Cook Islands Companion: The Visitor's Guide to Rarotonga and the Outer Islands [Paperback]

Elliot R. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1994

Welcome to Paradise. The Cook Islands are a hidden South Seas paradise with beautiful beaches,friendly people, reasonable prices and no crowds, smog or traffic. This is the visitor's guide to paradise, by the authority on the subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Elliot Smith's Guide Cook Island Companion is recommanded for those who want more detailed information -- South Pacific Handbook, David Stanely

"Of all the guidebooks available , by far the best is The Cook Island Companion. It's all you need." -- San Jose Mercury News, Zeke Wigglesworth

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pacific Pub Co; 2 edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962962260
• ISBN-13: 978-0962962264
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget Lonely Planet - Buy This One!, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cook Islands Companion: The Visitor's Guide to Rarotonga and the Outer Islands (Paperback)

We have used Lonely Planet guides for many countries, travels and years now, but found the Cook Island LP sad compared to the Cook Islands Companion. In fact, we found the CIC to be one of the best guide books we have ever read! Although it is an older edition, it still is more informative and useful than the more recently published LP. And, if you want to personally meet the author, you can find him, and stay, at his hotel - the Shangri-la Bungalows on Muri lagoon.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insiders Guide to Rarotonga, February 20, 2001

By 

David Stanley (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cook Islands Companion: The Visitor's Guide to Rarotonga and the Outer Islands (Paperback)

For collectors of Cook Islands memorabilia, this compact classic is a natural purchase. I met Elliot Smith at a San Francisco bookstore about a decade ago and we discussed doing the first edition of Cook Islands Companion together. Unfortunately the timing was wrong and Elliot proceeded alone, while I gave my full attention to a new edition of South Pacific Handbook. I'm told Elliot won't be producing a third edition since the market is too limited and his hotel business now gets priority. That's because while researching Cook Islands Companion, Elliot Smith discovered his own corner of paradise on Muri Beach, where his www.shangri-la.co.ck beach cottages are now in high demand. That provides an added incentive to buy the book: While on Raro - even if you're not staying at Shangri-La - drop in and ask Elliot to personally dedicate your copy. It's a great little guidebook which I've taken along on previous trips to the Cooks, and it's still quite usable as things don't change that fast in the islands! I recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough and eclectic guide, February 28, 2003

By 

Andrew Casad (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cook Islands Companion: The Visitor's Guide to Rarotonga and the Outer Islands (Paperback)

Like Karen and Paulo Kaiser, my wife and I generally rely on Lonely Planet. But the Cook Islands Companion was a better guide, although I am glad we had both along with us, as the maps of the hiking trails in the Lonely Planet were easier to follow. The descriptions of places to eat, things to do on Rarotonga and Atiu, and the stories of Cook Islands goodies, like the Moko Soap, told by Elliot Smith were fantastic. The book is a little dated and out of print, but if you can find a copy of it, get it before you go!