Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

FI and I are deciding on whether we should spend a week in Bora Bora and a week in Hawaii for our honeymoon. My question is: Are the two places different enough so it makes sense to visit both?

For those of you who have been to both, what are the differences? Which place did you like better?

They are only four hours away, so it plausible to visit both.

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

one of our HM stops was bora bora. it was the most amazing place we have ever been to. i have never been to Hawaii, but from what i hear, the south pacific (bora bora, tahiti) is what Hawaii was 30 years ago, before it go so commericalized. DH and i are already talking about going back to bora bora someday - maybe our 5 year anniversary.

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

What would be your options should you not visit both Bora Bora and Hawaii? Would you spend 2 weeks in Bora Bora?

What island(s) were you considering in Hawaii? I wasn't overly impressed with Oahu. It's good for a day or 2 so you can visit Pearl Harbor, but I wouldn't spend much more time than that there. (Waikiki Beach isn't all that impressive.) The Big Island is pretty kewl! We were fascinated by all the different climates and there's plenty to do: deep sea fishing, horseback riding, helicopter tours

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

I have been to oahu and loved it. While we were there my FH and I also flew over the Maui for a day and drove around the island, even drove through a rainforest. Waikki beach is a man made beach so it's not the nicest beach around but there are so many other beaches you can go to that are beautiful. There is an airforce base beach that is open to the public on the weekends and the view is wonderful and the beach is gourgous. There is so much you can do while you are in Hawaii. They even have cruises that visit all the islands so you may want to look into that...

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

We would probably go to Maui in Hawaii and then Bora Bora if we were to do both trips.

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

I say do it! It will answer your question!

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

we debated between the 2 nd are going to hawaii. Bora bora was just getting too far beyond our price range. Go for both if you can do it!

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

we went to tahiti, moorea and bora bora for 11 days. i've never been to hawaii, though i agree with karen based on what i've heard.

so i would definitely suggest bora bora over hawaii, BUT you do not want to spend 2 weeks in bora bora. it's the most amazing place you'll ever see, but 2 weeks is too long because it's very small. if you have 2 weeks and decide on the south pacific, definitely visit tahiti and moorea as well.

good luck with your decision!

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

am470 - We are having the same problem deciding between these two destinations. FOREVER we were set on Bora Bora and Moorea for 2 weeks but the cost was adding up quickly and we feared we would get bored (fiance's got ants in his pants ). So we thought about doing a week Bora Bora and one week Hawaii but our travel agent advised that the added expense of the additional airplane fare would just make it all too much.
But I never did get a quote from her so I am curious to find out....have you priced that yet?
How much more are we talking about?

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

One travel agent just quoted me slightly under $15,000. This included bora bora nui with overwater bungalow and the top hotels on Maui.

It seemed kind of outrageous for a honeymoon. But I feel that there is probably a way to shop around to bring the price down.

What really bothers me is that you end up losing a lot of time traveling (more than I thought) and you need to spend two nights in Papeete (which everyone says is kind of lame).

At this point we are not sure what to do. FI, like your FI, is concerned that Bora Bora will be boring boring (as he calls it). I feel that Hawaii is so cliche. We really have not made up our mind. But I am definitely going to shop around for more direct flights.

Re: Help! Have you been to Bora Bora and Hawaii before?

Sounds like we are on the same page. What to do? Too many options, not enough time and money . Our travel agent had price out Sofitel in Moorea and Bora Bora Lagoon for 12 nights at $8000 or $9000 (can't remember exactly) so the flight to Hawaii would definately run us over our $10,000 budget. So right now we put Tahiti aside ( ) and are focusing on just Hawaii. Have to admit I am a little sad but I am sure I will get over it once we get to Hawaii!
Which resort(s) are you staying at on Maui?