We stayed at the intercontinental Bora Bora 1/05 (which I think is now the "old one" as the new one there is completed) and it was pretty nice - I agree with what steve says - the resorts are not what I would call five stars by other standards but are nice - we stayed in an overwater bungalow and the snorkeling all the way out to the break was great (roughly half mile and was not deeper than five feet) tons of maximas embedded in rocks but not a great amount of SPS
Bora Bora dive/snorkelling pics
- Thread starter steveweast
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steveweast
Active member
Dolt....that hotel was taken out by a freak high swell this past September. All the over water bungalows were destroyed. The swell came in at 10pm.....imagine the guest's tryig to gather their belongings in the middle of the night and trying to reach shore as the water was inundating their room. The hotel is being reconstructed and is to reopen maybe in June 06.
wow - I was not aware of that - kinda scary - maybe I will rethink staying in overwater bungalows in the future! We had also been in bali just a few months before the first bombing a few years ago hanging out in those same areas - maybe bad luck follows me! (or maybe I am lucky to have avoided two disasters?)
Lowredranger
New member
what kind of water temperatures do they usually have there? after seeing your pictures i may have to try and make that the destination for my honeymoon which will probably be in march or april of 2007 but my other half will not be happy if it is cold. is the snorkeling just as good as the diving or is most of the good stuff below snorkeling levels. thanks and great pics
Jason
Jason
steveweast
Active member
water temps are 78 - 80. Snorkelling is very good to great there.....much better than Hawaii.
Texas
New member
I agree. The shallow water snorkeling is great there. I think the water temps when we were there in late August was around to 84. There is a inlet between Riatia and Tahaa where the coral heads are so close to the surface that you have to be very careful to not touch them. We got there by boat but there is a resort within swimming distance of this inlet with the over water bungelows, not sure which one it was but it would not be hard to figure out. From what we learned, while checking out several of the islands, there is good snorkeling at all of them. The people are friendly and will tell you where to go.
Lowredranger
New member
i figured i would try to stay at least 5-7 days but may be shorter just because i would have to go all out for the wife and have the overwater bungalows. where did you guys look for the flights and were you able to get like a packaged deal or did you try and book a flight first and then the hotel since i looked at one point and the there were no flights when i was looking at a specific day to book a room. thanks
steveweast
Active member
It usually is best to go through a travel agent who specializes in the South Pacific. There are lots of transfer that need to be accounted for and they're used to dealing with them. For example, for our trip there we had....flt from LAX to Papeete...transfer to hotel until morning flight to Bora Bora....then transfer back to airport in morning.....then flt to Bora Bora..... then boat transfer to hotel on Bora Bora....and then the same going back. Here's a great website/forums on Tahiti
http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
Lowredranger
New member
Thank you very much for the help now i am just going to have to save up for the extra costs of this trip but it will be well worth it. as long as i can find a baby sitter for the tanks and nothing dies this time. thanks again and any more information would be greatly appreciated.
Jason
Jason
Texas
New member
If you go to Air Tahiti Nui's website there will be some package deals there for different numbers of days. You also might want to look at the Princess cruise lines site. They have a 9 and also an 11 day cruise around the different islands. You can have advanced reservations on the different islands to dive or snorkel as well as many other activities. It is not very expensive considering you get all you want to eat on a cruise and they can also arrange your air too.
The Air Tahiti flights are only on certan days on those days there are two that leave LAX each day in the afternoon. The returns are late in the evenings with you arriving in LA in the morning of the next day.
I have found some fair deals on packages on Travelocity as well.
It is not like going to a third world country where you are in danger in Polyniesia. It is easy to get around you just need to factor out where you want to go and how you will get there. You will most likely have to spend the arrival night in Papeete unless you are going to Moorea. It might be possible to get there the night you arrive. Not sure about that however. There is a ferry that goes over but I don't remember the scheduled times. I am sure if you go on any of the Tahiti info sites you can find that out.
If you are not a seasoned traveler you might want to stick with a package or cruise so that all the details are worked out for you. Keep in mind that Bora Bora is very expensive compared to the other islands which should be factored in on meals as well. I am fairly certain there are over water bungelows on all of the islands but that is easy to research.
I am sure you would both love it there.
The Air Tahiti flights are only on certan days on those days there are two that leave LAX each day in the afternoon. The returns are late in the evenings with you arriving in LA in the morning of the next day.
I have found some fair deals on packages on Travelocity as well.
It is not like going to a third world country where you are in danger in Polyniesia. It is easy to get around you just need to factor out where you want to go and how you will get there. You will most likely have to spend the arrival night in Papeete unless you are going to Moorea. It might be possible to get there the night you arrive. Not sure about that however. There is a ferry that goes over but I don't remember the scheduled times. I am sure if you go on any of the Tahiti info sites you can find that out.
If you are not a seasoned traveler you might want to stick with a package or cruise so that all the details are worked out for you. Keep in mind that Bora Bora is very expensive compared to the other islands which should be factored in on meals as well. I am fairly certain there are over water bungelows on all of the islands but that is easy to research.
I am sure you would both love it there.
Lowredranger
New member
well i would say i am only a semi seasoned traveler being that i am only 22 but i have been on about 8 cruises and to australia. i will have to keep researching this as i am also coming from orlando so the flight to lax will need to be considered and time. i am not limited really on time it is more on money. i will check out the different sites. i love the water and the snorkeling but it is the future wife that as long as i have a hut on the water she will be sold so if there is another one of the islands that are just as nice but a little less expensive that is fine figuring that we will take the trips to go snorkel and such. thanks guys.
Jason
Jason
Lowredranger
New member
yea i have been pretty fortunate but i have not had to contribute to most of those vacations and at least part of this one will be paid for but to go do what i want i am still going to have to save up some money for the trip.
steveweast
Active member
Flight....about $800 from LAX each
Hotel....really varies from $300 - $1500 a night for overwater bungalows
Food........plan at least $100 per day
Hotel....really varies from $300 - $1500 a night for overwater bungalows
Food........plan at least $100 per day
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