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Who''s been to Bora Bora? or anywhere in FP?

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Scooba

Scooba

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 10, 2006
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I think I am pretty much set on going to Bora Bora for my honeymoon, not sure if I want to visit any other islands in FP or just stay on Bora Bora the whole time.

So, who has been to Bora Bora? Where did you stay? Where would you stay next time? What was great? What would you do different?

Who has been anywhere in FP? What would you recommend?

Thanks!
 
Have you considered doing a cruise through the Tahitian Islands? Princess does a wonderful 10 day on the Tahitian Princess for a very reasonable cost when you compare what it would cost for staying on one island. Tahiti is extremely expensive..paying $65 for the two of you to get a hamburger fries and coke is not unheard of. The water in Bora Bora is amazing. Moorea also has wonderful snorkeling. If you do stay in Bora Bora or Moorea, opt for an overwater bungalow...pricey, but well worth it when you consider you are in Paradise!! I've done the T.P. before and am returning this time with Mr. Right on our honeymoon! Rangiroa is also a great place and if you like seclusion, try the Kia Ora Sauvage!
 
we honeymooned on moorea and spent 7 days there and are dying to go back. our TA had been to all the islands..she mentioned that moorea was the least touristy of the islands...which appealed to us hugely. tahiti itself is the main island and it's super commercial, not islandy at all..we flew in there and were there for a day. bora bora she mentioned is kind of like maui for hawaii, stuff to do but very touristy. we love kauai in hawaii as it's the smallest most lush island, so moorea was perfect for us, smallest and most quiet and romantic island. it was just amazingly beautiful and unspoiled. we can't wait to return. we wanted to do a day trip to BB but they were not offering them at that time of the year when we went. but that's a great way to visit other islands as well.

we stayed in a beach bungalow which we preferred over the overwater ones, esp since the overwater ones are killing the coral in those areas, and much of the coral in the other islands i guess is already destroyed so we did not want to contribute to that really. the on the beach one was great, we just walked out and got a beach chair and laid out all day...haha.

a great travel agent can help you out with decisions...ours was priceless to us...we typically book trips online mostly but she was so well versed in everything on the islands that she made it so easy for us to get everything setup and decide what we wanted to do. also it was a little cheaper to not do BB which is the most expensive island it seemed.
 
Date: 10/23/2006 1:53:33 AM
Author: Mara
we stayed in a beach bungalow which we preferred over the overwater ones, esp since the overwater ones are killing the coral in those areas, and much of the coral in the other islands i guess is already destroyed so we did not want to contribute to that really. the on the beach one was great, we just walked out and got a beach chair and laid out all day...haha.
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Actually, among what kills the coral is over fishing, bleaching, and sewage, etc from overpopulated islands, such as Hawaii. The coral gardens in Huahine and Raiatea are thriving...and really beautiful to see. Overwater bunglaows don't kill the coral. Snorkelers and divers should know to not step on or touch the coral. Stepping off your private deck and right into the water to snorkle was a thrill I loved in French Polynesia. The coffee table in the rooms of OWB has clear glass so you can see the fish from insde your room too! In an OWB you feel like you are the only ones out there...so private and romantic. The water in Bora Bora is amazing...you can see 100 feet down into the water....so clear and so blue, like blues you have never seen before. No picture does it justice til you are there and see for yourself. It is truly a romantic place and perfect for a honeymoon! I can't wait to go back! You may want to check out the message boards on tahiti-explorer.com for more ideas and info.
 
InLuv...actually what our TA told us is that the construction for the overwater bungalows ends up killing a ton of coral and it takes a while to grow back. So this particular gal didn''t recommend it for us...which was fine. We loved being on the beach anyway...that is what we did in Hawaii too. I felt like the overwater ones were like almost too secluded and I didn''t want us to be hanging out alone on the patio of the bungalow, part of the fun of traveling to somewhere like FP is people watching on the beach!! Esp since the beaches there are topless. hehee.
 
Funny you mention that.....the OWBs are more secluded...so much so that even I felt comfortable enough to snorkle naked! I have a great picture of my sunburned backside snorkeling in Paradise!!
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Another time while we were in a boat on an excursion, we sailed by some bungalows. Sure enough as I thought of it, a guy was standing naked in his room! He started to duck and then may have realized, hey, I''ll never see these people again, and waved as we were all hootin'' and hollerin''. It was sooo funny!!
 
We stayed at Le Meridian Bora Bora which is located on a motu off the actual island and accessible only by boat. When we were there, they were building a hotel about a mile away (think it may have been the Ritz) but besides that..nothing. It was incredibly relaxing and gorgeous. We tried both the overwater and the beach bungalow and preferred the beach bungalow - especially great at Le Meridian where there is a protected lagoon where you can swim with turtles and have a slice of private beach... We took the boat over to Bora Bora once - for the day...honestly, I would not describe it as touristy, but we did prefer the seclusion and the deserted beaches of the outer motu. You can drive around Bora Bora in about 20 minutes. There are a few places where you can buy pearls/pareos, a couple hotels, a supermarket, a couple of restaurants, lots of friendly locals, one very iffy club (we only heard about it) and a few churches.

The Meridian was an incredibly lovely spot but we really felt that (for the money) the rooms need renovation. The brand new hotel (not sure but fairly certain it was a Ritz Carleton) next door looked incredible - we checked it out the few times that we were sailing by... I would get a food plan as FP is pricey.

I am not in love with Tahiti but if you have to stay there (on a layover) the InterContinental is probably your best bet. :)

I did hear that Moorea was nice as well but don't know much about it. Check into Tahaa as well. Good luck and have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm jealous!
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***make sure you do the shark feeding - AMAZING!
 
oh the other thing that lovey reminded me of, do not get sucked into eating at the hotel!! it's a total rip and the food is not even that good. typical hotel food.

food in FP is not necessarily that pricey. it's eating at the hotel that gets you. hahaa. we actually rented a scooter on the 3rd day and went around the island (took about 2 hours in the scooter and about an hour in the car we rented later that week). the scooter was like $10 for a day and the car was $30 a day i think. we had the scooter for 2 days and then the car for 2 days. and we found the most amazing fresh crepe place that offered a full breakfast for like $9! and then we found this wonderful true french place by a frenchman who'd come to the island like 10 years ago and they were serving the most amazing french food...in FP! it was just so funny to be in such a tropical environment eating yummy truffled scallops. and the dinner there was just like eating here at home cost wise.

but eating at the hotel the first few days, boring food and expensive!! our breakfast was $50 for both of us EVERY DAY. we didn't discover the crepe place til the 2nd to the last day and we were like OMG we could have driven like 5 minutes to get breakfast evey day for $9 rather than $25 each. hehe. we were so happy we got out on the 3rd day and at least found some fantastic restaurants even if we did pay for the breakfast daily, lol.

so when we go again, we totally know to not eat the hotel food...just to get a car right away and go out and find the wonderful local places on the island and eat with the locals. there was also an awesome pizza place we passed. and the beers at the hotel were something like $8 each but we drove to the little 'corner store' and got a 6 pack for like $5. our room had a fridge so greg had beer for much cheaper than ordering it every day from the bar.
 
The place I think we might stay is the Intercontinental Thalasso on Bora Bora, I have been doing tons of research, thanks for all your tips.

I was dead set on spending 7 nights in an OWB but now that some of you mention you preferred the BBs, I might look into that for a few days.

Lovey- I''m glad you mentioned that you thought the Meridien looked like it needed updating because the pictures of it on tripadvisor look so pretty but a travel agent mention to me that the place was a little run down last time she was there, I think I am going to take that hotel out of the running because I have heard this twice now

Mara- thanks for letting me know that you can eat cheaper! also very glad to hear you bought your own beer, we are kind of big drinkers and usually go AI for that reason because we can rack up a heck of a bar tab

Anyone know anything about the Thalasso, Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, or Bora Bora Nui Resort?
 
The cheaper food places are known as "Les Roulottes", sort of like a roach coach, only with really good, tasty food. You can find almost any food being served by these rolling trucks. Also, when visiting Bora Bora, don''t miss Bloody Mary''s and be sure and check out the ladies room! 8 months and 2 weeks and I''m back to Paradise!!!
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Oh My Diamonds! I just saw you are getting married on 7-7-7 too! We''ll be in Bora Bora on July 16 and 17! Maybe I''ll see you there!!
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DAH i have heard that bora bora nui is supposed to be really nice.

we are thinking of maybe going back to Moorea for our 3 year anniversary next year, in may but we'll see...we definitely want to get back soon but we would like to visit europe next year as well so we'll have to see. i'd much rather go for two weeks in FP than europe. hee.
 
another 777 girl
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OMG Mara, thank you so much for sharing those, I LOVE THEM! I am dying to go and no wonder you want to go back, awesome pictures! What hotel were you at?
 
We stayed at the Sofitel Ia Ora on Moorea:
http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/resort/0566/fiche_hotel.shtml

It was really lovely....the beach was spectacular, and the views were amazing. Moorea only has I think 3 big hotels and we drove by the others and ours seemed at least the 2nd nicest and maybe the best. It has it''s own private beach area which was awesome.

Some packages do things like 4 days on BB and then 3 days on Moorea or something, so you might want to split the time...it''s either a catamaran to the other islands or a short plane ride.
 
You can''t go wrong with FP.
Personally I prefer the seclusion of Bora Bora over Moorea.
My sister, who is more outgoing and active, loves Moorea.
Here''s a picture of the view from our OW bungalow.
I had to cropped down to size to fit here.

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Here's a daylight shot.
As you can see, there's my hubby for his morning swim.
That's my feet.

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where did you stay lili?
 
actually lili, we thought moorea was the quiet more secluded island, it's compared to kauai in hawaii whereas bb is more like maui which is supposed to have more to do than moorea. moorea i think is also the smallest island? anyway, we loved the slow pace of moorea, it's very 'local' feeling and not touristy at all.

From an online Tahitian website:

Tahiti is a tired ex-paradise that’s well past its sell-by date, 100 years past it according to Gaugin who arrived for his second visit in 1900 and declared it too spoilt by civilisation even then. Big G immediately took off for the Marquesas Islands, where he died. Ironically the Gaugin museum is one of the best ‘sights’ on an island that is pretty short of exciting things to see. Tahiti is expensive but has an international airport [Faaa] and frequent flights that arrive very late so many visitors have no choice but to stay a couple of nights en route to far more attractive Bora Bora, neighbouring Moorea or other lesser know islands.

Bora Bora, a short flight from Tahiti, is a stunning French Polynesian destination in an amazing setting and sporting one of the world's best beaches, but it's extremely expensive to both get there and stay there and is somewhat divorced from real life. i.e. it's life in the fat lane. In truth, the Bugcrew would be delighted to spend a few days there but the budget does not permit.

Moorea, though a bit short of huge beaches is an island that is much closer to a tropical paradise than Tahiti. It's quiet, has no town or even village, is surrounded by clear waters and a moderately thriving coral reef, offers white sand beaches and a totally magnificent group of green mountainous peaks in its centre.

In fact Moorea is what Tahiti may have been 30 years ago, and Tahiti is, pessimistically, what Moorea may become in 15 years time. i.e. Too many people, too much interest in the XPF [local currency, the Pacific Franc] and too many cars. But at the moment prices in Moorea are reasonable [not cheap, we hasten to add, just not ridiculous], the [one] circular road is fairly clear, the people are relaxed and friendly [though mostly French speaking], facilities are comfortable [but mosquitoes are hungry] and a massive range of quality marine activities in a huge turquoise lagoon. We have a large collection of Moorea Pictures after a few Tahiti photos.

 
Mara,

You have a point regarding the "local" feel and laid-back pace of Moorea.
When I said that I prefer the "secluded" feel of BB, I really mean secluded in that our resort is
off on an isle all by itself. There are no restaurants (except for the restaurants of the resort) or markets within walking distance.
We would have to hop on a boat ride to get to the main island of BB.
And you are right, BB is way more expensive than any of the other islands especially when you factor in the OW bungalow :)
 
will you tell me where you stayed lili?
 
Date: 10/27/2006 4:59:10 PM
Author: Diamonds are Hot!
where did you stay lili?
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Diamonds,

We stayed at the Pearl Beach Resort.
We got a package deal through Costco for 4 nights at Moorea and 5 nights at BB.
(By the way, Costco actually have some excellent package deals for FP)
We went budget with Moorea and just stayed at the normal bungalow.
Then stayed at the OW bungalow in BB. It's a little pricey, but well worth the money.
Our backyard is essentially the vast ocean
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I liked Moorea too, but I just felt more relaxed in BB. Perhaps my mind is just fixated on that serene backdrop that I've posted.
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DAH,

Either stay at the beach or overwater bungalow if you go to FP.
Don''t stay at the garden bungalow as you more proned to get bitten by the little buggers (I think they are called no-no or mo-mo or something like that).
 
oh i see lili....how cool that you were off on your own little isle!!

yes that view off the OB is amazing!! we just LOVED the water out there, SO beautiful. so clear. so blue.

i agree re: going BB or OB...we were moved our last day to a GB because we were checking out that evening...so they gave us a GB that was not being used so we could have a place to go and relax for a few hours before our flight and it was totally not as cool as our BB and it was a little darker inside since it was set back into the trees.

oh the other thing, the mosquitos in FP are insane!! they are FAST and vicious. i spent every evening from sundown wearing long sleeves, the weather was nice enough to just wear long cotton pants and a sweater and it kept me from getting bitten but the bugs out there were vicious. we really needed the mosquito net in our BB. and we burned mosquito coils in the room too to keep them away. doing that and staying in long sleeves in the evenings really kept me about 80% bite free, hehee. mosquitos typically LOVE me and in hawaii (where we got married) i had about 30 bites on my arms and legs and similar within 3 days!
 
oh the other thing, the mosquitos in FP are insane!! they are FAST and vicious. i spent every evening from sundown wearing long sleeves, the weather was nice enough to just wear long cotton pants and a sweater and it kept me from getting bitten but the bugs out there were vicious. we really needed the mosquito net in our BB. and we burned mosquito coils in the room too to keep them away. doing that and staying in long sleeves in the evenings really kept me about 80% bite free, hehee. mosquitos typically LOVE me and in hawaii (where we got married) i had about 30 bites on my arms and legs and similar within 3 days!
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Hehehe, yeah I think those buggers just love us foreigners
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We didn''t have to use it, but the staffers there said that the complimentary coconut oil are no-no repellent.
So slather on those oil if you must. It smells really nice, but I just don''t like the oily feel.
 
Anyone know anything about the Thalasso, Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, or Bora Bora Nui Resort?
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DAH,

Sorry I didn''t give you more details earllier.
Anyway, my husband did extensive research into the different resorts in BB.
Lagoon, Pearl Beach and Nui are all about the same caliber.
We chose Pearl Beach because, as I have mentioned earlier, it is on an isle by itself.
Only guests at the resort are allowed to get on the catamarran to go there.
So in essence it''s like you are on an exotic island by yourself.
If you are like Mara and like to people watch and learn about life on an island, PB is probably not your pick.
My sister didn''t like PB because she said that it was inconvenient to get to the city.
I myself don''t mind hopping on the boat to go to the city to get dinner.
Yes, food at the resort are insanely pricey and so-so tasting. Don''t be surprised to send $20 on burger and fries :)
It was a bit of a hassle to have to go on the boat for meals, but it was a price to pay for the peace and quiet and being lost in paradise.

Oh, another reason we picked PB was because it boasts of having one of the cleanest and clearest beach.
Also, we opted for the OW because we read that there are fewer mosquitoes there. We slept with the windows open and didn''t get bitten at all.
I guess the mosquitoes don''t go too far out into the sea. And those mosquitoes are vicious. The bites are tiny, but they are itchy and painful.
I actually got bitten when we went exploring in the garden of the resort.

Anyway, if you have Costco membership or know someone, you should get a quote from them.
I forgot how much we saved going through them.
We tried 3 TA and the prices were way more.
Hope that helps.

I''m so jealous. I want to go there again
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