Aug 06 2008
A visit to Bora Bora
An isle of volcanic origin, Bora Bora is actually a complex of small islands, formed along a coral barrier around the main island. It is mainly preferred as a destination for honeymoon, but a family visit will be also a unique experience. Bora Bora is part of French Polynesia and is situated at the tropics, near Tahiti, from where it can be reached by plane in about 45 minutes.
Although it measures only 6.5 km long and 4 km in width, Bora Bora is recognized to be the most beautiful and most romantic place on Earth. The superlatives are not sufficient to describe the incredible beauty of the “Pacific Pearl” and lagoons colored turquoise as a surrounding. Once you arrive here you’ll fall in love forever with this real jewel of the Pacific Ocean. The climate is also perfect: between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius, with a fresh breeze from the East. The unique lagoons and the coral reefs were born through a gradual extinction of Otemanu volcano. The Taimanu and Pahia tops, which rise more than 655 m above the sea level, are all that is left of the edge of the North crater. Chaotically filled with rocks and vertical abysses, the mountain slopes are now dressed in a tropical luxurious vegetation.
The transportation on the island is quite hard. There is a transport system in common, which makes a semi-detour of the island in about an hour. You can also rent 4×4 cars, which will face with brio tthe rocky terrain of the island. The cross and the environment and tourist services pockets bikes the day, which will prove far more appropriate in most of the ocasions.
Along the coast of the main island, but also on some of the little surrounding islands, many hotels are located, in general of 4 or 5 stars. But they are not just simple hotels. They consist of a collection of bungalows, small houses located on the beach or suspended above the water. Among them we can mention: Le Meridien Bora Bora (which shelters a nature reserve which protects the tortoise), St. Regis (where Nicole Kidman chose to spend her honeymoon), or Intercontinental Sofitel Marara. The luxury hotel offers the terms of spending a great holiday in paradise. In Bora Bora there is also an arranged camping, and many “family” hostels where you can stay relatively cheap, and being surrounded by the same luxurious landscape.
Each hotel on the island offers its visitors minimum 2 restaurants, combining specific specialties of Polynesian cuisine with French cuisine and the international one. Even if you stay at a hotel, you can dinner at restaurants in other hotels. Attention, however, you must make advance booking. Some hotels are asking for written confirmation in order to allow access within them.
Besides these, there are some famous restaurants, including: Top Dive (where there is a school of scuba dive), Bloody Mary (who experience visitors with a list of celebrities who have crossed the threshold and which has no menu, but every day is served the “catch of the day” - fish caught that day), Matira Restaurant (located on the only public beach in Bora Bora).
The pearls are the symbol of the French Polynesie, so you must not miss the opportunity to visit the farm pearls, located on the main island. Here you can learn all about how to cultivate these jewels of the ocean, but you can also buy your own pearl or necklace of pearls.
