Aitutaki - General Info
Where is Aitutaki?
Aitutaki lies 220 km north of Rarotonga. The atoll measures just 20 square km, yet is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands next to Rarotonga. As well as the main island, there are 15 small islets within the lagoon.
Arutanga, the main village located on the west side, has the only harbor on the island and is a designated port of entry for the Cook Islands.
Entrance Notes or Cautions:
The entrance to the pass is narrow (less than 100 ft across) and unmarked, caution is urged before heading in. Cruisers report that both Navionics and C-Map are 300 meters off on placement of the pass. See these useful directions for entering the anchorage here and this cruiser report from 2023.
Cruisers report there is a green flashing light at the entrance to the channel that is not shown on charts as well as stakes in gated pairs showing both sides of the channel all the way into the harbour.
The harbour and channel are currently undergoing changes and a dredge was working in the channel in July 2023. Stage one of the work is to dredge the passage to 6m depth and widen it to 15m and install new light poles. This should be completed by end of August 2023.
Depth is reported to be 4.5 metres – 5 metres all the way into the harbour, but exercise caution and stay on the north side of the channel for deeper water. See the following news item for the latest updates.
Channel Dredging Part of new Port Project.
Note: Vessels with a draft of more than 2 metres may want to anchor outside the reef, or check with the dredge operater via VHF before entering. Vessels with a draft less than two meters should be able to enter through the passage without any problems.
Outflowing tidal currents can reach three to four knots, therefore the best time to enter is just before high tide (least current). Good sunlight is essential. If in any doubt, ask someone to guide you in.
Notice for Lagoon users
You are no longer allowed to use your dinghy once anchored inside Aitutaki to venture into the lagoon. The kiteboarding location is not accessible via land. Anyone wanting to kiteboard Aitutaki MUST hire the local tour operator at $40 per person per day to taxi them to the kite island.
Position:
18° 51’08″S, 159° 48’32″W
Last updated: July 2023
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Related to following destinations: Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Southern Cook Islands
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The harbor and channel at Aitutaki are currently undergoing changes.
Channel Depth: There is a dredge currently dredging the channel. We spoke to the dredge operator over the radio and inquired about the channel depth. The operator assured us the depth was 4-5 meters all the way into the harbor. Although we had no difficulty carrying our 6.5′ (2m) draft through the channel into town, our sonar gave a least depth of 5.9′ or 1.8 meters. The boat did not act as if it had contacted the bottom so we suspect the bottom is very soft and that we pushed through a shallow spot that had silted up. Unclear how deep the channel really is, but we had no difficulty. We should note we had approximately 1 foot of tide in our favor at the time.
Channel Markers:
There is a green flashing light at the entrance to the channel that is not shown on the chart.
While reports indicate the channel is marked with stakes on one side, that no longer seems to be the case. We encountered stakes in gated pairs showing both sides of the channel all the way into the harbor. Yeah!
Anchoring inside the Reef:
The anchorage shown on the charts does not seem to be available anymore.
The Harbor:
There are two new jetties or wharfs which are not shown on any charts. One extends out from the inner harbor along the north (port hand when entering) side of the channel. The dredge was working on both deepening the channel and building this jetty. There is also a new wharf that wraps around the southern part of the harbor. This wharf cuts through or abuts the anchorage shown on the chart.
Where to Anchor:
We are anchored, along with another boat, inside the harbor. We are both anchored in 10′-12′ of water with our sterns close to the new southern wharf. There is no place to secure our sterns to the wharf, but if there were a few more boats we might all need to set anchors or stakes on the wharf to keep sterns from swinging.
Plans:
We are told the plan is for a new yacht basin north of the north jetty, which is under construction. When that basin is complete yachts will be expected to use that basin and will no longer be allowed into the basin where we are currently anchored. It will be a while until the planned yacht basin is complete, though…
We visited Aitutaki, two mooring spots where shown on our electronic Charts. Upon arrival, we could not find any moorings so we had to anchor. Later on, when we were snorkeling, we saw what was left of the mooring lines.
So please be aware that you will have to anchor about 30 meters off the reef if your draft is over 1,5 meters. Aitutaki is an absolutely beautiful island, the place to anchor however is everything but beautiful.
Costs as of August 2017:
$57 for customs.
$65 per person for departure fee.
$25 for health inspector.
$20 for bio inspector.
Total: $232 for 2 persons plus an anchorage fee of $5/day.
Kiteboarders, PLEASE BE AWARE: Due to the health officer, you are no longer allowed to use your dinghy once anchored inside Aitutaki to venture into the lagoon. The kiteboarding location is not accessible via land.
Any cruiser wanting to kiteboard Aitutaki MUST hire the local tour operator at $35 per person per day to taxi them to the kite island. This came into effect August 25, 2017. We had planned to spend an entire month here. We left in under one week due to this new law.
Side note: If you do decide to kite this 1st class location, talk to WAHOO charters to get a group daily rate to taxi you to the kite beach. The great fellow with better service and better prices than the local kite companies.
We tried to get into Aitutaki in June 2017 at the very top of a spring tide. We draw 1.7m and ran aground (on sand) about halfway down the channel before the shallow part marked on the chart! I dinghied in later and was told by locals that even a 1.6m draft would have been pushing it.
Also reported by Stefan def:
I was anchored in the middle of the anchoring field, with two ropes going to the (only) two palm trees on shore.
Here are our departure costs:
Departure Fee: 65NZD/pp
Customs Fee: 57NZD
Mooring Fee: 5NZD/PD
The mooring fee in the anchorage next to the harbor is now 5 NZD/day
The health officer came on board Monday morning and left after 20 minutes. He sprayed for bugs and collected the weekday fee (25NZD) [ 40NZD on weekends ]
The customs and immigration clearing in took about 30 minutes. Very friendly people. No fees to be paid until departure. Wifi is fast in the harbor, but you have to buy the access pass in the post office or stores. Buying online does not work (certificate error). I paid for the monthly special: 2 GB for 30NZD valid 15 days