{"id":3573,"date":"2025-12-09T17:22:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/?p=3573"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:23:34","slug":"the-worlds-most-romantic-beach-its-on-an-island-only-689-feet-wide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/the-worlds-most-romantic-beach-its-on-an-island-only-689-feet-wide\/","title":{"rendered":"The World\u2019s MOST Romantic Beach \u2013 It\u2019s On an Island Only 689 Feet Wide!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you\u2019ve fantasized about a gorgeous South Seas Pacific island beach that\u2019s surrounded by pristine, crystal clear waters so beautiful it makes you wonder if such a beach might REALLY exist somewhere in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, dear friends and fellow adventurers\u2019 let me assure you that YES, a beach like that DOES exist, and in this special Traveling Boy feature I\u2019ll share with YOU where it is, and how YOU can enjoy it yourself. Of all the destinations I\u2019ve visited around the world, my all-time BEST BEACH is located in the South Pacific\u2019s Cook Islands. Given the aviation \u201crealities\u201d of the Covid 19 era, the best way to get there is by an Air New Zealand B-777 from Los Angeles to Rarotonga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incredible as it sounds in the Coronavirus era, Air New Zealand flies an almost empty plane from LA to Cook\u2019s Rarotonga airport., at least as of August, 2020. Checking ANZ\u2019s web-site, I\u2019m sure you too will be interested to learn that during Covid 19, Air New Zealand\u2019s inter-national network capacity has decreased by 95 per cent from pre-Covid-19 levels! However\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give you an idea of how \u201ctourist important\u201d this destination is,
ANZ now flies to just 10 overseas destinations: Rarotonga is one of them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Air
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once you get settled in at this intriguing town, and your curiosity is pressing you to see this awesome beach of your dreams, get yourself a booking aboard an AIR RAROTONGA SAAB 340, two engine aircraft that will get you \u2014 in 50 smooth flying minutes \u2014 to Aitutaki. The plane, shown here, carries a total of 34 passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check the web for more info, but when I last looked, they had two daily flights: I\u2019d recommend you take the one I did, it departs Rarotonga at 8.00am and arrives Aituaki at 8.50am.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Survivor<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

An equally stunning fact about Aituaki, is because it IS so spectacular CBS TV, in June and July of 2006, filmed the 13th season of the mega hit series of Survivor, in Aiktutaki. The show aired on September 4th, 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Aitutaki IS awesomely amazing, the real draw for most who visit, is the intriguingly named \u201cOne Foot Island.\u201d Some maps will show its local name of TAPUAETAI, and it is one of the 22 islands in the Aitutaki atoll of the Cook Islands. Located on the southeastern perimeter of Aitutaki Lagoon, One Foot Island is only 2,000 feet long, and about 689 feet wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its breathtaking and idyllic landscape, powdery white sand, warm azure waters, and the gently swaying palm and coconut trees, One Foot Island was, in June, 2008 in Sydney, Australia<\/a>, named, by the the World Travel Awards Organization, the title of \u201cAustralasia\u2019s Leading Beach.\u201d In fact there is yet another totally unique aspect to One Foot that is exceptional and certainly irreplaceable once you\u2019ve got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"One
The One Foot Island Post Office is shown, above right. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"One
The highly valued One Foot Customs stamp in John\u2019s passport is at BOTH the top and Bottom of his US Passport. In the center is the Cook Islands ARRIVALS stamp put there at the Rarotonga airport.PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As you get off the boat that ferried you to One Foot, just ahead of you, and almost hidden by the tropical trees in front of it, you\u2019ll see a small sort of cabin. It\u2019s the local Post Office, but even more magical and mind boggling \u2014 and for sure extraordinary \u2014 is if you show them your Passport, you\u2019ll get the One Foot Island Customs stamp in it, validating that you visited that day and that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given my British heritage, and knowing of the seafaring past of the Brits, I\u2019ve always been fascinated by the record making exploits of its pioneers in discovering new \u2014 back then \u2014 different parts of our world: So I\u2019m very familiar with one of the more famous historical voyagers of those years, namely British Captain James Cook. It was only when I was actually visiting the Cook Islands that I discovered the great interest there, in how they got their name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cook Islands were named after Capt. James Cook, (shown in the painting at right) who sailed through them in 1773 and again in 1777. A local villager told me, with much excitement in her voice, that Captain Cook decided to call them the \u201cHervey Islands,\u201d for a British Lord. However, in the early 1800s the name \u201cCook Islands\u201d appeared on a Russian naval chart and, for some unknown reason, it stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Captain<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The \u201c Lessons Learned\u201d On My Visit to One Foot Island. Or, \u201cWhat NOT TO DO.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"aerial
Aitutaki Straight Ahead! The little strip of land seen in the above, top right hand side of the photo, is the runway\u2019s location. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"writer
Tboy author John Clayton, stands in front of the sign that proclaims Aitutaki International Airport. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"inside
This, then, is the INSIDE of the Aitutaki INTERNATIONAL Airport. For those world travelers who\u2019ve been inside many airports around the world, seeing THIS must come as both a surprise and yes, even to me, a shock! I stood there for several minutes trying to accept the reality of this actually being the International Airport Terminal at Aitutaki! PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"lodging
If you\u2019ve wondered what top class \u201cLodgings\u201d are like in Aitutaki, here\u2019s where I stayed. Our Cook Island hosts said that since I was the Travel Editor for the CBS radio station KNX1070 in Los Angeles, THIS is where they felt I should be. It was truly fabulous, and South Seas REAL luxury defined. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"cabin
When we arrived at One Foot Island, in front of our boat on shore, we saw this comfortable shaded cabin. I wish I\u2019d stayed there and been \u201csun stoke safe\u201d for my One Foot visit. However, my fascination with One Foot was beyond intense, and I knew I had to explore the island, and see how it came to be called ONE FOOT.PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CLAYTON.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I figured being so tiny, at about 2 thousand feet long and about 689 wide, I\u2019d walk around in 20 minutes \u2014 or less. OK, but I TOTALLY FORGOT TO COVER MY HEAD and put on a hat! Dumb idea!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"One<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I had such a \u201cSurge of excitement\u201d as I set off on my sort of Robinson Crusoe adventure. I mean with a name like ONE FOOT ISLAND it had to be small. Well, it was and is, but it was an extra hot day and I totally forgot I had nothing to protect my head from the blazing hot sunshine. The result \u2014 when I got back to Aitutaki \u2014 was a VERY BAD CASE of sun stroke \u2014 so bad in fact, I was laid up, ill, in their hospital for the rest of the trip. PLEASE, when YOU visit WEAR A HAT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rarotonga\u2019s Airport\u2019s runway is seven thousand, six hundred & thirty eight feet long. I share that with you because as you come IN for a landing, the plane drops down lower and lower, making it look as if you WILL land in the ocean. As you notice above (Yellow Arrow) the western end of the runway is almost at the water\u2019s edge. Take offs are also pretty exciting too. It seemed to me our B-777 pilot had full power on from the instant of our start.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you\u2019ve fantasized about a gorgeous South Seas Pacific island beach that\u2019s surrounded by pristine, crystal clear waters so beautiful it makes you wonder if such a beach might REALLY exist somewhere in the world?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":3574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1552,1506,1553,440,1554,19,1555,1556],"class_list":["post-3573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-air-rarotonga","tag-airport","tag-aituaki","tag-beach","tag-cook-islands","tag-home_page","tag-one-foot-island","tag-south-pacific"],"yoast_head":"\nThe World\u2019s MOST Romantic Beach \u2013 It\u2019s On an Island Only 689 Feet Wide! - Traveling Boy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/the-worlds-most-romantic-beach-its-on-an-island-only-689-feet-wide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The World\u2019s MOST Romantic Beach \u2013 It\u2019s On an Island Only 689 Feet Wide! 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