Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Take Me Back to… Bora Bora

I wasn't sure we were going to make it through Easter Monday after such a great weekend but after the initial struggle to get out of bed we bounced right back.  Probably because it was GORGEOUS here yesterday. 70's and sunny and beautiful. The weather had me so happy.

Another nice weather scenario that makes me happy is vacations! 
I'm super pumped that we've got a vacation coming up in a couple weeks with a couple little adventures this summer as well (crazy that summer will be here soon!)

Today I'm linking up with Andrea to share my favorite vacation ever.

Traveling is probably my favorite hobby.  We're so blessed that we've been able to take some great ones.  Once one trip is over, I start looking for the next spot… even if the trip won't be for a while.  I love the researching/planning aspect of vacation too.  Of course I especially love when the time for the actual trip rolls around.
I caught the travel bug at a young age and can never get enough of it. My family goes on at least one vacation together usually each year and being long distance at first, Derek and I found a common interest in traveling to make the distance easier to handle and have something to look forward to.  We bonded so much on our travels and I look forward to both many factions with my family as well as my new little family of Derek and I in the years to come.  

Okay, without any more tangents… my favorite vacation was…
Our honeymoon in Bora Bora!
I can't say enough good things about Bora Bora! I feel so lucky that we made our dream vacation a reality and for our honeymoon, it couldn't have been better! The water is gorgeous, the scenery is beautiful, the people are so nice and the location is so relaxing - nothing ever looks crowded!

When we decided on our honeymoon location about last year at this time, I was so excited every day until the time actually came for the trip.  It was a dream to look forward to, a dream once we arrived to that gorgeous water and just the ultimate dream vacation for us.

Interestingly, Bora Bora wasn't the first place that came to mind when we started honeymoon planning - initially I thought it was way too far away and wasn't super excited about flying over all that water.  My initial thought was "a beach is a beach and I'd rather go somewhere closer."  It was prime hurricane season in early September and I just wasn't feeling the risk, we knew we didn't want to do Mexico and then it was time to look out west and once we looked into it just a little bit - I was SOLD! Derek was sold, we were going to a dream location!

To read my full recaps/details/more photos of the trip - scroll to the bottom of the post.  If you want the short version - below are some of my favorite parts!

We planned a nice mix of relax/beach time as well as exploring/excursion time.  Our favorite excursion was renting this catamaran for an afternoon to sail over the water.  The Best!  We also loved a jeep tour of the island as well.
Views from the jeep tour were fabulous - you could really see the beautifulness of the water from higher points on the island.
All the employees went over and above with their jobs and made everything special.
They were also SO nice - since there's not that many people on the island, they love getting to chat with tourists! 
The villas were amazing! From the view with the floor to ceiling window you see when you wake up, the magnificent tub, the balconies, everything was the best.
The trip to get to Bora Bora is l o n g like about 15 hours long but I think we broke it up pretty well.  The Monday after our wedding we flew to Los Angeles and spent that day/night there and the entire next day there with our long flight (nine hours) that night.  We stopped in Tahiti for two days and then took the hour flight over to Bora Bora for eight days.  We broke up our stay by staying part of the time at the Intercontinental and part of the time at The Four Seasons.
The one aspect Bora Bora is not fabulous in is the hair! In Tahiti the converter wasn't strong enough for either my straightener or curler and actually shorted my curler and broke it!
In Bora Bora we borrowed another converter from the hotel that would have worked for either appliance but at that point I was down to just the one.
Everywhere you look is beautiful.
The sunsets were gorgeous - some nights we'd have happy hour on our little deck to get a good view.

The drinks were of course delicious - I'm not a big fan of pulp so we always had to specify that when ordering, ha! They were probably like "oh that no pulp girl is here again."  Your also able to buy two bottles each at the duty free shop at LAX so we did that and it was great to have it in our room to use too.
 Feeding the stingrays and having them swim right up by you to pet them was such a cool experience.  They just know to swim up at 2pm each day - it's really an experience.
 We always went in to the beach and pool but also loved just jumping off our dock to swim too.  One day we saw a huge stingray swim under our dock so luckily I wasn't in the water for that! 
 The sun got hot so we made sure to always claim a little hut because the sun was also super strong and we didn't want to burn.
 Crazy that most of the transportation is by boat! 
I definitely didn't mind having my toes in the sand for a few meals.
Having food brought to our hut for lunch some days was a favorite of ours too.
 Even though we did the same thing most days, we never got bored.  It's so beautiful and so relaxing, you can always fill your time!
 I could spend hours out on the deck reading and just watching the beautiful water.
Fun fact - Ashley Tisdale was on her honeymoon the same time and was next to us on the beach two days - we noticed both her and especially her husband and knew they were famous but couldn't quite put our finger on who they were until we saw the article that they were there that night.
Yes, the water really is that fantastic!

To read the full recap with better details and more photos; click below:
Part Four // Part Five // Part Six // Travel Tips

My current (pretty much domestic) travel bucket list: here

37 comments:

  1. It looks like the perfect honeymoon--relaxation/sun, and adventure/exploring! I've always had Bora Bora or the Maldives on my list of dream places I want to go--so lucky that you guys actually got to make that a beautiful reality!! :)

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  2. Oh my goodness, I'm so jealous! I've always wanted to go to Bora Bora, since I was in high school and watched something on it in school. Sounds like the most amazing vacation!

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  3. I'm not sure that I could ever go here, mainly because I don't think that I could ever leave once I got there! Gorgeous pictures!

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  4. It looks breathtaking! My best friend did the same thing as you when she got married this past September, breaking up both the flights and the trip and said it really helped with the travel. But as much as I'd love to go there, I still can't get over having to be in a plane that long (I've become a terrible flyer)!

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  5. This is one of my dream vacations and your pictures made me want to go even more. I feel like gorgeous and beautiful just aren't good enough words but that's all I got :)

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  6. Fabulous! I've heard amazing things about Bora Bora and I really want to go there. It's on my list. Too bad hubby isn't a big beach person. :( Oh well, hopefullly i'll get him over to my side someday.

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  7. I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am you went to Bora Bora for your honeymoon. That is definitely on my bucket list but I don't know if I'll ever make it out there. The water is so amazing though!

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  8. Absolutely perfect honeymoon!! I can't even get over how gorgeous the water is...what a dream that must have been!!! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston

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  9. Your pictures are insane! Bora Bora looks amazing! That water is soooo beautiful - it must have been an amazing honeymoon.

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  10. WOW! These photos are absolutely stunning! Well worth the long flight :)

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  11. Um... yeah. That looks like the PERFECT honeymoon and I love how you broke up the LONG travel!!! Good call on that one!! I just can't get over how crystal clear the water is... I can't even imagine!! Looks like the most relaxing vacation ever!! I definitely need to think/consider one of those... lol!

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  12. Bora Bora is on my list of places to go some day. It looks ahhhhmazing!!

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  13. what a gorgeous honeymoon!!!!!

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  14. Seriously, dream vacation! How awesome that you guys were able to make it a reality. That's definitely on my bucket list of places to visit.

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  15. Oh my gosh, my DREAM vacation! So gorgeous! So glad you made your dream vaca a reality for your honeymoon :)

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  16. That looks amazing! I've always wanted to go but thought the same thing, that it was too far and a beach is a beach. We'll go one day =)

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  17. Wow!! What a stunning place to vacation!! This makes me excited for our trip coming up to Cancun :)

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  18. I am dying to go to Bora Bora. It is definitely on my dream vacation list.

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  19. It's gorgeous and now officially on my vacation destinations list!

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  20. I'm dying over your pictures! And that coffee table/window into the water?! Bora Bora is my dream vacation too, so I'm living vicariously through your pictures. Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Christina!! Bora Bora looks absolutely AMAZING!! My husband and I want to take a big trip for our 10th anniversary...I might have to look into Bora Bora!! Also- thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog today!! :)

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  22. Best honeymoon ever! It looks so beautiful over there! The flight is the main thing keeping me from wanting to go there on vacation lol super neat about Ashley Tisdale though!!

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  23. That looks absolutely amazing! I'm adding that to my vacation wish list. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Bora Bora looks so beautiful! Your pictures look like postcards and the sunsets are so stunning! I want to go there now!

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  25. What a wonderful honeymoon destination. Looks SO beautiful!!

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  26. Sooo beautiful! Glad you guys had such a memorable time :P

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  27. Looks gorgeous!! What an amazing trip! We decided to keep our honeymoon closer and more low - key but this looks awesome.

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  28. What a beautiful trip!! These pictures make me want to run to the airport :) Glad you all had such a good time!

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  29. Oh my goodness this looks AMAZING!!

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  30. Your trips looks Amazing! I'm sure you wish you could go back every day!

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  31. Bora Bora! What a dream trip! I am definitely adding a trip to Bora Bora to my bucket list :)

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  32. OK so Bora Bora looks awesome, but I LOVE all the Lilly the most! Great trip packing :)

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  33. Wow! How beautiful! I've always dreamed of going there!

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  34. Wow! How beautiful! I've always dreamed of going there!

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  35. This has been on our bucket list for a few years and I hope to check it off within the next year or so! Your pictures look amazing, what a beautiful honeymoon spot! Xo, Stephanie

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  36. I dont think Ive ever seen a prettier location for a honeymoon. OMG what I would do to go there.....!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  37. Stopping by from Eat Drink and Be Mary, and funny we both linked up to Andrea's post with our favorite vacation being Bora Bora! :) Great minds right? My husband planned the whole vacation and told me where we were going on our wedding day! Crazy, awesome surprise. Looks like we have a lot of the same pictures, haha :)

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