The big day has just concluded, and now you’re looking for an isolated, romantic locale to start your forever with your forever partner. Traveling from North America? Bora Bora, separated from virtually the rest of the world by thousands of miles of ocean waters, is a good place to start.
With its sapphire seas, sandy islets and overwater bungalows, Bora Bora exudes romance. This postcard-perfect locale is a top honeymoon destination for many good reasons. Here are our top picks for the best hotels, restaurants and activities to experience in Bora Bora for lovebirds on a honeymoon or even just a simple romantic getaway.
Book a room at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, which emerged from a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2018 with plenty of modern bells and whistles (think marble-clad bathrooms with freestanding soaking tubs and TVs that rise magically from bottom-of-bed cabinetry and swivel so you can watch from bed or your private plunge pool).
Presiding over a half mile-long, white-sand beach (the largest of any Bora Bora hotel) on the southwest end of Motu To'opua, the resort looks like a computer screensaver come to life, with a string of thatch-roofed overwater bungalows perched over impossibly blue waters. And a cocktail at its Upa Upa lounge, where the glass floor reveals colorful tropical fish, is the perfect toast for your trip, making it the perfect location for Bora Bora honeymoons.
The overwater bungalows are more compact than competing resorts, and there's no on-site spa, but chances are you won't notice either at Le Méridien Bora Bora. Couples who have stayed here rave about the views of iconic Mount Otemanu and the crescent-shaped beach, which has two sides, one facing the mountain and the other facing the sparkling lagoon.
Watch "Tahitian TV" (the underwater world) through the glass panels in 85 overwater suites. Don't miss the resort's turtle sanctuary, where you can see rescued turtles thriving in their rehab center. Or simply snorkel the lagoon.
If you’re still in need of couples-friendly pursuits, Le Méridien’s romance concierge can arrange private dinners, sunset cruises and even symbolic wedding or vow renewal ceremonies.
It doesn't get more idyllic than this 44-acre St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, which is spread across three "motus" (islands) surrounded by the ocean and a large lagoon supplemented by views of Mount Otemanu from almost every vantage point. Its other claim to fame: The St. Regis was featured in the 2009 film Couples Retreat, which plays in a loop on TVs in its 90 butler-serviced suites (77 of which are overwater).
The Edenic property features Clarins’ only French Polynesian spa, a manmade “lagoonarium” for snorkeling with schools of tropical fish and four restaurants, including the overwater Lagoon by Jean-Georges, where you can sample Chef Vongerichten’s Asian-fusion menu, as you watch lemon sharks glide beneath glass panels in the floor at one of the best resorts for honeymoons in Bora Bora.
At St. Regis Bora Bora and the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, the best part of waking up is the sight of a sarong-clad oarsman and flower-festooned waitress skimming across the turquoise sea in an outrigger canoe decorated with tropical blooms. Once at the decks of your overwater villa, the pair sets up your canoe breakfast, a hearty spread for two that includes pastries, tropical fruit and the ceviche-style French Polynesian fish dish, poisson cru.
Sure, it’ll set you back about $100 per person, but the memories of your only-in-Bora Bora breakfast will last a lifetime.
In Vaitape on Bora Bora's main island, Villa Mahana is a tiny restaurant with a mere half-dozen courtyard tables that are in hot demand by honeymooners. So, book well in advance. Come for Chef Damien Rinaldi-Dovio's French entrees (the foie gras and lobster risotto are to rave about), and linger on the candlelit bougainvillea-draped terrace over dessert of molten chocolate cake with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.
Just don’t forget your wallet because, with prix fixe menus that started around $120 a head, dinner is a splurge, even by Bora Bora standards.
From your resort, you'll need to take a boat and then a cab to Bloody Mary's. An evening at this classic and casual Bora Bora restaurant is worth the trek. Soon after you arrive at the thatch-roofed eatery, where celebrities ranging from the Rolling Stones to Goldie Hawn, have also dined, you'll be summoned to the open kitchen to select your meal from the fresh-caught varieties of fish and seafood displayed on ice.
While you wait for the main event, kick back with the signature Bloody Mary or a frosty Hinano beer in the sand-floored dining room. But don’t kick back too far, as those coconut-tree stumps you’re sitting on have been known to topple.
As you fly into Bora Bora, you’ll undoubtedly notice those Instagram-worthy, sand-fringed islets floating in Windex-blue water. And, if you’re a guest at Conrad Bora Bora Nui, you can actually have one of those “motus” all to yourself.
Book the Day in Paradise package, and you’ll be whisked away by boat to Motu Tapu, the resort’s idyllic private island, for lunch served on the sand. That’s followed by hours of snorkeling, beachcombing and whatever else you two can think of on your own private island.
At St. Regis Bora Bora, they take couples’ treatments to a whole new level, with a romantic evening you’ll remember long after your tan has faded. First, reserve the last couples massage (we recommend the relaxing Polynesian massage) of the day – around 5:30 p.m., depending on the time of year – and request to have it performed by candlelight in the thatch-roof cabana on the spa’s beach.
Then, once the massage is over, you’ll dine in private at a table for two at the now-closed sanctuary, where the surrounding lagoon and tropical foliage are the perfect backdrop for a night to remember.
To get to Bora Bora from the U.S., you’ll probably fly from LAX to Tahiti. And once you land in Tahiti in the wee hours of the morning, you’ll likely have an horus-long layover before your evening connection to Bora Bora. So, make good use of your time by joining Poe Charter’s catamaran cruise to Teti’aroa, an atoll about 30 miles north of Tahiti that’s surrounded by a dozen sandy “motus” just waiting for your footprints.
The day trip leaves from Papeete and includes breakfast and lunch on board Ohana, a guided tour of the bird sanctuary on Rimatu'u and all the snorkel gear you need to explore Tahiti's turquoise waters.
