How to Have a Luxury Experience Without an Overwater Bungalow in French Polynesia

One of the things I feel regret about is not staying in an overwater bungalow on our recent trip to French Polynesia. Places like Bora Bora are synonymous with overwater bungalows. It seems a little foolish in retrospect not to cross off this bucket item list after traveling to these islands at such great expense. 

Rather than spending money on luxurious digs, however, we spent it all on scuba diving in Rangiroa (part of French Polynesia). And I don't regret this decision because as it turns out, Rangiroa has some of the best scuba diving we've ever experienced. (I'll be writing more about the scuba diving in Rangiroa soon.) If I had spent the money for an overwater bungalow, I would have never ventured out. And I believe we got a more authentic poignant experience by going out more. And, as I constantly reminded my husband during our trip - we will someday come back again, and maybe we will do things a bit differently. 

Looking on with envy at the Sofitel overwater bungalows in Moorea 

In the meantime, I learned a few things about acquiring a luxury experience without actually having to stay in an overwater bungalow. Read on and enjoy:

Stay at an Inexpensive Beachside Hotel

Our bungalow in Moorea, Fare Tokoau, was chicly decorated, was right on the beach, and we could even see the lagoon from our bed. The best part, however, were the cats, dogs, lizards and chickens that visited us on our patio on a daily basis. The disadvantage was noise. We were wakened by roosters nightly, and the sound of the ocean waves was so loud, it sounded like a storm was constantly raging. These are things we probably would not have suffered at an expensive overwater bungalow.

Grab a Coffee at the Fancy Hotel 

Tourism is down in French Polynesia, so we were able to enter any luxury hotel without questioning. Sometimes we ordered breakfast, or a simple coffee at the hotel's beach bar, and we were able to enjoy the same vantage point as the overwater bungalow. 

Take a Swim in the Lagoon

Just because you aren't staying at an overwater bungalow doesn't mean you can't enjoy the same waters. The water is so calm in Bora Bora, that if you are a strong swimmer, you can share the same waters bordering the hotel.

Get the Same Views by Taking a Lagoon Tour

The main advantage of the more expensive overwater bungalows such as the Bora Bora Pearl, or the Intercontinental Thalasso, is that they are situated on private islands and overlook the lagoon towards the central mountain of Bora Bora. However, you can enjoy the same views by taking a lagoon tour. These tours take you around the central mountain of Bora Bora and so you can see all the same vantage points that the more expensive hotels have. We enjoyed this view during a Lagoon tour in Bora Born

Eat Dinner at an Overwater Restaurant

Creperie Toatea at the Hilton Moorea serves savory Alsatian crepes. It is located above lagoon waters that are spectacularly lit from beneath. As we ate, we saw black tip reef sharks, and even a stingray swim by beneath us.



Happy diners at Creperie Toatea

Eat at Bloody Mary's

Bloody Mary's is the original Tiki Bar. This famous establishment in Bora Bora is positively dripping with glamor. You can feel the history emanating from every corner, from the varnished tree stump stools down to the white sandy bottom floor. Celebrities used to come, and still come to party at this famous restaurant. Pictured above is the selection of the day. You choose what you want to eat, and then the chef grills it for you a la carte.

Shop for Pearls

I admit to contracting “pearl fever” when we set foot inside Tahiti Pearl Market, a second story no-frills institution in Paeete. You may have heard of Tahitian pearls, or black pearls as they are better known. These giant pearls, which are most commonly gray, are only cultivated in French Polynesia. My Chinese heritage came out in full force when we started to roll pearls around on satin covered trays. The way a pearl is graded is pretty well defined: the larger, the rounder, and the more blemish-free a pearl is, the higher the cost. But what isn’t graded is that ineffable life of a pearl, that thing that gives you shivers of excitement and what makes you go “ooh” and “ahhh”. These pearls were so lustrous they looked as reflective as a mirror, and were so colorful, ranging from pink to yellow to green, they wouldn't even register as pearls to the uneducated eye. Selecting and purchasing a pearl was really fun. I highly recommend the experience.

Take Time to Savor the Small Things

After traveling at great expense, sometimes the simplest things are the most memorable. Here’s a meal reflective of French Polynesia that you won't get in an overwater bungalow: everything is imported from France or Asia: cheese, sausage, and Malaysian shrimp chips. The only native thing is the fresh mango. And constantly constraining friendly kitty, Madeline, from consuming the entire meal will certainly be a memory that I will savor.

Afterward: My husband was so supportive of our housing decisions. While walking around the Bora Bora, we ran into some dilapidated overwater bungalows (Sofitel Marara, which is currently under repair), and we even encountered the abandoned Club Med. At the Sofitel, there was no beach to speak of, the bungalow itself was mere feet away from the mainland, and the water below was full of algae. My husband turned to me and asked: aren’t you glad we didn’t book one of these? We would have been so upset. I feel good that we spent less, had lowered expectations, and were pleasantly surprised. I tend to get very unhappy when I feel I spent too much one things. My experience in Rangiroa, where we spent the most on lodging, was an example of feeling ripped off, and I actually wrote a harsh review about it TripAdvisor. I'm glad that such heartbreak didn't happen to us with an overwater bungalow.

What to Bring, What Not to Bring, & What to Buy in French Polynesia

Stuff You Should Bring

1. Mosquito Spray. Bring or buy one can of mosquito spray for each person, for every week spent in French Polynesia. 
2. Swim goggles and swim cap. The lagoons are like swimming pools. Just jump in and go.

   

   The water is so calm, swimming in Bora Bora is like swimming in a pool. Definitely bring goggles if you want to see the fish while doing your "laps". Here I am at the Hotel Temanuata beach after swimming over to the overwater bungalows next door.

3. Snorkeling equipment. The snorkeling is some of the best I’ve ever seen.

   

   I saw some of the healthiest coral I've ever seen while snorkeling, so definitely bring snorkeling equipment

4. Gloves. If you are scuba diving in Rangiroa, the current is so fast, that it is sometimes recommended to climb across the coral bottom instead of kicking and wasting air. Because I wasn’t wearing gloves, my hands got torn by the sharp coral. I will be writing up a review of the diving in Rangiroa at a later date.
5. A beach towel. The medium-range hotels don’t offer beach towels. 
6. Your own pedicure (or nail polish). There were no manicurists in the smaller islands like Moorea and Rangiroa as far as I could tell. And it's always fun to sport a festive toenail color when you’re wearing flip flops all the time.
7. Your own instant coffee. There are no coffee shops in French Polynesia because coffee hasn’t caught on yet. All rooms come with an electric tea kettle. One of the favorite things we did in all of French Polynesia was to enjoy a cup of instant coffee on our patio.

   

   My husband and I enjoyed a cup of instant coffee every morning. Here we are on our patio in Moorea with one of Moorea's major agricultural products: pineapple.

8. Sunscreen. To be quite honest, I didn’t really use any. The sun isn’t that strong in French Polynesia and the native Tahitians themselves are really light-skinned as a result. But you may want to bring some if you are fair skinned.
9. Bathing suits. Mark and I basically shared a single suitcase for 2 weeks. We just wore bathing suits all the time.
10. One or two good dresses, or tops. Dinner is often communal at these mid-range pensions. It would be good to doff the bathing suit you’ve been wearing all day and put on something that makes you less crazy looking.
11. Books. Almost none of the hotels have TV’s, and the ones that do, only feature French shows. And free WiFi is not guaranteed. I ended reading 3.5 books while on my 2 week vacation.
12. A phone that is a good camera so you can show pictures you took to your your new friends at dinner. If your cell phone doesn’t have a good camera, your camera needs to have the ability to download directly to your cell phone or iPad.
13. Space in your luggage. We made the serious error of not leaving any room in our luggage and ran into weight problems at the airport. We bought famous Tahitian rum, and an assortment of fresh fruit jams, and “manoi” coconut oil as gifts for friends. 

Don’t Bring

1. High heels. Some restaurants, notably Bloody Mary’s, have sandy bottom floors. It would be difficult to walk in heels in this environment.

I designed and made this Pareo at the Intercontinental in Moorea

Buy

1. Pareu. This is a sarong-like piece of cloth that Tahitians traditionally used to wear. Buy one (every other store sells them), or even make one in French Polynesia.
2. Jewelry. Every other store is a jewelry store selling Tahiti's 3rd greatest export: Tahitian pearls. You can get a better selection, and for cheaper nowhere else in the world.
   

   

   You can shop for beautiful Tahitian Pearl jewelry to suit all budgets in French Polynesia

French Polynesia Slide Show Presentation

Here’s the slide show presentation that I made for planning our French Polynesia trip (we just recently got back). One of my coworkers’ husband made one for their South West USA trip, and I thought it was so remarkable that I had to copy it. 

I did 100% of the planning for the trip, so it was a good tool to help my husband understand what to expect on our vacation. It was probably good that I did, because once the vacation started, he barely knew what Island we were on. (He literally thought we were on Bora Bora when we were actually on Moorea.) It also helped to convey to my husband what my expectations were, i.e. what I was really looking forward to trying. That being said, we didn't micro-manage the trip to every last detail - we were quite flexible in how we spent our vacation. There were a lot of empty time periods left in the schedule to improvise. We didn’t actually stick to the highlighted plan 100% either, and actually stuck to it maybe 30-40%. Actual details of what we did are forthcoming.

I hope you enjoy the slides, and hopefully this can be helpful to others planning their French Polynesia trip.