Bora Bora On a Budget

Bora Bora is known to be one of the most expensive destinations in the world. The Maldives and Bora Bora are the overwater bungalow capitals of the world.

Here’s how we saved $38,000 on our trip to Bora Bora and paid around $2200 CAD for 7 nights in paradise for a family of four.

It took probably a year of planning ahead and probably about a million Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy points but it’s worth it if you want a slice of heaven without breaking the bank.

Bora Bora is where many people dream to have their honeymoon and most people we saw were couples (there weren’t that many families). It is definitely a beautiful destination- I felt like we were in a warm bathtub. The water is so calm and warm because it is a lagoon.

How TO Save Money On Bora BOra Flights

To get to Bora Bora, you have to fly to Papeete (Tahiti). There are flights to Tahiti from San Fransisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle regularly through United Airlines, French Bee (low cost carrier), Air Tahiti Nui, and Air France.

We redeemed almost 150,000 Aeroplan points for 4 tickets from YVR to PPT and paid $525 CAD in taxes. Normally this would have cost $4037 for four tickets.

We stayed overnight in Papeete (because you have to take another domestic flight from PPT to BOB (Bora Bora Airport). This ended up being a wise decision because we were able to buy some basic supplies in Tahiti since our luggage was delayed for a few days. There much less selection in Bora Bora. This is where we had to buy $39 USD reef safe Sun Bum sunscreen because our luggage was delayed.

There are mainly two domestic flights to choose from, Air Moana and Air Tahiti. Return flights for 4 from F’AAA international Airport (PPT) to BOB is $1540 CAD. Or about $385 CAD return per person. We used Scene+ Points to cover most of this expense.

Travel Tip: Sit on the left when heading to BOB and sit on the right when leaving BOB back to Tahiti for jaw dropping views.

After you get to BOB airport, you have to take ANOTHER transfer to get to the resort. We paid about $600 CAD for a return boat transfer to our resort. As you can see in this picture, the resorts are on a Motu (small island/ islet) which surround the main island of Bora Bora.

Then we redeemed more Aeroplan points (and bought some Air France points since we didn’t have enough) for a return flight from PPT to LAX (Los Angeles) which would have cost $2987 CAD for four tickets but we waived the $715 in taxes fees using the Scene+ Points.

Then from Los Angeles LAX (after our Disneyland trip) we flew back on Westjet using most of the flight covered by Westjet dollars thanks to the Westjet World Elite Mastercard.

How to Save Money On Accommodation

Next, accommodation. Typically the most expensive component of a Bora Bora vacation.

We stayed for one night on the island of Tahiti on either end of our Bora Bora trip. At the lost luggage centre in PPT, I saw frantic people being told their luggage was delayed and their flight to BOB was in 30 minutes. I would definitely recommend booking a night on either side in Tahiti so you can gather supplies in the event your luggage doesn’t make it.

We used the TD Rewards points and paid $57 CAD for one hostel (it was very modern and clean, my kids first experience in a hostel!) and $150 CAD for a motel (The Tahiti Airport Motel across the street from the airport- it looks close but those hills are quite steep but still better than paying $20 USD for a one way 3 minute taxi ride there- I didn’t think that at the time lugging up a heavy suitcase on a steep hill… I was cursing my husband under my breath for wanting to walk it).

For 5 nights we stayed at St Regis Bora Bora (yes, the movie Couples Retreat was filmed there) and paid $30 USD (3000XPF is roughly $30 USD) in taxes… for a stay that would have cost $29,604 CAD. When you book 4 nights using your Marriott Bonvoy points you get a 5th night free.

From the reef side villa (the cheapest option available), we were upgraded to an Overwater Bungalow (I have never stayed in an overwater bungalow before) for a few nights. I’m not sure I can go back now to non-overwater bungalow accommodations. The layout was so well designed.

Saving Money on Food

Food is very expensive on Tahiti. The only thing that is reasonably priced (cheap) is a baguette. That is 60 XPF or about $0.60 USD. It is even more expensive in Bora Bora and on the resorts. We packed jerky, canned tuna, crackers, Kraft Dinner, and instant noodles from home to save money on some meals. You have to be careful though to not go over the weight limit as they get you on a scale to weigh you on Air Tahiti and weigh your bags too when you fly into BOB (Bora Bora Airport).

At our resort we had breakfast buffet included so we ate a large breakfast and had a light lunch. Light lunch as in what we had in our suitcase, haha.

At the St Regis Bora Bora kids get 50% off adult meals and also have a free ice cream passport where they can get smoothies, ice cream, sorbets whenever they please.

We also took a free shuttle to the main island of Bora Bora and went to the Chin Lee supermarket to stock up on some food. A warmed spaghetti bolognaise in the hot food section is about $10 CAD. Up the road in Bora Bora is another supermarket called Super U they also have some hot foods.

Otherwise, at the hotel a hamburger is about $50 CAD and a medium sized pizza is about $50 CAD. One Coca-Cola is $9 USD.

One small yogurt container (you know the individual sized ones) is about $2 CAD at the supermarket and a palm sized amount of Poisson Cru (the famous Tahiti dish of raw tuna marinated with coconut and lime or lemon juice) is around $10 CAD.

Alcohol is even more expensive. We brought a bottle of champagne from home and splurged on some cocktail drinks and beer for one night out. One cocktail is about $28 USD. I had a Tahiti beer it was around $9 USD.

Saving Money On Bora Bora Excursions

At St Regis Bora Bora there is a free shuttle to go to the main island of Bora Bora. It departs at around 10:30 in the morning and returns at 2:30pm. You go on a boat that heads to the mainland, then a bus takes you to the main town of Vaitape. There are souvenir shops and grocery stores there but otherwise there isn’t much to see.

There are lots of activities are the resort, including a Lagoonarium (a big enclosed area you can snorkel in), tennis, non-motorized sports (kayaking, stand up paddle boards) that are all included.

We bought $20 USD fish food to feed the fish at the Lagnoonarium (worth it) and the big Napolean Wrasse named Moana (it is about the size of my 6 year old) came to say hi too when we were feeding the fish.

If you want to snorkel to see wildlife though, you have to go on an excursion. Unlike the Maldives were abundant snorkelling is available just off a beach or off your overwater bungalow, there isn’t much coral in the hotel area. There was a perfectly placed coral underneath the overwater bungalow to attract the occasional fish, but that’s pretty much it. We did see a sea turtle, reef tip shark, and sting ray around the overwater bungalow though, but the sightings were rare.

Therefore if you want to snorkel, one excursion we did was the Moana Adventures Shark and Ray tour. It was about 2.5 hours and around $145 CAD per adult, or $450 for a family of four. We swam with reef tip sharks, saw sting rays (they are surprisingly friendly), went to a coral garden (lots more fish here), and saw eagle rays. We used our Scene+ points to offset $400 of the cost. We felt that $450 was totally worth it even if we didn’t use our Scene+ points.

I didn’t think I could get in the water with sharks but I did and I am still alive to write about it, haha.

Our Family Of Four Trip Cost to Bora bora

Here’s the tally of how much we spent in Tahiti and Bora Bora ($2213):

• Hotel accomodation and boat transfer: $805 CAD
• Shark and Ray Excursion and fish feeding $73 CAD
• Flights $835 CAD
• Food $500 CAD

Do you have any money saving tips for Bora Bora?