The Cook Islands are an island country in free association with New Zealand, located in Polynesia, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago with 15 islands spread out over 2.2 million km2 of ocean.

With the same time zone as Hawaii, the islands are sometimes thought of as "Hawaii down under". Though smaller, it reminds some elderly visitors of Hawaii before statehood without all the large tourist hotels and other development.

The Cook Islands do not have any cities but are composed of 15 different islands. The main ones are Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

- Wikivoyage
- Image by Christoph Burgdorfer