Bora Bora and Mount Otemanu

Mount Otemanu is the first site people see when they arrive at Bora Bora. The Volcano blew up a long time ago and gave the island it's famous shape. While most locals live on Bora Bora, the fancy hotels are all on Motus, or the barrier reefs surrounding the island. The main image is taken the from the airport ferry.

To get to French Polynesia usually takes at least two flights. Then to get to Bora Bora is another flight. Then you need to take a ferry and a taxi, unless you're lucky enough to stay in one of the fancy hotels which have their own shuttle boats. In any case, it's a journey getting here.

You can see the famous overwater bungalows jutting out into the sea. The planes which fly to Bora Bora are all small prop planes and it's not difficult to get a window seat. Since the planes fly the same path you want to think about which side to sit on to get the best view.

Corals fill the shallow sea, the swimming here is second to none. While the golden triangle may have more species, these islands are more exclusive. There were few signs of damage to the reefs and you never had to go far to find something. Here is an earlier post we made about underwater photography in French Polynesia.

We were never far from the sea. One could always hear it and nearly always see it. While everyone says you have to stay on an overwater bungalow, we were not interested. You can't see much when it's dark and spend most of the daytime near or in the water anyways, why not save $500 per night?

The better snorkeling is always where the darker spots are, the white spots are too shallow and you would just see little fish, or stingrays. The best beach on the island is Matira beach and we went there everyday. I don't have a photo of that beach to share because we are in all of them.

This was their version of Beef Bourguignon, because of the French influence the food here is increible. Fresh fish, island flavours and fancy sauces make it a foodie's paradise. There are enough dining options on the island to keep you from ever getting bored.

One day we decided to walk to the other side of Bora Bora. Being on the South end of the Island, nothing is too far - except that it can be hot. This involved walking up the ring road and crossing the island on an atv track.

The views from the hills were not that impressive. You are standing on what most people want to see. You can see another island, Taha'a or Raiatea in the back ground. There are thousands of islands in French Polynesia, most are more chill and less expensive than Bora Bora. So next time we will go to another island.

Since we were tourists, we went to Bloody Mary's, it's where all the celebrities eat and sign pictures that go on the wall. I was more interested in this pretty cat. The food was just okay and there are many better options-but it's worth the experience.

We even had a cat come into our hotel room and curl up on the bed, normally it's not recommended to let strays into your hotel room, but who cares we were on vacation. Thanks for reading and happy travels.

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All photos taken with an a70, iphone 11pro and some were also taken on an EOS 60D