Suwarrow Atoll, also known as Suvarov, is a Cook Islands National Park overseen by a warden who lives here during the winter cruising season with his wife and four young boys. There is a $50 charge for anchoring no matter how long the stay and perhaps a hundred yachts call here each year. There are many regulations, mostly to preserve the pristine nature of the atoll. Spear fishing is not allowed, there is only limited harvesting of coconut crabs, travel to the surrounding motus (small islands) is by permission only and garbage must be taken away by the cruisers for disposal at sea.

The island has been uninhabited except for occasional hermits, one of whom wrote a book entitled An Island Unto Oneself. It has for many years been a favored destination for sailors because of its pristine nature and its location on the route from Bora Bora to Pago Pago. There are at present two very large boats in the anchorage, a very sleek mega-sailing yacht of some 100 ft. with all the high tech bells and whistles and a tall ship from the early 1900s which is a restored brigantine having a crew of 30 reliving the past. They are as different as night and day but the crew on the old ship appear to be having more fun. They must be easier to please.