Paul Gauguin Cruise – Bora Bora

Day 4 of our luxury cruise of the Society Islands aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin brought us to the island that I had been looking forward to the most, Bora Bora.  Bora Bora is approximately 29.3 square km in size and has a population of almost 9,000. It is surrounded by a wide barrier reef for which there is only one entrance. The island itself is the eroded cone of a large and extinct volcano.

We were scheduled to spend 2 full days here and we had decided to make them as relaxing and casual as possible. After the cruise, we would be staying on Bora Bora for 3 additional nights so we decided not to sign up for any of the arranged shore excursions on either day. Having no set excursion allowed us to sleep in a little and head to breakfast in La Veranda after most of the passengers had already eaten and left for their excursions. Breakfast is served from 7:30am – 9:30am (earlier and later brekfasts are availble at the other restaurants and through room service).

You honestly can’t get a much better view for breakfast…

After brekfast, we made our way down to the Tender Boat and decided to go into the main town on Bora Bora and do a little shopping:

I should mention, the Paul Gauguin would always have a nice area st up on all of the islands where the Tender Boat docked, Typically there was a few staff memebers, light snacks and cold (non-alcoholic) drinks available. Occassionally, as was tha case in Bora Bora, there would be some entertainment as well:

The shops in town were very typical from what you would find in most island tourist areas with items ranging from handmade crafts, clothing, to expensive jewlerey and native art items. We did not take pictures inside the actual stores, but here is a smple of the shops:

Some of our fellow passengers chose to rent a car for the day and tour the island on their own:

Nearby, there was also a grocery store, a pharmacy, a school, and this church:

There was also a nice view of our ship with a bautiful yacht anchored nearby:

After the morning on Bora Bora, we returned to the ship to have lunch at Le Grill:

As I mentioned in a previous post, the crew of the Paul Gauguin would offer a crafts lesson every afternoon in La Palette on Deck 8. On this occassion the lesson was pn making a Polynesian Hair Pick and a Pandanus Headband:

After the class, Pineapple Flambe was served in Le Grill:

After freshening up in our stateroom, we headed to L’Etoile for dinner on Deck 5:

The evening show in the Grand Salon was the “International Crew Show” which was very entertaing and so great to see a lot of the staff that we have gotten to know show off their hidden talents.

We set out to have a casual day in Bora Bora and it was exactly what we did. That is the beuty of the Paul Gauguin cruise, you can tailor your day to your own desires, as busy or as slow as you would like. We were having very similar thoughts for our second day in Bora Bora tomorrow!

If we had wanted, there was no shortage at all in the choices for shore excursions in Bora Bora:

• Aquabike Adventure
• Lagoon Excursion & Polynesian Feast
• Lagoon Excursion with Maohi Nui
• Circle Island by Waveerunner
• Helicopter Flightseeing (30 or 15 minute options)
• Bora Bora Island Tour by “Le Truck”
• Bora Bora Off Road Adventure
• Glass Bottom Boat
• Eco Snorkeling
• Aqua Safari-Underwater walk
•  Blue Lagoon Escapade
• Sharks & Stingrays Encounter
• ATV Adventure
• Rays & Snorkeling by Jet Boat
• Catamaran Sail
• Sunset Sail by Catamaran
• Sunset Blue Lagoon Escapade
• Sunset Cruise on Outrigger Canoe
• Shark & Ray Watching by Glass Bottom Boat

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Paul Gauguin Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Paul Gauguin Cruise, you can contact me here.

As a Paul Gauguin Cruises PEARLS Accredited Partner and having experienced the cruise myself, I can provide you with the intimate knowledge to help you get the most out of your Paul Gauguin cruise.