​My last blog post ended when I was about to switch resorts on Bora Bora.  What not everyone realizes (even me until recently) is that there really aren’t many roads on Bora Bora and none of the resorts are accessible that way.  Remember how I mentioned that a boat from your resort or the public ferry picks you up from the airport…well, if you want to switch resorts in Bora Bora, you have to hire a private boat or pay for the airport transfer to the airport and then pay for the transfer from the airport to the other hotel….and you have to coordinate all of that near a real flight arrival.  So, private boat it was for me.  Everything is quite expensive in French Polynesia so I was actually expecting the boat ride to be a higher price than it was (this was another area in which my connections paid off).  The boat ride between the Conrad and Intercontinental Thalasso took about 25 minutes and it was a beautiful ride.  Every day we were on Bora Bora was gorgeous.  Some of that was due to the season I was there, but I think Bora Bora is pretty gorgeous year round :)

The Intercontinental Thalasso resort is an all overwater bungalow property.   That is the only type of room they have.  They are located in what I’m going to call resort alley….as we neared the resort, we saw the Four Seasons first, then next to that is St. Regis and next to that is the new Westin and within almost swimming distance is the Intercontinental Thalasso.  Each resort has something like a Presidential Suite, which is a multi-bedroom overwater bungalow, but otherwise the bungalows are generally all similar sized and the categories only reflect their position on the resort (mountain view, ocean view, sunset view, etc). 

Our bungalow had a living area with a couch, comfortable chairs and a desk…and the iconic coffee table that is glass and gives you a view to the water….and the fish in it….right from your bungalow.  The table slides so you can feed the fish at the Intercontinental.  In my opinion, that is encouraging people to litter in the ocean.  I imagine people try to feed the fish all kinds of things that the fish have no interest in eating.  Needless to say, I didn’t feed the fish.  The bungalow also had a proper bedroom, walk in closet, and a full bathroom with a bathtub and shower.  There was a deck with 2 chaise loungers and a table outside and a swimming platform so you could get in the ocean directly from your bungalow.  There is a small privacy divider to keep you from seeing what your neighbor is doing, but that only works to a point.  You could see everyone’s swimming platform and there were people snorkeling and kayaking in the lagoon that is in the center of many of the bungalows, so while beautiful, the bungalows aren’t all that private. Note to all the honeymooners that want to hang out naked with their partner...

​The main areas of the resort are on land, so you walk from your bungalow along the boardwalk (or call a golf cart) to reception, the restaurants, pool, shop and spa.  It took about 7 minutes walking from our bungalow to the restaurant that served breakfast, but we weren’t walking all that fast. ​

 My husband and I had a full day tour planned.  I had only tried to snorkel a few times in my life and I have never enjoyed it.  I have asthma and simply feel like I can’t breathe….but for some reason, I could relax and snorkel at the lagoon at the Conrad.  I decided to ride my brave streak and actually get in the water on the snorkel stops on our tour (I’m normally what is often called a “bubble watcher” on scuba and snorkel boats….meaning I take it all in from the boat).   Our first stop was snorkeling with black tipped reef sharks.  Why start with turtles when you can jump right in with sharks :)  

I chose to wear a life vest so I was buoyant and didn’t have to think to breathe, swim, look at sharks, don’t get eaten by sharks and not drown.  Just kidding about the eating part….black tip reef sharks are generally harmless to humans and are beautiful creatures.  Our second snorkeling stop was in an area with many manta rays and our third in was in an area nicknamed the aquarium.  It is a beautiful reef area that is reasonably shallow so easy for people to snorkel.  The reef really is a colorful wonderland.  I tried to use my phone to take photos, but it was too much for me….I got a few random shots, but in the meantime, I also hit all kinds of settings which messed up my photos for the next couple of hours until I realized what I had done.  This is a reminder to be kind to yourself…everyone wants beautiful photos to share from their travels, but sometimes it is better to just experience that, than to focus on getting photos to post.  And sometimes it is great to try something to new and to push yourself, but that may mean you need to focus more on what you are doing rather than trying to document it.
 
After a full morning, we headed to a small motu (like a little island) for lunch.  There were several picnic tables in the water and I ate while having many kinds of tropical fish, manta ray and even some reef sharks swimming around…the ray was close enough to touch, but I chose not to (I think they probably don’t enjoy that….they can’t speak for themselves, so I decided to give them space). 
 
The journey back to the hotel would be considered an excursion in itself in many other parts of the world---no matter how many times I say it, breathtaking is truly the only world.

The next stop on my journey is moving to Rangiroa and that will be in the next blog post. 

​I think just about everyone has seen photos of French Polynesia (used to be called
Tahiti) and the famous over water bungalows. I've seen many as a Certified French
Polynesia Travel Advisor, but even knowing what to expect, I was blown away by the
vibrant shades of blue water as soon as I landed.

​French Polynesia is the name for this island group in the Pacific---Tahiti is one of the
islands within French Polynesia. So is Bora Bora which is where we started our trip.
The international flights all land in Papeete on Tahiti and then you take a smaller plane
to Bora Bora (or many other islands). The flying time from Los Angeles is about 8
hours.

​Our flight was met by traditional ukulele players to welcome us and the airport has some
beautiful views. However, once inside the airport, the welcome was less beautiful.
Many international flights arrive around 5am and there are only a handful of immigration
officers, so on our arrival, we waited over an hour to clear immigration. That wouldn’t
have been terrible if we weren’t trying to catch our little flight to Bora Bora----I had given
us 2 hours and 40 minutes to connect which should have been plenty, but you must
check in and check your baggage with Air Tahiti (the operator of most of the smaller
flights) one hour before boarding. We made it by 2 minutes. I’m not sure how strict
they are, but it gave me some stress waiting in line. Security was also slow, but they
had you line up by flight and you knew the flight wasn’t going to leave without you as
everyone on the plane was standing in the same line :) In the end we were delayed
about 30 minutes to Bora Bora. Our plane held about 80 people and was very
comfortable.

Bora Bora has very few roads and the main form of transportation to get from point A to
point B is by boat. The airport has a runway right next to the ocean and when you
arrive, you walk to one of the resort stands or the public ferry for transportation
wherever you are going. We were headed to beautiful Conrad hotel and we received a
lei greeting and the representative took our luggage while we waited the few minutes for
the boat to arrive. The views were gorgeous so way more enjoyable than most airport
arrivals.

The boat journey to the Conrad took about 25 minutes. We arrived during the windy
season and there was quite a bit of spray kicking up as we went, so the windows on the
boat were closed (the back of the boat was open so you could still feel the breeze). We
arrived at the resort about 9:30am and since I knew we would want to go relax after the
red eye flight, I booked the night before so we could go straight to our room and eat the
included breakfast from the night before. As a Virtuoso advisor, I could take advantage
of the complimentary perks that my clients receive----complimentary breakfast (about
$130 value for 2 people, per night) and a $100 resort credit----in addition to an exclusive
sale when I booked which gave me my 4 th night free. That means the night I booked
before my arrival cost me only the amount of taxes for the night (the room rate was
free). Booking with me gives you quite a bit of added value to your stay (rooms start
around $800 per night here).

The Conrad is beautiful and has some great snorkeling right from the beach. They also
partner with non-profit organizations to educate guests on coral reefs and Mantas and
offer the opportunity to snorkel with marine biologists and even do a coral cutting to help
grow some of the artificial reefs in the area. I’m a science geek and really enjoyed the
evening presentations. The marine biologists are also available many days to answer
questions and tell you what type of fish and other marine mammals you are likely to see
in the area.

Like many properties in French Polynesia, the Conrad has many categories of
overwater bungalows to choose from. They also have garden and beach villas. I
stayed in a garden villa and honestly preferred this type of accommodation. The
outdoor space is a bit larger, and I think had more privacy than most of the overwater
bungalows. It was about a 2 minute walk to the beach and we had beautiful beach
views. Like I mentioned, we are here in the windy season and having all the lush
plants and trees surround our villa buffered us from much of the wind.

We are moving to a new property on the other side of Bora Bora and I will let you know
how that compares in my next blog post.