Ariki Adventures: Premium Sea Scooter Turtle Adventure
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Rarotonga offers many opportunities to swim in the sea among the fish and other sea life. But if you want to improve your chances of swimming with turtles, a sea scooter safari is the way to go. With a sea scooter you can whizz through the water much faster than with leg power alone. Be amazed at the colors and variety of the sea life you’ll encounter in the sheltered waters of Rarotonga.
- Instruction on how to use the sea scooter will be given
- All snorkeling gear is included, such as masks, snorkels, and fins
- A fun activity for nature lovers
- Cover more ground (or, rather, sea) than when swimming
What's Included
- Equipment (Sea Scooter, Mask, Snorkel and Fins)
- Professional guides
- Wetsuits
- Lifejackets
- Photos of your tour
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- P6M9+RQ7, Ara Tapu, Takitumu District, Cook Islands
Meeting location is on the south coast at Avaavaroa Passage in Vaimaanga. Look for the Ariki signs (Orange & Pink) with car parking on the mountain side where our tour office is.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Ariki Adventures
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- We schedule our adventure timetable 5 days in advance to allow for the changing weather conditions here in Rarotonga.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Tracy_S
Iriki Adventures are awesome !
The whole team are very friendly and professional .
This was my second time snorkelling with Ariki but the first time for my daughter .
Both of us aren’t strong swimmers but the team at Ariki made us feel safe and confident in the water .
The sea scooters made the whole experience awesome and so much easier to enjoy the beautiful turtles.
We will be back to do it all again that’s for sure :)
Reviews
4.9
based on 482 reviews
Tracy_S, Mar 2026
Iriki Adventures are awesome !
The whole team are very friendly and professional .
This was my second time snorkelling with Ariki but the first time for my daughter .
Both of us aren’t strong swimmers but the team at Ariki made us feel safe and confident in the water .
The sea scooters made the whole experience awesome and so much easier to enjoy the beautiful turtles.
We will be back to do it all again that’s for sure :)
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Kia Orana Trący, Thank you for returning for yet another wonderful experience with our turtles and for bringing your beautiful daughter to share this wonderful experience too. Safe travels :)
Cris_H, Feb 2026
AMAZING! Do not miss if you want to see turtles. The guides were great. Very professional, fun & informative. The sea scooters are a total blast! Thanks
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Kia Orana, Thank you so much for your lovely review.
We are thrilled you had a great experience and truly appreciate your support.
Shauna_H, Feb 2026
Swimming with the sea scooters is so fun! And it made it so easy to swim alongside the turtles and not have any difficulty with the currents, which were quite strong. It seemed challenging for the person who was in our group that didn’t have experience snorkeling.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Kia Orana, Thank you for your feedback. We are pleased you enjoyed our amazing Sea Scooters and had an enjoyable time. Look forward to welcoming you back.
Milou_B, Feb 2026
Amazing encounters with many turtles. Scooters were super easy to operate and allowed us to dive deeper. Rays were cool too. Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Kia Orana, thank you so much for your review and we are so happy to hear that you enjoyed the sea scooters. Meitaki ma'ata :)
Robert_C, Jan 2026
We felt very safe and enjoyed our family day. Viewing the turtles off the beach of Rarotonga with the sea scooters was memorable. We will treasure the excellent photos.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Kia Orana, thank you so much for your review and we are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your experience. Meitaki ma'ata
Devon_H, Jan 2026
This was fantastic. The sea scooters make the swimming experience substantially easier than snorkelling in the open ocean. For the larger group booked for the time, we were split into small groups (10 people in ours) with two qualified guides and a designated group photographer provided per small group (photos included and not extra but you do need to dl the GoPro app) - the guides and photographer were great, made sure everyone had time to see the turtles (and other ocean creatures) and accommodated different swimming speeds well. They take safety quite seriously - the guides had inflatable floatation devices is you need a rest in the ocean and there was a safety boat nearby to the groups also, so quite a lot of staff in the water!
The guides were proactive and friendly, and the photographer took some fab photos and made sure everyone got a turtle photo with them in it.
We saw heaps of turtles, coral and had a great time. Although we were booked for 9.30am, they ask you to be there 1/2 hr early for induction and safety training, which didn’t take that long, and we actually started the excursion much early than the scheduled time as a result (and ended earlier), which was great as we got back to our resort solidly in time for a well deserved lunch.
They provided masks, snorkels and flippers and the scooter. There is some parking around if you drive but Ariki is well known if you take a taxi also (we didn’t need the address).
Something we didn’t expect but does make sense - I had thought it would be similar to say the Barrier Reef or equiv tour where you get on a boat, the boat takes you to the turtle place, and you snorkel for a bit with turtles. However you walk and swim out to the turtles from the beach directly after the (on land) induction - so need to bring anything aside from swimsuit and towel really
I would highly rate this experience, it was genuinely fantastic and while slightly more pricey than some other turtles options I would say very good value for money when you consider time per turtle, the amount of staff per group and the inclusion of the photos
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Kia Orana Thank you for your review.
Kathleen_N, Jan 2026
It is truly a unique experience swimming with the turtles. We saw so many and got great GoPro shots. The team who took us out were very attentive to everyones needs.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Kia Orana Thank you for your review.
corinne_c, Dec 2025
Do it! Very safe, friendly and magical. The scooter made it relaxing and the guides were keeping a good watch on us
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Kia Orana Corinne, Thank you for your review.
Lorraine_B, Dec 2025
My husband is not confident in the water and he had a lovely lady with him the whole time making sure he was ok. We loved the whole experience.
Shane_C, Nov 2025
It was an unbelievable experience, would recommend this to everyone, staff was amazing, so helpful , in and out off the water
Tarnz_W, Nov 2025
An experience that will last a lifetime. The kids enjoyed it so much that they did it 3 times in a week. Definitely recommend going with Ariki adventures. Staff are caring and I felt safe with them. Thank you again
John_F, Nov 2025
Loved it, well organised and a great team at Ariki to take you out to the passage. The scooters were very easy to use and made the tour so much more comfortable and relaxing.
Easy to recommend this tour to others in fact I say don’t miss the opportunity when you’re in Raro.
Alexandra_A, Nov 2025
Had an incredible turtle encounter. The sea scooters offered great comfort and ease of movement. Im not very experienced at sea swimming but felt incredibly safe and looked after by the guides who took us out.
Had a first class experience and would highly recommend it to all ages. The turtles and rays are spectacular
Carolyn_K, Oct 2025
Great tour and worth doing . It was wonderful to see the turtles in their natural habitat and see them come up to the surface . The sea scooters were easy to use and fun . The only downside was that there were too many groups so people kept bumping into each other which spoiled the experience a little. Staff were highly professional and caring .
Nicola_P, Oct 2025
This tour was so well organised. The staff are really friendly and professional. The turtles are incredible and, as a not hugely confident swimmer, I felt really at ease with the sea scooter.
Graham_S, Oct 2025
Second time doing this tour. First time was good, this time even better. Saw more turtles this time and water was clearer. Guides funny and informative. Never felt unsafe and what an amazing experience.
Daniela_R, Oct 2025
Great operation, very safety aware & well run.
Assisted with photo downloads at end and even had a shower.
The scooters had us gliding effortlessly out yo reef Ridge.
So many turtles with up close encounters.
Fantastic experience and best thing we did
Highly recommend 👌
Lisa_T, Sep 2025
It was great. However, there were too many people doing the same activity at the same time, making it hard not to bump into others.
Michelle_P, Sep 2025
The best experience ever. Very professional and safety conscious . Saw so many turtles and fish. Even eagle rays
Wendy_K, Sep 2025
It's so well organized. Everything is planned well. The guide is very helpful and explains everything.
Robert_F, Sep 2025
A once in a lifetime experience with super awesome people. My safety was their number one priority and they went out of their way to find and showcase the turtles we had come to see. I will and would recommend this team to anyone
PeterDianne_M, Sep 2025
Excellent operators very respectful of the environment and the wildlife not like some other operators we seen.
Our group was ratio 8/3 and continually check to see if you were okay.
The current was fairly strong and made it so much more enjoyable with the sea scooter highly recommend.
Cassandra_D, Sep 2025
Amazing experience, lovely tour guides who took great care of my kids under 12
Would def recommend to anyone wondering if it worth the experience. Beautiful photos as well
Mary_E, Aug 2025
Supervised tour to see turtles. Very safe with plenty of supervision. Photos downloaded are fantastic!
HELEN_N, Aug 2025
It's fabulous , a real wonderful experience like nothing we have done before , we saw ,up close lots of turtles and are literally swimming with them
Anna_M, Jul 2025
Was the best experience, we all enjoyed it. Felt safe with our guides. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is keen.
Anna_K, Jul 2025
Fantastic experience. Was a well run operation with plenty of health and safety instructions. The staff were very helpful and put safety first. Made sure we were all safe at all times. My husband is in his late 60s and really enjoyed the tour and would not hesitate to recommend to others.
Louise_D, Jun 2025
best experience ever, very safe instruction prior and during to get the most out of the snorkel! saw up to 12 turtles we were very lucky! was awesome and the sea scooter made it so much easier to follow the sea life about
Shraddha_G, Jun 2025
This adventure with Ariki is a must do! They took small groups and were very cautious about everyone’s safety and were respectful of turtles space as well. We spotted so many turtles, it was just surreal. Highly recommend.
Andrew_M, May 2025
Was fantastic and extremely well run. Guides were friendly and clear with whatever we needed to do. Saw turtles and all sorts of sea life.
From $112.85
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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