki Village Hotel) and Boat Shed Restaurant are in walking distance. We recommend Ranginui's Retreat.

I wanted a do nothing holiday. This was a brilliant choice, quiet, pool and lagoon was perfect, the local restraunts and cafe handy, just very insistant on reservations. With bicycle, scooter and car hire available getting out and about was easy. Wasnt prepared for the self catering option at the Retreat and the local stores provided options for dining in. Would stay again, just with better insect repellant.

We had a lovely stay here this weekend. Double garden room

Excellent location. Close enough to airport. Close to boat expedition launch. Close restaurants & cafes. Use of kayaks, paddleboards free. Bike hire available.

Terrible experience don’t rent anything from them. They lie, are aggressive and have zero concept of customer service. Horrible owners so avoid at all costs. The resort also looks like a dump

Don't hire anything from this place - they are the rudest and most dishonest owners. We had a simple request to swap out 2 bikes for a car at the same price. First I overheard one of the owners approve the request and then as I was not a house guest she lied and made up a story that the the cars were rented out. She advised to come back later. I was then approached by the aggressive male owner who bluntly refused the request and told me to get out. Simply disgusting service.

We loved our stay and the location and amenities of this property. A nice family runs it and we rented a car from them for the day to make a grocery run and see the island. We made use of the kayaks and you can’t beat the views. They asked every 2 days or so if we needed a change of towels or more toilet paper etc. We would return and highly recommend this place! We enjoyed the Korucafe and the Boat Shed within walking distance. We only wish we had better weather while there. Regardless, a beautiful and restful vacation!

The apartment is spacious and clean and comfortable, just on a beautiful beach and the folks are the nicest and so helpful! There are two restaurants and a little coffee shop all within walking distance. You can rent cars and scooters or bikes from these folks, they can help arrange dive or snorkel trips, enjoy their little slice of paradise!

Beach is right at your bungalow a place where u walk straight into the water.