Bora Bora resort or main island? Here are the differences
Bora Bora consists of a main island surrounded by a ring of smaller islets, known as motus. Most of the large luxury resorts are located on these motus, while you'll find plenty of other hotels on Bora Bora's main island. Since travelling between the resorts and the main island isn't always that easy, it's a good idea to decide where you want to stay before booking your trip. Both options offer a completely different Bora Bora experience, and we decided to try both!
Map of Bora Bora
Staying on Bora Bora's main island
Bora Bora's main island isn't particularly large. This is where most of the locals live, and besides luxury hotels, you'll also find smaller boutique hotels and homestays here.
One of the biggest advantages of staying on the main island is the price. A night at one of Bora Bora's luxury resorts can easily cost between €1,500 and €3,500, while you can find hotels on the main island for around €100 per night. Quite a difference!
We spent several nights at Villa Yrondi on Bora Bora's main island, where we had a beautiful view of the island's famous mountain, Mount Otemanu. Staying here also gave us the freedom to explore Bora Bora by ourselves for a few days. We rented bicycles and used them to cycle around the island.
Another advantage of staying at a hotel on the main island is that you're not limited to the restaurants at your hotel. You can decide where you want to eat, and there are plenty of good restaurants where you don't have to pay a fortune for a meal. It's also easier to book excursions from the main island. There's more choice, and prices tend to be much more affordable.
We had heard that the marine life around Bora Bora was incredible, so we booked a boat trip and saw entire groups of dolphins, manta rays and stingrays. This particular excursion wasn't offered at our resort, so we were really happy that we had decided to spend a few days on the main island first.
Staying at a Bora Bora resort
After spending a few days on the main island, we moved to one of Bora Bora's luxury resorts. We stayed for several nights at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa. At the time, there was also an InterContinental resort on Bora Bora's main island, which made our transfer really easy. Luckily, we didn't have to take the ferry back to the airport. Instead, we simply made our way to the InterContinental on the main island, where the hotel's transfer service picked us up and took us directly to the resort.
And the resort was amazing! Exactly what you'd imagine when thinking of a luxury resort in Bora Bora: incredible views, beautiful overwater villas and a gorgeous white-sand beach.
Snorkelling equipment and kayaks were available to use for free, and breakfast was included in our stay.
The resort had two restaurants, one of which offered a buffet. Besides room service, these were your two options for lunch and dinner. Prices were considerably higher than at restaurants on the main island, which is definitely something to keep in mind when calculating your Bora Bora budget.
You can also book excursions directly through the resort, although these were at least twice as expensive as similar excursions from the main island.
However, the resort also offered several free activities, such as making a traditional flower crown or learning how to open a coconut. This means you really don't have to leave the resort to keep yourself entertained.
There are also plenty of beautiful spots along the beach, a coral garden and lots of places where you can go snorkelling straight from the resort.
Bora Bora resort or main island: which should you choose?
So, should you stay at a Bora Bora resort or on the main island? In our opinion, combining both might actually be the best option. Start your trip with a few nights on Bora Bora's main island. This gives you the freedom to explore the island, eat at different restaurants and book some of the more affordable excursions. Afterwards, move to one of Bora Bora's luxury resorts, where you can slow down and fully enjoy everything that makes this destination so special: the overwater villas, turquoise lagoon, white beaches and incredible views. For us, combining the main island with a luxury resort gave us the best of both worlds.
