I chose to fly to Tahiti from Rangiora and then take the ferry so I could experience it.   The ferry terminal is about 10 minutes from the airport and the ferry terminal area opens up about 30 minutes before each ferry departure.   In my experience (I took the ferry there and back), at least half of the people on the ferry are locals.  Going to Moorea, I’d say my ferry was about 90% locals and on the way back, it was about a 50%/50% split.  These are large enclosed ferries that also transport cars and motorcycles. 

When I arrived in Moorea, I rented a car.  Moorea is one of the few islands to be completely accessible by road. It was more developed than Rangiora, but not nearly as developed as Tahiti.  Each small town had its own vibe and when I say small town, even the largest areas only had a few shops and restaurants there is nothing like a large town on Moorea.  Papeete on Tahiti is the largest city in French Polynesia. 
 
Moorea also has varied terrain….within 15 minutes or so of driving I went from pretty open area to almost complete jungle that grows down the mountain slopes to the ocean.  I loved the lush vegetation. There are also areas with fruit plantations (mostly pineapple) and beautiful waterfalls a relatively short hike from a road.  They also have a juice factory that also doubles as a rum distillery.  Factory tours are free and there is a gift shop on site where you can sample both the juice and the rum. 

I stayed in another over water bungalow (in additional to a stay at a more traditional hotel) on Moorea.   My overwater bungalow at Manava Beach Resort was smaller than the one I had at Intercontinental (there was a couch and chairs, but they were inside one main room instead of separated), but it had 180 degree views as I had a bungalow at the end of a row of bungalows.  If you want to stay in a bungalow here, I would 100% book this type as it felt much more private.  There were local canoe teams practicing their rowing and I thought it was fascinating to watch, but still not a great place to sit naked 

​My bungalow also had a gorgeous sunrise view.  There is one property that I would consider luxury on Moorea, but most are more 3.5-4 star properties which makes the accommodation more affordable than Bora Bora giving more people a chance to experience a stay in an overwater bungalow.

The absolute highlight of my time in Moorea was snorkeling with humpback whales and their calves. The humpbacks come to French Polynesia to reproduce and give birth. I had considered going on a tour to see the whales before I left, but the snorkeling part didn’t seem like a good fit for me. After one of the lectures at the Conrad on Bora Bora I chatted with the marine biologist and she told me about a friend that started taking out very small groups of people to see and snorkel with the humpbacks---he takes out a maximum of 5 people.

​As with most wildlife encounters, the fewer humans around the wildlife, the less stressful it is for the wildlife and generally gives the humans the best experience as well. The other boats on Moorea take between 8 and 20 people out at a time. With a small group, it is easier to all stick together in the water (important for you safety as well as the safety of the whales) and to be able to get in and out of the boat quickly. I was honest with the guide and he was really supportive of me and my fear of snorkeling and lack of experience.

​The experience is difficult to put into words. It began with a what a small world moment.  I started chatting with one of the other people on the boat and within minutes, we realized we had both gone to the same really small college---College of the Atlantic.  When I say small, there were fewer than 200 students total when I graduated!  Anna is a much more recent graduate, but we had fun talking about our shared history.  It is because of her generosity that I have photos on this blog.  She has a wonderful talent for photographing marine mammals and was kind enough to share with me.  Her Instagram is amazing if you want to see more (her handle is asagatov) and she does underwater photography for a living, so if you have this need, Anna is the best.  

Once you see a whale, you are asked to slide into the water from the boat….splashing can freak out the whales….and swim as quietly as possible for the same reason. I am not an experienced swimmer so again I chose to wear a life vest so drowning wasn’t added to my list of things to be worried about. Whales are generally out in the ocean where it is deep and the waves and current can be very strong. There were times when waves were crashing over my head. My fear of not being able to breathe with the snorkel in my mouth definitely impacted me, but honestly once I caught a glimpse of the whale both above and below water only a few feet away it made all of the uncomfortableness 100% worth it.

In our first sighting, the whale and her baby stuck around for a while, so I had time to calm myself and relax into having my head underwater even with the waves. I watched the baby rise from many feet down in the water to the surface and it was mind blowing. I honestly don’t know how long we were in the water, but I can tell you I drank more than a mouthful or two of sea water and expended a lot of energy trying to stay close to the group in the strong current. We were probably in the water about 20-30 minutes.

I got back on the boat and was tired but wired. Some people sit in the boat for 3 or 4 hours and don’t see any whales, so I felt lucky to have this encounter and it happened shortly after we headed out. I was still trying to get my bearings when we saw another whale and her baby---when you see them, you only have a minute or two to get on your mask and fins and go. I really wanted to go in, but knew I was inexperienced and tired and that is not a good combo, so I sat that encounter out. I saw several whales breach the surface and being on the boat was still a magical experience. When the others got back on board it was hard to not have FOMO…..they had seen a mom sleeping underwater with her baby. They were just there essentially suspended under water.

The group felt such a connection with the whale and they were moved to tears. It was a very primal moment. Of course, after missing out on that, I told myself if there was another whale sighting I needed to go back in---and I did feel more rested.

About 10 minutes later, we did see another whale and we slid back in the water----mom came right up to the boat, but then didn’t seem to appreciate we were there, so the encounter was very short. We didn’t see any babies. It wasn’t too long before we saw yet another whale….and this time it was actually 4 together. I again was exhausted from the effort and didn’t want to put myself in a bad position, so I stayed on board.

Even from the boat I could tell there was a party in the water. In addition to the 4 whales breaching, there were also a handful of dolphins getting in on the action. It was close enough to see, but very difficult to photograph even above water with the waves. What an amazing sight! At this point we had only been out a little over 2 hours and it is rare to see so many marine mammals in that amount of time.We slowly started to head back and chose to do a snorkel stop on the reef where there were turtles, eagle rays, manta rays, and many colors of fish.

​This all kind of sounds like a wild Disney ride or something, but in reality, it was more a commuting with nature and serene and spiritual outing. Some of that is due to the people on board and some of that is how can you not feel something spiritual when you have swum with such beautiful and gentle creatures.
I aspire to try this again when I am better prepared and in better form to be able to swim, view and not feel like I am going to drown.  The video is also courtesy of Anna....and no that is not me swimming so gracefully, but I was in the water. 

​The next morning we left Bora Bora and headed to a different atoll Rangiora (the largest atoll in French Polynesia, although much of it isn’t developed).  The flight was a little over an hour---flying is the only way to island hop except if you choose to only visit the islands of Tahiti and Moorea and in that case you can fly or take a ferry. 

​Rangiora is less glitz and more real life French Polynesia. What I mean is the tourist infrastructure is less here than on Bora Bora.  Bora Bora is gorgeous and has many luxurious places to see, but you rarely get a glimpse of how locals live.  On Rangiora there are comfortable places to stay, but nothing really at the luxury level.  However, you can see a bit how locals live.  I rented a bicycle and rode from one section of the atoll to the other (about 12 miles round trip from the resort). I went from one pass to another….anywhere I could cycle.  I shopped at the local market (unfortunately part of my shopping was for dog food as many of the island’s dogs are not well cared for and appear to be in need of food).   I visited the local black pearl farm and learned how they cultivate pearls.  It is a long and complicated process and that is why black pearls can be quite expensive. ​

We also took a boat excursion here----we headed out of the lagoon on about a 45 minute boat journey to a place called the Blue Lagoon.  Up until this point, I thought Rangiroa was beautiful, but in the areas near land, the shades of blue were not as dramatic and stunning as Bora Bora.  Well, the Blue Lagoon gave Bora Bora a run for its money :)  The boat journey showed empty ocean until all of a sudden a few little motus (islands) popped up out of nowhere.  These motus are used by tour companies to make and serve lunch while guests explore the area.  The water is crystal clear and you walk in from the boat.  On the short walk in, we saw reef shark and several kinds of reef fish welcoming us.  When we journeyed to the next atoll, we almost stepped on a sting ray as it was hiding under some sand, but the water was so clear you could make out a blurry outline of something.  Once we stopped and really looked, you could easily see the 2 to 3 feet long tail…certainly not what you would want to step on .  Every few feet there was something to see…..and this was standing in the water….no need to snorkel here as the water was so clear from above. After lunch, the sharks get the leftovers and they seem to be able to tell time.  From about an hour before lunch until just after being fed, a large group (maybe 30-40+) reef sharks wait patiently for the leftovers.  They were circling and sort of bobbing and weaving around one another…..all crystal clear watching from the shore.  It was truly an amazing sight. 

After several hours at the Blue Lagoon we headed back and went to one of the passes where there is a group of wild dolphins that love to play around sunset.  We tried to see them from land one night, but it was quite windy (30+ mph) and the tide schedule wasn’t great for their antics, so we didn’t see any.  From the boat this day, we saw about 10 dolphins as they jumped and swam around the boat.  Our captain said they like cheerful music…..so they played upbeat songs and the dolphins seemed to like it. 

​My husband had gone scuba diving in this same pass the 2 days before and the divemaster told him many of the dolphins like to hug divers.  He asked what to do if you didn’t want a hug from the dolphin (who wouldn’t want a dolphin hug if they initiated it??) and the divemaster said the dolphin Is in charge and you basically can’t refuse a hug.  I want to stress that these are not Sea World graduates or anything----they are used to people and I think people probably taught them some of their behaviors, but these dolphins are wild.  It was amazing to see in person.

​​For the next destination, my husband went to Fakarava to scuba dive (one of the best places to scuba dive in French Polynesia and according to some people, one of the best places in the world).  I went to Moorea.  More on that in my next blog post. 

​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.