It was always my dream to visit French Polynesia someday. Tiki bars are my favorite, and I had been saving my credit card reward points for years to make it a possibility! Thankfully using my rewards and some hotel points we were able to make the trip a reality for our honeymoon!
French Polynesia is made up of 118 islands or atolls, so there is a lot to choose from, not just Bora Bora! Not all islands are ready for tourism, but there are still many to choose from. Below was our 14 day itinerary to help you get an idea of what to do on your next visit or potential honeymoon.
Day 1: Red eye from ATL to LAX to PPT
I won’t lie, this is a long flight, but luckily it’s a red eye if you’re able to sleep on a plane.
Day 2: Arrive PPT early in the morning and take the ferry to Moorea. Check in to the Hilton Moorea.
We LOVED the Hilton Moorea so much. The staff was incredible and welcoming. The hotel isn’t huge but it has everything you could want and is a great place to explore the more adventurous Moorea.
Day 3: Explore town/Pearl Shopping
The concierge arranged a taxi for us to go to town for a few hours. Our driver must have been the identical twin of the grandmother in Moana and it made me extremely happy. There are a quite a few pearl shops to choose from and they’re very close to each other, so you can walk in between all of them. I would check out Eva Pearls for a quality experience. We got a fresh smoothie and walked to the Moorea Beach Cafe which is a Veuve Clicquot bar for a glass of champagne before meeting back with our driver. For dinner we enjoyed the hotels Tahitian dinner show.
Day 4: Opunohu Bay & Rudy’s for Dinner
We grabbed some snacks from breakfast and packed our bags for a short walk to the local beach. It was about a 10 minute walk and the beach was incredible! We spent a few hours here and I would recommend this to anyone staying at the Hilton! For dinner, the hotel arranged a dinner reservation for us to Rudy’s. With dinner reservations they will pick you up and drop you back off. The food was great and I would definitely go back!
Day 5: Private Humpback Whale Swim/ Crepery for Dinner
We were extremely excited to try and swim with a humpback whale! Unfortunately, the whale wasn’t behaving so we weren’t able to see it in the water, but the tour was still fantastic. Swimming in the deep ocean was an experience I will never forget. They tour was wonderful and since the whales weren’t behaving, we found some sharks to swim with which is terrifying but a must do! Luckily the larger scary sharks stayed down on the bottom of the sea. The coolest part was “drift snorkeling” which we got lucky and came face to face with a turtle! Drift snorkeling may have been one of my favorite things we did in French Polynesia!
Day 6: Fly from Moorea to Bora Bora, private transfer to Conrad Bora Bora
The airports in French Polynesia are very different from the United States. You should up about 30 minutes before your flight, check in at the 2-3 desks and hand them your luggage and just wait till they open the door to walk up to your plane. Landing in Bora Bora was stunning as you land out on the Motu. We had a private transfer to the Conrad Bora Bora Nui (yes, the hotel Kim Kardashian lost her earring!) and saw another turtle! We checked into the Conrad, were incredibly amazed by our overwater bungalow and relaxed around the resort the rest of the day.
Day 7: Vitamin Sea Catamaran Tour/Private cabana
This is a must do if you’re in Bora Bora! The catamaran tour was beautiful and the crew were so informative. They explained the difference in snorkeling around the different islands and why some have more wildlife than others. We all jumped in the water and they told us about the wildlife and let us explore on our own. We then went to a beautiful area and enjoyed fresh coconut and rum punch. When we got back to the hotel we grabbed one of the cabanas around the pool and relaxed for the rest of the day until we had dinner at the hotel.
Day 8: Putt Putt and Floated around the water
The Conrad Bora Bora has a ton of activities, including a Putt Putt course. I will say this isn’t the best course i’ve played, but we had a drink in our hand and laughed the entire time. I also brought my own floats to French Polynesia so we jumped in the water off our bungalow and floated around the hotel. Our hotel room here was the best room as we upgraded last minute, so we spent a lot of time at the Conrad relaxing on our back patio.
Day 9: Bora Bora to Taha’a
We saved Le Taha’a for last as we were most excited for this hotel. It is a Relais & Chateaux property so we knew the service would be top notch. It DID NOT disappoint. I think every staff member knew us within 5 hours. We perched at the pool bar for happy hour and then enjoyed their buffet dinner which included freshly grilled meats. The main, restaurant which also has breakfast every morning, is open air and a level up with wonderful views of the property and water.
Day 10: Taha’a Jet Ski Tour
On certain days, the hotel does different lunch specials. We made a lunch reservation this day before our Jet Ski Tour because they were grilling fresh fish and lobster next to the beach! You choose your lobster and/or fish, pay by the weight, and they serve it to you right off the grill. Toes in the sand, a view of the beautiful water, and fresh food made for one of our best meals. After we hopped on a jet ski and visited a pearl farm, snorkeled, and circled the island. We stopped in the middle of our tour and they told us to jump in the water. When you looked down, you saw there had to of been at least 50+ sharks ranging from 4-10 feet circling us. They assured us it was safe and after a deep breath, we jumped in. It was extremely scary but also thrilling! When we got back to the bar, the bartender even starting singing baby shark with us!
Day 11: Canoe Breakfast/Drift Snorkel
We had breakfast delivered to our room this morning and it could have easily been enough food for 4 or more people. We enjoyed it outside on our overwater bungalows patio. After we walked to coral garden next to the hotel. You just have to walk to the top, walk in the water, and the current will bring you back towards the hotel. It was so cool we did it again! We saw so many fish, coral, and colorful clams. We got dressed up and headed to the hotels nice restaurant for dinner where we did the multi course pre fix menu with wine pairing.
Day 12: Couples Massage/Private Dinner
Our package came with a couples massage, and I was so looking forward to this as it’s something I normally do not treat myself to. The spa at Le Taha’a is small but stunning. The rooms are different bungalows overlooking a small lake. We enjoyed the rest of our afternoon at the bar until we got ready for our private dinner. They took our order when we checked in, so we just had to arrive and they had live music playing for us and served us our 3 course meal. This was a wonderful way to end our trip.
Day 13: Depart, take red eye home
It was sad to leave, but we had an amazing time. It’s far away and we thought this was a place we would never get to go to again, but I am already trying to figure out which anniversary we will be heading back.
Hopefully this will help give you an idea for a trip to French Polynesia! If you want some more assistance, as planing all of the transfers can get a little overwhelming, I’d love to help you plan your trip! Click here to send me a message to get started planning.
Happy Travels,
Victoria
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