General Information
Penrhyn Atoll is northern most of the Cook Island group, lying closer to Hawaii than to Rarotonga, 1364km to the south and 370km to its nearest neighbour, Rakahanga. The island was named after the Australian convict ship, the ‘Lady Penrhyn’, which stopped there briefly in the late 1700s en route back to England from the convict colonies in Australia. Today Penrhyn has a population of just over 600 who’s primary earning come from the export of black pearl cultivation harvested in the massive lagoon making up 233 sq km. Penrhyn boasts two main towns Omoka on the west side of the lagoon and Te Tautua 14km across on the east side of the lagoon. The majority of the population centre around these two towns

Getting There
Air Rarotonga operates a weekly service from Rarotonga. The flight time is about 4 hours each way depending on weather conditions. The cost is NZ$1790 return. Be careful, the flight is often booked up weeks if not months in advance and is often delayed or cancelled if bad weather prevails.
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If time is on your side and you prefer to travel by sea, the inter-island shipping companies of Taio Shipping & Mataroa Shipping offer transport to Penrhyn which takes about 4-5 days to reach there. Some ships provide limited cabins whilst other ships have none.
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Accommodation
What limited accommodation on Penrhyn is provided only by local families.

Soa’s Guesthouse offers a 3 bedroom family house in Omoka village at NZ$100 per night inclusive of all meals. They also offer lagoon trips for NZ$30 per person for a couple of hours.

Kristine’s Lodge is a small 2 bedroom unit with kitchen & private bathroom at NZ$70 a night.

Both properties are very basic and have only cold water. It pays to bring a good supply of snacks and alcohol with you as the island has little in the way of luxuries.
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