How to get there…
We live in Atlanta and love planning our trips ourselves. It was a long day to get there & a lot of planning to get it right. We followed a group on FB for tips from people that have been there and what they think. We also did a lot of random googling, Trip Advisor, some Instagram posts, and Conde Nost Traveler ahead of time to see what fit us best.
We chose to book it all ourselves instead of using a travel agent. It was so much fun to do that and gave us so much to look forward to with the trip as we were planning. A lot of people seem to like using Costco travel or other agencies, but we take it as a hobby to plan our trips.
It took us a while to really decide on where to go. The Maldives or Bora Bora?? We live in Atlanta, GA; and surprisingly, Bora Bora was closer. Atlanta to Los Angeles with a long layover so we could have a nice dinner before the long flight over the water to Tahiti; then a short, 50 min flight to Bora Bora.
We ate dinner at Spago Beverly Hills and it did not disappoint!!! The people, ambiance, food, was all perfect. They even surprised us with a special 10 year anniversary dessert!
After dinner, we took an Uber back to LAX and took the long walk from domestic to international. We should have had our driver take us around to the other side. It was a super long walk. What is it about airports that they think everyone wants a long walk to go international?? Lol!!!
Well, we finally found our gate, checked in, they had our luggage (yay for AirTags to be sure it was under us). Then we sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Our plane came from Paris to LAX and had a minor mechanical issue that they thought they could duck tape to fix, but needed approval from Boeing to be sure. Mind you, it is 11pm PST (2am EST from where we came from), we were super tired at this point and ready to sleep on the plane…… About 3 hours later we finally boarded the plane to head out. Yay for inflatable neck rolls and some sleep!!! What a weird wait!!
Once on the plane, that was the cleanest maintained plane for a long ride I’ve ever been on!!! Air France was amazing! Clean bathrooms, organized boarding and deplaning, they were so nice throughout!
With the delay due to mechanical issues, we were about 3 hours late upon arrival to Tahiti for our transfer to Bora Bora. Air Tahiti was so wonderful to rebook us with no issue!!! We walked into the airport, got in line for customs, and retrieved our things from the baggage claim, then went over to check into our Air Tahiti flight. They actually called us overhead to come to an earlier flight, thus we got to Bora Bora about an hour earlier than the new expected arrival time. They had us hold our luggage during the wait to ensure that we and our luggage arrived at the same time.
We got onto the new Air Tahiti flight with all out luggage and had a beautiful flight. The views outside the window are breathtaking. People say to go left to right on the Air Tahiti flights to and from Bora Bora. Left side upon arrival and right side leaving. We were on the left side and I felt like the right side had better views. Not sure what the exact recipe is there for the best views. I don’t think you can go wrong. It’s a great experience either way.
We landed in Bora Bora and were easily whisked away to a boat that our hotel had for us. Even though we were later than expected, we only waited (maybe) 5 minutes for the boat. We got a lei around our neck, they took our luggage, and we went to the boat. It was mesmerizing to see the water, land, etc.
We get to the Conrad and it was straight out of a Netflix show (White Lotus if you are a fan). There was a guy with a ukulele singing and people waving at us as we arrive on the boat. Talk about letting out the red carpet!!! They went over our passport/credit card info, and took us on a golf cart tour of the area. They finish the tour with how to operate all the fun stuff in our rooms. A bracelet to get into your room, special buttons for do not disturb and make up room, Bluetooth radio speakers in each room- bathroom, main room, patio; lights, etc.
But when you walk out on your over the water bungalow patio and see a coral reef, you are transported to another world……. Stay tuned………..
MKBecks 