Unfortunately for many of us, overwater bungalows and water villas are expensive, sometimes shockingly expensive. So it's a common question about how to book one of these beautiful rooms at a discount, and there's some good news about that below.

If you are booking a honeymoon trip and, for example, you want to stay at the same resort where the Kardashians stayed in Bora Bora, then you might have to pay full price. But if you are flexible and you consider the strategies described below you might save up to 40% at a resort that is just as nice, if not nicer.

Here are our best 6 tips for saving money booking an overwater bungalow:

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Go in the so-called “off-season”

Each region that has overwater bungalows and water villas has about 5 months of a “high season” and the rest of the year is considered the low season. For the most part these high seasons line up with the drier months in each area, but honestly there isn’t a great difference at any time of year in these tropical islands so close to the equator.

 

High season

 

 

This is true of all areas with overwater bungalows: On any given day there is some chance of a downpour, but often it happens overnight, and otherwise it usually happens in the late afternoon and it rarely lasts more than an hour. Interestingly, when you DO get clouds moving in late in the afternoon you’ll usually have spectacular sunsets and a wonderfully moody atmosphere. Near the equator, even a single grey day is extremely rare.

Book a longer stay

Those of us who are on limited budgets might consider booking an overwater bungalow or water villa for only 2 or 3 days. That can be a good strategy, as we’ll discuss below, but not always. You won’t know if you don’t check yourself, that many resorts offer specials such as “book 3 nights and get the 4th night free” or “save 20% on a one-week stay.”

 

The point is, a 3-night stay might show a quote of, say, US$1,800 but a 4-night stay could be the same. So if you are going to be in one of these areas for a longer period of time, check for the rate on a longer stay to see what discounts are available.


Book only a few nights in an overwater bungalow

Hotel Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora

Considering the tip mentioned just above, it’s wise to check for possible discounts for longer stays, but in many cases, they won’t bring the price down enough for some guests. In those cases, you should definitely consider booking an island room for part of your stay and an overwater bungalow for only 2 or 3 nights.

 

If you read the TripAdvisor reviews on these resorts closely you’ll find that the people who stay in the island rooms at virtually every resort end up giving these resorts 4 or 5 stars in all categories. The rooms tend to be quite similar to the water bungalows, and they are obviously closer to the pool, restaurants, and shops, so in some ways, they are more convenient.

 

So perhaps 4 nights in an island room that is half the price of an overwater bungalow, for the remaining 3 nights, would be a big money saver. And honestly, the novelty of an overwater bungalow might wear off before the week is up anyway.

>More information about the Hotel Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora

Book an island room and get an upgrade

This might be the best tip of them all, but it’s a bit of a gamble. If you look closely at TripAdvisor reviews you’ll notice that a very significant number of people book an island room and get upgraded to an overwater bungalow, at least for part of their stay. Honeymoon couples seem to get upgraded more often than others, so that’s another thing to research when looking at reviews.

 

We can’t be sure of this, but it seems that resorts that have more overwater rooms than island rooms will overbook the cheaper island rooms, sometimes by quite a bit, because they know they’ll have no complaints from people who get upgraded. In some cases, they’ll ask guests checking in if they want to upgrade to an overwater room for a small fee, but in many other cases, they seem to just do it automatically and for free.

 

To increase your chances of a free upgrade you’ll want to book a resort that has far more overwater rooms than island rooms. If the ratio is reversed then you’ll be competing with far more people for fewer upgrade rooms.


Don't book too early

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

Now that virtually every hotel books rooms online, they also change their prices from one week to the next in order to try to maximize revenue. Something you might not realize is that hotels operate in a similar way to airlines in that they keep prices high when the dates are far away, and they only begin discounting a few months out if they still have too many empty rooms.

 

These resorts know that if you have dates for your honeymoon 6 months from now and you have your heart set on a particular resort, that you’ll book it even if they are charging their highest yearly rate. So it’s a bit of a gamble if you do have your heart set on one particular resort, but if you wait until 60 to 90 days before your stay you are much more likely to see discounts of up to 30% on the same bungalows.

 

With the two tips directly above in mind, you might consider booking a cheap island room well in advance and then look for overwater discounts as the dates draw near.

>More information about the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

Book online and be flexible

This site – overwaterbungalows.net – is not only the only guide to every overwater bungalow resort in the world, it’s also the best place to book these rooms. We are part of the Expedia Affiliate Network, which means you get all the benefits of booking with Expedia or Hotels.com (which are the same company), AND all the benefits of having a guide that shows you all the features and photos of every single resort in the area you want to book.

 

Once you click on the hotel’s name and then to the “check online rates” link, you’ll be able to see all TripAdvisor reviews, property details, property photos, and all the booking details. You’ll also get the “Low Price Guarantee” for all the resorts that offer a special internet price. In most cases, these prices are lower than prices offered on each resort’s own site.

 

And in reality, these resorts tend to be quite similar, so it’s best to be flexible and look for those that offer the “special internet price.” As mentioned above, these discounts are usually between 20% and 40% off, and that adds up quickly compared to a resort that is sticking to its high rack rates.


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14 thoughts on "Overwater villa holidays: How to begin planning yours"

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  1. My family and I live in Asia and we are looking for a trip to anywhere with water bungalows and hopefully clear, turqoise water with snorkelling and water activities available, and is also budget friendly if possible. We are two adults and one child who is a little over 17. Are there any suggestions or recommendations? Thank you

    Reply

  2. I am looking to plan a family vacation that is budget friendly. I would love to stay in an overwater hut. Can you tell me the best and most reasonable place to stay with a family the kids are 12 & 16

    Reply

    1. Kris,

      Since you aren’t even sure which part of the world you want to visit, I’d recommend starting with this list of the world’s cheapest overwater resorts on our other site. Most of those resorts only allow 3 guests per room, even though almost all of them have a pull-out couch in addition to a king bed. You might find some good choices in Central America or in Asia other than the Maldives. And of course it really depends on where you are starting from because the cost of flights could cancel out any savings from a cheaper resort. I hope that helps and I’m happy to help with other questions if you have them. -Roger

      Reply

  3. I would like to attend an over water bungalow resort for me and about 7 of my closest friends to celebrate my 45th Birthday. As most resorts are for honeymooners, are there single friendly resorts that can accommodate a "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" week long celebration. We live on the East coast and realize we will have to fly West for all the bungalows you have described above. All feedback is appreciated to guide me in the planning phrase.

    Reply

    1. Kim,

      That sounds like a lot of fun. You won’t find many resorts that are great options for “solo” travelers, but groups of singles will fit in with many other groups there. Most of the resorts in Bora Bora and Moorea allow 3 guests per bungalow, and they all have a sleeper sofa in them for that purpose (most don’t allow 4 guests per room though). So if two of your group are okay sleeping on a pull-out couch then you can get by with 3 bungalows.

      It’s true that many of the guests at these resorts will be honeymoon couples or anniversary couples, but there are also families with older children and multi-generational groups. I think your group would have fun at just about any of those resorts, but I’d probably focus on one that has some nightlife each evening such as a band or DJ. Some of the smaller resorts only have a beach bar and it’ll mostly be couples in those. Long story short, I think I’d look at one of the larger resorts on Moorea or Bora Bora or even Tahiti. The places with at least 100 total rooms (including beach and garden bungalows) should also have plenty of things to keep you happy and a diverse clientele.

      If your budget can handle a bit over US$2,000 per night you might even consider one of the Sandals resorts on Jamaica because the flights will be so much shorter and cheaper. The overwater bungalows there are huge (I just toured both resorts recently) and the nearby beach rooms are really wonderful there as well. The beach rooms start at around US$500 per night, but they are premium all-inclusive with even many activities included so they would be really fun for a group. In other words, maybe you could get 1 (or 2) overwater bungalows and a couple of beach rooms, and take turns in each? And you could mostly hang out in the overwater bungalow during the day, which is plenty big enough for everyone. When you add in the cost of flights and all that time flying to Los Angeles and to Tahiti then the Jamaica plan could look even better. Also you have to factor in the cost of meals and drinks and activities. In the South Pacific the room includes breakfast, but everything else is extra, while in Jamaica it’s ALL included in the price. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger

      Reply

  4. My wife and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. It would be wonderful to stay at an over water bungalow.

    Is Tahiti, Bora Bora gay-friendly islands? Are any island more friendly than others?

    Reply

    1. Merchel,

      Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora are all part of French Polynesia, and the French culture there is quite strong. With that in mind, I’d expect that the islands and the resorts in particular would be quite LGBT-friendly. I don’t recall seeing anything in particular that stood out when I’ve been there, but I have a strong hunch that the resorts are all very progressive with that sort of thing. The island people seem to be quite open minded, and French people are famously tolerant. I wish I could give you more certainty. Best of luck with this. -Roger

      Reply

  5. I am trying to plan our 10 year wedding anniversary. We are both pretty easy to please regarding vacations.

    I do know that my wife would really love to stay at an over water Bungalow for this trip.

    We would be traveling from Wichita, KS to Bora Bora or somewhere similar.(hopefully if price is right).

    I have browsed a bit and can’t find much for our budget (around $3-4k per person). Obviously I would love to be on the low end of my budget and save as much as possible.

    If not in Bora Bora, we would be okay with over water bungalow’s elsewhere.

    Travel dates would be leaving August 26th and Returning September 2nd (can go 1 day either way if needed).

    Reply

    1. Michael,

      We are simply an online guide to overwater bungalows and not a travel agency. You’ll find the best deals online for these resorts. You can usually get better value in Moorea, which is another gorgeous island right off Tahiti itself. The room rates are a bit lower and transportation is faster and cheaper as well. If you have any specific questions just let us know. -Roger

      Reply

  6. We our planning our honeymoon and live near San Francisco. We’d love to go to an amazing bungalow but the issue is we have only around 7 days for our trip, so the long flights really eat into our time. Is there an island you recommend we go to which is easy to reach from SFO? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Andrew,

      From San Francisco the closest overwater bungalows are in Tahiti, which is only a couple hours farther than Hawaii. It looks like you’d have to fly down to LAX first, as that’s where all the flights to Tahiti start. There are two resorts not far from the Tahiti Airport that offer overwater bungalows. Those resorts are pretty nice, but there are 4 nicer ones on Moorea, which is a 5-minute flight or one-hour ferry ride from Tahiti. If you are going all that way, it’s probably worth going to Moorea, as it’s also a much prettier island than Tahiti itself. Bora Bora is a 60-minute flight from Tahiti, and it has even more options. Those islands are so gorgeous and wonderful that I think it’s worth the flight, even for a week. Best of luck with this. -Roger

      Reply

  7. Hi
    We live at the Gold Coast, Australia so can fly out of here or Brisbane. For our 20 year wedding anniversary in April we want to stay at an overwater bungalow – this will probably be a one-off so I want it to be in the clearest water with white sand so that the swimming and hopefully snorkelling is great. Maybe even some other water activities like sailboarding nearby? What do you recommend also considering ease of getting there? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Margo,

      There are actually a few resorts in the South Pacific that aren’t far from you, including one in New Caledonia. Have a look at our list of resorts in the South Pacific for more details. The next closest to you are in the Philippines and Malaysia. You can find those under the Asia tab on the top of this page.

      But really you’ll find the best affordable resorts in the Maldives, which has 80 different overwater hotels, each on its own island. Click on the Maldives tab for all of that information. And of course Bora Bora, which also isn’t too far from you, has many of the world’s best overwater resorts if price isn’t a major factor. Best of luck and let me know if I can help more. -Roger

      Reply