proudfam

My husband and I are going to stay in Bora Bora after a Tahiti cruise. Has anyone stayed at Bora Bora Lagoon, or La Meridian?
Also, what the heck is a over water room, and is this important?
Thanks much

LordBalfor

Overwater bungalows are small, very expensive "huts", built on posts out over the water and connected to each other and the land with bridge-like walkways. Very cool experience.

Ken

PS: My photos of overwater bungalow on Bora Bora (as well as a bunch of other tropical island photos) can be found here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor

proudfam

Thanks for the reply. I tried your web site and got the mini pictures, but when clicking on the individual ones, could not pull up...picture is blank.
Looks like you have taken great pictures of many wonderful places.

LordBalfor

Proudfam -

It seems to be working OK now. Not sure what the problem was. Note that each album has many photos.

Ken

proudfam

Got the pictures. Thanks! Which did you prefer, Bora Bora or Moorea?

LordBalfor

The island of Moorea is far more beautiful, but Bora Bora has a much more spectacular lagoon. I preferred Bora Bora, but not by much. Both were incredible. Moorea is often considered to be the most beautiful island in the South Pacific, usually followed by Bora Bora, Rarotonga, and Aitutaki (both of the latter in the Cook Islands). All of them are magnificient. Note however than none of them have much nightlife (if that is important to you).

Ken

jenn2005

I heard that the over water bungalows have a ton of mosquito's. Is that true?

jenn2005

LordBalfor,

Your pics of Bora Bora are WONDERFUL! My only question is since the bugalows are so close..do you have any privacy from your neighbor?

LordBalfor

Jenn2005 -

Thanks.
We didn't have too many privacy issues as for about half of our stay we had no neighbors. We were there during the off-season (end of March, beginning of April) and the resort was still very new then so it was almost empty. If you notice, in the photos of the resort there are few if any other folks around. I often read from folks that many of the resorts are still fairly empty at that time of year.

If you do have neighbors you may indeed have some privacy issues from time to time, but for the most part posts I see from folks going there even now remark frequently about the fact that there were rarely other people around.

Remember, these are not mega-resorts. They are small places, with a very limited number of guests. During the day, many of those guests will be gone doing lagoon excursions etc.

At night of course they will be there (unless they are off to dinner or a Polynesian dance show) but folks tend to go to be early there (and arise early) and many are honeymooners more interested in their own activities than in yours.

Ken

PS - Overwater units rarely have ANY mosquitos at all. You have to keep in mind that the trade winds blow most of the time, and mosquitos are very poor flyers so they tend to remain inland, in the wind protection afforded by the trees and shrubs. Garden units may have mozzie issues from time to time (bring bug spray) but OW units almost never will.

LordBalfor

Whoops! In the next-to-last paragraph I meant to say:

"but folks tend go to bed early"

instead of:

"but folks tend go to be early".

Ken

travellin

Ken,

We are on our way to NZ in either January or February. Have stops in Tahiti and Cook Is. Have always thought of Bora Bora as the 'idyllic' spot but it adds another $600 to the airfare for the internal flight. Have been considering Moorea instead but don't know enough to make a good decision between the two. (The Tahiti stop will blow the budget a bit). Where in Moorea would the lagoon be comparable to Bora Bora, if at all? There is a lot written about how scenic Cook's Bay is but there aren't any beaches are there? Any suggestions? Are there any reasonable accommos in either locale??
Thanks,
Lin

LordBalfor

Hi Lin -

While they are very scenic in regards to being surrounded by lush jungle-clad mountains, neither of Mooreas' bay have that wonderful light blue and aquamarine color that French Polynesia is so famouns for. That's because the bays are obviously deep, and those amazing colors come from having fairly shallow water. Moorea does have some incredibly beautiful beaches, but not along the bays.

For reasonable accomodations (especially in French Polynesia) search the posts by ALF (sho knows a lot about the cheaper accommodations there. Look here for example:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...dfam&fid=3

As you may have read in another post of mine further up in this topic, Moorea is an incredibly beautiful island almost certain to impress you, with incredible scenery and beautiful water. While the lagoon in not in the same league with Bora Boras' it is both cheaper and easier to get to and cheaper to stay on.

Since you are also stopping in the Cooks, you can get a similar feel from the lagoon at Aitutaki as you get on Bora Bora (especially in regards to the motus). Not quite identical admittedly since Aitutaki lacks the towering peaks of the main island looking down on everything, but still, being on the lagoon is a somewhat similar experience. Bora Bora, Moorea, Rarotonga and Aitutaki are all incredibly beautiful destinations, each one different from the other, but all are very scenic.

Ken

CarlaM

Ok, now I also know what overwater rooms are, these are so cool! I am bookmarking for a romantic getaway, need to find that "someone" first!

LA_FadeAway

Lin,
Ken gives some great information. Just to add to it, I've been to Moorea but not Bora yet, and I found Moorea to be extremely beautiful. The lagoons around some of the resorts (away from the bays) are lovely and the beach at the Sofitel (which is currently under renovation) is absolutely gorgeous!

24Lisa

We stayed at Bora Bora Lagoon resort and can highly recommend it. The over the water bungalow is, in my opinion, very important if it fits into your budget. Nothing beats stepping off your deck into the lagoon and snorkeling. Also, the rooms have glass tables that open and you can feed the fish from inside your room--very cool. The beach at Bora Bora Lagoon resort isn't much. White sand but not very big. I am a huge beach person and it didn't matter at all to me. We did see Le Meridian and it looked awesome. It is a little ways from the main town. I don't know how their transportation works into town. Bora Bora Lagoon resort is across the lagoon from Vaitape (where most of the restaurants/shops are-at least 3 years ago when we went)and they offer free shuttles across the lagoon. I hope this helps.
Lisa