Moorea, Hawaii, or ???

[Mackenzie]

So I am trying to begin planning my August 2010 honeymoon and need some help! I have always wanted to go to Tahiti and stay in an over-water bungalow. I have been a carribbean beach-goer my entire life, so this would be one of the ultimate vacations for me! However, my fiance is not as interested in sitting on the beach and sipping cocktails for 10 days as I am. He enjoys the beach and snorkeling and relaxing, but he is also more likey to get antsy than I am. My worry is that Tahiti-- more specifically MOOREA, does not have enough activities to keep him/us busy on the days we aren''t in the mood to sit around all day. I went to Maui when I was a lot younger (in elementary school), so would probably consider going to Kaui or one of the other islands this time around. I know that the options for activities is probably a lot larger in Kaui/Maui than Moorea, but wanted to get some advice from you all! Those of you who have been to Moorea, did you find yourself getting "bored" and stranded at your resort? What would you recommend? Any other suggestions than Hawaii or Tahiti? I am looking for a beach getaway that will be both relaxing but also some-what adventurous!

THANKS FOR ANY INPUT YOU ALL HAVE!

 

[cocolaw]

we are going to kauai and i don''t think there is THAT much to do. we are doing the zipline tour, possible an rtv tour, and then snorkling. i think maui has much much more in the way of activities!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

There is WAY more to do, structured activity wise, in Kauai/Maui than Moorea. Moorea is more gorgeous, though.

To answer your question, I did not get bored on either Bora Bora or Moorea, but then again it sounds like I may have a different view of life than your fiance. I explored the islands (scooter on one and jeep on other), hiked a bit for vistas, always had my snorkel gear with me, rented small boats to take out to the outer motu, enjoyed feeding the fish and jumping off the deck of our private overwater bungalow into the cerulean water below repeatedly, and revisited my favorite semi-hidden beaches again and again. It felt... more intimate.

Hawaii, in contrast, is relaxing and familiar but chock-full of professional companies with brochures available at the airport and all over every town and resort to entice you to pay for their services: take a bus to the top of Haleakala for sunrise and bike down, catamaran journeys with 20 other people on board to dive spots, whale watching, ziplining, choice of dozen helicopter companies for island flyovers, big resorts with big pools, great restaurants, shopping centers, sunset sails, etc.

I go to Hawaii most years and I enjoy it every time, but personally I''d rather be in French Polynesia.

 

[Lilac]

Can''t speak for Tahiti/Moorea, but I just got back a few days ago from my honeymoon in Hawaii and have to say it was the most amazing place I''ve ever been. DH and I wanted somewhere beautiful where we could relax but we absolutely needed things to do because we can''t just sit for 10 days on the beach! Hawaii was everything we were looking for and MORE. We spent 5 days on Oahu and 5 on Maui. The first 2 days we just relaxed, then the next 5 days we did adventure-type stuff and activities, and then the last 3 days we relaxed some more and just spent time taking in the beautiful beaches and pool at our amazing hotel. The activities we did were SO MUCH FUN! And the relaxation part was also incredible because Hawaii is just gorgeous.

I wrote a whole post about our honeymoon here: https://www.pricescope.com/forum/op-requested/back-from-honeymoon-in-hawaii-t123609.html

My vote is definitely for Hawaii! Any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Mackenzie]

Thank you for your responses!

cocolaw: It sounds like Kaui has just enough to keep you busy and not going stir crazy..but is still less touristy than the other islands...maybe this is the perfect mix for us!

fleur-de-lis: I assumed that would be the response... more to do in the Hawaiian islands, but more beautiful in Tahiti! Don''t get me wrong, we are going away more to chill out and relax than be crazy active, but if we sit around all day and night we''ll go nuts! We are open to wandering around the island and exploring things on our own--we don''t need "organized tours". So maybe there would be enough for us to do in Moorea after all...

Lilac: Your honeymoon review is very convincing

I do not recall that crystal blue water from my previous visit to Maui-- but I guess Hawaii can have that gorgeous water after all! If you don''t mind me asking, do you have a rough estimate of how much money you spent on activities once you were actually on the islands? I know this will have to be something we consider when trying to establish a budget for the honeymoon.

Keep the advice coming!

 

[Rachie]

Kauai is gorgeous and there is quite a lot to do as well as relax. It is definitely less touristy. DH and I just got back from our honeymoon almost 2 weeks ago and Kauai was our favorite island so far (we did 5 days in Kauai and 5 in Maui and have been to Oahu previously). The landscape is amazing and there is so much to explore! I would definitely recommend the Revealed books for which ever island you end up going to, there is so much info for things to do, where to eat, where to stay, etc. If your FI likes to snorkel, I would definitely recommend Prince Kuhio Beach. It is right next to the condo we stayed in (Kuhio Shores) and DH snorkeled there almost everyday and said that it was the best place out of the other places he snorkeled on the island. Ok, I didn''t mean to go on for so long, we just had such a wonderful time there!

 

[Lilac]

Date: 8/26/2009 7:27:35 PM
Author: Mackenzie
Thank you for your responses!

cocolaw: It sounds like Kaui has just enough to keep you busy and not going stir crazy..but is still less touristy than the other islands...maybe this is the perfect mix for us!

fleur-de-lis: I assumed that would be the response... more to do in the Hawaiian islands, but more beautiful in Tahiti! Don''t get me wrong, we are going away more to chill out and relax than be crazy active, but if we sit around all day and night we''ll go nuts! We are open to wandering around the island and exploring things on our own--we don''t need ''organized tours''. So maybe there would be enough for us to do in Moorea after all...

Lilac: Your honeymoon review is very convincing

I do not recall that crystal blue water from my previous visit to Maui-- but I guess Hawaii can have that gorgeous water after all! If you don''t mind me asking, do you have a rough estimate of how much money you spent on activities once you were actually on the islands? I know this will have to be something we consider when trying to establish a budget for the honeymoon.

Keep the advice coming!

I''m not sure how much we spent in total, but I know each activity with a guide or tour was around $100 per person. Snorkeling can be as little as $15 or $20 if you buy your own snorkel gear. So it depends how much you want to spend - you can do more activities with guides, or you can try to do more on your own to save the money. Then things such as the Road to Hana don''t cost anything more than gas if you do it yourselves (if you''re renting a car).

The only thing I would strongly recommend using a guide for is kayaking if you''ve never done it yourselves before. I was very scared before we went, but the guides we went with were AMAZING and really made us feel comfortable. We were also happy we went with a tour up Haleakala because it''s a very steep drive in the dark one way and you''re on the edge of the road (with nowhere to go but down) much of the time. Some people do this without the guide, but for us we were VERY happy we had one.

 

[Mackenzie]

THANK YOU for all your advice/comments-- it really helps to get another opinion on these things!

Has anyone been to Bora Bora and stayed at either the Hilton (Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa) or the InterContinental? If you stayed at the IC, how did you choose between the Le Moana and the Thalasso?

Lastly-- has anyone traveled between Moorea and Bora Bora? If so, was it relatively inexpensive and easy to do? What about traveling between Papeete, Tahiti and Bora Bora?

 

[cleokizzy]

hey Mackenzie, just an FYI, you might want to check out kama_s new thread about her wedding & honeymoon in Moorea & Bora-bora. There''s some gorgeous photos of their bungalow and the water!

here''s the link: kama_s

 

[Mackenzie]

bump-- anyone have advice on choosing between the IC on Bora Bora or the Hilton there?

thank you!

 

[mia1181]

No advice on BB, but we went to Moorea for our honeymoon and it was amazing! We went for just one week and we had plenty to do. We stayed in an overwater bungalow so we spent a lot of time enjoying that (snorkling, feeding fish from our deck). Additionally, we took the Motu island tour with shark/stingray feeding, horseback riding in the mountains, and we rented a car and toured the island on day (like a half hour to drive completely around the island, I think). But others we met enjoyed the AWV tour, the glass bottom boat, the helmet dives, or swimming with dolphins. I know someone who went for 14 days and they complained it was too boring, but they also didn''t do ANY activities besides snorkling and renting a moped to tour the island.

So it all depends on what you are expecting. There is less to do in BB, and not as much snorkling. We chose to to do Moorea only for that reason, and we had less time. With 10 days I would definitely do both islands though. Most people choose to stay in a beach bungalow for Moorea and save the OWB for BB. Because the scenery is slighty more exotic in BB, but there is also less snorkeling. I think it is much more convenient to snorkle from your deck. We had a ton of coral in front of our deck which from above made the water look not quite as lovely as BB but thanks to all that coral we had tons of fish right below us every day.

Here is a video of our Honeymoon. Sorry there is no sound, it was taken off because of copyright issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppAx9eQQUNw