Moorea or Bora Bora

I am planning my honeymoon. It is either going to be Bora Bora oR Moorea. Moorea is cheeper, but is it worth spending more for Bora Bore? I would love some advice. Also, how much does it cost USD for airport hotel drop-off and pick-up for both places. I heard Bora Bora is more beutiful. I don't know it is a hard decision. Can we swim with the sting rays in Moorea as well? PLEASE HELP!!

Thanks

I would chose Bora Bora over Moorea - we found the lagoon to more beautiful and our tours(very subjective as there are so many) were more enjoyable in BB. We did the swim with sting rays in BB and I cannot recall if they were offered in Moorea. I would suggest you ask your questions on the forums at www.tahiti-explorer.com - there is a very active group there of return visitors - locals as well.

Hi,
We just got back from French Polynesia. Nice, warm, and 'low-key'. No razzle-dazzle where we went. About your questions: Bora-Bora is quite nice. It is NOT a place of expansive beaches. It's coral...not sandy. People snorkel with beach shoes on because of the ouchy coral. The AIRPORT is actually on a different mini-island. Your Hotel (If $$fancy$$) will transfer you by boat...I'm serious. GOOGLE up Bora-Bora Airport location on Motu Mute..you'll see.
Mo'orea is less exclusive but it DOES have sandy beach areas close to the airport on the NE corner of Mo'orea, but again...this part of the world really doesn't have big sandy beaches like Cancun or Miami. And Believe it or not...people from Tahiti commute to Mo'orea by ferry. If you want to $$spend$$ you will find nice places on either Island; also, by asking how to go 'Swim with Manta-rays' your hotel on either island they will 'hook you up' with the right outrigger boat to head into the lagoon to do just that.
If you are contemplating getting an 'Over-the-water' Tiki hut for a secluded honeymoon experience...I'd say probably Bora-Bora. Bye. Locomotiveman

Moorea is fantastic, has great views, superb waters and you can swim with sharks and stingrays too at relatively affordable prices- you can see pictures and read about my visit in my blog post about Moorea . This said my sister then went to Bora Bora and later told me that if Moorea is beautiful Bora Bora is even more spectacular, with more sealife and views to die for. The only problem was the mosquitoes- apparently there's heaps of them.

As for the houses on stilts, most people only stay a couple of nights or so, believe it or not you eventually want to go elsewhere because it does get boring.

Hope this helps!
Federico
www.maitravelsite.com</a>

There are a few "cheap" (for BoraBora standards) stays in Bora Bora. Can't remember the name, but it's in the LP. I've booked in advance to guarantee a place, but there were plenty of available rooms.

I've seen my share of beaches, but nothing compared to the water of that lagoon. Moorea is nice (good diving and spotted eagle rays while snorkeling), but Bora Bora is... nicer.

The beach of the place I've stayed was wonderful. They had kayaks for free and kayaking was wonderful (countless stingrays one could see from the kayak, the water is so... turquoise, clear).

I've rented a small boat and went all around the lagoon. Unforgettable day (I think it has costed 100 euros to rent the boat for the day).

Moorea is nice, do the bike ride around the island.

Bora Bora is better. A hotel option on Bora Bora is the Hotel Matira: http://www.hotel-matira.com/ A friend stayed across the way and said Matira was just as nice and less expensive - $438 for 3 nights for the standard bungalow.

More on my travel blog. We are headed down there for a regatta. I've sailed the islands 4x.

Hard to say. I really liked both and find it hard to choose because they're different. Bora Bora is much smaller and has much less to do. But the water and sea life is really spectacular there. We saw eagle rays and mantas while snorkeling, and went to the lagoonarium to get up close and personal with sharks and sting rays. Though we did swim with sharks and sting rays in Moorea as well on a lagoon tour. However the coral was no where near as impressive as Bora Bora.

We stayed at the St. Regis and I believe the cost of transport from/to the hotel from the airport was about $70-$80 US a person. Not sure about Moorea because we took the ferry over from Tahiti and stayed at the Sofitel (which is closer to the ferry). We paid someone about $10 to hitch a ride to the hotel because the hotel didn't arrange our pick-up. The cost to the airport is roughly about the same I believe.