Tahiti and Tuamotus: Bora Bora

Ah, Bora Bora! Tales of the South Pacific author James Michener called Bora Bora “the most beautiful island in the world,” and I heartily agree.

It had been seven years since my first visit to this small island (less than 12 square miles) dominated by two volcanic peaks — Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia — and surrounded by the crystalline waters of the lagoon, which are protected by small islets called motus.

Bora Bora was the fifth port stop on our 10-day Windstar Tahiti and Tuamotus cruise, and the one I had most anticipated returning to during our cruise.

Scuba diving was on our agenda for the first part of the day. We booked a two-tank dive through Windstar with Top Dive. Like our dives in the Tuamotus earlier in the cruise, the amount and diversity of sea life was amazing, including eagle rays, turtles and lots of reef sharks.

MORE DIVE PIX – SLIDESHOW

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Some passengers chose other aquacentric excursions, including exploring Bora Bora in a glass bottom boat, on a jet ski, or snorkeling the coral gardens and having an encounter with stingrays. Windstar also offered excursions to explore the island by land via 4-wheel drive or open-air truck.

For the first time during our 10-day Tahiti-Tuamotus cruise, Windstar’s Wind Spirit would be spending the night in port. Every Windstar cruise builds in a complimentary evening event and while in Bora Bora the “Destination Discovery Event” is held on Motu Tapu, a private islet, including a Polynesian feast and entertainment by fire dancing experts.

I hated to miss it, especially since I spent a memorable day on this same small motu in 2010 (See Island Treasures: Motu Tapu – Conrad Bora Bora Nui’s Private Islet), but I had dreamed of spending the night with my husband in an overwater bungalow, one of the iconic accommodations that Bora Bora is known for.

During that visit in 2010, I stayed at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui (now the Conrad Bora Bora Nui) resort as part of a press trip that followed in the footsteps of The Bachelorette (the ABC TV show) on Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. You can read the article I wrote about it for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and learn more about my first time to the Society Islands on my French Polynesia destination page.

Windstar offers passengers the opportunity to book a night at Le Meridien or Pearl Beach Resort, Bora Bora as part of an Overnight Romance Package, which includes staying in an overwater bungalow, dinner and breakfast the next morning.

Instead of booking an overnight package through Windstar, I pre-arranged an overnight stay at Four Seasons Bora Bora. After our morning dives, we returned to the ship to have lunch and then packed a small bag for our night off the ship. We took the next tender boat to the Vaitape pier where we boarded the Four Seasons launch to take us to the resort.

It was an unforgettable experience and, although it was less than 24 hours in duration, we packed in as much as possible.

We arrived in time to settle into our overwater bungalow (sigh…bucket list filled to the brim!) and have dinner at the edge of the lagoon at the very romantic Faré Hoa Beach Bar and Grill.

The next morning, we savored our breakfast at the open-air Tere Nui restaurant overlooking Mount Otemanu.

We still had time to snorkel in the Ruahata (God of the Ocean) Lagoon Sanctuary.

There was a little time left to go for a swim off our bungalow…

We savored every bite of a quick lunch of poisson cru before it was time to board the Four Seasons launch to catch our tender boat back to the ship.

Poisson cru, consisting of chunks of raw tuna combined with coconut milk and lime juice, with raw vegetables — cucumber, tomato and sometimes carrot — is considered the national dish of Tahiti. You can find a recipe and more information about it and other island foods and drinks I’ve enjoyed in my post, “Why I love islands: food and drink.”

We returned to the ship in time to make it to a cooking class with the Wind Spirit’s Executive Chef who demonstrated how to make poisson cru (in a very similar way to the recipe mentioned above).

After sampling it, one of his assistant chefs showed us how to make vegetable animals — a cauliflower poodle and a turtle made from a watermelon. Fun for your next party!

All Photos © Debbra Dunning Brouillette unless otherwise credited.

Next in the series:

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Moorea

Earlier Posts in the Tahiti and Tuamotus series:

Tahiti and Tuamotus: Choosing to cruise
Tahiti and Tuamotus: On board Windstar’s Wind Spirit
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Fakarava — our first port of call
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Rangiroa — our second port of call
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Taha’a and Motu Mahaea
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Huahine

Also: Read my Snapshot Story about our dreamy stay at Four Seasons Bora Bora on the Sand in My Suitcase website: “A Little Slice of Paradise at Four Seasons Bora Bora.”