Retiring in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, from Australia: costs, visas and health care

Who the Cook Islands suits, and what to weigh up

The Cook Islands suit you if you want a small, quiet Pacific island a single flight from Sydney or Brisbane. Rarotonga is the main island: its villages sit around the coast below a mountainous centre, and Avarua, on the north side, has most of the services, Wikivoyage says. Buses run both ways round the island’s coast road.

The weather suits an Australian winter. July to September is the coolest and driest stretch on the official figures, and Smartraveller puts cyclone season from November to April.

Medical care is thin. Smartraveller says medical facilities are limited and you’ll need evacuation to New Zealand or Australia if you’re seriously ill or injured. On our estimate a month costs a couple about A$4,570, more than the Age Pension’s base rate, and that figure borrows Christchurch’s living costs, so treat it as a floor.

What a month costs

A month in Rarotonga costs about A$4,570 for a couple and A$3,150 for one person, rent included. That’s our estimate, built mostly on another city’s figures. Numbeo has no monthly figure for Rarotonga or the Cook Islands, and Numbeo was closed to us on 26 October 2026, so Christchurch’s living costs, the figure our New Zealand page uses, stand in for Rarotonga’s. Only the rent is the Cook Islands’ own: NZ$1,250 a month for a one-bedroom flat in the centre (about A$1,050), from Numbeo’s Cook Islands page as last updated in June 2026 by 6 contributors.

Imported food is likely to cost more on a small island than in Christchurch, so the real figure is probably higher. We took the living costs for one person (without rent), added the rent, then added 30% for eating out, local trips and extras. For a couple we multiplied the living costs by 1.8. Both figures are in New Zealand dollars, converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average for the 12 months to September 2026 (A$1 = NZ$1.1883). Health insurance is not included. We’ll check Numbeo again after 1 November 2026.

A month in Rarotonga	Couple	One person
Rent, one-bedroom flat in the centre (Cook Islands)	about A$1,050	about A$1,050
Living costs (food, transport, bills; Christchurch’s figure)	about A$2,470	about A$1,370
Eating out, local trips and extras (30%)	about A$1,050	about A$730
Total	about A$4,570	about A$3,150

How a month in the Cook Islands compares

For a couple

the Cook Islands, our estimate

A$4,570

Comfortable in Australia

A$6,580

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$4,040

About A$2,010 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

For one person

the Cook Islands, our estimate

A$3,150

Comfortable in Australia

A$4,680

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$2,680

About A$1,530 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

Not built the same way: Australia's figure (ASFA Retirement Standard, comfortable, June quarter 2026) assumes you own your home and includes health insurance; our estimate for the Cook Islands includes rent and leaves health insurance out. Age Pension: the most paid in Australia from 20 September 2026; living overseas for good, the base rate is about A$3,710 a month for a couple and A$2,460 for one person.

Numbeo’s Cook Islands figures come from very few people: its three-bedroom rent is lower than its one-bedroom rent, which shows how thin the data is. Ask for two or three quotes before you rely on a rent. Our guide to what retiring overseas really costs sets other places side by side.

Against the Age Pension. After 12 weeks away, the most the Age Pension pays is the base rate. That’s about A$2,460 a month for one person and A$3,710 for a couple, before tax (from 20 September 2026). On our estimate the base rate falls short of a month in Rarotonga by about A$860 for a couple and about A$690 for one person, before health insurance.

What costs more than you’d expect. Health cover, which our estimate leaves out and which a long-term visitor permit requires. Then evacuation: Smartraveller says medical evacuation can be very expensive. Getting around adds up too, with a hired car, a scooter or the bus.

Money. The Cook Islands uses the New Zealand dollar and its own Cook Islands dollar, and Smartraveller says you can’t exchange Cook Islands dollars outside the country. ATMs are limited outside Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

Visas for Australians

Visiting: two official answers. Smartraveller (updated 22 July 2026) says authorities issue a visa on arrival, generally for 31 days, and that on application you can visit for up to 8 months in total. The Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (page updated 20 October 2026) says Australians get a visitor permit on arrival for a stay of less than 3 months, with no fee. In January 2024 the ministry said its Cabinet had approved a 90-day visitor permit on arrival for Australian passport holders. Check with the ministry before you book anything longer than a month.

What the ministry asks. You need to meet its identity, character, health and onward travel requirements, show enough money for your stay, and be a genuine visitor who isn’t working or studying. Smartraveller adds proof of an onward ticket and arranged accommodation.

Staying longer. The ministry says the visitor permit can be extended for a further 3 months for NZ$235 (about A$200), but not beyond 6 months. Smartraveller puts the limit higher: on application, up to 8 months in total, so ask the ministry which applies. For longer, the long-term visitor permit lets Australians stay up to 12 months at a time, for NZ$470 (about A$400). You must hold health insurance for the whole permit, and for more than 6 months you show evidence of good character and an acceptable standard of health.

A retiree visa? The ministry announced a one-year retiree visa in January 2024, but its current list of visas and permits doesn’t include one. The long-term visitor permit is the route it lists. Ask the ministry if you’ve read about a retiree visa elsewhere.

Documents from Australia. Ask the ministry what evidence of good character and health it accepts for a stay of more than 6 months. If it wants a police check, an Australian Federal Police national police check costs A$57, and the AFP says most online checks arrive within a few days.

The Cook Islands’ visitor rules sit beside 26 other countries in our table of how long Australians can stay as visitors.

Your Age Pension and Medicare in the Cook Islands

Services Australia says your Age Pension can keep paying while you are overseas. After 6 weeks away the Energy Supplement stops and your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled. At 12 weeks the Pension Supplement stops completely (since 20 September 2026). After 26 weeks, the rate can be reduced for people who lived in Australia less than 35 years between age 16 and pension age. Our guide to the 6, 12 and 26-week rules goes through each step.

The Cook Islands isn’t on Services Australia’s list of social security agreement countries, so you claim the pension before you leave, while you still live in Australia. Medicare never pays for treatment overseas. Australia’s 11 reciprocal health care agreements include New Zealand, but the Cook Islands, a separate country, isn’t on Services Australia’s list. An Australian citizen who moves overseas can still use Medicare back in Australia for up to 5 years after leaving. See Medicare when you live overseas.

How long can you stay in the Cook Islands? What changes at home

The ministry gives Australians a visitor permit for under 3 months on arrival, while Smartraveller says generally 31 days, so check before you go; past 3 months you extend, and the long-term visitor permit runs up to 12 months. At home, the Age Pension rules change at 6, 12 and 26 weeks away wherever you are.

On the ministry’s rules, an Australian winter of up to 12 weeks fits on the arrival permit, and July and August are Rarotonga’s coolest months. The Cook Islands counts you as a tax resident if your home is there and you’re present for more than 183 days in 12 months. Our guide to how long pensioners can travel overseas explains each row.

Health care and insurance

Rarotonga has a hospital, and anything serious means a flight. Smartraveller says medical facilities are limited, especially on the outer islands, treatment can be expensive, and hospitals and clinics may ask for payment before they treat you. You’ll need medical evacuation to New Zealand or Australia if you’re seriously ill or injured, and that can be very expensive.

What is where, by type.

Type	Where	Source
Hospital, with an emergency line (22 664)	Rarotonga	Smartraveller
Medical evacuation for serious illness or injury	To New Zealand or Australia	Smartraveller
Decompression treatment after diving	Tahiti or New Zealand; none in the Cook Islands	Smartraveller

Who pays for evacuation. Smartraveller says Cook Islanders who hold an Australian passport but not a New Zealand one don’t qualify for urgent patient referrals to New Zealand. As a visitor or long-term visitor, evacuation is paid by you or your insurer, and the long-term visitor permit requires health insurance for the whole stay. Ask any insurer whether a policy pays to fly you to New Zealand or Australia, and how fast.

Other risks. Outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya occur, Smartraveller says, and the Ministry of Health monitors them. Dogs are common on Rarotonga, so be mindful when walking or cycling.

Your medicines. With limited medical facilities, bring enough of each medicine for your stay, in the original packs with a doctor’s letter. Our guide to taking medicines overseas covers the Australian side.

Which cover. A season away usually means travel insurance; see travel insurance for long stays. A long-term visitor permit means insurance for the whole permit, priced on your age and health. If you’re not sure which fits how you’d go, book a free planning session on Zoom.

Where Australians live

There are no official figures on where Australians live in the Cook Islands. Rarotonga’s villages sit around the coast, about 15 to 20 minutes’ walk apart, Wikivoyage says, and most places are within walking distance of a beach, an ATM or a small shop. These are the areas it describes.

Area	What it’s like	Getting around
Avarua, on the north coast	The main village, with most of the population, the services and the government	Footpaths in town; buses leave from here
Arorangi	A village on the coast road, with footpaths	Footpaths; buses both ways
Muri	A lagoon that stays shallow a long way out	Buses both ways; few footpaths
Titikaveka	A village with a beach	Buses both ways; few footpaths

Wikivoyage says there aren’t many footpaths outside Avarua and Arorangi, though traffic is slow. If you won’t ride a scooter, live close to the bus route and a shop.

Renting or buying a home

Foreigners can’t buy land, but they can lease it. All land in the Cook Islands is customary land with no freehold title, the Global Property Guide reports, and a non-Cook Islander can lease it for up to 60 years. Under the Leases Restrictions Act 1976, a lease of more than 5 years needs the approval of a leases committee. Before you sign anything long, get a lawyer in the Cook Islands who acts for you.

Tax: there and at home

The Cook Islands Income Tax Act 1997 says you’re resident there if your home is in the Cook Islands and you’re present for more than 183 days in a 12-month period. Treasury’s list of Australia’s income tax treaties doesn’t include the Cook Islands. At home, a foreign resident for Australian tax loses the tax-free threshold, and Australian income such as rent is taxed at 30% from the first dollar (2025-26). Talk to a registered tax agent in Australia before you go.

Day to day

Language. English and Cook Islands Māori are the official languages, Wikivoyage says.

Getting around without driving. Buses circle Rarotonga clockwise and anticlockwise, hourly, taking about 50 minutes for the circuit, Wikivoyage says, and they stop almost anywhere on the route. Smartraveller says buses are limited, and to use only registered taxis, booked through your accommodation. The coast road, Ara Tapu, is 32 km long.

Driving and scooters. You can drive on a valid Australian licence for up to 6 months, Smartraveller says, though digital licences may not be accepted, and a car licence doesn’t cover a scooter. For a scooter you get a temporary licence in the Cook Islands, and Smartraveller says motorcyclists are hospitalised after many traffic accidents. Staying more than 6 months, you get a Cook Islands licence from the police in Rarotonga.

Safety. Smartraveller advises normal safety precautions in the Cook Islands (updated 22 July 2026). Tropical storms can happen in any month, and evacuation signs on Rarotonga show the way if there’s a tsunami alert.

The weather, month by month. Rarotonga is warm all year, and coolest in July and August:

Month on Rarotonga	Average temperature
January	26.4°C
February	26.7°C
March	26.7°C
April	25.7°C
May	24.3°C
June	23.2°C
July	22.5°C
August	22.4°C
September	22.9°C
October	23.6°C
November	24.8°C
December	25.6°C

Figures: the Japan Meteorological Agency’s monthly normals for the Rarotonga station, which give the average temperature for each month but not highs, lows or rain. For rain we used the Cook Islands Statistics Office’s quarterly figures for Rarotonga and averaged 2014 to mid-2023:

Quarter on Rarotonga	Average rain for the quarter
January to March	685 mm
April to June	441 mm
July to September	304 mm
October to December	437 mm

On these figures July to September is the driest quarter. Smartraveller puts cyclone season from November to April.

Making friends. Saturday morning is the big day for the Punanga Nui Market in Avarua, Wikivoyage says, and going back each week is one way to start. If you’re going alone, see retiring overseas single.

Getting there and coming home

Fly non-stop from Sydney or Brisbane. BITRE’s June 2026 figures show scheduled flights from both, with the Brisbane route new that year. Sydney to Rarotonga takes about 6 hours and Brisbane about the same, on Flightmapper’s schedules; coming home to Sydney takes a little over 7. From other cities you connect in Sydney, Brisbane or Auckland, which is about 4 hours away.

Rarotonga is 20 hours behind Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in our winter, and 21 behind Sydney and Melbourne in daylight saving, so you land the day before you left. Routes change, so check from your city when you book.

The Cook Islands for over 50s, 60s and 70s

The permits don’t change with age. What changes is how you’d manage health care far from a big hospital, and how you’d get around.

In your 50s

There’s no age rule for a visitor or long-term visitor permit. The ATO says super generally opens at 60 once you retire, or at 65 if you’re still working, so in your 50s a season here comes out of savings or income. A licensed financial adviser can talk about yours.

In your 60s

Age Pension age is 67, and with no social security agreement you claim while you still live in Australia, up to 13 weeks before you turn 67. On our estimate the base rate falls short of a month in Rarotonga by about A$860 for a couple, before health insurance. A long-term visitor permit needs health insurance for the whole stay.

In your 70s

Evacuation cover is the deciding question now, because anything serious means a flight to New Zealand or Australia. Without a scooter, live near the bus route in Avarua or Arorangi, where there are footpaths. In CHOICE’s May 2026 table, 31 of 34 annual multi-trip policies reach 70; our guide to travel insurance for long stays has the age limits and trip caps.

Your first steps

One order that works, from a first visit to living there. A month or a winter away needs only some of these steps.

1. Ask for help first. Book a free planning session on Zoom, or contact our team. Once we understand your situation, we can point you in the right direction.
2. Spend part of an Australian winter on Rarotonga, near the bus route. See trying before you move.
3. Ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration how long your first permit will be, since Smartraveller and the ministry differ.
4. Talk it over with your family early, including who would fly over if you got sick. See talking to your family.
5. Put your own numbers against the pension after 12 weeks away, with a real rent quote, health cover and flights. See living overseas on the Age Pension.
6. Find out what health cover you can get at your age, with evacuation to New Zealand or Australia. See international health insurance by age.
7. See your GP and take enough of each medicine for the whole stay. See retiring overseas with a health condition.
8. Work out what happens to the house, and whether it counts for the pension while you’re away.
9. For more than 3 months, apply for an extension or a long-term visitor permit before your first permit ends.
10. Tell Services Australia you’re going, and set up how your pension will be paid. See taking your Age Pension overseas.
11. Keep a plan for coming home: where you’d live, and how the pension and Medicare restart.

Questions people ask

How long can Australians stay in the Cook Islands?

The Cook Islands immigration ministry says Australians get a visitor permit on arrival for a stay of less than 3 months, which can be extended by 3 months. Smartraveller says generally 31 days on arrival. A long-term visitor permit allows up to 12 months at a time, with health insurance.

Can Australians retire in Rarotonga?

You can live there for up to 12 months at a time on a long-term visitor permit, with health insurance and enough money for your stay. The ministry announced a retiree visa in 2024, but it isn’t on its current list, so ask the ministry.

How much does it cost to live in Rarotonga?

Our estimate is about A$4,570 a month for a couple and A$3,150 for one person, rent included, before health insurance (October 2026). Only the rent is Rarotonga’s own; Christchurch’s living costs stand in for the rest, so the real figure is probably higher.

Is there a hospital in Rarotonga?

Yes, and Smartraveller gives its emergency number, 22 664. It also says medical facilities are limited, and you’ll need evacuation to New Zealand or Australia if you’re seriously ill or injured.

Is Rarotonga good for over 70s?

It can be, for a winter, if you live near the bus route and your insurance covers evacuation. Medical facilities are limited, so anything serious means a flight.

Can I get travel insurance for the Cook Islands at 75?

Yes, though the choice is smaller. In CHOICE’s May 2026 table, 65 of 76 single-trip policies reach 75. Smartraveller says your policy must cover all medical costs overseas, including evacuation.

Does Medicare cover me in the Cook Islands?

No. Medicare doesn’t pay for treatment overseas, and the Cook Islands isn’t one of the 11 countries with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia.