We saw an octopus while snorkeling under our overwater bungalow, and another octopus at the main Hilton beach. It was amazing watching the octopuses change colors, camouflage, and swim (you can see some of what we saw in the 4K video). We spent a lot of time observing them, and them observing us. They may of may not have been annoyed with how long we were watching them! I think we got closer than is usually safe as they can bite quite hard when annoyed.
Our video tour of the fantastic Sofitel in Moorea
Here’s our video tour of the Sofitel Ia Ora Resort in Moorea. It’s as a great place to spend a week with a lot to do. We definitely recommend getting a overwater bungalow because the views and snorkeling are phenomenal. It’s one of the reasons to go to French Polynesia in the first place! There an infinity pool, a bar, a restaurant with daily entertainment, a nice beach, and phenomenal snorkeling for a resort. The views are also spectacular during the day and at night.
Eagle rays surrounded us under the bungalow
We swam into a group of eagle rays under our bungalow at the Hilton in Bora Bora and luckily had a camera. Although we were told that these rays are friendly and not dangerous, they had so many sharp barbs that it’s probably wise to be a bit cautious. At first, they were on just one side of us (in front) when we arrived to their location. However, after a minute or two, they moved and started swimming in circles around us. It felt like they were studying us. After about 10 minutes of them circling us, we decided to back off and head back up to the bungalow.
Amazing snorkeling at the Sofitel in Moorea
There were so many amazing fish at the Sofitel. There’s a beautiful barrier reef surrounding the beach, a great beach, and large variety of fish in the coral reef under the overwater bungalows. The Sofitel is reputed to have the best snorkeling of any resort there and from what we saw, we’d agree. We even saw a what we think is a many-toothed snake moray along the shore. I may have gotten much closer than recommended, as you can see in the video!
Our excursion to Trunk Bay from the Norwegian Getaway
Here’s video of our excursion to Trunk Bay in St John while our Norwegian Getaway cruise was docked in St Thomas. The excursion involved a 45 minute boat ride followed by a short bus to get to the beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful and definitely worth visiting. Whether you just want to lay on the beach or go snorkeling, you should make your way to Trunk Bay if you get the chance.
Our excursion to Virgin Gorda while on the Norwegian Getaway
We did an excursion to Virgin Gorda during our stop on Tortola (British Virgin Islands) from the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship. This is one of the most unique beaches we’ve been too–massive boulders everywhere. Hiking the boulders between beaches was a lot of fun. It can get slippery so if you have water shoes, definitely bring them.
So many tropical fish eating from our hands right off the deck
There were so many different species of fish right off of our overwater bungalow’s deck at the Sofitel in Moorea. The snorkeling was fantastic and we had a lot of fun feeding fish from our hands. The parrotfish were especially aggressive when it came to eating the bread. You can actually hear the fish grab the bread! A few of them thought my hand was food and tried to get a piece of that as well!
Our overwater bungalow in Moorea
Here’s our 4K video tour of the Luxury Overwater Bungalow that we stayed in at the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort. It was an amazing, albeit different, experience from what we had at the Hilton in Bora Bora. Our room was fantastic: a great view of Tahiti, not too far of a walk from the restaurant, and perfectly situated for great snorkeling right off the deck. We were in room 108 in case you want to reserve the same specific room.
Rio Secreto is one of the best excursions in the Caribbean
We went on an excursion to Rio Secreto during our Oasis of the Seas cruise to Cozumel and it was really amazing. It was about an hour traversing water in a cenote (about a mile and a half). The water wasn’t too deep, but there were several areas that were very, very, very tight. You can read the detailed account here.
The most amazing resort in the world
Here’s our tour of the amazingly spectacular Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort. It is quite simply one of the best places to stay on the planet. After landing at the airport, the experience starts with a boat ride to get to the hotel’s private atol, and continues with the amazing room, activities and service. We went to the One Million Dollar View lookout atop the complex and did lots and lots of snorkeling throughout the whole resort where we saw octopii, eels, and eagle rays in addition to a huge variety of fish and coral.
Getting to paradise
It took us the better part of a whole day to get to Bora Bora. You can see clips from our journey in the above video. Needless to say, it was most definitely worth the travel day to get there!
Tahitian paradise
There is a lot to do at the Intercontinental Tahiti resort itself. There are a few restaurants, amazing views of Moorea, snorkeling in a lagoon open to the ocean, huge swimming pool, and more. We had a newly renovated Superior Garden View Room and it was pretty nice. Aside from the nice view, my favorite part of the room was the pillow menu. That was a new one for me and I definitely made use of it.
Dinner and a show in French Polynesia
The restaurant at the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora has a Tahitian / Polynesian dance show every night. You can check out our video above. They change the shows every day, and once a week, they have a special traditional fire dance performance that is absolutely fantastic. I didn’t have my camera that night, but if you can, be sure to catch that show on Thursday nights.
You can climb waterfalls in Jamaica
The climb took us about 30 minutes. Something like this would probably not be available in the US because of liability issues (the rock can be slippery). However, the climb was relatively easy and took about 30 minutes. Definitely a lot of fun. You can read the detailed account here.
We went off-road with a dune buggy in the jungle
We did an off-road tour in a dune buggy and it was a lot of fun. We kind of “crashed” on one of the big jumps, but fortunately did not get hurt too bad. There was also a jump into the Jade Cavern cenote partway through the excursion. As you can probably tell from the video, the dune buggy ride is very, very bumpy.
An awesome aquarium that has a bit of everything
We saw some amazing fish and other sea life at the aquarium in Boston. There were plenty of jellyfish, sharks, sting rays, turtles, penguins, seals, and more. The variety of fish there is incredible. They even have a mermaid’s purse where you can see a shark embryo grow and eventually hatch!!! The touch tank is another favorite where you can safely touch sting rays and sharks. We easily spent most of the day at this aquarium.
Soothing jellyfish at the aquarium
I love jellyfish. The Boston Aquarium has a great collection of jellyfish that always keep me hypnotized.
Giant boulder beach in the Virgin Islands
We went to Virgin Gorda in Tortola during our stop on the British Virgin Islands and it was one of the most unusual beaches we’ve ever been too. It was a field of gigantic boulders along the shore line surrounded by sand a beautiful blue water. Hiking in-between the boulders to move between beaches was a lot of fun. I guess you can think of it as the next level version of a pebble beach!
Adventures for two 