Bora Bora
Water so clear the lagoon looks lit from underneath, and a single volcanic peak watching over all of it.
Best time to visit
May – October
Fly into
Bora Bora (BOB) via Tahiti (PPT)
Good for
Honeymoons, snorkeling, quiet
Suggested stay
4–6 nights
The overwater bungalow, minus the sticker shock
Bora Bora invented the overwater bungalow, and the big-name resorts on the motu islets still do it best — but a night there doesn’t have to mean the whole trip. Book two or three nights on the water, then move to a garden room or a guesthouse on the main island for the rest of the stay.
Vaitape, the main town, isn’t the draw — the lagoon is. Base yourself as close to the reef as your budget allows and spend as little time as possible on land.
What the week actually looks like
Days revolve around the water: a snorkeling circuit past coral gardens where reef sharks and rays are almost guaranteed, or a slower private lagoon tour if you’d rather have the water to yourselves.
Save one afternoon for Mount Otemanu — you can’t summit it, but a 4×4 tour up the lower slopes gives you the postcard view of the lagoon from above, which is worth the detour on its own.
Worth building your trip around
Matira Beach
The one public beach on the island, and still one of the best stretches of sand in the South Pacific.
Lagoon snorkeling tour
Coral gardens, reef sharks, and stingrays in water shallow enough to stand in.
Mount Otemanu viewpoint
A 4×4 tour up the switchbacks for the aerial view of the lagoon everyone’s seen in photos.