There are places that impress you, and places that change you. The Cook Islands — a Polynesian paradise Global Traveler’s readers have named the Best Island (Nation) in the Pacific Rim — is the kind of place that changes you.

Here, you can slow down and devote yourself to the simple things that make life worthwhile — breathtaking natural beauty, adventure, fresh foods, fascinating stories, friendly people. Here, you can discover what it means to be grounded.

In destinations overrun by tourists, authentic experiences can be elusive, expensive, or both. In the Cook Islands, a place that straddles the present and the past, where we have WiFi but still no traffic lights, authenticity is all around you.

Even on Rarotonga, the most commercial of our islands, nothing is staged – not the dancing and drumming nor the soul-stirring music at church on Sunday morning nor the fishing and planting and healing and nightlife. Meeting locals and learning about the Polynesian way of life isn’t something you have to buy through a tour company.

All of our islands are small and easy to navigate, whether by foot, bike, bus, or motor scooter, so you won’t be tempted to stay in your resort. You can buy fruit at roadside stalls, wave to people working on their plantations, attend traditional ceremonies, or sail on a celestially navigated canoe.

This is a place where you will deeply encounter both culture and nature. This is a country that recently made international headlines for legislating the world’s largest marine-protected area. Here you can see why conservation matters. Where many are still living largely subsistence lifestyles, global issues like overfishing and climate change resonate for reasons that aren’t political.

Here, where the sun shines and the rain falls all year long, fresh and healthy tropical foods abound. The Cook Islands has something for every type of traveler — candlelit, seaside dinners for honeymooners; party buses and live music for night owls; snorkeling and bike tours for the kids — but our point of difference is authenticity.

Thanks, readers of Global Traveler, for voting us Best Island in the Pacific Rim for the second year running. We invite you to join us in paradise. Let the experience change you.