Getting married next year and we want to go somewhere we may never have the opportunity to go again.

Anyone ever been? Any suggestions if so?

Considered it for my honeymoon, but couldn't sell myself on the looong and expensive flight. Looks freaking amazing though. That will probably be one of my first trips in retirement someday.

cdub06 is going there on his honeymoon soon. Here is a thread about it. I'll point him over here as well to see if he has any extra.

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1610684&forum_id=54&topicid=1610684

The place looks AMAZING! If money was no issue, I wanted to go there for our honeymoon next year, but it is a little too rich for our blood right now.

We will DEFINITELY go at some point though!! I am thinking it would be good for a 5 or 10 year anniversary trip.

Sandals is starting construction on some "over the water" suites in St. Lucia from what I have heard. I think those would be very marketable. I would do it in the Bahamas too. The water there is unbelievable.

I'll be there in a couple of weeks. I'll post a review and help you however I can. I went with a travel agent for this trip since there was so much to coordinate. I've never used one.

Oh. We're splitting time with Moorea. Honestly, I'm looking forward to that one more than Bora Bora. Looks like there's a lot more to do there for someone active like myself.

Congrats CDUB. My wife and I did a 10-day cruise (Tahiti, Moorea, Tahaa, Huahini, Riataia, and Bora Bora) nine years ago when my wife turned 30. We couldn't really afford it, but of all the choices we have made, that was by far the best.

A couple of thoughts, and for reference I have been to many beach locations throughout Mexico, Caribbean, Bahamas, in-between (Turks and Caicos), Cook Islands.

Author James Mitchner said that Bora Bora is the most beautiful island in the world. While I get where he would say that, I think they have the most beautiful water/lagoon, but I think Moorea is the most beautiful island. In fact, we were going to name our daughter "Moorea," but went with a more normal name (but made Moorea her middle name). Also, travel book writer Arthur Frommer has said that Moorea is the most beautiful island, FWIW.


For Moorea:

Not sure which dolphin experience you are planning, but I would highly recommend Dr. Poole's excursion. He is a marine biologist that has been studying spinner dolphins in Moorea for a long time. The excursion is a two hour boat tour where he takes you to areas that he knows where they are based on his knowledge (90-95% success rate). He is actually conducting research during the tours, because he has identified all known spinner dolphins based on their fins (shape, tears from shark bites) and has named them all. He jizzed his pants on our tour because we saw a young newborn that he has never seen and he furiously began taking notes. I think he had to change his shorts three times after that. Highly recommended as compared to getting in a pool with captured or raised in captivity dolphins. Here is someone's blog that give some info:

http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Moorea/blog-471608.html

plus tripadvisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g309685-d1160332-Reviews-Dr_Poole_s_Dolphin_and_Whale_Tour-Moorea_Society_Islands.html

We also did the Motu Picnic excursion, which was F'in awesome. It has three parts... go see stingrays in a shallow area of the bay (kinda cool). Third part is cool in that they take you to a cool motu, give you rum punch, island BBQ, Poisson Cru (Tahiti's version of ceviche), and snorkling. However, the middle portion is the shark part. They said you get to see black tip reef sharks in the natural environment. It though "bad ass... we gotta do that!" Well, they take you out maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile offshore (water is maybe 15-20 feet deep)... hang a rope between two boats (maybe 50 feet long), and everyone gets in the water on one side of the rope and holds it (there is a current that would pull you otherwise). Then some native dude jumps in the water with a three foot fish and a Bowie knife and starts hacking the hell out of it. A couple show off in the distance, then about 6-10 come in real close. I feel fine, because I am of course protected by this rope. I am videotaping under water, when this 8 foot shark comes towards me low as I am filming. It was all cool until he went 4 feet under my feet, and behind me. My thought was "WTF, he's on the wrong side of the MF'ing rope! And now I can't see him, Ah hell NO!" Awesome experience. Here is one:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297570-d312282-Reviews-Liki_Tiki_Motu_Picnic-Cook_s_Bay_Moorea_Society_Islands.html

One other note while I am thinking of it. Once you land in Tahiti, hit the duty free and buy a liqueur called "Creme De Vanile" OMG, I am so serious... worse than crack (never tried crack though). Also, you can buy some Tahitian vanilla beans, and later split them longways and throw them in a bottle of gray goose to make some kick ass vanilla extract).

Also on Moorea, I would highly recommend buying your bride a Tahitian pearl. They are of course, much bigger and colorful, as compared to the pearls you are familiar with. We bought a drop pendent at the famed Island Fashion (you can read about their history if you want). http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297570-d312263-Reviews-Island_Fashion_Black_Pearls-Cook_s_Bay_Moorea_Society_Islands.html
If I recall correctly, we paid $600 (but it was huge, and the best quality) because that's how much we were up in blackjack on the cruise ship. Not that you care, but we caught the mother of all streaks, and kept winning the whole trip. We were low rollers, but still cleared $1600 on the trip. Kept buying more pearls with all of our winnings, so we bought $1600 worth in total (earrings and a ring). They are greenish peacock colored, as seen in the top middle of this:

http://www.themodernjeweler.com/jewelry-type/gemstones/pearls/%E2%80%98are-all-tahitian-pearls-black%E2%80%99-and-other-pearl-faq-answers.html

Bora Bora:
You are staying in an expensive place. Stay there and enjoy it. Maybe take a quick trip around the island (we rented a bike, but it is 18 miles around... you can rent a motorize buggy too. Bloody Marys is a good place to stop, but be sure to check out their bathroom [awesome]... also, going clockwise, there is a great beach just before it).

So regarding Tahiti:
Not sure if you will have any time in Tahiti (I know you said one night there at least), and you have researched and read a lot, and everyone says that Faaa is the industrial and dirty part of FP (while I am thinking about it, in town, find a record store and get a good local artist's CD). However, if you have a half a day (4hours) or a full day, I would highly recommend a 4x4 tour of the interior. It was by far the biggest surprise and one of my favorite parts of the trip.


One last thing to say, there is a big negative about a trip to French Polynesia, and I say this with total sincerity. You will be ruined. All other trips will pale in comparison, and you will be ever-searching to match that first "high," only to fail.

PM or reply here if you have any questions, although it has been nine years since I have been. Also, I hope you have a good camera, because the scenery is unbelievable.



[This message has been edited by Tabasco (edited 7/25/2010 9:26p).]

In looking again at that middle pearl in the pic of the pearls, how badass would it be to have a maroon Tahitian pearl?

Thanks for the advice! Looking forward to your experience Cdub.

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Looking forward to your experience Cdub.

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Me too!

CDub06

Make sure you post pics!!

Enjoy your honeymoon.

I would recommend looking into Fiji as well. MUCH cheaper, better and more beaches, and a LOT more to do there than FP. We will be going there for a our honeymoon at the end of September. We will be doing whitewater rafting in a rain forest, climbing sand dunes, swimming with manta rays, to end with relaxing in the Yasawa's perfect beaches to name a few activities.

The only down side is the long flight. Actually using ff miles for the air tickets... which is pretty much the only reason why we are going, as it is the only way we could afford this trip. The air fare is pretty steep.

I am also interested in Fiji. We just didn't want to do the Bahamas or US Virgin Islands like most people do.

Let us know how your trip goes!

Much nicer than Tora Bora.

Sitting at the Tahiti Airport waiting for the flight back to LAX. I do not want to leave this place.

We had an amazing time. Bora Bora and Moorea are beautiful. I'm not ready to leave.

I'll work on a write up once I get back and get recovered, so expect a summary in the next couple of weeks.

Nice, can't wait! Have a safe trip back!

CDub06

Waiting on your trip report and some pics!!

My new bride and I must've just missed Cdub at the airport. We flew back from that part of the world on the 15th. Did 3 nights in Bora Bora, 3 nights in Moorea, intercontinental resorts on both islands. Will try to type up a report this weekend.

Thriller, did 6 nights seem long enough to be there with the extensive travel time?

Yeah, six nights seemed good to me. Essentially had a day of travel, then a (mostly full day) leading to first night. It did help that we got a free 4th night at the IC in Moorea, and we used that for a late checkout. We didn't stay the night, but we didn't check out until 5:00PM that day, so we still got in almost a full day of meals, snorkeling, and some last minute r'n'r. We didn't do a lot in Bora Bora, so the days didn't really fly by. At the same time, we planned on just relaxing in BB, so it wasn't boring either.

Cool, thanks! I was just curious because we are doing 9 nights in Fiji in about a months time (can't feaking wait!) and was afraid of that not being long enough. That makes me feel better!

Which island did you think was better? I have heard that in sheer beauty Bora Bora takes it, but it is more expensive and there is more to do on Moorea. Is that correct?

I'm still working on my write-up. Slammed at work.

We did an overnight in Tahiti because we got there late night. 4 nights in Moorea, 2 in Bora Bora. It was a good amount of time, but man I didn't want to leave.

Moorea has more to do, we took advantage of that. Exploring the island, going on excursions.

Bora Bora was gorgeous. We stayed overwater in the Hilton which was amazing. Bora Bora is more about kicking back and relaxing. We did not leave the hotel except for a small lagoon excursion and dinner at Bloody Mary's so we did not explore Vaitape or the main island. But that's not really why you go to Bora Bora.

Moorea has several small towns/villages and is a functioning community. Most everything in Bora Bora is geared specifically for tourists.

I like how we did the trip, with the relaxing part coming at the end. If you are heading there directly after the wedding though, you may want to put Bora Bora first so you can recuperate some before visiting Moorea, the more adventurous sister.

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Which island did you think was better? I have heard that in sheer beauty Bora Bora takes it, but it is more expensive and there is more to do on Moorea. Is that correct?

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You are correct here. They're both expensive, but Bora Bora kicks the price up a bit. The hotels in effect are also more luxurious in Bora Bora.

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My new bride and I must've just missed Cdub at the airport. We flew back from that part of the world on the 15th. Did 3 nights in Bora Bora, 3 nights in Moorea, intercontinental resorts on both islands. Will try to type up a report this weekend.

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Dang, you're right. We barely missed each other. We were at the IC Moorea to boot. Flew in the 5th, flew out the 13th

Hey CDub06, how did you like the Hilton on Bora Bora? We are booked to go in a couple months and I'd love to hear what you thought of the place.

It was unbelievable. We stayed over the water. Our bungalow was very nice, the hotel grounds were immaculate.

My long winded write-up is up:

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1684724&forum_id=54