Author: Helen Owen

Tulum. Chances are you’ve seen this place pop up on your newsfeeds lately, and I’m here to confirm it is definitely as wonderful as it’s made out to be on the ‘gram.

Tulum beach is a long strip of soft, bright white sand that runs down the coast of Mexico on the impossibly bright blue waters you’ve probably scrolled past on your social feeds countless times already this year.
Just about every spare foot of Tulum’s beach has been claimed as a boho hotel, unique vegan restaurant, health food café, or eclectic store. The aesthetic of Tulum’s hotels and restaurants all seems to be an agreed upon beach-boho meets minimal Mayan meets you-def-already-pinned-this-on-Pinterest. You really won’t find many places that fall out of those categories in this pocket of the Riviera Maya.

Tulum is mainly known for it’s healthy food, happy vibes, and yoga-loving atmosphere. For the majority of the year, Tulum is all yoga classes and sound baths and basking in the sun… all in the most picturesque place imaginable.
However, there are a few weekends of the year where a little more nightlife inhibits Tulum. To be specific, in this case the two-week span of January 5th – 14th.
Although it was not my first time to Tulum, I’d never quite experienced it like this before. We’re talking something similar to the Burning Man crowd, but the Tulum-edition (a liiittle more my “scene”). DJs like Solomun, Damian Lazarus, and Santori orchestrating jungle or beach crowds all covered in body paint and jewels, dancing well into the next day, usually followed by an after party around say, 3 or 4pm. Quite an experience.
We too saw the sunrise a couple times on this trip and not because we were up early for a yoga class or meditation.

Strangely enough, the two worlds (wellness and party) didn’t seem to clash as much as you might think. I’m sure everyone who was trying to get an early night while deep house beats were dropping non-stop throughout the night would have a differing opinion, but in my experience the energy of the music and the people enjoying it almost felt as special as Tulum’s other beautiful practices and way of healing and restoring humans, however sleep deprived they may be.

Not that I can maintain such sleeping patterns for more than a weekend, I must say that having a great group of friends with us and getting a taste of this small window of time in Tulum where crowds of people come together to dance and celebrate being alive was an unforgettable experience.
I also have those crowds to thank for filling up just about every last hotel in Tulum, making my spontaneous decision to meet Zack in Mexico extra difficult (Zack had been on a family trip in Cancun for a week prior and decided to stick around and head to Tulum with me).

Just when it looked like we were going to be sleeping under the stars, I came across an absolute gem of a hotel that may just be one of the best new hotels in Tulum. La Valise, a brand new boutique hotel situated in the heart of the action, just newly opened and therefore not (yet) at full capacity. This place was a dream.

Somehow both in the jungle and on the beach, this place has been beautifully transformed from what was once a beachfront mansion into an incredibly characteristic modern tree-house bungalow style hotel with 9 rooms.
Each room has it’s own character with charming details and beautiful quirky beach décor but all the amenities of a 5 star hotel.
We spent our first few nights in one of the a-frame style rooms upstairs that boasted a breathtaking view of the beach (“upper level beachfront suite on their site).

Upon extending our stay for another couple nights we moved to one of the sand-level jungle rooms (“jungle bungalows”) and it was just as wonderful. See for yourself, I took an unnecessary amount of photos of both the rooms mostly because I couldn’t help myself… this place doesn’t have a single corner that isn’t photogenic.

And a quick but important shout out to La Valise’s food. If you come here, you must try the mushroom tacos, fish tacos, and the ceviche (and margaritas are obviously mandatory).

I could have easily taken up residence at this place, but that wasn’t really an option so instead we’re already thinking of excuses to come back, especially as all of La Valise’s staff are now good friends. Huge thank you to La Valise for having us during Tulum’s busiest, loudest weekend. We had the best balance of party and wellness I think I’ve ever seen co-exist, and I can’t wait to be back.

The next four nights in Bora Bora were filled with wild, barefoot adventures and expeditions to underwater worlds. We had a very successful (but mostly relaxing) first four nights in Bora Bora, and I think at this midpoint in our trip we were ready to get a little dirty, or in this case wet and sunburned.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Bora Bora is comprised of islets (i.e. mini islands) surrounding one central peak, Mt. Otemanu. The only method of transport around these island shallows is by boat, and as you cruise around the islands you realize just how small this paradise really is. You can get from any resort destination to the next in no time, all while being blown away by the lush mountainous scenery you’ll see en route.

We cruised over to our next Bora Bora abode and in less than 15 minutes we found ourselves on our own perfect little private islet amongst the handful of islands that make up this oasis. Enter: Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island .

An adventurous (but still romantic) change of pace. Sofitel Private Island is a small, intimate hotel on an equally as small and intimate island. Did I emphasize enough that it’s a PRIVATE island? Having an island essentially to ourselves (aside from a few other guests and some very friendly hotel staff) was quite a treat. And although this place is just as suited for days of lounging around in the sun as any other place in Bora Bora is, we didn’t do much of that at all.

Every morning before breakfast we peeled ourselves out of bed, jumped in the ocean and then proceeded to sprint up (and down, and back up again) the stairs that lead up to a breathtaking viewpoint at the highest peak of this small island. This served as a little morning cardio / alarm clock for us, and we made a 4 and a half day routine out of it. After breakfast, our days followed with just as much activity as they started with, as we took to the waters to explore the divine coral gardens just a five-minute kayak paddle from our water hut on Sofitel Private Island.

While we were staying at Sofitel and with the help of the friendly concierge we arranged one of the most memorable parts of our trip, a shark and stingray tour. If you happen to find yourself in Bora Bora (regardless of your accommodation) this tour is a MUST. Having done a similar boat tour in the Bahamas I figured I’d probably already maxed out on possible shark and stingray experiences and this probably wouldn’t be much different, but I was surprised by how unique this experience is to Bora Bora. We did the half day tour, and the morning unfolded as follows.

At 9AM a boat picks you up at your hotel (or private island in our case) and you jump around to a few other hotels to pick up others who have also booked this experience. This was actually a really fun way to see more of the island and get a glimpse at some of the other Bora Bora hotels. We took notes of our faves. For next time. ;)

Once you have your group all together you take off for a half day of underwater excursions. You start at a remote coral garden location that you couldn’t possibly remember in case you wanted to come back on your own boat for round two. The coral garden here is an absolute color show.

The coral garden serves as a nice little warm up for the next stop: the rays. These friendly creatures swarm the boats as you approach, and are anything but shy. Anyone will a little nerves about being in close quarters with stingrays will be comforted to know the water is shallow enough here that you are wading about waist deep, feet firmly on the ground and your boat is waiting nearby if you decide you’re too chicken.

But the truth is these guys really aren’t interested in you if you aren’t bothering (or feeding) them. They’ll glide around you in circles and then they’ll be on their merry way. Stingrays are one of the most beautiful and graceful creatures and I’ll jump at any opportunity to spend time in their presence, but I did find this part of the tour to be quite similar to the ray feeding experiences I’ve had in the past. The next stop, however, was like nothing I’ve done before. SHARKS.

Okay, so I did swim with nurse sharks in the Bahamas, but let’s be real. Nurse sharks are just biggish fish. I think you can get more injured from a paper cut than a nurse shark. Our next location on the tour was an area of relatively deeper water that was infested with REAL shark-sharks. Black tip reef sharks, to be exact, about 4-5 feet in length. They almost immediately surrounded our boat, swarming at the surface of the water, clearly ready for the food that they know comes along with these daily tour boats. And making it that much harder to jump in. And then a few meters below us circling the seabed are the big guys. “Lemon sharks” (7-11 feet long!!!) surrounded by posses of bright yellow fish, which is presumably why they’re named lemon sharks. I was relieved to be able to see even the lemon sharks as clear as day despite them lurking a ways below us. Shout out to Bora Bora for having impossibly clear water, I genuinely appreciated it the most while giant ocean predators were lurking below me.

Was I scared? I mean yeah, you could say it was a thrill. But mostly I felt like I was suddenly in a scene from Blue Planet with David Attenborough narrating my every move as I immersed myself in pure shark pandemonium. Knowing that these creatures also aren’t out to get you, but that they could possibly take a portion of your finger off if they really wanted to added a little extra adrenaline to the whole experience. I managed to prevent fear from getting in the way of what was one of the cooler experiences I’ve ever had while traveling.

If the fish/rays/sharks are what make most of this experience so epic, the tour guides definitely take the cake for what makes the rest of the day so fun and memorable. These locals are nothing short of Bora Bora legends, appropriately adorning island thongs and channeling Disney’s Moana as they sing and play songs on the ukulele throughout the tour. They’ll have you crying from laughter while on the boat at their jokes and banter, and internally screaming while you’re in the water as they proceed to pick up rays and cradle them like babies, or you know, grab large sharks by their fins and follow them to the bottom of the ocean. Still impressed by their ability to dive down meters at a time holding their breath for minutes on end… and I was mesmerized by how they so clearly connect with the underwater life. We really got the impression that this tour was run by a very authentic local family business and these guys are really at home with the island. They were respectful to the sea life all while essentially putting on an impressive show for all of us, jaw-dropped tourists.

The half day ends at a gorgeous sandbar (extra shallow lagoon water) where you gorge on fresh fruit and let your heart rate return to normal.

I almost insist that you add this to your itinerary on any future Bora Bora trips, and a huge thank you to The Sofitel for setting this up for us!

As for the Sofitel Private Island, we fell in love with this lush little islet we got to call home for 4 days. With only a few huts lining it’s shores and a few tree houses perched around the edges, it really does feel like you are living on your own island. It’s peaceful and romantic, and while some may see its small size as an opportunity to kickback and relax, we took it as an invitation to explore.

It’s also very conveniently located just across the lagoon from the main Sofitel Bora Bora resort, and a quick boat ride whenever you please will give you full access to this resort’s dining, pool, and beautiful property. The private island itself also has its own restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and not without some amazing seafood options we didn’t tire of.

On certain nights of the week they host a romantic dinner show on the beach, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end this trip than eating lobster and drinking champagne on the beach with Zack, watching traditional Polynesian dancers perform as night falls over the magic of the mountains and lagoon.

Coming from what is the biggest resort on Bora Bora to what might potentially be the smallest gave us a feel for two very different resorts that both have beautiful Bora Bora in common. I personally loved getting a diverse experience in a place that I had expected to have very little variation between resorts.

Sofitel Private Island is a place that offers the full spectrum of Bora Bora magic one could hope for, and we may have overheard Sofitel’s plans to re-design the private island hotel, so we might just be marking our calendars for 2020 when we’re (fingers crossed) going to be back to re-experience this place that stole our hearts all over again!

Massive thank you to Sofitel Private Island Bora Bora and all their wonderful staff for having us! Be back in 2020 for round two.

BORA BORA, but far from boring. It’s a place that’s truly regarded as a dream destination. And having spent 8 sweet nights there, I can confidently report back that it is, in fact, a dream. Although it’s a popular honeymoon escape (and rightfully so) I found it to be a really special place beyond the surface-level honeymoon appeal. Not that I wasn’t expecting to like it, but I didn’t quite know I’d have a connection with it beyond it just being an exquisite Instagram backdrop.

I have been describing it to friends and family as feeling as if a little chunk of untouched Hawaii broke away and drifted a couple thousand miles south to form nothing short of a small blissful island oasis. I’ve always felt a special connection to Hawaii, and I felt the same feeling here. The air is sweet and heavy, and the water is like warm sparkling bathwater leading to colorful underwater universes below. I don’t know. Maybe there’s just something in the air.

Bora Bora is centered by a magnificent dormant volcano that’s then surrounded by a cluster of islets, with crystal-clear impossibly turquoise lagoon water in between. Said dormant volcano, Mt. Otemanu, makes an appearance in just about every photo we took here as you will surely notice. We couldn’t help it, both because it’s probably the most magnificent sight you can imagine, and also because it’s visible from almost every angle of Bora Bora’s circling islets, so it’s delightfully hard to avoid.

When I say crystal clear water, I don’t want it to sound like I’m exaggerating for the sake of more vivid travel blogger-y language – no – it’s actually the clearest water I think I’ve ever personally witnessed that’s not of a swimming pool. It’s also impossibly still water (hence the water portion of Bora Bora being a “lagoon”, which is essentially ocean water that’s cradled in between islets and coral reef.) And speaking of coral… wow.

Snorkeling in a lagoon is the most peaceful and extraordinary way to take a peek into that colorful underwater world. There’s something almost tranquilizing about snorkeling in a place where you can see 360 degrees around you clear as day, no questionable murky drop-off in the distance, no huge waves thrashing you around – it’s quiet and clear and special. Even in the deeper portions of Bora Bora’s waters where we were lucky enough to swim with sharks later on (more on that coming soon!), I was both amazed and comforted to be able to clearly see the sandy seabed below even on a cloudy day. There’s certainly thrill and adventure to be found in the open ocean, but the waters of Bora Bora have a certain stillness to them that really leave you feeling immersed and enchanted by what’s happening around the coral below.

And while we spent a lot of our time in and under the water, it’s clear that we barely even began to cover some of the most fantastic snorkel-tunities that Bora Bora has to offer (or scuba, if you prefer). While snorkeling one day we ran into a photographer who was literally staying on a boat for an entire month, living on and in the water as he jaunted around Bora Bora’s gorgeous oceanscape. Zack and I were both very inspired by his method of experiencing the island, and let’s just say we have a few ideas in mind for our next trip…

But, the land portion of Bora Bora is where we stayed, and let me tell you, it rocked.

Our first 4 nights were spent at one of Instagram’s most admired destinations, The Four Seasons Bora Bora. As this was our first impression of Bora Bora right after a less than restful red-eye from LA, we weren’t quite sure where the dream ended and reality began. Bora Bora is a place that really hits you like a tidal wave the second you arrive (ironically, as there aren’t really any waves there), and the Four Seasons has arguably one of the most scenic views of Mt. Otemanu, so you’ll be sure to have trouble forming sentences when you first arrive. It really is that beautiful, but as always, photos will do a better job at explaining this than I can. And although it’s impossible to take a bad photo here, the truth is that there is nothing that can really compare to gawking at this place with your own eyeballs.

If you’re looking for absolute island luxury, this is your hotel. It’s groomed and pruned and gorgeous, with immaculate attention to detail in it’s tropical gardens, private swimming lagoons and thatched overwater villas. With multiple restaurants from sushi to French-inspired island cuisine, we loved having so many dining options.

Beyond simply basking in actual 5-star paradise and enjoying the finer things in life, which this place is alllll about, there are so many water activities, excursions and beautiful underwater life to be explored and enjoyed. With natural private lagoons on property, you are able to snorkel in enclosed areas that still offer outstanding coral reef and marine life – really perfect for leisurely exploring and especially suitable for kids (we constantly thought of Zack’s niece and nephew and how this would be an absolute paradise of a playground for them).

The infamous overwater bungalows of the Four Seasons Bora Bora are just as dreamy as pictured, with all the modern luxury amenities of a 5 star hotel room that just so happens to be perched on stilts over calm turquoise water. I was somehow lucky enough to spend my 25th birthday here, and as you can imagine, it was wonderful. I stuffed my face with sushi in paradise, and I’m not sure how much better a birthday could possibly get.

As far as first impressions go, this place wowed us. Tropical, picturesque, luxurious island paradise.

Huge thank you to The Four Seasons Bora Bora and all the lovely staff there for having us for my birthday and making it such a special and memorable experience, and to Bora Bora itself for producing the single-best sunset that a place could possibly conjure up on the evening of my 25th birthday. I’ll never forget it.

Stay tuned for another post on the second half of our trip, including sharks, stingrays and a liiiittle more adventure. And if you’re curious about the bikinis / outfits / brands I wore this trip, you’re in luck cause that’s coming too! x