When to go to Bora Bora?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: May to October (dry season)
At a glance
Why go to Bora Bora?
Bora Bora is a three-million-year-old volcano of which only the core remains, Otemanu and Pahia, set in the middle of a 60 km² lagoon enclosed by an almost unbroken ring of motu. That geography explains everything: an enclosed lagoon, so calm and clear, a main island 30 km around, and sandy islets that hosted the world's first overwater bungalows in 1967, at the Hotel Bora Bora, under the eye of a young Californian architect. The image became a global standard.
What is less well known is that the island can also be done on a shoestring. The family guesthouses of Matira and the motu, the single ring road you ride by bike, the food trucks of Vaitape, the Faanui marae and the American guns of 1942 tell the story of an island home to 10,000 people, half of whom work for the hotels. The lagoon is the same for everyone: the rays, blacktip sharks, coral garden and Anau's mantas are all reachable by boat or kayak without going through a resort.
The trip has to be planned around its constraints. Twenty-four hours of flying from Europe, a Papeete-Bora Bora ticket at €350 return, a cost of living 40% above mainland France, and paid boat transfers to the motu. In the dry season, from May to October, the trade wind cools things down, visibility exceeds twenty metres and humpback whales pass offshore from August to October. The rest of the year, the humid heat and late-afternoon showers do not spoil the mornings.
Map of Bora Bora: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Matira
- Vaitape
- Lagoon and motu
- Anau and the east coast
- Faanui and the guns
- The peaks
How much does a trip to Bora Bora cost?
Bora Bora is expensive because everything arrives by plane or boat and the resorts have set the standards. But the island has two economies: that of the overwater bungalows, where a night costs more than €1,000, and that of family guesthouses, bikes, food trucks and shared excursions, which divides the bill by five for the same lagoon.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €150-220/day | Family guesthouse with kitchen, bike, food trucks, one shared lagoon excursion, Matira beach |
| Comfort | €350-550/day | Hotel at Matira or bungalow on a motu, scooter, private lagoon tour, restaurant dinners |
| Premium | €1,200+/day | Overwater bungalow, boat transfers, spa, dinner on the lagoon, a dive or helicopter flight |
The CFP franc is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate, €1 = 119.33 XPF, with no exchange-rate risk. Cards are accepted everywhere in hotels, supermarkets and on excursions, but food trucks, markets and small guesthouses want cash. There are two banks with cash machines in Vaitape and none elsewhere on the island, so withdraw on arrival.
Is Bora Bora safe?
Bora Bora is a very safe island with no notable crime, where guesthouses do not lock their doors. The risks are natural. The sun first, overhead all year and amplified by the glare off the lagoon: SPF 50, a hat and a T-shirt for snorkelling. The reef next: coral cuts get infected quickly and stonefish hide in the sand, so wear water shoes. The lagoon passes have strong currents and are reserved for supervised divers. Dengue circulates in some years, so repellent in the evening is a must. The unmarked mountain trails have already led to searches for hikers who set off alone. Medically, Bora Bora has a clinic and doctors in Vaitape; the nearest hospital is on Raiatea and serious cases are evacuated to Papeete. Travel insurance with repatriation cover is essential.
What to see and do in Bora Bora
- Matira beach
- Mount Otemanu
- The lagoon's coral garden
- Swimming with rays and sharks
- Round-the-island bike ride
- American guns at Fitiiu Point
- Marae Marotetini
- Mount Pahia hike
Matira
The island's southern tip is where life outside the resorts happens: the public beach, two kilometres of gently shelving sand, family guesthouses, snack bars and bike and kayak rental. The water stays shallow for a hundred metres or so, with no current, making it the family corner. Watch the sunset from the western side of the point, facing the Toopua motu. In the evening, Snack Matira and a few other tables serve raw fish, grilled mahi mahi and Hinano beer at prices that remain Polynesian, around €15-25.
Vaitape
The main village, on the west coast facing the Teavanui pass, is where the free airport shuttle and the ferry from Papeete arrive. Here you will find the town hall, the gendarmerie, the two supermarkets, the pharmacy, the banks, the church and the excursion quay. The craft market sells pareos, monoi and black pearls. In the evening the food trucks set up on the quay and serve chow mein, raw fish and steak frites for €10-15. It is also the starting point for the Mount Pahia trails and the right place to stay without a car.
The lagoon and its motu
A string of sandy islets encloses the lagoon on three sides: Motu Mute and its airstrip to the north, Tevairoa, Toopua and Tapu to the west, Piti Aau to the east, plus a dozen others. The big resorts built their overwater bungalows here, but several guesthouses also rent beach bungalows with a kitchen and kayak. The coral garden, the ray shoals and Anau's mantas are spread all around. The full boat tour, with a picnic on a motu, takes the whole day and remains the island's most shared experience.
Anau and the east coast
The village of Anau, on the east coast, faces the Piti Aau motu and a deeper stretch of lagoon where manta rays come to be cleaned. This is the quiet side of the island: no hotel on the main island, flower-filled houses, waterside cemeteries, and the start of the trail to the cave on Otemanu. The road runs along the lagoon almost without a break. By bike, this is the stretch to ride early in the morning, when the mountain is in shade and the fishermen come home with tuna and parrotfish for the restaurants.
Faanui and the guns
The large north-western bay was the Americans' harbour from 1942 to 1946. They left behind a quay, water tanks, bunkers hidden in the vegetation and naval guns on the heights, at Tereia and Fitiiu Point. On the shore, Marae Marotetini, restored in 1968, recalls the kingdom of Vavau that ruled the neighbouring islands before the missionaries. The site is open access, with no signage. The shells of hotels abandoned after the 1983 cyclones and the 2008 crisis round off a visit that contradicts the postcard image.
The peaks
Otemanu, 727 metres, is a basalt wall that cannot be climbed. Pahia, 661 metres, takes three hours from Vaitape on an unmarked trail, with fixed ropes on the final ridge, for a view that takes in the whole lagoon and the neighbouring islands as far as Maupiti. A shorter hike climbs from Anau to a cave halfway up Otemanu. In both cases a guide is essential: the trails cross private land, get lost in the forest and become dangerous after rain. Set off at dawn with three litres of water.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three nights are enough for a couple in a resort to enjoy the lagoon, Matira and one excursion. Five nights leave time for the bike tour, a hike and a rainy day. Bora Bora is almost always combined with Moorea or Tahiti, on a trip of ten to fifteen days.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Bora Bora guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of French Polynesia
Bora Bora in 4 nights
Day 1: arrive on the airport shuttle, settle in at Matira, swim and watch the sunset. Day 2: boat tour of the lagoon, rays, sharks, coral garden, picnic on a motu. Day 3: round-the-island bike ride in the morning, Marae Marotetini, the Fitiiu guns, Vaitape's food trucks in the evening. Day 4: a morning of kayaking or paddleboarding on the lagoon, a free afternoon at Matira. The format that slots into a two-week tour of Polynesia.
Bora Bora and Moorea (12 days)
First, three nights on Moorea, 30 minutes by ferry from Papeete, for Opunohu and Cook's bays, the Three Coconut Trees Pass hike and the whales in season. Then a flight from Papeete to Bora Bora and five nights at Matira or on a motu: lagoon, cycling, Mount Pahia, a night or two overwater if the budget allows. Back via Tahiti with a night in Papeete for the market and the Museum of Tahiti and the Islands. The great classic, at a gentler price if Moorea takes its share of the nights.
The Leeward Islands (2 weeks)
Bora Bora at the start or the end, four nights, then the neighbouring islands by plane or on the Apetahi Express ferry: Tahaa and its pearl farms and vanilla plantations, reached by boat from Raiatea; Raiatea and the UNESCO-listed Taputapuatea marae; Huahine and its fishing villages. Air Tahiti's multi-island pass makes the loop affordable, and family guesthouses replace the resorts. This is the trip that gives the true measure of Polynesia, with Bora Bora as its high point.
Getting there and getting around
From Europe, allow 22 to 24 hours to Papeete with a stopover in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, and US entry formalities (ESTA) apply even in transit. Then a 50-minute Air Tahiti flight to the airstrip on Motu Mute, around €350 return.
The airport is on a motu: a free Air Tahiti shuttle boat reaches Vaitape in 20 minutes. The motu resorts send their own boat, at a charge of €50-120 per person return depending on the property.
On the main island, a bike costs €17 a day, a scooter €50, a car €90. There is a single road, 32 km long, with no traffic lights or junctions. Le Truck buses no longer run regularly and taxis are rare and expensive, but hitchhiking works well.
The Apetahi Express fast ferry links Papeete and Bora Bora in six hours, via Huahine and Raiatea, a few times a week, for around €90 one way. It is the budget alternative to flying, with a sunrise over the Leeward Islands.
Where to stay in Bora Bora?
Family guesthouses in Matira and Vaitape: €90-160 for a room or bungalow, often with a kitchen and bikes, sometimes with the beach at the end of the garden. This is the option that makes Bora Bora affordable, and the liveliest.
Bungalows on a motu with local hosts: €150-250 with boat transfer, kayak and sunset over the mountain. The isolation means planning your shopping and excursions, but the lagoon is at the foot of the bed.
Hotels on the main island at Matira: €200-400 for a garden or beach bungalow, with pool, restaurant and the public beach a few steps away. The right compromise for sleeping by the lagoon, staying within walking distance of everything and avoiding the motu boat transfers.
Overwater resorts on the motu: €800-2,000 a night, glass floors, breakfast delivered by canoe, spa. Book six months ahead for the dry season, and plan only two or three nights, as the island is also lived elsewhere.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Bora Bora?
Raw fish in coconut milk, yellowfin tuna marinated in lime with cucumber and carrot, is the everyday dish, €10-15 at the snack bars and food trucks of Vaitape, double that in hotel restaurants.
The food trucks on Vaitape quay open around 18:00: chow mein, grilled fish, steak frites, crêpes, for €10-15 a plate, with generous portions. This is where locals eat, and the best value on the island.
The motu picnic included in lagoon tours is worth the meal in itself: raw fish, grilled mahi mahi, uru, cooked bananas, fresh fruit, all prepared on the sand by the crew. The fish comes from the morning's catch.
Everything that is not fished or picked arrives by boat. Vaitape's supermarkets charge 40-60% more than mainland France for imported goods. Bread, local fruit, tuna and Hinano beer remain reasonably priced.
Entry requirements
French Polynesia is not part of the Schengen area. EU citizens need only an ID card or a passport; UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports get 90 days in any 180 without a visa, with a return ticket.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Bora Bora
When is the best time to visit Bora Bora?
From May to October, in the dry season: 27-29°C, a steady trade wind, little rain, a clear lagoon and humpback whales offshore from August to October. It is also high season, with higher prices in July and August. From November to April it is hotter and more humid, with short showers, and hotel rates drop noticeably.
Can you visit Bora Bora without staying in a resort?
Yes, and that is what most French travellers do. Around thirty family guesthouses in Matira, Vaitape and on the motu rent rooms and bungalows for €90-250, with bikes, kayaks and often a kitchen. The lagoon excursions, Matira beach and the hikes are open to everyone, without going through a hotel.
How many days should you spend in Bora Bora?
Three nights for the lagoon, Matira and one excursion; four or five to add the bike tour, a hike and a rest day. Beyond that, the island starts to feel small, except for divers. Most trips combine Bora Bora with Moorea or another Leeward Island over twelve to fifteen days in all.
How do you get from the airport to your accommodation?
The airstrip is on Motu Mute, in the north of the lagoon. Air Tahiti runs a free shuttle boat to Vaitape, where guesthouses come to collect their guests. The motu resorts send their own boat, charged at €50-120 per person return. Factor this transfer into your budget, as it is almost never included.
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