Bora-Bora, Tahiti & French Polynesia Reviews and Ratings

After seeing Donobvan's Reef in 1963 and many many times afterward I swore I'd go to Bora Bora. Went there in 1984 (Club Med-you get what you pay for) with 1st wife. Went there for Honeymoon in 2001 with 2nd wife (Le Meridien-Wonderful). SCUBA'd with local black tip shark (the island pet) and giant Manta Rays and found the WWII US Navy cannons on top of Mt. Otemanu. I intend to go back at least once more befoe I die ! If you enjoy polynesian music and dancing don't miss Haeva 1st week of July. Moorea was nice too. Bigger island lots more activities but Bora Bora is Paradise.

There's not much to do on Bora Bora. And that's the good news. Shopping? forget it. Adventure sports? forget it. But if you like sun and warm water and incredible restaurants serving amazing food in quite improbable surroundings (eg. sand floors) this is the place. The best hotels are on the Motu that surrounds the Bora Bora lagoon and there are a bunch of them. We stayed overwater at the St. Regis and it simply could not have been better. Complete with a full service spa great rooms legendary St. Regis service. Definitely take the one hour helicopter tour of Bora Bora Raiatea and environs. Worth every penny and then some. Wonderfully relaxing. Not a place for families with teenagers seeking action but an unbelievable place to unwind and recharge the batteries. Plus because it is the same time zone as Hawaii jet lag is not as much a factor as other exotic locales.

Last year my wife and I took a cruise ship from Sydney to Los Angeles including day-long stops at all the well-known \romantic\ South Pacific islands. We had been looking forward to these visits but we were very disappointed with each and every island. Each one was like a run-down ghetto with an obvious shortage of money to upkeep its streets and buildings. We would not go back to any of them even if we were paid to do so.