My Honeymoon: Hawaii, Tahiti, and Bora Bora

Almost as much as we were anticipating our wedding, we were eagerly looking forward to our honeymoon as well. After all the stress of wedding planning for the past year or so, I knew I wanted to do a relaxing beach vacation as opposed to a city/exploring vacation. We also took the opportunity (it being our honeymoon and all) to justify going to Bora Bora which has been a dream destination of mine for years. Warning: this is going to be a pretty picture-heavy post!

Oahu, Hawaii

Since we knew that our end goal was to get to French Polynesia, we decided to break up the long travel by spending a week in Oahu first. Yes, I did go to Oahu twice in 2018 (as I mentioned in my Oahu vacation recap). However, there was so much we didn't get to see the first time around.

Since we didn't get to it on our prior trip, hiking up to the top of Diamond Head was a major priority.

We also did the Pink Pillbox Hike on the island's west side. This is my favourite hike I've done on Oahu thus far because there were no crowds (we probably saw about 6 people total) and the views were amazing.

We also rented a car and drove to the North Shore! I wish we had had more time to explore all the little shops in Haleiwa but we spent most of they day lounging at Waimea Bay instead. I did manage to get a photo with the iconic Colette Miller wings in front of Anahulu Shave Ice.

Hawaii, and Oahu in particular, have a very rich military history that my husband is really into. We did the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri on our last trip so this time we went to the Pacific Aviation Museum. In the Waikiki area, there is also a US Army Museum at Fort DeRussy which was incredibly interesting and also free.

Tahiti

After shopping and eating up a storm in Hawaii, we continued our journey with 48 hours in Tahiti. Although it's the largest and most populous, Tahiti is typically a stopover point for many people on their way to other islands in French Polynesia. However, it's beautiful in its own way with lots of lush vegetation and waterfalls.

We stayed in Papeete, which is the capital of French Polynesia. The Marché de Papeete is a must-visit for food and souvenirs.

I had also heard a lot about Les Roulottes (food trucks) that set up daily in downtown Papeete at Place Vaiete. These were interesting because they mostly served Chinese-style food but always with these giant plates of baguette. With the French influence over there, we got used to eating way more bread than we normally would!

Another thing I noticed all around the island were these beautiful, colourful murals that were basically everywhere.

Bora Bora

Then it was onto our final destination: Bora Bora. All of those photos you see of Bora Bora are what it looks like in real life... it's an absolutely magical place. The airport is located on its own little strip where there is no vehicle access. All of the transportation from the airport is by boat!

My whole purpose in going to Bora Bora was to stay in an infamous overwater bungalow (why travel so far to not do that?!) We stayed at the Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island, which is one of the smaller resorts but, as its name implies, it's located on its own private island. The grounds were perfectly manicured and the resort is adult-only which means quiet and very relaxing.

The water in Bora Bora was crystal clear and so warm. We spent each day doing some sort of water activity whether it was kayaking, snorkelling, or just floating around. What a serious luxury to have such access right from our bungalow.

Our resort offered a free boat shuttle to their sister resort on the main island. We took the opportunity to rent a scooter to tour around the main island "open air" style. There is only one road and it takes about an hour.