Bora Bora By Land - Private Beach Villa

Where we stayed: Le Méridien, Bora Bora

After spending a few glorious days in an overwater bungalow, Mark and I decided to spend the last half of our honeymoon on land. We loved the idea of experiencing both worlds, Bora Bora by sea and land. And by land I mean a private beach villa! It's definitely different from the overwater bungalow but it was so spacious with our own private pool and beach. I instantly fell in love and made myself feel right at home.

Mornings at our private beach villa were my absolute favorite. The lagoon was untouched, water as smooth as glass, and the sun peeked through the towering palm trees with a warm glow. It was one of the most peaceful ways to wake up in paradise with a gentle wakeup call from the tropical birds and sun rays. Experiencing the early tropical mornings on our leisurely way to breakfast became our favorite parts of the day!

After breakfast, we would usually spend the rest of our morning exploring the resort, lounging in our private beach villa, and planning our next excursion or activity. We loved just walking the sandy paths, soaking up the beach views.

I could not get over the palm trees! They were everywhere, seemingly filling every open spot of sand with their giant leaves, towering over everyone below. I was mesmerized by their beauty.

After spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon soaking up the beach views (and a few drinks), we would usually head back to our the villa. We loved to take a dip in our infinity pool, snorkel in the lagoon, and open up all the doors and windows and lounge with a good book in our living room. Our beach villa was an absolute dream, with so much space to stretch out, I sometimes couldn't hear Mark on the other side of the villa!

Our favorite part about Le Méridien was the Turtle Center. Temporarily home to about 9 sea turtles, the resort is also a rehabilitation center for injured and sick turtles. Every day, you can feed the turtles under the close supervision of their caretakers. During the day, some of the turtles were allowed to swim in an enclosed habitat to stretch their flippers. Once the turtles are healthy enough, they are released back into the wild to live the rest of their lives out in the Bora Bora reefs.

We loved stopping by the turtle center, checking out their enclosed habitat almost everyday. The coral, fish, and sea creatures living in the habitat were astounding, all living together like they would out in the wild. Through the crystal clear water we spotted trumpet fish, yellow puffer fish, and sea urchin, all swimming about in perfect harmony.

Bora Bora by land is nothing like Bora Bora by sea. But for me, I was so excited to experience both, exploring the island over water and on the beach.

Next, I can't wait to tell you about the food we had on the island! I'll give you a teaser: there was a lot of seafood.