Bora Bora

[keesha99]

Looking for advice on where to stay on Bora Bora. We are going with some young teenagers, and I'm looking at the St. Regis, the Bora Bora Nui, or the Bora Bora Pearl. We live in Hawaii, so we want to explore a little, not just stay on the beach, jeep, bike, etc., and I'm concerned that staying at the St. Regis on the motu will be too confining, especially for the kids. Any recommendations are very much appreciated.

Aloha,
Joyce

[kfm525]

I think you might want to look at some of the other islands if you are going for a family vacation. Moorea I think would be better as there is a little more adventurous activities there. It is also a little cheaper and may have more singles or families rather than mostly honeymooners that you would find on Bora Bora. French Polynesia is such a gorgeous location that I am sure you will have an amazing vacation!

[keesha99]

We're actually planning on 3 days in Papeete and 4 or so in Moorea before we head to Bora Bora. We've been there before on our own honeymoon 18 years ago, so I know it's a real quiet, romantic spot, but I'd love for the kids to see it. I wouldn't bring small kids there, but these guys are able to do lots on their own. They're all certified divers, and we even have a championship canoe paddler (proud mommy here), and honestly, even living here in Kona, I've never seen anyplace as beautiful as Bora Bora.

I'm leaning towards the Nui so we can easily access the main island rather than having travel over from the motu. Any recommendations on OWB's there?

Thanks and aloha,

Joyce

[cruisinred]

Keesha-



Would you plan on the whole family staying in one OWB or would you book 2? Just asking as I think it might be difficult to find a resort with bungalows to sleep 4. I haven't done research on a family vacation to the South Pacific (you're a nicer Mom than I am ), but you could perhaps just do some google searches for "family villa Bora Bora" or something similiar. Also keep in mind (which you might already know) that food at hotels in French Polynesia is VERY expensive (ie. $35 fora hamburger)...not that you would want to cook on your vacation, but it might significantly cut down on expenses to find someplace that had a fridge and or microwave for drinks, snacks,etc.

[keesha99]

There will be 6 of us going, so I'll get a few rooms. I saw that the St. Regis has 2 bedroon OWB's, but need to research the others resorts to see what they have. I may do some combination of an OWB (for Dad and I)and beach villas, again depending on what's available. That way we can all feed the fish in our room and then we can have some privacy!

I know how expensive it is there, I remember paying $ 7 for a bottle of Hinano in a local market back in 1989. We're doing the Papeete and Moorea hotels on points, so Bora Bora is the big splurge part of the trip. It's also not as shocking to us coming from Kona. A burger at our resorts is about $ 20, and dinner for 2 with a few drinks about $ 300. But that's why I think it would be better to stay on the main island so we don't have to only eat at the hotel. We're also big on sashimi, so I'm hoping we can catch a few meals ourselves!

Aloha,
Joyce

[justincouv]

My wife and I visited Bora Bora on honeymoon in September. I could not possibly recommend the Intercontinental Thalasso more. You won't pay as much as the St. Regis, but you will get an ultra-modern amazing experience. As far as your concerns about the motu, the Intercontinental has a boat that goes between the main island and the motu every 15 mins. The OWBs are UNBELIEVABLE -- check out their website:



http://www.boraboraspa.intercontinental.com/



I have some pics if you are interested. WOW. What a place! We had a Diamond OWB. WOW.



Btw, the food is included w/the room. :-) plus, it's good!

[keesha99]

Justin,

I did not see your message until now, so I'm sorry for not replying. We did end up booking the Thalasso, so it's great to hear how much you enjoyed it. I got 2 OWB's, but since we have kids with us I took the Sapphire to leave the extra privacy of the Diamonds for the Honeymooners. After checking prices all around I ended up buying from here 'al le carte'.

Aloha,
Joyce

[TheWarStoreMan]

We were in Tahiti last year at this time, boy do we miss it. What a wonderful honeymoon!

I concur, cant say enough good things about the Thalasso. Really exquisite place. Diamond room view of the mountain was incredible.

Bora itself was actually my least favorite island to visit. It has a lot of cache and mystique - everyone seems to have to spend some time on Bora if they go to Tahiti. Our favorite island was actually Huahine, and the Te Tiare was very nice. We also liked Rangiroa for the diving/snorkeling and the 'atoll' island experience.

I love Tahiti, but 12 hours in a plane from NY nearly killed me :-)

[bonniejoy03]

You bought up an interesting point. We have never been to Tahiti. I have always considered it. My husband though isn't looking forward to the long plane ride (we are also on the East coast.) How do you compare the Caribbean with the South Pacific? His point is that we have the lovely Caribbean close by so why do the flight to Tahiti? (We have been to Australia once and New Zealand once but he didn't consider that "beach vacations.) Any assistance?

[disneygal]

Hi bonniejoy03,

I agree that the trip is long. We're in the northeast and had a long layover in LAX, which didn't help. But it is still worth doing. The Caribbean is beautiful, but there's something different about French Polynesia. The quality of the water - it's so clear, with so many shades of greens and blues, and so many tropical fish. Around the motus, in some areas the water is shallow a long way out, so you can easily see the underwater life witout even putting on a snorkel mask. The closest we've seen to this in the Caribbean would be the Grenadines (maybe Tabago keys), with BVIs coming in second, but IMO nowhere else measures up. Also, the lushness of the landscape is different, the mountains...maybe like St. Lucia on sterioids. And of course the culture is different.

We were also in French Polynesia on a honeymoon trip and dream of going back. I hope that an LL package will make that a reality. We also want to take more a week, due to the length of the flights. Maybe we'll stop in Californnia to break up the trip.

Thank you to the other posters for the information you've shared. I hope to get this destination back on into my travel plan in the near future!