Moorea & Bora Bora in February! Any tips?

[BlondeSpiders]

It feels like we booked this trip decades ago; I can't believe it's almost here!

We will have 3 nights in Moorea at Hotel Manava Beach Resort in the Paraora area. Any suggestions for must-sees or restaurants? 

We'll then have 5 nights at Le Bora Bora by Pearl, which is on the (pretty deserted) Tevairoa motu. I think we'll need to ferry to the main island to see anything outside the resort. Do ferries run to the motus, or will it only be a private one from the hotel?

Any hidden gems we should know about? Anything you wish someone had told you before visiting? We'll be there Feb 12-21, and I fully expect some rain. Hopefully not all week.

I like to snorkel, Jesse does not. Hoping to find some excursions where he can chill on the boat while I snorkel my heart out. Also thinking about renting scooters or (electric?) bikes to explore.

Many, MANY thanks to mryrcn for organizing our trip and fielding my many questions and changes!

[mrsd2006]

No tips but I am insanely jealous.

[VacayVaca]

We had a fun meal at Moorea Beach Cafe--it's just down the road from Hotel Manava, but the restaurant will come pick you up and bring you back.

We wanted to do a lunch at Coco Beach, but weren't able to schedule it. They pick you up by boat and bring you to a smaller island for lunch and you can swim and snorkel from there.

If you're out exploring, make sure to stop by the Juice factory. We brought a small bottle of liquor from home and mixed with the fresh juice we bought at the juice factory in our hotel room for afternoon cocktails. They also have a local pineapple champagne, which was fun to enjoy one evening.

We rented an open top car for a day and drove around the island exploring. We also did a sailing excursion and ended up at the Banc de sable raies et requins where the rays and sharks always show up for snorkelers.

[BlondeSpiders]

Jan 19, 2023 17:45:44 GMT -5 VacayVaca said:

We had a fun meal at Moorea Beach Cafe--it's just down the road from Hotel Manava, but the restaurant will come pick you up and bring you back.

We wanted to do a lunch at Coco Beach, but weren't able to schedule it. They pick you up by boat and bring you to a smaller island for lunch and you can swim and snorkel from there.

If you're out exploring, make sure to stop by the Juice factory. We brought a small bottle of liquor from home and mixed with the fresh juice we bought at the juice factory in our hotel room for afternoon cocktails. They also have a local pineapple champagne, which was fun to enjoy one evening.

We rented an open top car for a day and drove around the island exploring. We also did a sailing excursion and ended up at the Banc de sable raies et requins where the rays and sharks always show up for snorkelers.

Thank you for the tips!

I immediately booked a lunch at Coco Beach; our last day in Moorea is the first day of the season, so we got very lucky!

I would love to rent a car but I am a little nervous about doing it when my French is...pas si bon. How was that experience for you?

[VacayVaca]

We did an open top half jeep, I'm not sure what it was but it wasn't a full car. The company delivered it to the hotel and picked it up that evening, so it was a really easy experience. The driving was really easy. There's one road that circles the perimeter of the island, so it's easy to figure out where you're going and super calm driving. If you want to explore on your own, you should do it on Moorea since Bora Bora is really quiet and primarily just the resorts. There's also pretty good hiking and a lookout from the top of the mountain that you can drive up to.

I think I read there's also a bus that runs a course around the island, but it doesn't run on the weekend. If I remember right, a lot of stuff is closed on Mondays, as well. There should be taxis at the ferry stop when you arrive to take you to your hotel.

Also, our hotel owner on Tahiti said you can drink the tap water on Moorea but cannot on the outer islands including Bora Bora. That's something to be aware of for brushing your teeth and casual use.

[BlondeSpiders]

Jan 23, 2023 13:37:15 GMT -5 VacayVaca said:

Also, our hotel owner on Tahiti said you can drink the tap water on Moorea but cannot on the outer islands including Bora Bora. That's something to be aware of for brushing your teeth and casual use.

Thanks for this! It never even occurred to me.

[VacayVaca]

Jan 23, 2023 16:40:00 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

Jan 23, 2023 13:37:15 GMT -5 VacayVaca said:

Thanks for this! It never even occurred to me.

It didn't occur to me either and I was really surprised.  Although perhaps the hotels have an internal purification system.

Have a great trip!  A tropical island vacation sounds so nice right now!!!!

[moreace01]

I went quite a long time ago so most of my recs probably don't exist anymore. My biggest regret was not going snorkeling on Moorea - I just didn't get around to it. The pictures I saw after the fact...well, I missed out.

[jwright]

I see you have Cocoa Beach on the list which we loved and went twice in 5 days; highly recommend.

We also loved the blue food truck (blanking on the name). All the local places had great fresh seafood!

We did an ATV tour that was a bit touristy but we got some amazing views and it was fun!