Is Bora Bora worth it for a family trip?

[Anonymous]

Five nights is only long enough in BB if it’s part of a 2-week or longer itinerary that includes other islands in French Polynesia. Remember that the first day is basically all travel, so 5 nights is really 4 days at the property. Agree with other posters that StR is beautiful and will be boring for kids - 5 nights there was good for us only because we were happy to read on the deck for several hours each day. Moorea is also beautiful, has more activities, and would be more family-friendly.

Bringing kids to StR BB or a comparable property is completely your prerogative - it’s not an adults-only resort - just know that ~90-100% of the other guests will be couples on their honeymoons or special anniversary trips glaring at you when your kids do normal kid things like run around / splash in the pool / etc.

[Anonymous]

PP: Since you asked about costs, also should have added that StR will only let you book a two-bd villa with 2 adults and 3 kids, which would be around $5k/night. Moorea has VRBOs for much less - think $200/300 per night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the Maldives instead - much more family friendly, a much more direct route (through DXB) and lovely overwater bungalows too.

Is it faster to get to the Maldives from here than bora bora?

No. Bora Bora is about an hour closer.

Unless you have to fly from Male to another island and then take a speedboat to get to your resort - it was about 30 hrs of travel time for us to get from DC to Park Hyatt Maldives, which was rough even in Qatar business. Maldives was pretty but the travel to French Polynesia was a lot easier and IMO it’s prettier to look at ocean + mountain from your bungalow than just ocean. We likely wouldn’t go to Maldives again but would return to FP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ever since I saw Couples Retreat it's been on my bucket list. But I'd love to take the whole family. I've been looking online and seeing all these amazing overwater bungalows; some with water slides! So far our favorite family vacation destination has been Beaches Turks and Caicos, where we've gone for the past two years. Is Bora Bora worth the added expense and the loooooong trip there? I currently have a 13-, 10- and 4-year old. Who has done Bora Bora, either as a couple or as a family? Would love your feedback about...

1. Where to stay (I'm eyeing St. Regis!)
2. What are the fewest number of nights we could stay to feel like it was enough (I'm a fan of brief vacations - hard to get off work/school for too long)? Would five nights be too short?
3. Best time of year to go? I'd love to go between Christmas and New Year but concerned about weather/crowding/max pricing.
4. What should I expect to spend for a family of five for my desired five-night trip (unless you tell me I'm nuts to go for only five nights)?
5. What is there to do for kids?

Thank you!

Boring family trip

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Most of the drownings occur when adults are on site.

I would not vacation at a home that had a backyard swimming pool with a 4 year old.


Did I say anything t about adults not being onsite? No I said people not watching their kids for assuming someone else is.

You not renting a vacation home with a pool is a little extreme also.

How is watching your kids a vacation for you?

[Anonymous]

99.99% of tourists are on their honeymoon there like us. Seriously. You need to find another place in Asia. I'm sure you will. You do not want to go to Tahiti for a family holiday. You could but there's other places as beautiful. I swear to you - I did the islands for my honeymoon and while it was amazing - I don't know that it was worth all that.

[Anonymous]

Why bora bora?

If you want Amazing water/beach/snorkeling, can send ideas for a family of 5. What month?

[Anonymous]

Ideas for Dec 17-24? Less honeymoon.
Much cheaper than the following week:

Maldives
https://www.sixsenses.com/en/resorts/laamu

BVI
https://thehideoutbvi.com/

Panama
https://islassecas.com/
https://nayarabocasdeltoro.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ideas for Dec 17-24? Less honeymoon.
Much cheaper than the following week:

Maldives
https://www.sixsenses.com/en/resorts/laamu

BVI
https://thehideoutbvi.com/

Panama
https://islassecas.com/
https://nayarabocasdeltoro.com/

And a few others:
Turks
https://rockhouse.gracebayresorts.com/

St Kitts
https://www.sunsetreefstkitts.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Most of the drownings occur when adults are on site.

I would not vacation at a home that had a backyard swimming pool with a 4 year old.


Did I say anything t about adults not being onsite? No I said people not watching their kids for assuming someone else is.

You not renting a vacation home with a pool is a little extreme also.

How is watching your kids a vacation for you?

PP here
I have one, he is a lot of fun and easy going. Travel all over no issues.

[Anonymous]

An old but helpful post from the most honest family travel blogger out there:

https://travelbabbo.com/bora-bora-with-kids/

I would do it but only for 10 days minimum. And ideally combined with some Aussie wildlife moments.

[Anonymous]

What about Moorea? We went as a family. Lots to do but still gorgeous. Our overwater bungalow was great and we all loved it. There was a gate so no one can fall in the ocean. Would definitely spend closer to a week. We had 6 full days plus the 2 travel days.

[Anonymous]

Tahiti or especially Moorea, yes. We took our teens there. Bora Bora, I wouldn't.

[Anonymous]

This is not even close to being worth it especially for 5 days and with younger kids. You'll spend 1-2 days just getting there and the same travel time on the return trip assuming no airline and/or connection hiccups. Save your money. It's very expensive to fly there. The kids at that age won't even appreciate it and they most likely will become bored. By the way, you can find the overwater bungalows thing a lot closer in the Caribbean. As an aside, I've done a lot of traveling in the South Pacific and have sailed on a 48 ft Leopard catamaran into Bora Bora lagoon with a cruising couple I've known for years and stayed there for 2 1/2 weeks. It was great for adults and staying on the catamaran instead of one of the hotels was a much better experience IMO. We took the cat's dingy to the main island daily for exploration and also to the outer ring islands where we literally had an island to ourselves. Also did some diving. But to each their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did it as our honeymoon and loved it! Saw some families at our resort. They have kayaks, SUP, and snorkeling of course. It is a really long flight but very fun trip for us and for kids too I think.

Why go half way around the world, literally, when you can do the exact same things by going to the Caribbean including the overwater bungalow hotel?