Mount Otemanu pool villa Archives

Bora Bora is on most peoples bucket lists, and for good reason. This place is what dreams are made of. It is quite insane to believe that somewhere as beautiful as Bora Bora exists on our Earth. The clearest turquoise water you will ever see. The amazing mountains that rise tall above all resort. Not to leave out the breathtaking lagoon and snorkeling. A honeymoon in Bora Bora is what honeymoon dreams are made of.

It was on our bucket list for many years. Finally we made the plunge to go for a Honeymoon in Bora Bora. Was it expense? Of course. Was it worth it? Every penny.

If you need the encouragement to go, maybe for a honeymoon or anniversary, keep reading this post for inspiration pictures.

Accomodation – which Bora Bora hotel?

Bora Bora is famous for being the island of overwater bungalows. It would be wasted to not stay in an overwater bungalow for some of the days you are there. It is possible to do a combination of both land and overwater bungalow, you will just put through two bookings. The hotels are extremely used to people doing this.

The two hotels we were deciding between were Four Seasons Bora Bora and Conrad Bora Bora. These are two of the best hotels in the world. After much research, we decided to stay in the Conrad Bora Bora. This was due to a few different reasons:

At the time Conrad had just been refurbished and the rooms looked more modern.
We wanted to stay with the same hotel brand in order to maximise the status points. This can potentially get an upgrade (which did happen). See my page How to Obtain Hilton Honors Gold Status Through Status Match.
Conrad was in general better value than Four Seasons for the overwater bungalow with a pool. Which meant we could stay one more night.
Some people prefer the Four Seasons as you get the clear view of Mount Otemanu. In reality, it really depends on which room in the Four Seasons you are in. In Conrad you can book a room that has the direct view of the mountain. You also see it if you go on a walk around the Conrad resort. Also of course on a boat tour (which is a must).
The coral and snorkeling at the Conrad was rumoured to be better. We cannot compare as we did not go to the Four Seasons. However I can confirm the coral and fish around the resort were amazing.

Conrad Bora Bora

In the end, we were extremely happy with our choice of Conrad for our honeymoon in Bora Bora. It was the absolute perfect hotel for our honeymoon. The Conrad Bora Bora is truly one of the best hotels in the world. It has many restaurants, all top notch. Stunning white sand beaches. Butler service by text message. Amazing cocktail bar on the sea (Upa bar). Fire and dancing shows. Huge rooms with vast bath tubs, huge terraces and large private pools. The most beautiful resort pool, with floating lounge chairs and swim up bar. You can entertain yourself by just walking around the property and soaking up the stunning luxury.

We booked a ‘King Overwater pool villa’. When we arrived, we got upgraded to a part Otemanu view pool overwater villa. Most likely this was due to gold Hilton status and availability due to low season. Our villa was also on the end of the line of villas, so we had the utmost privacy.

Time of year

I did a lot of research to understand what the best months for a honeymoon in Bora Bora. In the end we opted for a shoulder season – early-mid April. We had the most amazing weather, perfect temperature, no rain and blue skies.

The flight from Moorea to Bora Bora

I actually had not paid much attention to the domestic flights in French Polynesia, just seeing them as a way of getting from A to B. How wrong I was, this flight is the most beautiful flight I have been on in my life. The views from above are as good as you would get on any sea plane. On a clear day, Mount Otemanu and the surrounding lagoon are so clear and absolutely stunning from above. You can also see all of the overwater bungalows from the many resorts. Just amazing.

From Moorea to Bora Bora you need to sit on the left hand side of the plane to get the best view. From Bora Bora to Tahiti it is the right side. Note that the domestic airlines (we flew with Air Tahiti) have no seat bookings. It is first come best seat. Make sure to get in that queue early to get the correct side of the plane!

Arriving in Bora Bora

You need to make sure you have pre-booking your pick up in Bora Bora. Easiest thing to do is to book directly with the hotel.

The ‘entrance’ for arrival in Bora Bora is unlike any other place on Earth. You go straight from plane to boat. No car, no roads, just straight onto a boat. This unique experience was incredible. The Conrad Bora Bora boat is extremely luxurious, and almost had a James Bond feel. This is a pretty special way to start the holiday!

Once you arrive at the Conrad, you will go to Upabar which is luxury sofas looking onto the endless ocean. It really felt like we were in a movie. Think ‘Couples retreat’, ‘Blended’, or ‘Just go with it’ vibes.

Bora Bora in pictures

All resort photos are taken at Conrad Bora Bora.

Private boat tour

You could easily spend your whole time just chilling in your room or at the pool, reading, snorkeling, eating, drinking cocktails. This needs to be a huge part of your time on the island.

However one activity not to be missed is doing a private boat tour around the island. This will elevate your Honeymoon in Bora Bora to the next level. We booked directly through Moana Adventures website, by email a week prior to the date. The name of the tour we did was ‘Private Shark & Ray, Coral Garden Snorkel Safari’ on a Cap Camarat 25fts.

This was a 3 hour tour, and we opted for the morning so we got picked up directly from Conrad jetty at 9am. The benefit of doing a private tour is you get to slightly tailor your tour on what you want to see. Swimming with Mantarays was high on the bucket list for us, and our tour guide took us to a guarenteed spot right in front of Mount Otemanu. He also later spotted another Mantaray as we were cruising, and stopped for us to jump off the boat to see it.

The snorkelling on this tour was otherworldly. I did not know that coral like that still existed in the world. It was so colourful and amazing.

We ended the tour by swimming with stingrays and reef sharks, where they come up right next to you.

Wow, this day will be a forever memory.