Bora Bora Holidays: Was It Really Worth The Cost?

Bora Bora holidays seem to be on nearly everyone's bucket list. To be honest, it wasn't on ours. We generally have some reservations when it comes to typical honeymoon, all-inclusive destinations because that's just not our travel-style.

When thinking of Bora, you imagine crystal clear, turquoise lagoons, shimmering along perfect white sand-beaches, overwater bungalows and floating breakfasts, right?

Well, that's exactly what you get. Providing you've got the cash because it comes with a serious price-tag and some rather sad side-effects.

Read on to find out if Bora Bora holidays are really worth the cost or if you should skip it and venture out to other islands such as Maupiti or Fakarava in French Polynesia!

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What and where is Bora Bora exactly?

Bora Bora in a nutshell

Read also | Unexpected French Polynesia Holidays: more than Bora Bora

Where to stay for your Bora Bora holidays?

DISCLAIMER: this section contains some affiliate-links which means that we earn a teeny-tiny commission every time you book an accommodation through one of our links. It doesn't cost you extra and it supports us in keeping afloat 🙂

Bora Bora's expensive overwater-bungalows

Of course, when thinking of Bora Bora holidays, the first thing that comes to one's mind are the luxurious overwater-bungalows. There's just something so romantic about basically be sleeping right on the ocean without feeling the rocking waves that potentially make you seasick and observing the fish from the comfort of your own room during breakfast.

But these overwater bungalows are expensive. SO expensive! 

The 'cheapest' option for a proper overwater bungalow in one of the luxury resorts - you know, where the bungalows seen from above form some sort of tree with branches - start at about 400 € / 488 US $ per night. And usually, this price is per person. Not per bungalow.

Once we realised these were the starting prices, we were pretty disappointed as this was absolutely not in our budget - we had been travelling for almost a year at that point.

Budget-friendlier alternative for Bora Bora luxury 

When we went to the Air Tahiti agency in Papeete, Tahiti, to book our multi-islands-pass, the lovely lady working there helped us in finding accommodations for all of our stops - including Bora Bora.

Because she knew that we were more backpacker-travellers (we had a quick chat about our world trip), she gave us a tip to call Chez Nono, a private pension located on the Southern end of the famous Matira beach on Bora Bora.

Chez Nono actually has two bigger bungalows on the beach for families or groups but also one single round 'hut' with two pillars IN THE WATER! So yes, it wasn't a proper overwater-bungalow as part of it was on the beach, but we could indeed observe the little fish in the crystal clear waters underneath our window.

The bungalow itself was basic but had a good bed and a functioning shower. 

And location-wise, it couldn't have been better. Due to the fact that we knew that Bora Bora holidays would make a serious cut in our budget, we only stayed for one night, having two full days to relax. That's not much and so being located at one of the main hotspots, and not having to get far away in that short time, was perfect.

I mean, even the Intercontinental Le Moana Bora Bora sits basically behind Chez Nono. That's gotta mean something.

We paid about 126 € / 154 US $ for one night but for the both of us this time. That's a bargain in French Polynesia and especially on Bora Bora!

Where to stay on Bora Bora if money isn't an issue

If budget ain't an issue, from what we heard, Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resort is pretty amazing! We met fellow travellers who stayed there and it was sublime. But you do pay around 1200 € / 1463 US $ per night (per bungalow) in high season ...

Sofitel Marara Beach Resort in Vaitape is said to be beautiful but at the same time a lot more affordable, unfortunately, due to the Covid19-crisis they are still closed and it's not sure whether they will reopen in 2021. 

Where to stay on Bora Bora if money is a big issue

Of course you don't necessarily have to stay at a bungalow, there are plenty budget-friendlier options such as the Oa Oa Village with rates at about 90 € / 110 US $ per night or even a Shelter for backpackers for 30 € / 35,60 US $ a night. It depends on what you are willing to pay and where your priorities lie.

What to do on Bora Bora?

Our two days relaxing getaway

Chillax

Aside from sipping fake Tahitian cocktails (the 'Mai Tai' was actually invented in the US...) with your feet in the water getting all tanned?

There are actually quite some activities you can spend your time doing. Like I said, we only had two days so our Bora Bora holidays pretty much looked like this:

Getting up in the morning, looking for some breakfast in a tiny little bakery behind our accommodation. Getting the snorkel-gear and just walking down Matira beach to get some underwater-fun.

Underwater-fun and lunch

The sad thing with Matira beach is, due to the insane amount of speed-boats and people disturbing the corals, fish-life wasn't as abundant as on Maupiti for example.

And we were actually lucky because these corals had been recovering for some time already thanks to the Covid19-pandemic. And yet, what we saw was a bit disappointing.

Then we stopped for some amazing food at the Bora Bora Beach Club - we were the only guests - and continued our beach/water walk.

We bought some snacks and Hinano beers and enjoyed the magnificent Bora Bora sunset.

Other activities to check out on Bora Bora

Here are some other activities fellow travellers recommended if you stay a bit longer on Bora Bora:

• Hiking the base of Mount Otemanu: apparently you can't get any higher than the base because it's too dangerous (crumbling lava stones)
• Visit a pearl farm and bring home some souvenirs
• Rent bikes and just cycle around the main island to feel kind of lost
• Go snorkelling and scuba diving: stingrays come super close when snorkelling, I guess they are used to people, especially in what is called the 'Lagoonarium' located near the (expensive) St Regis Resort
• Have a guide taking you to the marae, the ancient ceremonial places of the first Polynesians
• Do the 6-hours roundtrip hike on Mount Pahia (a guide is recommended)

Bora Bora's downside caused by mass-tourism

Tourist-crowds driving up the prices

To be brutally honest: Bora Bora holidays are an overpriced pleasure.

Yes, Bora is a dream destination for honeymooners with its picture-perfect, turquoise, shimmering lagoons, the little islets and the quirky bungalows. It is paradise. True.

But quite frankly: we found the same kind of paradise on other French Polynesian atolls as well such as Maupiti or Fakarava. And here, the overall experience was just way better.

Bora Bora is by far the most expensive atoll in French Polynesia, be it for accommodations or food.

Friendliness and authenticity missing

Because we visited Maupiti before coming to Bora, we had already been spoiled by the overly friendly and welcoming Polynesian mentality. But this was absolutely missing on Bora Bora: people on Bora are known to be quite cold when it comes to tourists.

First: because the huge luxury resorts everyone adores are owned by foreign companies who generally refuse to employ locals. That's a well-known - but not acted upon - scandal.

Second, they learned that, whether they are polite or not, tourists will keep coming to Bora Bora no matter what. Also, tourists coming by cruise-ships or just to get themselves drunk at an all-inclusive resort aren't known to be the most friendly kind themselves. So why should the locals be?

Bora Bora's issues with criminality

Every time Tahitian newspapers report a spike in criminality, Bora Bora plays a big part. We heard of several fellow travellers who didn't dare to leave their bungalow in the evening because break-ins on Bora are that frequent.

It's also on Bora that tourists consume more alcohol than elsewhere and the locals do so to. 

Mass tourism provoked a rise in drug-related issues, be it by dealing or consuming, which naturally causes trouble in paradise as well.

Also, cruise-tourists have a pretty bad reputation as they usually don't behave very well.

Destroyed coral reefs

Like I said earlier: what we saw during our snorkel round here was pretty disappointing. The pandemic had one good effect on Bora Bora's coral reefs, though, because apparently these had the time to recover and rebuild themselves massively.

And even so, fish and corals were scarce compared to the other lagoons we snorkelled in. So that means something.

Just to show you the difference a pandemic can make: see the pictures below from Matira beach. The left one is our own picture from while we were having lunch at the Bora Bora Beach Club and on the right is what it looked like in that same spot but a few months earlier - that terrace is from the restaurant. Pretty impressive, right?

Should you even consider going to Bora Bora?

If you have the time and the financial resources: yes. It is French Polynesia's most famous atoll after all and you might have a very different experience than us.

It is always best to check these places out for yourself and to form your own opinion. 

Also, we only did a quick stop on the main island but we know from others that life looks quite different on a few of the more remote motus around.

Just don't focus on Bora Bora alone when travelling to French Polynesia as this islands-collective has so many far greater and interesting archipelagos to explore where you will have a authentic and life-changing Polynesian experience.

Feel free to comment or send us a message if you have questions but also remarks if you happen to have had a very different experience on Bora Bora.

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As ever

xx

Cyn

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