BB + Moorea in April or/vs May/Travel Agency/Plane/Places to stay Help!

Hey,

So - my mother is turning 60 next time. I'm hoping to take her to BB + Moorea as a surprise (but 2 months after her birthday - since her birthday coincides with my dive trip in march... yes bad me - but that makes it even more of a surprise). Our interests: swimming, snorkeling, adventure, boat rides, scenery. I'm 32 and I am in decent shape. My mother will be 60 and she's also is good shape (wouldn't call her a hiker though)

Okay - so here's the deal - I need help - if you have to advice me on anything, question #1 is the MOST important because I have to choose my vacation week by the end of this week.

#1 - Time Frame
June - October - High Season and probably most $$$ so no
December - March-ish (possibly April) = "wet season"
I'm thinking I would like the highest chance at beautiful weather - understanding that nothing is guaranteed. So - here I'm thinking either April or May. I'm spending soooo much $$$ - I want the highest chance at great weather and a great trip (without having to pay for "high season").

From my understanding April and November are shoulder seasons. I was thinking of doing early-mid May - does that seem reasonable/price-wise? Or is May when prices skyrocket?

2- Travel Agencies:
I know there's Costco - but I'm NOT sure how lenient they are to changing their set itineraries listed on their sites. Any advice on this is appreciated - please feel free to message me as well.

3- Places to stay - May coincidence with #2
Moorea: Garden Bungalow. Definitely would stay in Hilton Resort. I have the HH Hilton Visa - so my plan is to stay 5 nights in Moorea (have 3 free weekend nights from certificates) - so will only pay for 2 (through the agency and book 3 on my own).
Bora Bora: ABOVE WATER BUNGALOW! This is a toughy - because the prices can be outrageous. I can tell you for a fact we would love a location with views of the Lagoon. I know Le Meridien's price point may work... BUT I've heard from people who've been there before that the water isn't crystal clear like the other locations. Any thoughts/suggestions on other places to stay?

4- Planes - how to travel
So... we would like to spend as much possible time in the actual locations (I understand travel can take up a lot of otherwise well spend time on the islands). We obviously have to fly out of Los Angeles - there are 2 planes that typically arrive - one in the morning and another at night. I'm think perhaps get the one that arrives at night - so we can maybe stay in Tahiti for the night (sleep?) then start our adventure to Moorea first then Bora Bora (not sure how the transfers between those Islands work). Any thoughts on this?

5- Any must-do/must-see activities/suggestions?

Finally - on a more selfish note - is it worth it to dive in BB/Moorea? I found a site where they have a set price and they provide full equipment (no extra baggage for me to carry)
http://www.topdive.com/rates/

Any suggestions/advice is appreciated

Thanks!!!

Hi,

I don't know Tahiti but when someone mentions flying there my first thought is an airline (the Tahitian national carrier) which I often took from LAX to Paris.
I came across them by chance when looking for a better fare than the major carriers offered and since my firest flight, I've used nothing else.
The planes are smaller so faster boarding, the cabin crew are professional but also very much ambassadors of their culture so they change into more casual dress, are always friendly and have won awards for their service. The food was better than any other tourist class flight I'd taken and during sleep times they'll have small sandwiches or ice cream available in the catering area. Someone passes through the cabin with cups and water in case someone is awake and wants a drink. I'd never encountered that before.
I checked flights online and ATN had the lowest fare from one site, you'd have to check for yourself.
Here's the link to their site. I seldom make personal recommendations and I do NOT have any connection with the company (except a loyal fan):
https://www.airtahitinui.com/us-en
Because of a problem knee I would book two seats and I was able to get the second seat at a greatly discounted fare, even when the flight was already on sale. I won't mention the name of the agency but I can send a PM if you want to know it. They were also my lifeline when I was in France and the volcano in Iceland exploded and flights were being cancelled all over the place. No delays, they used a different route and I got home on time.
There have been other threads with similar questions, so do use the Search function (top left, just under Home).
You may find some useful information there.
Good luck, sounds like a great idea.

Hey,

Yes please message me the name of the company! It would help greatly - I would have a good starting point!

Thanks for telling me about the flight company!

Have stayed at Sofitel hotels at both Moorea and Bora Bora.
We went in Feb to Moorea and it did rain every day but it was warm and we still could snorkel every day, the top two inches of the water was fresh water so it made for an interesting experience.
On Bora Bora we stayed in on overwater bungalow at the Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach Resort, this resort is on the main island not on a Motu but we could swim out to the Motu and snorkel around it.
The visibility and weather was fine for that November holiday.
The highlight at Bora Bora was riding the lemon sharks outside the reef on one of the excursions, they would bring them to the surface and you just grab a fin and they take you back to the deep, not very PC but it was fun and they were big sharks, you also had the stingrays cuddle you on that excursion.
Flights on Air Tahiti Nui between the islands were not a problem.and I think flights to Bora Bora may stop at Moorea on the way.
Sofitel was the cheapest of the overwater bungalows at the time we booked. The one we had was partially overwater with the rear on the shoreline, the view was great.
Our flights into Tahiti arrived at just past midnight so we stayed at a hotel directly across from the airport and just walked there and back and took the flight to the islands early the next morning.

Also a ferry that goes over to Moorea .....from downtown waterfront.

Also a ferry that goes over to Moorea .....from downtown waterfront.
A friend of ours had a Panic Attack on that ferry, never again have always flown since!!!

@smandkjc Heavens.....what happened? I remember it as a very pleasant ride over and local bus meeting the ferry to get to the camp ground.

Very rough trip and an enclosed cabin that you could not get outside to fresh air.

Oh....maybe you were on a boat like the ferry I took between Bora Bora and Raiatea......like you are in a tin can! Full of high school students returning to school after a holiday. That could get uncomfortable in bad weather although I expect is meant to be safe in rough seas. It was an open ferry boat with open decks when I went on over to Moorea from Papeete .

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