All you need to know for a perfect Honeymoon retreat in Bora Bora
Ingredients for a sparkling honeymoon: a remote place to spend undisturbed time with the new groom, one, or perhaps two remote islands, possibly with poor network connection, hiking activities reduced to the bone and a disproportionate amount of free time to spend watching the other with Bugs Bunny style hearted-eyes, a room with all the comforts, at least three times as big as necessary, possibly without TV, but with swimming pool and room service so as to make it unnecessary to go out during the day. Add a fairytale sea and some palm trees, and voilà!
Our honeymoon was slightly different, and it took place on the dusty roads of the United States, in a car, between 60s motels, canyon trekking and laundromats. That's why, at the end of 4 weeks spent adventurously, we decided to treat ourselves to a luxurious, albeit short, 5-day stay in Bora Bora, the magnificent pearl of Polynesia.
After visiting the undisputed queen of the Polynesian islands, we can answer a few questions to organize a perfect honeymoon.
IS BORA BORA ACTUALLY BETTER THAN THE OTHER ISLANDS?
There's no single answer, of course, and it depends on what you're looking for. If luxury hotels, impeccable accommodation, postcard views with coral atolls and stilts in the background are your goal, you won't find a better island than Bora Bora.
We have carefully sifted through all the other islands of the Polynesian atoll, and after some research, we have understood why Bora Bora is the most popular (and unfortunately also expensive) among them. I don't know if the luxurious hotels came first and then the tourists, or first the numerous tourists and then the luxurious hotels, the fact is that none of the other islands of the archipelago, except for Moorea (although to a less extent), has an endowment and choice of hotels as Bora Bora.
Some of the more remote islands have little more than a few guesthouses to accommodate tourists, and for an occasion like a honeymoon there are no comparable amenities. Moreover, not all islands have the particular conformation of Bora Bora, which is made up of a series of islets that trap a shallow and calm lagoon, which allows the fauna to proliferate undisturbed by strong ocean currents, and guests to enjoy the beautiful expanses of crystal clear water just a few meters from the piled room.
Some islands have a more traditional structure and their coasts face the open sea, another reason to prefer Bora if you are looking for calm waters, snorkelling opportunities and the chance to see the marine fauna up close. If you are looking for more remote and wild islands, then Bora Bora is not your destination. But it is certainly a quite unique island, and more particular than the others.
It is not even suitable for those looking for contact with the local population, as only one remote and small village stands on the island. Tahiti will certainly be a better place for this kind of experience, but its dark volcanic sands coastline is far from comparable to the soft white coasts of Bora Bora.
HOW LONG TO STAY?
I could tell you that it depends on how many holidays you have, I could say "as long as possible since you've come all the way down here", or I could list the activities you don't want to miss and the time you need to do them, but the truth is that the length of your stay depends on your budget.
Staying in one of the resorts in Bora Bora costs unimaginable amounts of money, and it took a lot of thought and self-conviction to decide to invest in this trip. The most convincing reasons we found were "it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip", "the honeymoon must be special", "the wedding gifts cover the cost of the trip", if you need any suggestion. But maybe you just need to close your eyes and click on "Book".
For us 4 nights were the acceptable amount of time to limit expenses and still enjoy a wonderful holiday without excessive guilt. And then, you know, we easily get bored after 3 days at the seaside!
WHICH HOTEL TO CHOOSE?
I do not want to tell you which hotel is the best or on which to invest your capital. It is not a question of choosing the hotel with the most suitable comforts, as almost all of them are of high category. Choosing the hotel was mostly an assessment of location.
The geography of the island consists of a large central mountainous islet, and a series of motu, smaller islands that surround it and border the beautiful lagoon.
Most hotels occupy the eastern motu, a thin, long strip of land bordering the lagoon to the East. These hotels sink their hut poles into the lagoon itself, so the rooms look out over the vast expanse of clear, calm waters and towards the main island. The advantage is that you have the postcard view of Bora Bora right in front of your eyes, the downside is that you will probably have to take expensive rooms of a higher category to admire it. In fact, you may have to look towards the other resorts, and other buildings, and be a little disappointed.
Also, forget that you can swim directly from your room, as the water is quite shallow and often dense with coral. What's more, the waters of the lagoon are crossed by several excursion boats, and by bathers, which may slightly disturb your privacy or view. Some hotels occupy smaller motu immersed in the lagoon and facing the island or the open sea.
Others, the more modest ones are usually located on the perimeter of the main island. You have easy access for hiking, but the hotels are less luxurious, and after all, let's face it, trekking is not the reason why you will be going to Bora Bora!
We have chosen the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, which is located on the large motu of Toopua, west of the island. The reason for choosing this one, like other hotels that are in less crowded recesses of the atoll, is that it is in a remote area, with no other hotels nearby, and there will be no boats or other visible buildings in front of your room. Plus, you can dive into the water from your room!
The downside is that to appreciate the lagoon and your postcard view, you'll have to take a boat trip. On the positive side, there is an exceptional sunset on the west side of the island.
There is another key factor in choosing the hotel, at least in my opinion. Read the food reviews carefully! Almost all of the hotels on the island are only accessible by sea, and of course transportation from one place to another is charged dearly. So you certainly won't want to move from your hotel for dinner, especially considering that there are no inviting towns and restaurants on the island.
So your hotel will be the only structure you will visit, from breakfast to dinner. And the high price of the meals would better be proportionate to its quality! We have discarded several hotels based on food reviews, all other characteristics being equal.
WHICH FORMULA TO CHOOSE?
Secret of adulthood: never choose All Inclusive formulas. I know, thinking about having plenty of food, at any time of the day, without worrying about the menu, could be the icing on the cake of a luxury holiday. But I have only 3 words for you: waste and poor quality. Excluding the possibility, therefore, of huge buffets of low quality recycled food, two formulas remain: breakfast included and half board.
As soon as you see the price of your room going up by a disproportionate amount, just for having included dinner, maybe you will be interested in adopting our philosophy. We have chosen a formula with just breakfast which, at least in our hotel, has definitely exceeded our expectations. Everything we could wish for was waiting for us in the buffet, and the quality was excellent. With such a breakfast, we never needed lunch.
For dinner, we alternated between a more expensive a la carte fish dinner, a more casual hamburger, sushi and a light dinner in the room, all equally satisfying, and definitely less expensive than the formula with dinners included.
