Day 8 – A Change of Scenery in Bora Bora
Resort swap! Well played to have a half day excursion so we would maximize our resort time the past few days. Now, a boat shuttle to the airport, and a pick up from the airport on the Conrad boat. Important note, holy prices for boat taxis are expensive. Reality is, everything is pretty ridiculously expensive in Bora Bora, but getting from the Four Seasons to Conrad was a pain, just because we wanted to save some money.
An hour past when we were supposed to leave for the resort, Conrad finally came through with a shuttle.
Upon arrival, we were pleasantly greeted at another spectacular Bora Bora resort. This mountainside resort is located on the opposite side of the island facing southwest, straight out into the Pacific Ocean. If we could see 4,190 km away, the next piece of land would be New Zealand.
Okay, so this part stinks, mainly because we don’t like to complain. However, we booked this resort through credit card points (one of many ways to travel luxuriously, without spending a fortune). Problem is, the room we chose didn’t match the room we received. Short of sounding spoiled, our displeasure comes from making sure we are getting the value we booked and not losing valuable points. Hotel ‘claims’ it is the booking agencies fault, so there isn’t much they can do. They were kind enough to comp us a couple of drinks and some time at the spa jacuzzi while we look into a solution. Guess we will see when we get home how this gets resolved…
Back to the enjoyable moments, a sushi roll, two glasses of wine, Polynesian dancers, a one man fire show, and a live Polynesian band provided us some great ambience on our first night at the Conrad! This place is pretty spectacular!
Day 9 – Resort Day at the Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Admittedly, it is tough to go from the Four Seasons (especially an over water bungalow) to any place, but human nature also makes it hard to compare. Honestly though, the Conrad is beautiful, with spectacular landscaping, a dramatic multi tiered infinity pool, and an expansive resort with bikes to ride from place to place.
After breakfast, we nab one of the sought after poolside cabanas (free) to enjoy our morning. It was a great place to have as ‘home base’ as we explored the grounds.
So, we have to admit, we aren’t complainers. Even though we didn’t get the room we booked, we didn’t complain. However, to the credit of the Conrad, they put forth a lot of effort to make up for the mishap. Including providing us with free spa time. The Conrad resort sits on a motu, a motu that had a decent size mountain on it. This provides for a pretty unique setup for this resort, and up towards the top of this motu, is the spa, beautifully overlooking the multicolored lagoon! Thank you, Conrad!
The rest of the day fell into place nicely… a meal in the coolest pool tables we’ve ever seen…
A nap for Katie and a cigar on the patio for Scott, and wrapped up with a barefoot dinner at the Conrad Steakhouse, set under a hut on white sand beaches. Not a bad resort day!
Day 10 – Ughhhh, Do We Have To?
Bora Bora is magical! Legit breathtakingly magical! And here we are, waking up knowing we have a flight off the island this afternoon.
Katie wakes up, motivated to enjoy every last minute. As we’ve spent more time here, we are embracing more and more the natural beauty of the Conrad. One mesmerizing feature we especially embraced this morning is the water. Don’t get us wrong, the water everywhere in Bora Bora is unreal. The water in front of the Conrad presents distinct, varying shades of blue. And we enjoyed the heck out of it before we left the island this morning: swimming, paddleboarding, take drone shots, and absorbing as much if the vibe as possible. Mission accomplished!
The journey home isn’t the challenge. The challenge is leaving a place that that has exceeded expectations, and has left us with a sense of aw. A bucket list trip for sure! Hope to see you soon, French Polynesia!
Bora Bora to Tahiti
Day 11 – The Journey East Begins
Papeete to LA, LA to Atl, Atl to Orl: A full 24 hours of clock time. Actually, a little less since we are losing 6 hours traveling east. So it all adds up to 13 hours of flights, 5 hours of layovers, and we arrive back home at 8:30 am Thursday morning (day 12).
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 