Bora Bora

A Slice of Paradise

Bora Bora is usually associated with honymooners and luxury, but not toddlers and families. However, we brought our 16 month old and we had an incredible time. The Westin Bora Bora staff and other guests at the hotel were so friendly and kind to our toddler, food was FREE for him, we felt safe staying with him in an overwater bungalow, and he enjoyed the pool, beach, and exploring around the resort.

Itinerary

We spent 4 days in Bora Bora.

Day 1: The flight to Bora Bora was so beautiful. I think I took 50 pictures from my window. Once we landed at Bora Bora airport (which is probably the most beautiful airport in the world), we were transferred to the resort by boat, which, in itself felt like an excursion. We arrived in the early afternoon, so we had a couple of hours to explore before our room was ready. We ate lunch by the pool, and chased after our toddler who happily explored every corner he could. The grounds were so pristine with incredible views of Mt. Otemanu. When our bungalow was ready, we were driven in a golf cart to our room, and entering our room was one of those “is this real life?” moments. The first thing we did was jump into the water of course from our deck. The water was warm, and the most brilliant shade of blue. In the evening, we attended Polynesian Culture Night, which felt like the equivalent of a luau, but Polynesian, and in Bora Bora. The music and dancing were lively, and the buffet was delicious.

Day 2: We booked one excursion for all 3 of us, the 1/2 day lagoon tour, with Lagoon Service Bora Bora. and my husband and I took turns snorkeling while our toddler stayed on the boat. I was initally nervous about how my toddler would do on a shared tour (we opted NOT for private, which was much more pricey), and he did awesome. There were 4 others on the boat, an amazing guide who played the ukulele and sang while he drove the boat, and we stopped at 3 places. We snorkeled with sharks, stingrays, and fish. We tried taking our son into the water (with a life vest we brought), and he screamed the entire 30 seconds he was in the water. Even the boat ride itself was so beautiful. The entire tour was about 4 hours, and little guy fell asleep halfway through. The 4 hour tour was the perfect amount of time for us. We had lunch and dinner at the resort, and were so pleasantly surprised that kids under 4 ate free! We ordered an entree and dessert (fruit plate) for our son at every meal (and he ate a good amount). The resort was immaculate. Every plant, flower, pathway was immaculate. And it felt so calm and peaceful. It never felt crowded; there were many open cabanas and chairs by the pool and the beach at all times, there was live music every night, and a gorgeous sunset. It was perfection.

Day 3: My husband booked a jet ski tour around the island in the morning while I hung out at the resort with our toddler. My husband said the tour was “awesome” and he got to explore the entire island, in a few hours. Later in the afternoon, we took a boat transfer to the main island, booked a taxi to take us to “town” and had lunch and walked around to shop for souvenirs (which we didn’t find).

Day 4: We were given a late checkout, and left the resort via boat transfer to the airport, to fly back to Tahiti, and stay the night before we left in the morning for home. We stayed at Tahiti Airport Motel, which I thought we could walk to, but I was wrong. It’s situated on a hill with some questionable safety issues trying to get there, so we had to paid $20 for a taxi to take us 3 minutes away. The purpose of this hotel was just to sleep before getting onto our flight the next morning, and it was clean, and did the job.

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