Bora Bora - A Blissful Island Get Away
Written: Jun 15 '02 (Updated Sep 28 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Beautiful lagoon, beautiful island, great restaurants, friendly people
Cons: It takes me over 24 hours of traveling to get there
The Bottom Line: I wish that I had a Star Trek transporter so I could be there now.
|
|
|
| twunschl's Full Review: Bora Bora |
Bora Bora, just the name sounds tropical. When I hear the words, I think of tropical drums, warm breezes, beautiful scenery and the bluest warmest lagoon. Located 45 minutes by plane from the main island of Tahiti, Bora Bora should be on everyone?s French Polynesian tour.
Getting There
The international airport for Tahiti and French Polynesia is located on the main island of Tahiti. There are daily flights that leave from Tahiti to Bora Bora and there are direct flights from other islands, like Moorea. The airport of Bora Bora is located on a tiny strip, on a small island or motu off the coast of the main island. To get to your hotel, you will have to take a boat and most of the hotels provide the transportation.
The other way of getting to Bora Bora is by boat. We saw many people that were sailing around the world and I could only imagine the romance of pulling into the lagoon. There is one pass in the coral reef that allows access into the lagoon.
Getting Around
Getting around Bora Bora is very easy. There is only one road that goes around the island and it only takes about 45 minutes. Most of the hotels have a rental car agency and there is also a Europcar located in the main town of Vaitape. They have small cars with air conditioning and also mini cars for rent. The mini cars are a tiny two-seater convertible with a tiny open trunk. Many places also rent bicycles and scooters for going around the island. Everything is fairly spaced apart and it can get hot. If you are going to bike or walk, make sure that you have plenty of water and that you don?t go so far, you can?t make it back.
Hitchhiking on Bora Bora is another form of transportation. I had read on the internet and in my guidebook that it is very safe and an acceptable form of getting around the island. Now I am the most safe and cautious person there is. I would never consider hitchhiking, EVER, but I did it on Bora Bora. I had jumped in the back of a mini car of a couple that I met at our hotel. They had agreed to give me a ride back to the hotel from Vaitape. On the ride back, the car would not start and we were stranded. The wife of the couple and I decided to walk back to the hotel, to get help. It wasn?t that far, but it was very hot and the walk seemed to get longer and longer as we walked. The two of us decided to hitchhike. We heard a vehicle coming, I barely got my thumb up in the air and the pickup truck pulled over. I figured that the driver in the truck would be a man. After all, we were two fairly young women hitchhiking. To my surprise, the driver was a middle aged woman. I asked her if she spoke English and she said ?en pue?, a little. I asked ?Sofitel Marara??, the name of the parent hotel to the Sofitel Motu where we were staying. She said ?Oui, Oui? motioning with her hands to get in. We hopped into the truck saying ?merci? over and over. We told her in hand motions that are car had died. After a few minutes drive, we were more thankful for the ride as it would have been a long walk in the heat. She pulled over with a ?voila?, we thanked her again and got out. Now, I probably wouldn?t have done it at night, and I would have been very cautious if I had been by myself, but my one and only hitchhiking experience was a memorable one.
Things to do
There are so many things to do on Bora Bora. Snorkeling is one of the obvious activities and almost everyone can enjoy this for free right from their hotel. The water was warmer than the air when we were there. Even if you have never snorkeled, it is easy and fun and a great way to spend the day. There are many companies that will take you out on excursions to see various places, such as the Coral Gardens and the pass where the Manta Rays like to hang out. Most of these activities can be booked through your hotel.
The main town of Vaitape provides shopping for those that have to do that on vacation. There is a large grocery store called Chin Lee for any items that you would like to buy such as water and soft drinks and bread. Across the street, there is a pasterie that has nice little desserts and sandwiches. They have a computer in the shop where you can access the internet for 40CFP per minute. In town, there are a few black pearl shops and some little stores that offer pareu, oils and t-shirts. There is also a bank and post office downtown and a large building where people have set up tables to sell various items. There were quite a few shell and jewelry tables here.
A great way to see the island is to take a 4 x 4 tour. We did an afternoon tour with a company called Tupuna Safari. The tour was three hours long and took us up to four different vistas at the top of mountains. We saw breathtaking views of the island and the lagoon with the reef in the background. One of the stops was on top of the hill where there are two World War II cannons. We also stopped at a place where a husband and wife make pareu. The items were beautiful. The wife tie dies cotton pareu and the husband hand paints others. The hand painted pareu were so nice that he sells them before they are even finished. The rides up the mountains are very bumpy and rough. The roads were either all mud or all rock. By the time the trip was done, we were exhausted.
Another great way to see the island, but from the lagoon, is to take a wave runner tour. We used Matira Waverunner Tours and another company that is available is Miki Miki Jet Tours. The tour is two hours in length and you follow a guide on a two seat waverunner. Our tour stopped three times to give you a chance to rest. We stopped at Matira Point and then at a shallow place near the airport. The next stop was on a motu and we walked to the backside to see the ocean. Our guide opened a coconut for us to drink and eat. It was a fun ride. There is a small compartment under the seat to keep your things and you should bring along suntan lotion, water and your camera.
Other activities include parasailing, fishing, diving, sunset tours, motu barbeques and all day boat tours. All of these can be booked through your hotels and everything seems to book up in advance, so make your reservations as soon as you get to the island.
Places to Eat
There are tons of places to eat on Bora Bora. Along the road, at every turn, there are small ?snacks?, little roadside restaurants. There are also many mid range and upscale restaurants too. You are probably better off to do a search before you leave. Many of the hotels want you to stay and eat at their restaurant or they have a deal with only certain restaurants on the island. We ate at dinner out every night and since I had read all of the different comments about the restaurants, I knew exactly where I wanted to eat.
Hotel Bora Bora - This is obviously the restaurant at the Hotel Bora Bora. I had heard that the restaurant had excellent food and that you could see the manta rays come up to the lights at night. When we arrived, I asked if we could have a table close to where the manta rays were. I either got bad information or the staff didn?t know what I was saying because they had no idea what I was talking about. The food here is very good, but expensive and the service was terrible. The wait staff were the unhappiest people that we saw our on entire trip.
Bloody Mary?s is probably the most famous restaurant on the island. The signs out front show all of the famous people who have eaten at the restaurant. Don?t go here to see rich and famous because you will probably be disappointed. Instead, go here for the great atmosphere and decor. It reminded me a lot of a Hard Rock Cafe, but Polynesian style. As you enter the restaurant, the floor was entirely made of sand. There is no menu because their fresh fish selection changes every day. You are brought to a large buffet with all of the food set out. The hostess will go over each dish and provide pricing. You give her your order and then you are seated. The chairs to the table are actually tree stumps and there are coconut palm growing out of the floor. Bloody Mary?s is an open air restaurant and the back ?wall? is made of plants. For a good laugh, make sure that you go into the bathroom. The food here was just so so, but it is worth the stop. They sell shirts and hats at the front of the restaurant and they make great souvenirs. The restaurant provides a free shuttle and they will tell you the time of the pick-ups when you make your reservations.
Top Dive is by far the best restaurant on the island. The strange thing is that this fabulous restaurant is located at a dive resort. The inside is beautiful, with high ceilings and white linens on the tables. Everything is presented artfully and the food was spectacular. All of the dishes are gourmet and the best part was the dessert. I ordered the Strawberry Symphony that was actually five different strawberry desserts all served on one plate. The resort owns the shuttle to the restaurant and you will be charged 10% of your total bill. Compared to the taxi rates, this is a bargain.
My Favorite Part of Bora Bora
I loved that when I stepped off of the airplane, I knew that I was in a tropical paradise. Just having to take a boat to get our hotel was magical, but sitting on our deck and watching the world go by with a view of Bora Bora was unbelievable. Our next trip to French Polynesia, I will definitely include a stop on Bora Bora.
For pictures and video of our trip, visit my website
www.tahiti.wunschl.com
Read my other reviews from our French Polynesia Trip
Moorea
http://www.epinions.com/content_70580276868
Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort
http://www.epinions.com/content_66105675396
Sofitel Motu
http://www.epinions.com/content_66291601028
Rangiroa
http://www.epinions.com/content_66400063108
Kia Ora Village
http://www.epinions.com/content_2687869060
Kia Ora Sauvage
http://www.epinions.com/content_2691276932
Tahiti
http://www.epinions.com/content_66968260228
Tahiti Beachcomber Inter-Continental
http://www.epinions.com/content_66996309636
Sheraton Tahiti
http://www.epinions.com/content_66102398596
And for more great reviews, read LordBalfor's reviews and visit his website at
http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
twunschl
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Wishing I was back in Tahiti
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 67 members
About Me:
Our Tahiti pictures and video are on-line. Go to www.tahiti.wunschl.com
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.