I’ve been fortunate sufficient to journey to over 40 nations. I’ve had breakfast overlooking the beautiful cliffs of Positano on the Amalfi Coast. I’ve wandered the souks and spice markets of vibrant Marrakech. Final 12 months I made the trek to the distant and breathtaking Alphonse Island within the Seychelles.
I believed I had a reasonably good sense of what “breathtaking” regarded like.
After which I went to Bora Bora.
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Why Bora Bora Is Not like Something You’ve Ever Seen
Nothing totally prepares you for it. Not the pictures, not the journey blogs. The second your aircraft descends and that lagoon comes into view — that inconceivable shade of turquoise in opposition to the volcanic peaks of Mount Otemanu — you simply go quiet.
Even after a number of days, I’d cease simply to soak all of it in.
The place To Keep
Attending to Bora Bora is a part of the expertise. You fly into Tahiti first, then board Air Moana for a brief inter-island flight. However right here’s the place it will get magical — the Bora Bora airport sits proper on the water’s edge. There’s no bus, no taxi line. You step off the aircraft onto a dock, the place a ship is ready to take you on to your resort.
And right here’s one thing which may shock you — in case you’re touring from the Western US, Bora Bora is way extra manageable than you’d suppose. The time distinction is barely 4 hours, which implies you arrive feeling human reasonably than fully wrecked. No two-week restoration. Simply step off the aircraft and into paradise.
We stayed on the Westin Bora Bora, lately renovated and completely stunning, with overwater bungalows and a household particular for round $3,500 per evening for a two-bedroom. Sure, it’s an funding. However contemplate this — the 4 Seasons subsequent door runs round $12,000 per evening. The St. Regis can also be speculated to be beautiful and price contemplating.
Bora Bora goes to be expensive. However, for my part, price each penny!
As your boat pulls as much as the Westin dock, a person wearing conventional Polynesian clothes, taking part in the ukulele, greets you in track and escorts you by way of golf cart to reception. Between the nice and cozy breeze, the joyful sounds, and the fantastic thing about the turquoise water stretching out in each path, I used to be so awestruck, I felt just a little emotional.
I’m not exaggerating after I say it seems like arriving in heaven.
What To Do
Typically the very best factor you are able to do in one of the vital stunning locations on earth is totally nothing. I spent a variety of time merely sitting on our non-public bungalow deck, watching the water change coloration, the solar rise or set and the limitless parade of boats glide by. No agenda. No guilt. That alone was well worth the journey.
However there’s loads to do if you would like it.
The snorkeling is extraordinary — on an important day the lagoon is so clear you’ll be able to see all the things. We noticed stunning neon-colored coral, stingrays, tons of vibrant tropical fish. We even swam with a dozen or extra black tipped sharks surrounding us. That creeped me out just a little, but it surely was positively thrilling.
My husband Chris and daughter Elizabeth went diving and beloved each minute of it. I opted out — I’ve had problem equalizing my proper ear ever since all of us acquired our open water PADI certifications in Roatan, Honduras, and I wasn’t about to spend my time in paradise frightened about my listening to.
One in every of my favourite surprising surprises? The glass flooring panels in our bungalow. You may actually watch fish swimming beneath you when you’re having your morning espresso. Gage took it a step additional and caught a trumpetfish proper off the bungalow deck — then threw it again, in fact.
Chris and Gage additionally did a variety of saltwater fly fishing (they’re each avid fisherman). And after we weren’t on the water, we have been in it — leaping off the deck, lounging on the seashore, floating within the pool.
There isn’t any mistaken solution to spend a day right here.
One factor I by no means would have anticipated — there are nearly no bugs. At evening if you’re eating outdoors and the lights are on, you discover it instantly. No swarm, no buzz, nothing. Being thus far out in the course of the Pacific means bugs merely aren’t a part of the equation. For anybody who’s ever eaten dinner within the tropics swatting mosquitoes all evening — this alone seems like a miracle.
What to Pack for Bora Bora
As a result of the climate stays within the 80s all day — and all evening — packing really turns into a breeze. Resort put on solely. No layers, no “simply in case” something. Simply the good things.
Daytime is all about swimsuits, coverups, and the Miramar Skirt by Rag & Bone — seems fully polished, seems like sweatpants, and takes you from the bungalow deck to lunch and not using a second thought. One in every of my favourite journey items proper now.
For evenings, you need items that really feel as particular because the setting — and these ship. This Saylor costume in that beautiful blue is giving full trip vitality. It’s a type of items that stops you in your tracks and is ideal for heat nights and beachside dinners. And this Blithe halter high and extensive leg pants could be the neatest factor you pack. Put on them individually for 2 completely completely different seems, pair them collectively and so they learn like a costume, or throw the pants over a bikini because the chicest cover-up. Three outfits, one set. That’s the form of packing math I can get behind.
And… Can we discuss this polka dot shirt and skirt set for a second? As a result of whereas polka dots are having a serious style second proper now, let’s be clear — they by no means really exit of fashion. That is a type of timeless prints that works in each season, each decade, and each wardrobe.
For extra resort put on and heat climate necessities, try my seashore capsule wardrobe on this put up.
As a result of no Bora Bora packing checklist is full with out the right swimsuit — these ones are attractive and flattering.
Is Bora Bora Price It?
I’ll depart you with this. I like the mountains. Dwelling in Telluride, Colorado, I’m surrounded by peaks so imposing, so monumental, that in all places you flip the view takes your breath away. They make you are feeling fantastically, splendidly small.
Bora Bora does one thing completely different. It doesn’t overwhelm you — it undoes you. It’s all the things — the cheerful locals who smile and shout “Ia Orana” (Yo-rah-nah) as they move by, the water so blue my daughter Elizabeth described it as the colour of Gatorade 😉 and the three,000-foot peak of Mount Otemanu jutting dramatically out of the ocean. It’s a scene so beautiful you don’t consider it’s actual when you’re it.
I saved pondering — why achieve this many discuss heaven when locations like this really exist now?
It felt like heaven. It regarded like heaven.
Go. Simply go.
If I’ve satisfied you to e book the journey, listed here are the packing ideas I swear by.
