Bora Bora, Tahiti, French Polynesia
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Anonymous
| Just starting to plan a significant anniversary trip. Where to go, where to stay, etc. Looking for a room with a view. Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated. |
Anonymous
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We skipped Bora Bora and visited Mo’orea, Tikehau, and Rangiroa. Really enjoyed the last two. Basically only one lux hotel on each of those islands, great value when compared to Bora Bora and the service was fantastic.
Just know that the intra island flights are $$$. Sometimes you have to stop on and island and let others on and off, so book early for non stop flights. You will probably be forced to stay in Mo’orea or Tahiti on your way home, nice intercon hotels for that. |
Anonymous
| I’ve wanted to do one of the windstar small ship cruises but I’d probably wait until they get one of their “sailing” ships back to Tahiti. |
Anonymous
| For those of you who've been to the Maldives and Hawaii and Bali and Thailand, how does French Polynesia compare? |
Anonymous
I’ve been to 4/5 (not Hawaii) so I’ll bite. FP is more remote than Thailand, with all the benefits and drawbacks that brings (food is more expensive, fewer food options, but many fewer people around). Maldives has gorgeous, perfect sand and turquoise water. Sand in FP is much rougher, so you need to wear water shoes, but I really like that from the fancy resorts on motus around Bora Bora/Moorea, you can see mountain+water instead of just water (DH, on the other hand, doesn’t like that the Bora Bora lagoon is deep, so you don’t get those pretty turquoise hues from the shallows). I had a much better sense of the local culture in FP than in Maldives, in a good way. OP, I’d suggest checking out Le Taha’a in FP as well. It has amazing drift snorkeling, shallow waters outside the bungalows, and a beautiful, local feel. I thought Tikehau seemed rundown in comparison to other resorts we visited, but if you go in with a “Robinson Crusoe” attitude, that will help a lot. They did have some of the best croissants I’ve ever eaten. |
Anonymous
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PP: I forgot to say that Bali beaches are really wide and public, so you’ll be renting a beach chair from a local guy who has them set up vs. sitting on chairs your hotel set up on the beach. The beach setup is nice, but not as luxurious as FP or Maldives.
I found the rest of Bali to be overtouristed, but I think Lombok is less so, or you could go to Java (Borobudur, Prambanan) for culture for a few days. |
Anonymous
| If your budget allows it, I highly recommend splurging for an Otemanu view room in Bora Bora. I think St Regis has one of the best views and the Westin (former Le Meridian) should be similar. Or stay at Four Seasons since their beach has a view of the mountain. Consider joining the “Off to Bora Bora” Facebook group for suggestions on all of French Polynesia. We didn’t use them, but apparently Costco has good pricing. |
Anonymous
| St. Regis Bora Bora. Great trip. |
Anonymous
| Op here. Thanks so much. What a great start. |
Anonymous
| Be careful where you stay in Bora Bora - we stayed at a resort with horrible food and it’s not easy to leave your resort to go to the main island. From what I’ve heard- St Regis and Four Seasons are probably your safest bet. |
Anonymous
Hawaii has a lot of natural lush beauty, but I didn't care much for the sand or the water there. Bottom of my list to make another trip there. Maldives is absolutely gorgeous, great cuisine, beautiful sand, but because of all the tides camt really swim on the beach. Bali - loved everything about it except the beach, water, sand. Was a major disappointment for me. Beautiful places to visit, excellent cuisine. Thailand , have been to Koh Samui very pretty, nice beach ok water. Just a pretty and relaxing place with good food. Also went to Seychelles, similar in some ways to Maldives. French Polynesia, we were in Bora Bora, it cannot be beat. Absolutely gorgeous water, sand , beach, views. Great cuisine. An over water bungalow with a glass bottom view is a must even if for 2/3 nights. This a fabulous bucket list place. I do want to add other than the scenic views, Turks and Caicos is very comparable to Bora Bora in terms of the water/sand/ beach, except in Bora Bora you can have deep shallow crystal clear water. Hope this helps. |
Anonymous
| Went to Bora Bora; it was bora boring. |
Anonymous
I was waiting for this! Wasn't going to be the buzzkill, but I agree. Look at the water, eat some 50 dollar fruit and get it on I guess. It's a LONG way to travel and very expensive for not much. |
Anonymous
Yeah I would rather go to Asia for that long of a flight. Hawaii is my happy medium. That being said, Moorea is awesome to visit. |