Things to Do in Bora BoraThe activities worth your time
Looking for the best things to do in Bora Bora? If you’re planning a trip, you’re probably a little overwhelmed: there aren’t actually that many activities here, but they’re sold by a lot of operators, and some are well worth your money while others you can happily skip.
So we’ve pulled together every activity we rate on the island, grouped by type, with an honest word on each and a link to our full guide where we have one. This is the hub for the whole cluster, drawing on years living and working here and the experience of our 43,000+ group members.
The best things to do in Bora Bora are mostly about the lagoon: snorkelling with rays and reef sharks, a motu picnic, a tour of the lagoon by boat or jet ski. Beyond the water there are 4×4 trips into the interior, a helicopter flight over the reef, and the quieter pleasures of Matira beach. Most visitors book two or three activities across a stay, not ten.
A quick word on prices
Excursion rates in Bora Bora move with the operator, the season and the size of your group, so treat any figure below as an order of magnitude for budgeting, not a firm quote. Most excursions sit in the low hundreds of dollars per person; a helicopter flight is well above that. For the full picture, see our guides to Bora Bora prices and saving money in Bora Bora.
On the lagoon: the things most people come for
If you only do one thing in Bora Bora, do it on the water. Almost everything that makes the island famous happens in the lagoon.
A lagoon tour with cultural snorkelling
Our whole group agrees on this one: if there is a single must-do in Bora Bora, it’s a full-day lagoon tour. A typical day makes three snorkelling stops – a manta cleaning station, black-tip sharks and stingrays, then a quiet coral garden – with extra stops whenever the guide spots something.
On the cultural tour we tried, the operator doesn’t feed the sharks, picks you up free from any resort, caps shared groups at twelve, and serves a buffet lunch on a beautifully kept motu, followed by Polynesian workshops like va’a paddling and shell-bracelet making. The lagoon isn’t a zoo, so nothing is guaranteed – but a good guide knows where the odds are best.
Good to know
Feeding sharks is officially banned in French Polynesia, yet some operators still do it to keep the animals close, which alters their behaviour. If that matters to you, choose a tour that doesn’t feed.
Swim with reef sharks and rays
French Polynesia is a shark sanctuary, where fishing and trade are banned, and the lagoon’s black-tip reef sharks and lemon sharks are used to people and simply not interested in humans. Snorkelling with them is generally safe if you stay calm, keep your distance, take off shiny jewellery and go with a guide – there hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in French Polynesia in fifty years.
Stingrays, by contrast, are so friendly they’re nicknamed sea pets and will come right up to you. Many tours still feed the sharks to guarantee sightings; in our full guide we lay out the ethics and the safety rules in detail.
What you can (and can’t) swim with
No, you can’t swim with pigs in Bora Bora – that’s the Bahamas, and the myth comes from lookalike Instagram photos. What you can swim with is arguably better: harmless reef sharks, graceful manta rays, friendly stingrays and shyer eagle rays, and, from July to November, migrating humpback whales that come to these warm waters to calve.
None of it is guaranteed, because the lagoon is not a zoo, but that unpredictability is part of the wonder. Manta rays are best seen on a dedicated snorkel or dive at their feeding grounds.
A day on a motu
A motu is a Tahitian islet – a low ring of coral and sand around the main island – and dozens of them circle the lagoon, several home to the big resorts and even the airport. All of them are privately owned, so you can’t just land: you reach a motu by staying at a motu resort, booking a day pass, joining a full-day lagoon tour that stops for lunch, or renting a boat (and never docking uninvited).
A day on a well-kept motu, mountain on one side and wild reef on the other, is one of the classic Bora Bora experiences.
Scuba diving
Bora Bora is one of the best diving destinations in the world, and you don’t need to be certified to try it – intro dives are available for first-timers. Our own diver couple’s story runs through the island’s best sites, from Anau Manta Point and Tapu Shark Point to the Coral Gardens, Tapu Canyon and the Aquarium, where manta rays are the highlight and the water is famously clear.
Snorkelling straight off the beach
Not everything needs an operator. Much of the lagoon is shallow and clear, and many resort beaches have an inner lagoon or house reef right offshore. On the main island you can wade in at Matira, though it’s calmer than colourful – the fish gather on the far left, where the water deepens.
On the water, faster
For when you want a bit of adrenaline with your lagoon views.
Jet ski, or the full ATV + jet ski combo
This isn’t your average jet-ski ride: the colours of the lagoon, the mountain and the overwater bungalows make it genuinely spectacular. The operator we tried runs stable “ride” jet skis in small groups, stops for photos and a motu lunch, and on our day even found a pod of dolphins, which is rare here.
You can do the jet ski on its own or pair it with a morning ATV run as a full-day land-and-water combo – our favourite way to tick off both in a single day.
Our local tip
Book a morning slot for the best colours on the lagoon – the light is softer and the water is at its most vivid.
Flyboard
Strapped to a board fed by a jet ski’s water jets, you’re lifted clean out of the lagoon. As total beginners it took us a few tries to get airborne, and the instructor controls exactly how high you go – a couple of metres feels plenty, though pros reach twenty. Sessions run about 30 minutes over a sandy, four-metre-deep zone by the Four Seasons, so there’s no coral to worry about.
You need to be 16 or over, and all sessions are private.
Electric foil (eFoil)
An eFoil is an electric board on a hydrofoil that lifts you silently above the water for a real flying sensation, powered by a quiet battery that doesn’t damage the lagoon. The instructor comes to your resort beach; most people start on their knees and stand up within half an hour or so, and surfers pick it up faster.
Bora Bora’s calm, clear, warm and sheltered lagoon is close to the ideal place for a first try.
Surfing (and its alternatives)
Honestly? Bora Bora is not a surf destination. A barrier reef rings the whole island, so there are no beach breaks – only reef breaks for advanced surfers, mainly at the Teavanui Pass, which is boat-access only and best from May to September. There are no board rentals either, so you’d need to bring your own (Air Tahiti Nui carries boards free).
If you just want to glide, wakeboarding and kitesurfing are far easier, and neighbouring Raiatea, Huahine and Tahiti have much better waves.
Away from the water
The island has more to offer than its lagoon – here’s what’s worth doing on land and in the air.
A 4×4 or quad trip into the interior
A guided ATV run climbs the island’s rough interior tracks to wartime US Navy cannons and panoramic viewpoints over the lagoon and Mount Otemanu, with island legends told along the way. The operator we tried owns a private trail network above his base, so you skip the crowded spots that other groups queue for.
It’s bumpy and often muddy – not for pregnant women or bad backs – but safe and huge fun for most, and a morning start gives the best light and cooler air.
Our local tip
Go in the morning: the viewpoints show off the lagoon’s colours at their best, and you won’t be riding in the midday heat.
Bora Bora after dark
This is a quiet island: one nightclub, bars closing by 11, dinner early. Evenings here are about romance rather than nightlife. The classics are a sunset cruise, a candlelit dinner your resort can set up on a private motu or on your own deck, a Polynesian dance or fire show, and some of the darkest skies anywhere for stargazing.
A helicopter flight
Tahiti Nui Helicopters is the only operator, with flights from roughly ten to twenty minutes over the lagoon, or longer trips out to the heart-shaped Tupai atoll – some of which even land on its white sand. Bora Bora is breathtaking from the air, and this is the splurge that everyone should do once if the budget allows; sharing a flight brings the cost down.
Two rules: never fly within 24 hours of a scuba dive, and expect flights to be weather-dependent and often confirmed only on the day.
Matira beach and the resort beaches
Bora Bora has exactly one public beach – Matira, at the southern tip of the main island – and it’s free, calm, shallow and genuinely world-class; bring reef shoes, because coral is everywhere. Every other postcard beach sits on a private resort motu, reachable as a guest, with a day pass, or on a lagoon tour that stops there.
For mountain views, the Westin and Four Seasons beaches are the best; for snorkelling, the Conrad’s is hard to beat.
If the weather turns
Rain is most likely from November to April (see our guide to the best time to visit Bora Bora), but showers are usually short.
Rainy-day options
Good news: the lagoon stays clear even under cloud, so diving and snorkelling carry on regardless – you’re underwater anyway. When a wet spell really settles in, fall back on the resort spa, pearl shopping in Vaitape, a cooking or craft workshop, or a long lunch at a main-island restaurant.
We’ve written a whole guide to rainy days if you need more ideas.
Things to do in Bora Bora: FAQ
What is the number one thing to do in Bora Bora?
A lagoon tour. It is the one activity almost nobody regrets: you snorkel with rays and reef sharks, stop on a motu for lunch, and you finally see the island from the water, which is the view everyone came for.
How many activities should you book in Bora Bora?
Two or three across a stay is plenty for most people. The lagoon itself, plus one thing on land or in the air. Bora Bora rewards slowness, and days here fill themselves.
Can you do things in Bora Bora without booking a tour?
Yes. Matira beach is public and free, you can snorkel straight off it, and the island has one road you can cycle or drive. Not everything needs an operator.
What is there to do in Bora Bora when it rains?
Showers are usually short. When one settles in, there are spas, cooking and craft workshops, museums and pearl shops. We have a separate guide dedicated to rainy days.
What can you do in Bora Bora at night?
It is a quiet island after dark. Expect resort dinners, the occasional Polynesian dance show, and sunset cruises rather than nightlife.
How much do activities in Bora Bora cost?
Most excursions sit in the low hundreds of dollars per person, with helicopter flights well above that. Rates move with the operator, the season and the group size, so treat any figure as an order of magnitude.
Is Bora Bora worth it if you do not dive?
Absolutely. The lagoon is shallow and clear enough that snorkelling from a boat or from the beach shows you most of what makes it famous. Diving is a bonus, not the entry ticket.
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