The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: RAR) and Avatiu Harbour.

[1] The district of Avarua is subdivided into 19 tapere (traditional sub-districts) out of 54 for Rarotonga,[2] grouped into 6 Census Districts, listed from west to east.

Census figures are not available on the tapere level, but only for the so-called Census Districts,[3] also listed from west to east:[4] Avarua has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) according to the Köppen climate classification with high temperatures and rainfall throughout the year.

[5] Although there are no true wet or dry seasons, there is a noticeably wetter stretch from December to April.

On 7 June 2024, Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands and Tou Travel Ariki, President of the House of Ariki, signed a sister city agreement between Avarua, Rarotonga, and Honolulu, Hawaii.