Muri Lagoon
A shallow lagoon with four islets offshore, walkable to the motu at low tide.
Duration
2 hrs – 5 hrs
Difficulty
●●○○○
Best time
At low tide
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Muri lagoon is the largest on Rarotonga, closed by a reef and dotted with four motu — Taakoka, Koromiri, Oneroa and Motutapu. The water is shallow across the whole of it.
At low tide you can walk out to Koromiri with your feet down. The lagoon is also the island's sailing and paddleboard water, the wind being steady and the surface flat. One real problem persists: algal growth caused by wastewater discharge, which has prompted health warnings in recent years.
Getting there
East coast of Rarotonga, twenty minutes by bus from Avarua. The bus circles the island in both directions.
What to bring
- Reef shoes
- Swimsuit
- Dry bag
- Board
Rules on site
Health warnings about algae and wastewater have been issued in some years: ask locally before swimming for long. Water shoes save cuts on dead coral.