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Good morning all,
We are travelling to Bora Bora in June for our wedding anniversary.
We are flying BA to LAX with 2 for 1 vouchers and have the new Westin Bora Bora booked on points.I need your advice on what’s the best way to get from LA to Bora Bora on points. I have 400,000 avios and 40,000 Virgin points (happily will pay to top them up if it makes sense for a redemption).
Thank you very much in advance.
Better this question is posted in the Destination Advice thread as answers here get lost
Last time I looked it was not possible to get to Bora Bora on points
Happy to be proved wrong.
I don’t think you can get as far as Bora Bora. You could look at using Virgin points on the Air France flights which operate between LA and Tahiti to get you closer. I’m not that familiar with Virgin redemptions but I suspect they could be very many more Virgin points though because they’re always extortionately expensive on Flying Blue (KLM/AF) on points.
Points? I very much doubt it – it’s a cash only kinda route and you better start saving. It’s always circa £1000 in ecomony and three or four times that in business.
It’s certainly a lovely island but it’s a long way from everywhere.. I hope you have a great trip , its been 42 years since I was last there and it still has a firm place in my heart.
The best way to do this with avios in my opinion is to fly to Auckland with Qatar then get a £600 return ANZ biz ticket to Tahiti. The economy round trip to Bora Bora is about £250 with a very low luggage allowance.
If you fly the other way ie LAX or SFO the biz ticket with united is about 3k or a nightmarish amount of star alliance points.That was the way we did it – Qatar to AKL and the AKL to PPT with AA miles. Daytime flight too.
You can use Bonvoy points to get AA miles.
You have to pay for PPT to BB
The best way to do this with avios in my opinion is to fly to Auckland with Qatar then get a £600 return ANZ biz ticket to Tahiti. The economy round trip to Bora Bora is about £250 with a very low luggage allowance.
If you fly the other way ie LAX or SFO the biz ticket with united is about 3k or a nightmarish amount of star alliance points.I’ll be travelling out to Moorea & Bora Bora in March. I booked LAX to PPT via Flying Blue for 40k + £100 taxes per person in Premium Economy…this seemed to be one of the better options from LAX. I’m then flying from PPT to AKL via Air Tahiti Nui with 25k AA points + £60 taxes pp…again in Premium Economy.
I have also booked the Westin for 129k for 2 nights in an overwater bungalow, and as a backup I have the Conrad for 120k per night. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that the points required for the Westin have fluctuated significantly so it’s worth keeping a close eye. They also had some very enticing cash deals on offer.
Thank you all, this is very helpful, I’ll evite the option and see what works best.
I can’t wait! A week in Bora Bora should be amazing!Happy New Year!
By way of update, we are currently at the Westin Bora Bora. It’s a stunning resort which only opened in September so very pristine. A very good value redemption for an overwater bungalow. Much ‘cheaper’ than the St Regis, Conrad or the Intercontinentals which I was tracking for many months. They also upgraded us to a premium bungalow with plunge pool overlooking Otemanu.
@TJ – enjoy! We will be there in July. Please share top tips after your stay
@TJ did you get a flight from PPT to BOB? I think its the only way.
@stankpa I’ll add some tips to this thread in due course.
@zapato1060 Not quite. I didn’t find any direct flights to BOB, so flew into PPT and took the ferry straight to Moorea for a few nights (excellent snorkelling) before flying to BOB. Flying back to PPT required an overnight stay in Tahiti before flying to AKL. Air Tahiti or Air Moana are the best inter-island options.@stankpa Here are a few tips for the Westin Bora Bora:-
(1) The boat ride from the airport to the resort is free and arranged by the resort. You are given a rather bulky water bottle which you keep throughout your stay and can refill at various water stations.
(2) Bikes are available throughout the resort on a ‘grab and go’ basis. As they are not assigned, if you leave them outside your villa on the boardwalk (assuming that you are staying in an overwater villa) they will probably be taken by other guests. But if you park them just outside your front door instead they will be there in the morning.
(3) Set around the infinity pool – the largest in Bora Bora – there are six fabulous (free) cabanas which you cannot reserve (3 either side of the pool). As they are on a first come/first serve basis it is worth securing them when the pool officially opens at 7am with a towel, hat, book etc. We actually secured them with a couple of items about 10mins before and then headed off to breakfast.
(4) The fine dining restaurant – Maere – is small, intimate and extremely popular with guests so it’s essential to book. I suggest asking the concierge to book a table in advance (the concierge should reach out via email a month or so before you arrive).
(5) There’s the obligatory Polynesian dance show I think twice a week. It’s a buffet plus one free drink and the show. It’s not cheap at 33k XPF for 2 people but probably worth doing if you haven’t done so before. Arrive early if you want a good seat on the main floor.
(6) Hidden away on the grounds is an Eco centre…essentially rehab for turtles. Definitely worth a visit if you have time.The last (only) time we were in BOB we did via a Club round-the-world ticket (cash). Going back some years, but it was great value. Not sure I could afford it now 😏
The house reefs are stunning – no sure you’d get me out of the water!
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