(Budget) Trip report Bora Bora and Moorea

(Budget) Trip report French Polynesia (Bora Bora, Moorea)

Just finished our trip in FP and since I had to make tons of research to keep costs down as much as possible I thought I’d share som info.

Flights
We are from Sweden so we took a cheap flight to San Fransisco first which was about 300 euros. Then we bought separate tickets to Papeete where you can fly with French Bee. I think our tickets cost 450 euro including checked bagage.
Then we bought an Air Tahiti air pass for 375US to get to Bora Bora and Moorea. (There are also regular cargo boats that takes passengers between Moorea and BB for only 1000) We wanted to go to Maupiti too but we emailed all budget guest houses we could find but all was full (6 months in advance(!)).

Bora Bora
Location was important for us. The only public beach is at Matira south of Vaitape and the only place I could find with a kitchen was Fare Rohivai (formerly know as Pension Robert et Tina) at Matira Point. (There might be some other cheapies on the island but then there would be no beach...) If you Google you will find that there used to be problems with theft but they caught the guy and after that they put up fences and since there have been no problems. The owners and the fantastic care taker Louanna are very nice and caring people. Louanna took us for free to the pharmacy in Vaitape when we had an urgent need and she also prepared two types of delicious Poisson Cru for us when we mentioned we liked raw fish. You might also get invited to come with her husband fishing marlin if he has time! I can’t praise Louanna enough. They also pick you up for 500 in Vaitape when arriving. Make sure to stock up on food in Vaitape because the supermarket in Matira is very limited.
The cost was 8500 (85US) for a garden view room. You can swim just outside but better to go to Matira beach 200m away.
To get a taste of luxury (if you can afford) and to snap that classic Bora Bora picture - buy a day pass at Intercontinental Thalasso for 10 000. Expensive but sooo worth it. You can email them or talk to the reception at IC La Moana which is across the street from Matira beach. The day pass also includes a fantastic two course lunch.
A budget alternativ is the IC La Moana where it costs 6500 but we got a deal to use their beach if we also had lunch there (you can share a 1700xfp pizza).

Other activities on the island is the lagoon tour. They run for about 8000 with fruits or 10000 with lunch. First they drive the boat around the island telling you about the different luxury bungalows, famous guests and prices. Then you snorkel outside the lagoon where you get up close with black tip sharks and most probably also docile bottom dwelling lemon sharks. Sadly they feed the fish. Next stop is even more sad when they encourage tourists to pet sting rays but even more sadly - to pick them up and hold them. Last snorkelling stop is a ”coral garden” which is basically some volcanic rocks and some underwater plants. The overall snorkelling on the island was below average if you have been to south east asia or other tropical areas.
I also rented a wreck of a bike and rode around the island. There was nothing really interesting to see (bar some WWII canons) and it took just over two hours. (Renting a car costs about 10000 for a day plus insurance - not worth it)

The cost of food was pretty expensive. Around 1300/kg for minced meat and chicken and 520 for a 2L Coca Cola, 500 for a bag of Lay’s. Vegetables where you can find them a very expensive. In Matira you can only get baguettes and som basic supplies so stock up in Vaitape.

Restaurants in hotels - about 2000-4000 for a meal. There are one or two simple schacks in Matira where you can get a meal for 1000-1500.

The water color is really something that beats everything I have seen (having visited 100+ countries).

Moorea
Albert Transport can arrange transfer from airport and ferry. It was 3000 to Aimeo Lodge if there are no other companies. We paid half since there where others sharing. (A taxi is 2500 according to locals)

We stayed at Aimeo Lodge (formerly known as Club Bali Hai) in Cooks Bay 7km from the airport. It was 8500/night with a kitchenette and a balcony. If you go for the overwater bungalows - dont expect azur blue water or the south pacific dream. They have a pool on site which is great if you have kids. The views are amazing. Green lush peaky mountains all around. Fabulous.

There is a great supermarket a mile away with a much better supply compared to BB - and also somewhat cheaper.

The beaches and the water is nothing in comparison with BB. The only time we saw something similar to BB was on the west coast when renting a car and around Sofitel. The public beach just next to the hotel was amazing and the beach highlight on Moorea.
Also if you come in season - go on a humpback whale snorkelling(!) tour. One of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. It was 10000 through ”Pacifik”.

When it comes to getting around BB it is quite difficult because buses only run on ferry schedules - if you are lucky. We hitched our way through the northern part and and didnt have to wait more than a couple of minutes for a car to pick us up. We were a couple with a three year old so it might be different depending on your travel company but I doubt it.

ATMs on Moorea are in just a few places so get some cash when you can. You are more cash dependent on Moorea where we paid tours and some other things in cash. On BB we only needed cash when buying things roadside.

I hope this is helpful to someone!

Thank You for write-up. I was planning my trip and this was exactly what I was looking for.

This is an awesome wealth of information. I was wondering about the cargo ships from Moorea to Bora Bora. Is it really that easy to get on one for 1000? Are they quite frequent? Do you know of any other tourists that successfully got on one? I've been reading a lot about tourists being told in Papeete that they are booked months ahead.

I have no idea about availabilites and I have no first hand info. There was a really nice woman working at the Chez Robert Et Tina (now known as Fare Rohivai Mana) on BB who told us. Try to email them and ask for details.

Hej, kan man få hjälp angående franska Polynesien? Vore jättesnällt om du kunde maila mig, har många frågor eftersom jag planerar att åka ner i september 2019. Mvh Leila!

Leila du har PM.

Very good info! Thanks so much.

I can't thank you enough for all this valuable info. How long do you think is enough to stay on each island to see it and relax a bit without getting bored or bankrupt? We can walk long distances even if there aren't public buses on Bora Bora. Did you book your accommodation like 6 months in advance? Do you still think the lagoon tour is worth it? When exactly is the season to go on a humpback whale snorkeling?

You could rent bicycles on BB and see the island in one day. Take a day pass at Thalasso, do a lagoon tour/check out Matira Beach and eat at Bloody Marys so I’d say 4 days and you have done it all and relaxed.
On Moorea I would say fewer days. Rent a car for 6-8 hours and you will have seen the highlights and tried the by far best public beach on Moorea near Sofitel. Hitch hike to Sofitel and do a day pass. It is cheaper to relax on Moorea because of Aimeo and because of cheaper and better supplies in the nearby supermarket but the beaches are not there (except at the Sofitel). But you would have no problem to hitch hike your way around the island and the beaches.
I would try to go to Maupiti. There were no availabilties when we tried to find accomodation there 6 months(!) before but if you email all adresses you can find on Maupiti I am sure someone will offer you a space in their house or something. The problem is to find self catering...

I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for your quick and helpful reply. It's funny but just after I read your trip report I saw that another poster, also from Sweden (how about that for a coincidence!), posted the thread "French Polynesia on a budget", also with valuable information for a longer trip and more islands. I took it as an omen as visiting the French Polynesia is very high on my bucket list. I hope we will visit it sooner rather than later.

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