We’ve been in Aitutaki for a week and most of the time the weather was grey, cold, stormy and rainy. We’re rolling in the rough weather, don’t get much sleep and are all a bit cranky.
Today we’ve had the first day with blue skies, so we played tourists, rented bycicles and explored the other side of the island, Aitutaki’s quite pretty and relaxed, but the description in the ‘lonely planet’ as ‘one of the most beautiful lagoons in the South Pacific’ seems a bit over the top. Maybe the writers haven’t seen too many other lagoons 
It’s very shallow and the water’s rather murky, which means it gleams in mint, but there’s not much live coral in so much sediment.
Generally Aitutaki is a much more touristy place than expected. They have about 30 flights a week (some planes from Rarotonga), the shores are dotted with resorts and bungalows and you see more tourists on the roads than locals.
