Bora Bora is what initially attracted us to travel to French Polynesia because it was high on our bucket list. Many people feel that they can leave Bora Bora out of their travels to French Polynesia and experience something similar on a different island, such as Moorea, for a cheaper price. We strongly feel that Bora Bora is worth every penny and lived up to it’s hype. This small island is known for it’s clear, turquoise waters, luxurious resorts with overwater bungalows and Mt. Otemanu, which is a dormant volcano. There is so much to do in Bora Bora, or you can choose to do nothing and simply relax.
Where We Stayed:
The flight from Moorea to Bora Bora was about 1 hour and landed at the airport of Bora Bora which encompasses it’s own motu (a very small island). Many of the most popular resorts are off of the main island and so it is necessary to take a boat transfer to the resort (our hotel offered the boat shuttle and we made reservations in advance). We stayed at Le Meridian Bora Bora, which was the most romantic resort we have ever been to. One of the things that drew us to this resort specifically was the view of Mt. Otemanu, which was directly across the gorgeous water surrounding the resort. In addition, the overwater bungalows at Le Meridian have large glass bottom floors to see the water below. Another feature is that Le Meridian has a private beach for sunbathing and lagoon pool for swimming. Upon arrival, we were greeted with leis and a cocktail, while given a grand tour of the property via a golf cart. Finally, we arrived at our amazing overwater bungalow, which we were saving for our 5 night stay in Bora Bora. It was worth the wait!
Questions we heard several times about the overwater bungalows:
- Do you have privacy? Yes. Each bungalow has a balcony facing outwards and from the balcony it is possible to see around you, but for the most part each balcony is angled to a certain direction to give the most privacy possible. Inside your bungalow is completely private.
- Can someone swim under your overwater bungalow? Yes. To give every guest privacy, there are rugs provided that can cover the glass bottom floor so that a neighbor swimming by won’t see you if you don’t want to be seen.
- Did you have a neighbor swim under your bungalow? No. Just Miro, waving to Lauren from below.
- Is there air conditioning? Yes. The bungalow took a little while to cool off upon arrival, but once we got it going, it never got warm inside.
- Did you see any marine life below? Yes. Lauren went in with the mindset that it was going to be like an aquarium. Was that the case? No, there was not constant action in the water below us. But, we absolutely loved seeing fish, sea turtles and stingrays swim by occasionally. At night, the bungalow has a light that can shine on the water to attract fish. We loved staring at the floor seeing what would be attracted to the light – it was like our TV for the night.
- Was your overwater bungalow actually over the water? Yes. Before going on our honeymoon, we did a lot of research and were surprised to see that some resorts have overwater bungalows half over the water and half on land. This was something we wanted to make sure did not happen to us in our experience in the overwater bungalow because it would not be as safe to jump in the water due to it being shallow and rocky.
Our favorite aspect of having the overwater bungalow was being able to jump into the water from our balcony. There was a spiral staircase that led us down to a dock that had a small shower and a ladder for those who want to walk down into the water. The best decision we made was to bring blow up tubes and a rope that we used to tie our tubes to the ladder so we didn’t drift away too far. We enjoyed relaxing on the water on our tubes and felt truly in “paradise.”
Adventures:
Water Sports
The resort offered kayaks and paddles boards, which we used several times throughout our stay. We enjoyed kayaking to a private island nearby. The kayaks had a glass bottom which was super cool. It was our first time paddle boarding and Miro was a pro! The calm water made for his perfect first try at paddle boarding. Another awesome experience we had was going on an Outrigger Sailing Canoe with a local in Bora Bora, which the resort offered for free! He gave us a smooth sail around the waters surrounding the resort and even made Lauren a hat out of palm fronds. He was friendly and taught us a lot about his life living on the island. We were so thankful for all of the free water sport activities that Le Meridian had to offer!
Turtle Sanctuary
Le Meridian has a turtle sanctuary where they help save turtles that are injured. They offer an informational session about turtles and where most of the turtles in the sanctuary are from. We also got a chance to go into the sanctuary and feed the turtles. This was very special for both of us because we love sea turtles and have enjoyed swimming with them in the past. They are beautiful sea creatures!
Going to Town
Hmmm… going to town… an adventure? It sure was! Remember how we had to take a boat shuttle to get to our resort? Well, in order to leave the resort you must do the same to get to Vaitape, the main town on the island. This required some planning in advance, but going to town was worth it to see the beautiful architecture, churches, restaurants, shops and local vendors. We were able to get souvenirs from vendors and enjoy traditional Polynesian dishes at some restaurants. We used our trip to town wisely and loaded up on some snacks, baguettes and drinks at a local market Chin Lee’s which is located near the pier.
Culture & Food:
Le Meridian Bora Bora
Le Meridian Bora Bora has a few dining options for guests who would like to stay on the property. We dined at Le Tipanie on a theme night, which offered a Polynesian buffet (reservations recommended). The food was plentiful and tasty. The restaurant is located overlooking the lagoon, which was fun to see in the evening. We also had a meal at Le Te Ava, the poolside bar, where we were able to enjoy the sunset and have a drink on the upper deck of the resort. There was outdoor furniture all facing Mt. Otemanu which offered us a relaxing evening.
Nearby Restaurants
We highly recommend dining at The Lagoon at St. Regis and strongly encourage you to book your reservation today… because they book so quickly! Le Meridian offers a free boat shuttle to the St. Regis and St. Regis brought us back, which worked out perfectly. To get to the St. Regis from other resorts, you have to pay a lot of $$ for a boat shuttle, but luckily Le Meridian and St. Regis are both Starwood (Marriott) Resorts, so we were able to get there for free. The Lagoon is located over the water and has a glass bottom floor in the restaurant. It is one of the famous Jean-Georges’ restaurants with a French & Polynesian style. Our dinner was pricey and probably was the most expensive meal we had in all of French Polynesia, but it was so worth it.
For our final dinner in Bora Bora, we went to the famous Bloody Mary’s. We made reservations far in advance and planned a boat shuttle to bring us to the main island, Vaitape. The restaurant offers a shuttle bus from the pier to the restaurant since it is not directly in town. Once we got to Bloody Mary’s, the menu was a display of meats and fishes on ice showing us what was available to eat that evening. The food was excellent and the portions were large. This was an amazing meal ending our honeymoon!
Bora Bora was everything we ever dreamed of and more. We hope to get back one day… maybe for our 25th wedding anniversary!
