There are vacations where you come home rested.
There are vacations where you come home with hundreds of photos.
And then there are vacations where you come home wondering how you're ever supposed to be satisfied with a swimming pool again.
Our November trip through [French Polynesia](/destinations/french-polynesia) was definitely the third kind.
We set out from Appleton, making our way to Chicago, then San Francisco, and finally across the Pacific to Papeete. By the time we arrived, we'd traveled thousands of miles — and we were more than ready for a good night's sleep.
Fortunately, our first stop was the InterContinental Tahiti, which turned out to be a pretty fantastic place to catch our breath.
The property had a beautiful pool, a lagoon filled with turtles and tropical fish, and several good restaurant options. It would make a great overnight stop when connecting between islands — or a comfortable home base for exploring Tahiti.
But we weren't staying long.
The islands were calling.
We had several snorkelling sites entirely to ourselves on this trip. That was partly luck and partly timing — there were very few visitors in French Polynesia at the time. Expect more company than we had.
First Stop: Tikehau
The next day we were back at the airport for our flight to [Tikehau](/destinations/french-polynesia/tuamotus).
Even arriving in Tikehau felt like an adventure. The airport's passenger area was completely open to the elements, and the team from Le Tikehau by Pearl Resorts was waiting to take us by boat to the resort.
And then we saw our bungalow.
Our overwater bungalow was built in traditional Polynesian style, with natural bamboo, teak and woven niau palm thatch. But honestly, the architecture almost didn't matter.
Because just outside our door was the lagoon.
We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling directly from our bungalow, surrounded by tropical fish, pristine coral and reef sharks.
Yes.
Reef sharks.
Right outside our room.
We walked out toward the outer atoll later that day, where waves crashed against the reef and tide pools were filled with shells and tiny fish.
Then came the cocktail.
Then the sunset.
It was becoming very clear that we'd made a good decision coming here.
Tikehau: Where One Amazing Day Turns Into Another
The next morning started with what may have been the best breakfast of the entire trip.
The croissants and pain au chocolat were ridiculous.
Seriously.
I'm still thinking about them.
After breakfast, we grabbed kayaks and headed out for some motu hopping. We eventually found a perfect place to pull the kayaks ashore and jumped into the water.
The snorkeling was even better than the day before.
The water was incredibly clear, and everywhere we looked there was something happening underwater — colorful Christmas tree worms, white-tipped sharks, enormous clams and schools of tropical fish.
And then we spotted the star of the show:
A three-foot lemon shark.
Not exactly the kind of swimming buddy you find at the local YMCA.
The best part?
We had the entire area to ourselves for the entire day.
Eventually, we paddled back to the resort, cleaned up and opened a bottle of wine outside our bungalow.
As the sun went down, the reef sharks started making their way in to feed.
Another sunset.
Another perfect evening.
At this point, we were beginning to develop a serious problem.
We didn't want to leave.
So the following day, we basically did it all over again.
Different motu.
More snorkeling.
More fish.
More sharks.
More coral.
More video.
And then more snorkeling right outside our bungalow.
That night the sky was completely clear, and the stars seemed to go on forever.
Tikehau was proving to be one of those places where you don't need a complicated itinerary.
Sometimes the best plan is simply:
Kayak. Snorkel. Repeat.
We came back to Tikehau five years later, after a week aboard the Paul Gauguin, and the resort had been upgraded since this visit. That trip is written up in Two Weeks in French Polynesia: The Paul Gauguin and Tikehau.
Next Up: Taha'a
On November 14, we said goodbye to Tikehau and began our journey to [Taha'a](/destinations/french-polynesia/society-islands).
It was another combination of planes and boats — a flight to Raiatea followed by a boat transfer to Le Taha'a by Pearl Resorts.
The setting was spectacular.
The resort sits between the calm inner lagoon and views toward Mount Otemanu on nearby Bora Bora. The architecture continued the Polynesian theme with natural timber, woven bamboo and thatched palm roofs.
Our overwater bungalow felt similar to Tikehau, but this one had a much larger sundeck.
And instead of coral directly beneath us, there was a beautiful white sandy bottom that extended surprisingly far into the lagoon.
We settled in, explored the property and eventually made our way to Hawaiki Nui, the resort's treehouse-style restaurant tucked into the foliage.
It was a pretty spectacular way to begin our time on Taha'a.
But we hadn't come all this way to sit on the deck.
Well...
Not only to sit on the deck.
The Drift Snorkeling Obsession
The next morning we discovered something that would become one of our favorite experiences of the entire trip:
[Drift snorkeling](/destinations/french-polynesia/snorkeling).
Right at the edge of the resort was a natural channel where the incoming current carried you across a coral garden filled with tropical marine life.
The coral was healthy.
The water was clear.
And there were fish absolutely everywhere.
We even found clownfish swimming among anemones.
We loved it so much that we did the drift...
Ten times.
Yes, ten.
At some point I'm sure the resort staff started wondering if we'd forgotten where our bungalow was.
We eventually made our way back, grabbed a couple of drinks and wandered out across the ocean flats.
Later, we learned more about the resort's coral restoration program and watched a demonstration on how to open a coconut.
It was one of those days where we managed to combine adventure, learning and a little relaxation — which is pretty much our favorite combination.
Exploring Beyond the Resort
One of the things we always try to do when visiting a destination is get beyond the resort.
So the next day, we climbed into an open-top vehicle and set off to explore the main island of Taha'a.
We stopped at Pari Pari Distillerie for some samples, visited a pearl farm and a vanilla farm, and made plenty of photo stops along the way.
Our guide filled the drive with stories about the island, giving us a much better sense of what Taha'a was like beyond the beautiful resort lagoon.
And that's one of the things we took away from the experience:
Yes, the overwater bungalow is amazing.
Yes, the lagoon is ridiculous.
But there's a whole island waiting outside the resort.
It's worth exploring.
Of course, we still made it back to the bungalow for an afternoon of swimming and watching the sunset.
A few sharks cruised by.
The stars came out.
You know... just another normal Tuesday in French Polynesia.
Double Rainbows, Flower Crowns & Fire
Then came a little rain.
And in French Polynesia, even the rain knows how to put on a show.
The result was a perfect double rainbow.
Naturally, we grabbed the cameras.
After that, we went right back to the drift snorkeling.
We couldn't get enough of it. Every pass seemed to reveal different fish or coral.
That afternoon, Erika had a local artist come to the bungalow to teach her how to make a traditional Hei, a Polynesian flower crown.
The finished crown was beautiful, and she wore it that evening.
While she was learning the art of the flower crown, I headed off to learn more about biorock and the coral restoration work happening around the resort.
And then the evening took another turn.
After dinner, we were treated to a performance by a father-and-son team of fire dancers, accompanied by local singers and drums.
It was one of those nights where you look around and think:
Yeah... this is pretty special.
Hello, Bora Bora
Eventually, though, it was time to leave Taha'a.
Our next stop?
Bora Bora.
We took a boat back to the airport, hopped on our flight and then transferred by boat to the Conrad Bora Bora Nui.
The flight itself was almost an excursion.
Looking down from above, the islands and lagoons stretched out beneath us, and it was hard to believe the colors were real.
Then the boat pulled up to the resort.
Overwater bungalows.
White sand.
Turquoise water.
Mount Otemanu.
Welcome to Bora Bora.
The resort blended contemporary luxury with classic Polynesian architecture and stretched along a half-mile of white-sand beach and lagoon.
We dropped our bags, grabbed lunch and then immediately started exploring with cameras in hand.
Flowers.
Fish.
The lagoon.
Mount Otemanu.
There was something to photograph in every direction.
The Best Snorkeling Spot Might Be a Secret
The following morning we toured the entire property, snorkeled directly from our bungalow, took the kayaks out for views of Mount Otemanu and spent some time at the pool.
Basically, we were getting very good at the whole Bora Bora thing.
But our best adventure was still ahead.
We headed out on a snorkeling excursion that turned out to be almost ridiculously private.
It was just the two of us, a local from Bora Bora and our guide.
Four stops.
The first focused on coral and smaller fish.
Then our guide took us to a secret spot where he brings his family.
That's where we saw an octopus.
Next came a deeper-water area filled with stingrays.
And finally, the Coral Gardens.
The first three stops were the only boat there.
No crowds.
No lines.
Just us, the guide and an incredible underwater world.
It was one of those days where you get out of the water and immediately start talking about which part was your favorite — only to realize you can't pick one.
That evening we headed to higher ground on the property to photograph silhouettes of the overwater bungalows against the sunset.
Then came dinner.
Music.
Dancers.
Fire dancers.
Another unforgettable night.
One Last Swim
November 21 arrived far too quickly.
Before leaving Bora Bora, we had to get in one more swim.
One more snorkel.
One more look at that lagoon.
And then we tried something new — outrigger canoes.
I loved it.
They're fast, surprisingly maneuverable and gave us a completely different way to experience the lagoon.
But eventually, even paradise requires packing a suitcase.
We headed back to Papeete for our flight home, carrying cameras full of photos, memories of an absurd number of snorkeling adventures and, probably, a slightly unhealthy obsession with overwater bungalows.
What We Took Away
French Polynesia is often sold as a place for romance, luxury and beautiful beaches.
And it absolutely is all of those things.
But our experience showed us something else.
It's a destination for exploration.
It's kayaking to an uninhabited motu.
It's drifting through a coral garden ten times because you can't bring yourself to stop.
It's looking for sharks outside your bungalow.
It's learning about pearl farming, vanilla, coral restoration and traditional Polynesian culture.
It's getting caught in the rain and being rewarded with a double rainbow.
It's meeting local guides who take you to places they love.
And sometimes, it's sitting outside your bungalow with a glass of wine while the sun disappears behind the lagoon.
That combination — luxury, nature, culture and adventure — is what made this trip so memorable.
And somewhere between the lemon shark in Tikehau and the outrigger canoe in Bora Bora, we realized something:
We weren't really island hopping.
We were collecting reasons to come back.
