Paradise without boredom

Few horrors can match a holiday on a small tropical island with too many honeymooning couples and nothing to do - and the Cook Islands send out all the danger signals, says Steve Boggan in the Times.

Scattered over an area of the South Pacific the size of India, there are just 15 of them, with a combined population of 18,000 and "a perfect climate, fine food, lush mountains, sensational

lagoons and unfeasibly beautiful white beaches".

So it's a relief to discover they also provide plenty of outdoor activities to stave off boredom – "pearl-diving, pig-hunting, spear-fishing, coffee-picking" – and "laid-back locals" who'll "bend over backwards" to show you the ropes. The 23-hour flight there is "absolutely worth it".

Air New Zealand (0800-028 4149) flies to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands from £913 rtn.