Hammock in Four Seasons This is what Paradise must look like. You just can't help but marvel at the perfect combination nature comes up with. Blue sky with bluer seas, and Mt. Otemanu in the backdrop.
Bora Bora is a small island in Tahiti - French Polynesia. There is only one international airport which is in the capital - Papeete connected directly with only Auckland, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Its a 5 hour flight from Auckland, and its difficult to say which continent you are. So if you are in New Zealand, go out of your way to accommodate this destination.
Major flights arrive late evening in Papeete, so you need to stay in Papeete over night, and catch the next day flight to any of the islands, in our case Bora Bora.
We stayed at the Sofitel in Papeete, which is just ok for the sleep over.
Try to travel light as there are charges to be paid for heavy luggage in the domestic flights. The flight is a nice ride with aerial views of the islands, and you just cant keep gushing about your upcoming stay in Bora Bora.
Bora Bora airport is tiny, with unusual baggage claim where there are no belts, just counters where yours bags are kept.
The hotel in which you are staying will be present there to welcome you and whisk you away in their boat to the hotel.
All the hotels, be it the average hotel like Inter Continental to the super luxurious Four Seasons, you will be pampered straight away.
Of course its expensive but at the end of the day, Paradise comes at a cost !
Bora Bora is a small island in Tahiti - French Polynesia. There is only one international airport which is in the capital - Papeete connected directly with only Auckland, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Its a 5 hour flight from Auckland, and its difficult to say which continent you are. So if you are in New Zealand, go out of your way to accommodate this destination.
Major flights arrive late evening in Papeete, so you need to stay in Papeete over night, and catch the next day flight to any of the islands, in our case Bora Bora.
We stayed at the Sofitel in Papeete, which is just ok for the sleep over.
Try to travel light as there are charges to be paid for heavy luggage in the domestic flights. The flight is a nice ride with aerial views of the islands, and you just cant keep gushing about your upcoming stay in Bora Bora.
Bora Bora airport is tiny, with unusual baggage claim where there are no belts, just counters where yours bags are kept.
The hotel in which you are staying will be present there to welcome you and whisk you away in their boat to the hotel.
All the hotels, be it the average hotel like Inter Continental to the super luxurious Four Seasons, you will be pampered straight away.
Of course its expensive but at the end of the day, Paradise comes at a cost !
 |  Baggage Delivery at Bora Bora Airport |
Four Seasons
We stayed at the Four Seasons, for 4 nights. For us it was a call between Four Seasons and St. Regis as both looked equally good but finally we went to Four Seasons, just because of a favorable review from a friend.
We had booked an ocean villa facing the resort, but they upgraded us to a Mountain view Ocean villa.
Its a grand villa with a huge living room , a giant bath tub, walk in shower, king size bed and grand balcony with access to the ocean.
The water is clean but devoid of huge marine life, and also the beach is not as fine as Boracay. But its the Mt. Otemanu which you can keep staring all the time, while you are sipping your drink away maybe in the pool or at the beach.
The resort has amazing personnel service and you are treated as the king. You will be spending all your time in the resort, and they have enough activities to keep you entertained.
Jet Ski Tour
Mt. Otemanu is in the center of the island with all the resorts on an outer ring in the lagoon facing the mountain. You can drive the jet ski yourself with a guide taking you around a circular tour of the island.
Its a 90 mins tour around the island, where you can drive your jet ski in full speed without any traffic. Sometimes you can spot sting rays as we did, and also they serve you freshly cut fruits in the middle of the ocean.
A must do activity in Bora Bora
Scuba Diving
The marine life is not so great in the inner lagoon, but you can always find some fishes and kill away time by doing scuba.
Coral Reef Garden
Four Seasons have developed a coral reef garden on their own property where you can snorkel and see nice colorful fishes and reefs. This activity is free of charge.
We stayed at the Four Seasons, for 4 nights. For us it was a call between Four Seasons and St. Regis as both looked equally good but finally we went to Four Seasons, just because of a favorable review from a friend.
We had booked an ocean villa facing the resort, but they upgraded us to a Mountain view Ocean villa.
Its a grand villa with a huge living room , a giant bath tub, walk in shower, king size bed and grand balcony with access to the ocean.
The water is clean but devoid of huge marine life, and also the beach is not as fine as Boracay. But its the Mt. Otemanu which you can keep staring all the time, while you are sipping your drink away maybe in the pool or at the beach.
The resort has amazing personnel service and you are treated as the king. You will be spending all your time in the resort, and they have enough activities to keep you entertained.
Jet Ski Tour
Mt. Otemanu is in the center of the island with all the resorts on an outer ring in the lagoon facing the mountain. You can drive the jet ski yourself with a guide taking you around a circular tour of the island.
Its a 90 mins tour around the island, where you can drive your jet ski in full speed without any traffic. Sometimes you can spot sting rays as we did, and also they serve you freshly cut fruits in the middle of the ocean.
A must do activity in Bora Bora
Scuba Diving
The marine life is not so great in the inner lagoon, but you can always find some fishes and kill away time by doing scuba.
Coral Reef Garden
Four Seasons have developed a coral reef garden on their own property where you can snorkel and see nice colorful fishes and reefs. This activity is free of charge.
There are also other activities like parasailing, photograph tours, sunset tours, just depends on your time and budget.
Since you would be having all your meals at the resort, its advisable to take the full board option. But if you are a vegetarian , then just go and order a la carte. Its much more easier and cheaper.
Also the restaurant is so flexible, they would make anything if you have any special dietary restrictions.
The food is great and the variety amazing that we did not repeat any dish in 4 days.
Also the last day they gave us a complimentary late check out, which was a nice gesture.
But when it rains, as we encountered on the last day, you would not feel like going anywhere. It turns pretty dark and intimidating. One of the scariest flight rides I ever took was between Bora Bora and Papeete during such a thunderstorm.
You can always save one night back in Papeete by taking a mid night flight from Papeete to Auckland.
Grab your chance immediately if you have any plans going in this direction. Bora Bora is all about Mt. Otemanu...
Since you would be having all your meals at the resort, its advisable to take the full board option. But if you are a vegetarian , then just go and order a la carte. Its much more easier and cheaper.
Also the restaurant is so flexible, they would make anything if you have any special dietary restrictions.
The food is great and the variety amazing that we did not repeat any dish in 4 days.
Also the last day they gave us a complimentary late check out, which was a nice gesture.
But when it rains, as we encountered on the last day, you would not feel like going anywhere. It turns pretty dark and intimidating. One of the scariest flight rides I ever took was between Bora Bora and Papeete during such a thunderstorm.
You can always save one night back in Papeete by taking a mid night flight from Papeete to Auckland.
Grab your chance immediately if you have any plans going in this direction. Bora Bora is all about Mt. Otemanu...
