Once you start planning your overwater bungalow vacation, you’ll find out rather quickly that there are several different islands to choose from. The most popular however, seem to be the islands that make up the South Pacific. In this tropical region, visitors will find tropical getaways that feel like they are straight out of a movie.
Unfortunately though, many people view the South Pacific as just a dream, due to the cost of traveling to and from, as well as the resorts themselves.
The South Pacific is a dream come true for most vacation seekers. It’s also heavily portrayed in movies, TV shows, and music videos. It used to be that only honeymooners and other romantic couples sought out this island paradise, but in today’s world, more and more families are choosing the South Pacific for family adventure.
Even with this increase in family vacations, there are still quite a lot of overwater resorts that choose not to cater to families, especially those traveling with 2 or more children.
As you start your overwater bungalow and villa research, you’ll quickly notice that there are dozens of overwater resorts around the entire world. This is great as it grants people from different regions access to a villa that isn’t too terribly far away. If you reside somewhere in North America, particularly speaking, the US and Canada, then you’ll note that there aren’t any overwater resorts along the vast stretches of coastline. However, there is one within the state of Florida.
Hawaii is home to an extremely large amount of fantastic accommodation options, from those right on the beach to those situated a bit farther back. Unfortunately, you won’t find any overwater resorts here. If they could be built on Hawaii’s shores, there would be dozens.
However, with bad news comes a bit of good news. There are plenty of great overwater resort choices over on the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. In addition, less than an hour away from those islands, you’ll find even more overwater resorts on Bora Bora.
Now that you’ve decided you’d like to take a vacation in an overwater bungalow or water villa, the first step is to try to figure out where to even begin. So, how does one start the planning process? This is the single most common question we get at this site, and it’s understandable because these amazing accommodations are only common within a few parts of the world.
Another complication for most of us that makes planning a bit more difficult is that overwater bungalows are among the most expensive hotel rooms in the world.
While there are overwater bungalow resorts scattered all throughout the South Pacific, Fiji is home to only 3, at least for the moment. What is nice about these 3 choices, is that they do vary a lot from each other, which allows guests a few options. Out of these, 2 offer rooms around the US$500 a night range while the third is geared toward travelers that adventure with a larger budget.
If you are looking for something other than the three listed below, you’ll be able to go to one of the other islands in the South Pacific, where you’ll have around 30 different resorts to choose from if you can make it to Bora Bora or elsewhere in French Polynesia.
Because there are only a select few airlines that venture out to French Polynesia, you’ll find that getting there isn’t quite as easy as you might assume. Another thing you’ll want to note is that the airlines that do travel to French Polynesia all fly into Tahiti, before departing to the other nearby islands. Thankfully, Moorea is practically in the shadow of Tahiti so you actually have a few transportation options, unlike most of the rest in the large island group, where a flight is the only practical way of getting there.
Although you’ll find that getting to Tahiti isn’t the cheapest, the adventure over tends to be both easy and straightforward. This is because there are only a few airlines that fly into Papeete’s Faa’a International Airport, which serves as a hub for the entire South Pacific. Regardless of which direction you are coming from, you’ll be arriving on a huge wide-body jet such as a 747, so even the coach seats tend to be roomy and comfortable, which is a nice thing to look forward to.
Now that you’ve decided you’d like to visit Tahiti or Moorea, most likely you’re trying to figure when the best time to visit is. This isn’t exactly an easy question to answer, but the good news is that this is because there really isn’t a bad time to visit. In other words, the best time to visit Tahiti or Moorea is simply when you’re available.
As with any destination, each time of year has both its positives and negatives, so each visitor will have to weigh their options themselves to find what’s best for them.
Luckily, for those planning a trip, you’ll find that daytime and evening temperatures in Tahiti, as well as throughout the entirety of French Polynesia, are incredibly stable from month to month. You’ll see on the temperature chart below that each day of the year is almost identical to the other days. Moorea Island is only 9 miles (17 km) away, so the climate and weather are basically identical, and there are better Moorea overwater bungalow resorts to consider as well.