A traveler's guide to Bora Bora
Bora Bora is a lagoon with a mountain in it. The public beach is Matira. Everything else is a boat or a hotel shuttle.
Six miles long, lagoon almost too blue to photograph honestly, Mount Otemanu in every frame. Matira Beach is the public sand. The motus hold the resorts. It is expensive and, on a clear afternoon, worth the ticket.
How to arrive
Fly PPT to BOB. The airport is on a motu; your hotel boat is the last flight. Circle island by bike or truck once so the map makes sense.
The lagoon
Shark and ray snorkels are the standard outing. Go with someone who does not chase animals into the shallows. The coral is not what it was; the color of the water still is.
Money
This is one of the expensive trips on earth. Matira and a pension keep it from becoming only overwater math. Book food if you are not on half board — restaurants are limited.
If you only remember this
- May–October is drier. December–February is wetter and hotter.
- Mosquitoes exist. The lagoon photos omit them.
- A lagoon tour is the one paid activity that usually pays off.
- Papeete is a night on the way, not a throwaway — eat there.