In short
Bora Bora is a volcanic island ringed by a lagoon closed by a coral barrier, itself fringed with motu, the sand islets where most of the hotels stand. Mount Otemanu, 727 metres, is the remnant of the original volcano.
Vaitape is the main village, on the high island, with the shops and local life. The hotels are on the motu: two worlds separated by the lagoon.
Arriving and getting around
The airport is on a motu, Motu Mute, not on the main island: you arrive by plane and then by boat, a free shuttle to Vaitape or a private transfer to your hotel. That is the logistical particularity to plan for.
Flights come from Papeete, in about fifty minutes.
On the high island, a road circles it in thirty-two kilometres; bicycles and scooters are hired. Between the motu, everything goes by boat.
What it really costs
Bora Bora is one of the most expensive destinations in the world, and there is no real way round it for the motu hotels.
There are, however, family guesthouses on the high island, far cheaper, from which the lagoon is reached by excursion. That is how to come without the budget usually quoted.
Buying supplies in Vaitape rather than at the hotel considerably changes daily spending.
When to come
May–October: dry season, calm lagoon, maximum visibility.
November–April is the wet and cyclone season.
What nobody tells you
The overwater bungalow was invented in French Polynesia, in the late 1960s, by three Americans living on Moorea who wanted to offer a lagoon view from a plot with no beach. The model then travelled the world.
Mount Otemanu cannot be climbed to the summit: the volcanic rock is too friable, and no summit ascent is permitted to visitors. The walks go up the neighbouring shoulder.
The lagoon is calm and shallow: this is a destination for swimming and snorkelling, not waves. Rays and blacktip reef sharks are common and observation trips are supervised.
The island held an American base during the Second World War; coastal defence guns survive in the vegetation and can be reached on foot.