(Le Meriden Tahiti Resort)

For our five nights in Bora Bora we stayed at Sofitel Marara Beach Resort which cost us $4500. Once again, another absolutely stunning place! In Bora Bora we stayed beach front even though it would have been amazing to stay in an over the water bungalow! We were able to explore all over the resort however and the views from every direction were breath taking. Rooms were gorgeous and well fitted with the Polynesian culture. It was truly amazing to wake up each morning and have the ocean right in front of us ❤️ The resort also had heaps of free activities to engage in (pool, snorkelling area, kayaking etc) its is a 10 minute walk from the famous Matira Point Beach and is only a 5 minute drive to the local town centre. Once again service and staff were just lovely and so accommodating. Rating 9/10.

(Sofitel Marara Beach Resort)

ACTIVITIES:
There are so many different things you can do in Bora Bora but water sports and activities has got to be the most sought after! When it came to planning activities I knew that there were two things that I definitely wanted to do; snorkelling with the sharks and stingrays and also jet-skiing – I didn’t want to get sucked into paying 10 times the price whilst I was overseas so decided to book day tours prior to leaving through Viator.com (not sponsored). To make sure I got to do exactly what I wanted, whilst also getting my moneys worth I decided to book two full day tours that had an included lunch deal. The first tour was run by Vavau 4×4 Adventures and our guides name was Kris – this was an eight hour tour which included snorkelling different parts of Bora Bora’s ocean, coconut show and lunch on a private beach: price of $125PP. The the second tour was run by Moana Adventure Tours with a guide named Jean, once again this was an eight hour tour that included jet-skiing, snorkelling, coconut show and lunch at the famous Bloody Mary’s restaurant: price of $250PP. Both tours were absolutely brilliant and exceeded my expectations, guides were also totally awesome! I would definitely rate these tours 10/10 for sure!

If you are looking to do something that will cost you a little less, don’t worry I have also got you covered! Generally on all of the resorts there are free activities for you to indulge in such as kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, snorkelling and swimming the pools! There is also the opportunity to explore outside of your resort and into the island where you will find places such as Matira Point which is were Bora Bora’s ONLY beach resides, hiking opportunties and also the local village where you can do a little bit of shopping.

FOOD:
Moving onto an extremely important topic – FOOD! You are all probably wondering, what exactly is served in Bora Bora!? Well basically everything is American style cuisine. This ranges from the basic pizza, pasta and taco’s, to eye fillets and mignons, and not to mention plenty of seafood match the tropical location! There is definently something for everyone (and I can vouch for that because I am an extremely fussy eater and had no problems finding food!). We ate both breakfast and dinner at our resort as there was so much to choose from, and for lunch we went with cheaper options of buying from the local market. Breakfast was in the form of buffet style and was absolutely divine and for dinner we tried a little bit of everything, meals from the bar, and also restaurant – my personal favourite was definitely the Japanese BBQ set up, where we got to cook our own meat and eat (the experience was probably the most fun!). 

CURRENCY & SPENDING:
Lets talk a little bit more about currency and pricing within the French Polynesia. The main currency is CFP Franc which is extremely inflated – for 1AUD you get 78CFP. Most people would take this as a bonus because for a small amount of your own currency you get quite a large sum however don’t be fooled, almost all items and products that you may want to buy are essentially the same cost as in your home town and sometimes they may even more. Minimum cost of most products is $500-$1k CFP. The reasoning behind the high product prices is simply due to importation, the French Polynesia is an island quite far away from most mainland countries which means shipping items over can come at a large cost. 

THINGS TO KNOW!
1. Forget packing your snorkel gear in your suitcase it is not necessary! Unless you have a special snorkel and spare room in your suitcase you do not need it. Bora Bora is all about the ocean and lagoons so you will be offered free snorkel gear basically anywhere you go.

2. On the flip side make sure you BRING some water shoes as you will require them for all of your activities. Walking on the shallow reef floor can be dangerous without them as there is poisonous coral and fish so they are a definite must.

3. Additionally, make sure you bring your own sunscreen and aloe vera you will save a whole lot of money.

4. Lastly, learn some basic French before you go! All staff and locals speak French and Tahitian in Bora Bora so it definetley comes in handy to know a few basic words here and there!