We’ve all seen the Instagram photos of the overwater bungalows, surrounded by crystal clear water, with dramatic Mount Otemanu in background. In said photos, it looks like a mix of Hawaii’s mountains and the Caribbean’s blue waters. This dreamy paradise is one that most people only dream of visiting, primarily because it’s prohibitively expensive.
Bora Bora gets most of the fame, however it’s just one of the 118 islands and atolls that make up French Polynesia, one of the more remote places on earth. With that remoteness comes sky high prices, but with some advance planning, a trip to the South Pacific doesn’t have to break the bank.
Getting there from North America
Rewind to late 2017, when United announced that it would begin flying to Pape’ete, Tahiti (the capitol) from SFO. The flight was originally supposed to be seasonal, but it’s done so well that it’s now year around. Prior to United’s announcement, French Polynesia was served by three airlines from North America, none of them legacy US carriers. Air Tahiti Nui, Air France, and low-cost carrier French Bee dominated the market, offering few options to use points and miles to get there (Air Tahiti Nui is redeemable using American AAdvantage miles, while Air France charges an obscene amount Flying Blue miles for a one-way).
United’s new flight has helped put downward pressure on prices, and now round-trip economy flights can be had for under $600 (~$300 for one-ways). At around approximately 9 hours, it’s more than doable in economy, as you’re not crossing any datelines and only the return is overnight.
As of today, the routes that can get you from the US to French Polynesia are:
- San Francisco (SFO)
- United / 3x weekly / Tue, Thur, Sat (both directions)
- French Bee / 2x weekly / Fri, Sat
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Air Tahiti Nui / Daily
- Air France / 3 – 4x weekly
If you have a stash of United miles (or Chase Ultimate Rewards, which is a 1:1 transfer to United), they can be redeemed starting at 35k each way, though at less than a 1 cent per mile, this isn’t the best deal or use of miles.
American miles can also be redeemed for their LAX-PPT flight starting at 40k miles per leg in economy, 65k in premium economy, or 80k in business. Like United, Air Tahiti Nui uses a 787-8 Dreamliner for the flight.
Regardless of how you get to Pape’ete, you’ll still be required to take an additional flight to get to Bora Bora. Air Tahiti is the only airline that offers inter-island flights, and they only operate during daylight hours. Since some flights arrive at night, be sure to plan for your overnight stay in Pape’ete. I failed to take this into account when booking the rest of our itinerary, booking our Bora Bora accommodations for the same day we flew into Pape’ete. It was a long protracted fight with both United and our Bora Bora hotel, but it ended up getting resolved (phewww). Flights from Pape’ete to Bora Bora were about $200 per person.
Lodging
Bora Bora boasts numerous points hotels across several brands. Marriott (2), IHG (2), Accor (2), and Hilton (1) all have high-end properties around the island. Hyatt is noticeably absent from French Polynesia, which is a bummer since as I said a couple of weeks ago, they have the best elite loyalty program out there.
Most of these hotels will run between $500-$2000/night, the higher-end being on the eastern side of the atoll, where you’ll find the Le Meridien, St Regis, and InterContinental Thalasso. I can attest that the views of Mount Otemanu from that side are nothing short of spectacular; something you really don’t get from the other areas of the island. What you do get is a closer proximity to Vaitape, where all of the non-hotel restaurants are located, along with markets and stores, which I’ll address later.
We did an excursion that took us around the entire lagoon, stopping at the InterContinental, Hilton (Conrad), and Sofitel, and I can say without a doubt that the Le Meridien and St Regis have the best real estate on the island.
When we went last January, we stayed at the Le Meridien using points. This was before Marriott Category 8 kicked in, so we were able to redeem at the Category 7 price of 60k points/night, and with the 5th night free, got 5 nights for a total of 240k points (rates were well over $1000/night that week)!
A few notes about the hotel:
- The property itself is beautiful, but it’s been a while since it’s seen updates. The harsh sun and saltwater aren’t kind, and the materials of this property no different.
- As an Ambassador Elite, we were not only updraded to an overwater bungalow, we were given the probably the second best one in the entire resort due to the incredible view of Mount Otemanu from our deck.
- The bungalows are definitely on the smaller side compared to other resorts there (the St Regis’ are about twice the size), however the resort is the best situated on the island due to it’s central views.
- The food and drink – which I’ll hit on later on Bora Bora in general- was expensive and not worth the cost. We did got to happy hour a couple of nights, though there isn’t much night life to be had (nor should there be). Breakfast was excellent however, which was included for Marriott Platinums and above, so I’d recommend pigging out then (and waiting until mid-late morning if you can).
- The property has a plenty of outdoor activities for free, including paddle boarding, kayaking, and visiting the sea turtle rehabilitation center onsite (great experience!).
- The staff was incredibly friendly and generous
- Lastly – somehow they use STYROFOAM cups and plastic water bottles in the rooms for coffee. I can’t even begin to explain… (there is a water dispenser in the gym, which is also well equipped).
Le Meridien photos:
Food and drink tips
Okay, so the first thing to remember is that Bora Bora is an atoll in one of the most remote places on earth and produces very little of its own food supply. As a consequence, everything has to be shipped in, meaning it’s outrageously expensive.
And since Bora Bora has no roads that connect many of the resorts to the main island, you’re a captive audience once you’re there. At the Le Meridien, cocktails started at $25 and a seafood pizza (12″) about $30. Unless you go do an activity, you’re at the resort all day, so it adds up quickly depending on your eating and drinking habits. If you’re like Leigh and me on vacation, the daily bill for drinks will exceed our flights home. 😉 Not to mention the urge to snack when you’re being lazy. Unless it’s your honeymoon, it’s hard to justify these prices for the better part of a week, not to mention waiting on room service all the time just isn’t that convenient!
BYO F and B!
We’d read about the prices beforehand, and since we’d just taken our actual honeymoon 4 months prior (to Seychelles and Kenya), we were not in the market for price gouging. We knew there was a market in town where we could buy fresh food upon our arrival, so we decided we’d supplement that with a Trader Joe’s run. We bought everything from our favorite chips, to beef jerky, to peanut butter stuff pretzels. We also brought wine and liquor, which you could also buy from duty free. We decided that packing it would be easier than having an additional bag from duty free.
Once we landed in Bora Bora, we took the public ferry that runs into town (Vaitape), in lieu of the $120 private pick-up via the hotel. The pick-up fee is ridiculous, however the main reason we wanted to do the ferry is because it allowed us to hit the market on our first day. From there we were able to take the $25 hotel transfer (same boat) from Vaitape back to the hotel. The frustrating part about the Le Meridien is that they charge an exorbitant price for the airport pick-up, when their neighbor and demonstrably higher-end St Regis does not.
There’s one primary market in town – Chin Lee Market – and they have pretty much everything you could want. From pre-made foods, to sandwich meat, to cheese, to heavenly fresh-baked French bread, and other local snacks, everything is covered. I also picked up a some beer since a six pack there costs less than one of the same canned beer at the hotel.
Since we had a couple of hours to kill between the ferry drop-off and our pick-up, we first went to grab lunch and walk around the town. Our lunch was an excellent intro into the seafood heavy diet of Bora Bora. We then visited several shops, including a boutique that was selling the famous Tahitian black pearls. To me, the black pearls looked like the sultry version of the normal white pearl.
Afterward buying groceries, we made our way to the boat dock. While waiting, we were offered fresh cut fruit from some local women. I of course obliged, however they wouldn’t accept our money. Talk about hospitality! I also managed to find a pretty sweet “Hawaiian (Polynesian) shirt” that I still where on beach trips to this day.
We would come back into town one night for dinner at Bloody Mary’s, the local haunt for tourists and famous people. With its sandy floors and pick your own pieces of fresh seafood, it was a fun experience that I’d recommend doing one night if you get cabin fever at your hotel.
Our final night, we dined at the St Regis’ primary restaurant, Lagoon by Jean-Georges. The meal will set you back about $100-$150/person, though it was one of the best meals that I’ve ever had. Because it’s a sister property of the Le Meridien, you can charge it to the room (and earn points!).
Things to do
For the most part, we were totally fine with vegging for the majority of our time there, but we wanted to venture out for one day. We booked a full-day excursion with Lagoon Service Bora Bora and it didn’t disappoint. For about $120 a person, we went snorkeling in eel infested coral, went swimming with and fed sting rays, went on an incredible snorkel with more sharks than I’ve ever seen, and were fed lunch. Other than a splurging at the St Regis for dinner, the lunch was the best food we had our entire trip. Considering lunch in town would’ve cost about $75 per person, before the boat transfers, I’d call it a win! We were living right, because our guide serenaded the us with his ukulele throughout the day!
As for land activities, I really wanted to hike Mount Otemanu, but was told by the hotel that was no longer possible. Instead, we made use of the water activity gear provided for free by the hotel, but we primarily just vegged on the deck of our bungalow reading. When we got hot, we just jumped in the crystal clear water to cool off, climbing a set of stairs to reclaim our lounge spots. We did plenty of snorkeling around the bungalow too, where we saw sting rays, eels, tropical fish, and even turtles! Scuba diving is an option, however I don’t think it’s necessary given the shallowness and visibility of the water.
The thing we learned really quickly is that Bora Bora is a place to relax, not explore. Everything and everyone moves slow, so you might as well get on beat too. They don’t call it Boring Bora for nothing!
Other places to visit
After five nights on Bora Bora, we flew directly to Mo’orea – a small island thats just ten nautical miles from the main island Tahiti. Wow, what a change of pace! We rented a car upon our arrival and off we went. We’d booked a night at the Hilton Mo’orea using points (standard rooms go for 80k points/night). The hotel was much larger and lively than our accommodations in Bora Bora, and there was even a parking lot!
Everything in Mo’orea (and Tahiti) was at least half the price of what we paid in Bora Bora, a welcome relief.
At the time, I was a Gold member, so I had no expectations of being upgraded to an overwater bungalow. Much to our surprise, we were upgraded to a room with a private pool. The property felt new and well-maintained. Also, included in your stay is everything that’s in the mini-fridge, which includes beer and soft drinks, all of which are refilled each day. Another cool thing about the hotel is that they offer daily excursions by boat. We didn’t get to take advantage of it since we only had one full day.
After vegging most of the afternoon at the hotel, we took in a Polynesian show which was fantastic. Watching these guys spit, spin, walk on, and do just about everything you can imagine with fire was nothing short of incredible. Bravo!
The next day, we continued to drive the island counter clockwise. Our first stop was a very quick hike at Belvedere lookout (quick because you can basically drive to the top). Afterwards, we visited a juice factory and rum distillery which was one of the most bizarre tours I’ve ever been on. Basically, you show up, show yourself into the lobby where theres a basket of hair nets, then you’re off on the tour, all without speaking to a soul. At the end, there was a gift shop where you could taste the different rums and juices.
Next up was a restaurant we’d read about, Snack Mahana, which by any standard was nothing short of spectacular. Local seafood served 10 feet from the water, all at plastic picnic tables and shaded by a massive tree…yes please!
We drove the rest of the way around the island, finally arriving back at the airport. Leigh and I both agreed that when we come back to French Polynesia, we will absolutely return to Mo’orea. The island offers everything Bora Bora doesn’t: freedom. There’s so much to do there, it’s really like an undeveloped Hawaii.
Mo’orea was the final stop on our trip, so we ultimately made our way to the airport (queue sad music montage). I was able to add the Mo’orea to Pape’ete flight onto our United flights for almost no additional charge (United codeshares with Air Tahiti on many inter-island flights), so we opted for that. There is a ferry that takes about an hour and costs much less than flying the leg without an associated connection.
After the shortest flight of my life (all of seven minutes), we were left with about a five hour layover, which normally is fine, but we had to recheck our bags, and because the flight wasn’t until after 9, we had a bunch of time to kill with bags. We lugged our bags to a food truck serving fresh seafood (surprise!), only to found out afterwards that there was a luggage storage option in the airport. Fail 🙁
Once we checked in and dropped our bags, we were able to visit the Air Tahiti Nui thanks to Priority Pass, where we both got to take much needed showers. With several flights departing at night, the lounge was a welcome reprieve from the craziness of the terminal.
Overall impressions
My god, this place is beautiful. All of it. It feels like Hawaii from a different time, and it has the added advantage of being far removed from surrounding cultures. What we found during our week there was not only crystal clear water, but authentic people and experiences. At only 8-9 hours from the US west coast, its easily accessible, flights are reasonably priced, and there are plenty of points options for hotels. With that said, will I visit Bora Bora again? Maybe, but not likely for some time. For Leigh and me, we like options, and being held captive at the resort doesn’t offer that. Even though it’s painfully beautiful, there are plenty of other places I’d like to visit before returning.
On the cost note, I’m sure that it seems ridiculous that I’m suggesting you bring your own food and drink to a tropical island, but trust me, you will thank me. If you show-up empty handed, I would be prepared to spend no less than $500 a day on food and drink. Of course everyone’s situations are different; we travel frequently and had just gotten back from our honeymoon. My suggestions are merely that, but hopefully there’s some useful advice in there. I’ll also so that there is a convenience factor here. Having snacks and drinks in your bungalow are worth it to at least make the stop at the market. Time moves slowly in Bora Bora and room service is no exception.
Will I visit French Polynesia again? Absolutely. Mo’orea was a welcome change of pace with more than enough to do. Though we spent minimal time on Tahiti, I’m sure by comparison there’s even more to do there. Both have the advantage of the international airport being so close.
Have you been to French Polynesia or Bora Bora?
