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Roxana and John

They say that the honeymoon is the best part of any wedding follow-up, and it most certainly proved as such for me and my husband! The nerves, hard work and anxiety in the lead up to our wedding last July certainly took its toll. But all of it was forgotten during our beautiful Bora Bora honeymoon!

The destination itself was my husband John’s idea, as he knew only too well that I always dreamed of spending a perfect summer vacation in Tahiti. So, to surprise me, he booked one of the Bora Bora honeymoon packages with a local tourist agency and kept quiet about it until the wedding day! (And there I was, thinking we had spent our wedding budget on the venue, restaurant and church ceremony arrangements, not daring to ask how much money we had left for the honeymoon trip!) In a word, our stay on Bora Bora was amazing, we had the time of our lives!

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As soon as we boarded the plane for Tahiti, I knew we were in for a great time.  The Air Tahiti Nui staff were most obliging and the flight itself went by perfectly, without any turbulence at all. My husband had booked a five-day stay at the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort Spa, so as we arrived at the main Papeete airport, we were greeted with flower lei and taken to the hotel by our wonderful hosts for our Tahitian stay over. There, we spent a night in the Tahiti Manava Suite Resort and after breakfast, we were taken back to the airport where we boarded the plane to Bora Bora.

Once we got to the island airport, we were welcomed by the staff of the hotel and transported to Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort Spa. We spent our five-day nuptials in the Overwater Bungalow with amazing room service, a range of tourist-friendly facilities (Wi-Fi coverage was superb!), amiable staff and stunning views of the surrounding landscape, the lagoon and the Motu. We even received  a special honeymoon gift from the hotel, a beautiful Tahitian Black Pearl in a sweet jewel-case. Our trip package included buffet breakfasts, and I was thrilled by the food and drink range which we were presented with each morning – it may well be the best seafood I’ve tasted in my life! I only regret I forgot to ask the chef for recipes and secret ingredients, but I’ll make sure I do that on our next trip to Bora Bora.

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During our five-day stay on Bora Bora, we took a 360° panoramic Motu Picnic Day Tour which was included in our honeymoon package, and we had a blast! We saw the lagoon, met the friendly locals and learned all there is to know about the Bora Bora tradition, culture and community. Our guide was very friendly, funny and open, and we laughed our heads off during the trip as he kept telling us some amusing details about the local customs, tourist anecdotes and his own interesting experiences on the island.

Since I’m not a lover of outdoor sports, I spent most of the honeymoon soaking up the sun at the beach, swimming and collecting seashells, but my beloved adrenaline junkie of a spouse tried snorkeling, kayaking and diving. Eventually, he did manage to convince me to try exploring the island on foot – just the two of us – and we saw hundreds of lovely lagoon spots, luxuriant foliage and miles and miles of soft, silky sand beaches.

The water is warm and crystal clear – you can even see the sandy bottom in the shallow parts! Even though I’m not a good swimmer, I enjoyed the few swimming sessions I dared to take during our stay on the island.

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John wanted to try paddle-boarding and jet skiing too, but we simply couldn’t fit everything in during our brief stay on Bora Bora, so he decided to leave it for our next trip to Tahiti.

During our honeymoon, we did a bit of restaurant touring and food tasting during lunch and dinner times. Needless to say, the food is extraordinary – lots of fish, veggies and spices – and I can guarantee you’ll never forget all the mouth-watering Tahiti flavours once you’ve given them a go!

Cocktails are also excellent, perfect glasses of refreshment for a hot summer day, so I suggest you try out a few!  And yes, we also went to a beach club on our last night there even though I protested as I don’t like clubbing all that much. To my surprise, the music was great (though perhaps a bit too pop and electro for my refined jazzy taste!), the guests were dancing, drinking and having a great time, and I did in fact enjoy it despite my dislike for parties, loud music and crowds. Unfortunately, we didn’t stay until closing hour as our flight home was the next day and we had to pack our gear and get some decent shuteye before leaving the island.

Our Bora Bora honeymoon was probably the best trip I ever had in my life, and it made all that wedding planning, hassle and stress worth the while! So, if you truly want to let your hair down after you’ve tied the knot, take my piece of advice – with Bora Bora, you can’t go wrong. So pack your bags, book your honeymoon and hit the airport as soon as the ceremony is over! I promise you won’t regret it.

 

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Ms Chinoiserie Says: Thank you Roxana – what a beautiful place to spend your first days together with your new husband! Perhaps another trip to Bora Bora for your first anniversary??!!

 

About Roxana: I am an adventurer, a frequent traveler, and an animal loving girl from Sydney. I’m passionate about the environment and my life goal is to travel the whole world and meet a lot of different people on the way.