Tikehau: Pink Sand Beaches and Private Islands

A ~1 hour flight took us from Bora Bora to the atoll of Tikehau, also part of French Polynesia.  While Bora Bora has its iconic central island with famous mountain peak, surrounded by a lagoon and outer ring of land, the central island of Tikehau has sunk, leaving only the outer ring and enclosed lagoon.  The satellite images are quite surprising, showing how the skinny pieces of land surrounded by the massive ocean are extremely remote.  Stepping off the plane and walking to the open air pavilion “airport” to collect our bags, we were met with smiles and fresh flowery and fragrant leis from the Pearl Beach Tikehau resort.  Not normally traveling in such style,  I felt extremely spoiled and a bit self-conscious; the contrast between the incoming tourists and the few locals milling about was very noticeable.  However, everyone we saw was welcoming and the touristy façade of Bora Bora was nowhere to be found. After piling into a van, we drove off to the dock where we would be transported by boat to our resort.  Tyler commented on how small the town was, to which I unknowingly replied “what town?”  He explained that the few weathered buildings on the main road from the airport was the town of Tuherahera.  The whole population of Tikehau as of 2007 (according to Wikipedia) was 507, just slightly larger than my high school graduating class.

Arriving at the dock, the tourists and luggage were shifted from the van to the boat, and after waiting for the van to return with the second load of tourists and luggage, we were on our way again.  Gliding across the flat, calm and very blue lagoon with the eight or so other arrivals that day, Tyler pointed out our resort in the distance.  Refreshing sea spray from the boat cooled me as we got closer and my excitement grew.  Everyone always pictures the romantic overwater bungalows in Bora Bora, but given the reality that they are insanely expensive, we had stayed instead in a more affordable “garden bungalow” in Bora Bora which was extremely nice, but left my overwater bungalow fantasy yet unfulfilled.  As Tikehau was much more remote and less well-known, and therefore slightly more reasonable price wise, we had booked an overwater bungalow here to top off our amazing honeymoon in style!

Tahitians really know how to welcome people, and we were met with more smiles, greetings and glasses of tropical cocktails embellished with pineapple slices.  We had none of the sense of an outer smiling veneer that we got hints of at the Bora Bora resort and felt all the employees were genuinely happy to be there and welcoming to the atoll.  As room keys were being distributed, we were the last to be called, as my husband’s surname starts with a Z.  A bit nervous that they had overbooked the overwater bungalows before our turn came (I have irrational worries, but after all I am a woman!), lo-and-behold they upgraded us from a standard overwater bungalow to an overwater suite!  And sweet it was!

Two couples were shown to overwater bungalows off the reception platform to the west of the motu with the resort’s buildings. These looked very nice, though we noted some did not have platforms to get directly into the water. We were escorted by a member of the staff along with the rest of the tourists checking in, dropping them off two by two at their respective beach bungalows.  Last again, we were led to a separate wooden walkway off into the central lagoon that only accessed the suites – totally worth the wait!  Colorful fish swam below us in the crystal clear blue water and the bungalows had an uninterrupted view of the lagoon and what would be a beautiful sunset come evening.

The bungalow itself was easily the nicest place I have ever stayed in my entire life.  It consisted of a beautiful bed, sitting area, quality bathroom with double sinks (all of which were decorated with fresh tropical flowers), and even a glass panel in the floor to see the fishes!  The absolute best part of the bungalow was the outdoor patio, which included a thatch covered sitting area with table and chairs, an open area with lounge chairs for soaking up the sun, and a second lower tier with direct access by ladder to the beautiful water below and an outdoor shower for rinsing off.

After gleefully exploring our new digs, we changed into swimsuits, grabbed our snorkel gear and headed out into the water.  Though perhaps not the best snorkeling we’ve had in our experiences (that award goes to Belize!), it was very good and made more awesome by the fact we were swimming just feet away from our bungalow. Unlike the bungalows at the Pearl Beach Bora Bora, there was plenty of coral and sea life all around these bungalows.

Sunset in Tikehau

Sunset on our balcony

We took a walk to explore the beaches, noticing an empty and beautiful “motu” just a short swim across a channel.  We took the plunge into the deep water, discovering the current to be a bit stronger than expected, but made it to the motu with no problems.  We walked along the unique orangish-pink sand beach hand in hand, spotting a tiny shark in the shallow water along with many hermit crabs.  Our whole walk of this uninhabited motu, we only saw one other couple, some Italians we’d met checking in. The beach was so quiet, private and unpretentious, a nice change after our time in Bora Bora. It was a totally different atmosphere, here you were on a deserted island, truly away from it all.

The next few days were filled with snorkeling, beach walks, kayaking to nearby motus and much relaxation on our balcony.  This resort was a lot quieter and more laid back than Bora Bora, much more our pace. The staff was genuine and friendly and meals were noticeably less expensive in price and just as delicious.  The highlight for us was a day on our own private motu – we got taken out on a boat, given a cooler filled with a picnic lunch and Hinano beers and dropped off on a private island.  Though “private”, we could actually see a building or two on both islands on either side of our island (though no people), but it was an amazing experience all the same.  We walked completely around “our” island, and as it was quite a hot day we spent most of the time in the amazingly clear and refreshing water.  We made a few little fish friends as we sat in the water enjoying our time together and sipping beer, counting all of our blessings and feeling so happy and grateful for this incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Overall, our honeymoon in New Zealand and French Polynesia was a dream come true, however the important thing is that we found each other in this huge and crazy world, and that we will be spending the rest of our lives together.  Though we may not have a physical private tropical island to enjoy every day, we have each other and I hope we continue to take each day with as much excitement, enthusiasm and pure joy as we did in Tikehau.  Our last day we got up early and enjoyed this stunning sunrise – a great end to this incredible trip!

 

Bora Bora: Picturesque but Pricey

Pearl Beach Resort, Bora Bora

Almost everyone has seen pictures of Bora Bora – the crystal clear turquoise water, the palm trees, white beaches, romantic overwater bungalows, all with a beautiful tropical mountain backdrop.  Just the name “Bora Bora” alone brings to mind romance, luxury and honeymoons, in short, “paradise.” All of these expectations aside, what is Bora Bora like in reality?

Having traveled quite a bit before getting married, Tyler and I decided that we really wanted to go “big” to make our honeymoon special and we had our sights set on an active outdoors portion in combination with some time relaxing on a tropical beach. My experiences in New Zealand had us looking that direction which worked well for linking up hiking there with beaches of the South Pacific. Thanks to very generous friends and family, good stable jobs and hoarding up our PTO, we were able to make this dream of ours a reality, and planned a month-long honeymoon split between hiking in New Zealand and relaxing on the beach in French Polynesia.

Aerial view of Bora Bora from plane

The first island where we stopped in French Polynesia was Moorea, a beautiful little island very convenient to the main island of Tahiti (where international flights arrive/depart).  After 3 days relaxing on the beach and topping off each day with some homemade Tahitian vanilla ice cream, we hopped on a plane and flew the ~45 minutes to Bora Bora.  Feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, my eyes kept scanning the vast ocean below, waiting to catch a glimpse of this famous and stunning island.  Before long the island appeared – a beautiful oasis in an immense dark ocean.  The turquoise lagoon contrasted starkly with the Pacific and even from the plane we could see the overwater bungalows stretching out from the land in neat little rows.  The plane circled the island, allowing amazing views all around before coming in to land on an alarmingly short runway.

View from Bora Bora airport

Stepping off the plane on to the tarmac, we followed the string of well-dressed passengers to the airport terminal, which was a small building open on most sides.  Greeted by the warm tropical air, we found our resort’s personnel amid the crowded bustle of other excited tourists doing the same.  Beautiful and fragrant leis were placed around our necks as we scanned the arriving luggage, easily spotting our well worn backpacks amid the Louis Vuitton and other trendy luggage sets.  Our packs were taken by the porters and we were directed to a waiting boat with about 4 other couples also heading to the Pearl Beach Resort.

Garden Bungalows at Pearl Beach Resort

The boat ride across the stunningly blue lagoon was gorgeous, and we had to keep telling ourselves that we were really here, in Bora Bora at last!  Arriving at Pearl Beach, we were ushered to the thatch-roofed open air lobby and given a cocktail with fresh fruit juices as we filled out paperwork.  While being shown to our bungalow, we watched as other couples took the exclusive path to the overwater bungalows.

Private patio in garden bungalow

After overcoming my initial bit of bungalow envy (#firstworldproblems), I brought my focus back to the beautiful garden pathway leading further inland among the palm trees. As the overwater bungalows were outrageously priced (the ones with the best views list for $1200+ per night not including taxes/fees), we had booked a Garden Bungalow for our time in Bora Bora.  We were very pleased with the room which was the nicest hotel room I had ever stayed in, with a private outdoor patio, soaking pool and outdoor shower all surrounded by tropical plants and trees.  A quick note on the rates and booking, we normally book everything separately on our own on our international trips, however the travel agencies we quoted blew away our total cost based on individually pricing everything, so we ended up going with a packaged trip. We also got a handful of discounts, freebies and upgrades thrown into our total package which included international airfare, 3 flights, 1 ferry, all transfers between airports/hotels/ferries, free breakfasts at the two Pearl Beach resorts we stayed at, and discounted room rates for early booking and staying 7 or more nights even though they were split between two different Pearl Beach resorts.

Our time in Bora Bora was spent mainly on the white sand beach, soaking up the sun and cooling off in the perfectly clear, calm and warm water.  As the water was shallow, you could walk out for quite a long ways before even getting waist-high.  Although we had packed our snorkel gear, we found that there was not much coral or ocean life near our resort (inside of the lagoon).  From research, it seems that most of the coral life is found in the barrier reef of Bora Bora which would need to be accessed by boat.  We quickly discovered that any type of excursion cost an arm and a leg, so we ended up passing on the jet ski tours, boat cruises and official private honeymoon photo sessions.

Sunrise at Pearl Beach Resort, Bora Bora

We did venture into town one day, taking a boat across the lagoon from our resort and being picked up by a bus to head into the town.  We did a bit of shopping (and not much buying), but did find a very cool local jewelry market where I found some reasonably priced Tahitian black pearl earrings.  For some reason the pearls’ slight imperfections (which made them so affordable) made me happy in this place where perfection (or the appearance of perfection) seemed king.  We also stocked up at the grocery store on juices/mixers and snacks so that we could make our own little happy hours with the duty-free liquor we brought instead of paying $17 for each Mai Tai at the hotel bar, completely ignoring the sign in our room scolding that the mini-fridge was not for personal use.  That said we did enjoy a few drinks during our stay at the resort’s open air bar which had an excellent ambiance. One day I splurged on a massage (using a hotel courtesy coupon of course!), though in the end it was nothing to write home about and in general was inferior to the random ones I get on Groupon back in Washington DC.  As far as meals we were pretty much limited to the resort, and lunches ran about $20-30 pp for just a mediocre hamburger and fries and about $35-45 pp for an artistic and tasty (if not very filling) dinner.

Though we are glad to have been to Bora Bora to check it off our Bucket List, we likely wouldn’t choose to go back as it wasn’t particularly our style and exceedingly expensive.  We felt the other places we visited in French Polynesia were a much better atmosphere (at least for our taste)  and value.  It is a visually stunning place – there is a reason why it’s images are so famous – and the weather was gorgeous during our time there.  The water in the lagoon was excellent for swimming (though not snorkeling) and the beach was pristine and white.  However, we felt boxed in by the resort and felt that to explore the island more on our own was too pricey.  Everything seemed to cost extra, and there was nothing “off the beaten track” about it.  The hotel staff seemed to put on a tourist veneer, and it was difficult to get a sense of the true character and identity of this place past all of the smiles, leis, and fruity drinks.  However, if you are a big resort type person, have money to spare and luxury accommodations are a must, this may indeed be the vacation place for you.  We admit that we did not get a comprehensive experience of the entire island and all that it and the various resorts have to offer, however the impression that was left with us was that our money would be better spent elsewhere.  In short, you pay for “paradise”. And you may discover that your idea of paradise is different than everyone else’s, which is not at all a bad thing.  🙂

Adventures in Tahiti: More Moorea please!

View from Pape’ete Ferry Terminal on Island of Tahiti

Having spent the last few months blogging about one of my favorite countries, New Zealand, I figure it’s about time I move on to some other amazing travel destinations! Our honeymoon this past May consisted of 16 days in the kiwi nation, 10 of which were spent hiking a total of approximately 85 miles, followed by 10 days in French Polynesia. Flying the ~4 hours from Auckland on Air Tahiti over the international dateline, we left on Thursday afternoon and arrived on the island of Tahiti Wednesday night to begin the relaxing tropical portion of our vacation.

View of Moorea from ferry boat

After a night on the main island of Tahiti, we took a short ferry ride across the ocean to the island of Moorea, where we would spend a total of 3 nights. Usually preferring to book trips and travel accommodations on our own, we actually ended up using a travel agent to book the Tahiti portion of our honeymoon as they had access to a number of discounts we were unable to get on our own. As such, all of our transfers were included making our time in French Polynesia very easy and carefree.

 

Beach at Les Tipaniers

A small van picked us up in the port of Moorea along with a number of other tourists and honeymooners. Two by two they were dropped off at their respective resorts, eventually leaving us alone in the van as we made our way further around the island. Moorea itself is about 10 miles wide, and has a main road running 35 km (22 miles) in a loop around the island, marked at each kilometer. About halfway around the island, we were dropped off at the Les Tipaniers resort.

Slightly more budget friendly than the Hiltons and Marriotts, this resort was french run and a little bit more laid back. We were ushered to our private garden bungalow, finding beautiful flowers laid out on the bed and tables. Though a bit dated, the bungalow had everything we needed, including a fridge and kitchenette. The supermarket was a bike ride away (free bikes to borrow from the resort!), allowing us the flexibility to make our own meals and drinks and avoid the typical resort prices. A waterfront restaurant served very reasonably priced meals and even sandwiches for take out. While the beach front was quite a bit smaller than we had hoped, the sand and water were incredible – white sand and clear aqua water.

Recovering from our extensive hiking adventure in New Zealand, we spent the next 3 days relaxing by the beach, reading our Kindles and hopping back over to our bungalow for a snack or a drink every now and again.  The area was also good for kayaking, though we ended up cutting our kayak outing short as the wind caused the water to be a bit choppy the day we tried it. We did manage to see two massive manta rays while out with the kayaks however. The water was shallow and warm, perfect for sitting in to cool off when the sun got too warm.  Every evening we would eat at the hotel restaurant up by the main road, which had friendly wait-staff, reasonable prices, and delicious fresh meals, which was quite a nice change after a couple weeks on the trails.  The highlight for us was the homemade Tahitian vanilla ice cream – we can safely say this was the best vanilla ice cream we have ever had!

One evening we decided to take an evening “sunset cruise” which left from the beach at our resort.  As we were the only people who had booked, this ended up being a private cruise on a tiny motor boat.  The guide was very knowledgeable, and pointed out fish, turtles and other ocean life as we cruised along, sipping rum punch out of plastic cups.  He explained how (like many islands in French Polynesia) Moorea is surrounded by a lagoon with a number of inlets/outlets to the ocean.  Good waves for surfing can be found near the inlets/outlets according to our guide. As Moorea has multiple outlets, this brings in fresh, cool nutrient rich ocean water which regulates the water temperature in the lagoon and helps the coral life to thrive.  This makes the island much more suitable to snorkeling than some of the others, though we didn’t do any serious snorkeling here.  In contrast, the lagoon around the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora only has 1 outlet to the ocean, which can cause the lagoon water to warm beyond a temperature that allows coral to grow and so aquatic life in the lagoon is not as prolific. See the comparison of these 2 islands below:

Turning the boat around to catch views of the setting sun, I climbed out to sit on the front end of the boat.  A few minutes later I saw a huge dark shape swimming directly towards the boat, and I managed to stammer out “shhhark!” as we excitedly watched it pass under the boat and out on the other side.  It must have been about 8 feet in length!  Tyler later saw a couple of sea turtles which I somehow managed to miss, but we both caught great glimpses of various stingrays in the clear water.

 

 

Our captain took us slowly back to our resort as we finished up the rum punch and let the beautiful sunset views sink in.  In a place known for high end resorts, this little no-frills boat cruise was refreshing and perfectly our style, a great way to end our time on Moorea.