Travel- overwater bungalows

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jehovasfitness
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Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by jehovasfitness »

A bucket list item for me is a vacation in an overwater bungalow.

Usually this was mostly limited to Bora Bora or Maldives with me leaning Bora Bora.

Now Sandals resorts has a few options in the Caribbean. I realize not same as Bora Bora but definitely easier to get to as I live in MD and likely a bit cheaper.

We went to st lucia sandals for our honeymoon 10 years ago and loved it.

Anyone ever done an OWB?

Where did you go and how did you like it?

Mainly interested in clear water, ease of getting to, price of course, and seclusion.

I did find one that is underwater as well but it's on the east coast of Africa
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Hayden
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Hayden »

I saw these when I was in Jamaica. Didn't stay there. I like to be able to return to my room easily. I'm not sure I like the idea of having to wait for the boat to take me to my room.
flyingaway
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by flyingaway »

Those are (expensive) vacations, not travel, I think. I also saw them in Bora Bora (on videos and pictures). My wife certainly wants to be there.
We normally take one or two vacations each year, and one or two travels each year.
Tayskiing
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Tayskiing »

I did one in Malaysia and for it's price it was really nice. View was beautiful but we weren't able to go into the water from our room...
I was stationed in Korea so it was a much shorter flight than from the US.

Check out this website... gives you some ideas
https://www.priceoftravel.com/992/the-1 ... the-world/
stan1
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by stan1 »

Not over water but we have done beach front villas on a private island so some of the advice will be similar. We enjoyed it, it was worth it, and it is no longer on our bucket list.

As with anything expensive its good to do your due diligence. We chose a relatively remote location in the Caribbean but made sure we'd have enough activities to keep ourselves busy and that we'd find the choices in food to be to our tastes. More remote locations probably means all-inclusive and if its also small and intimate you'll have one restaurant. We like small and intimate. We prefer to go to a resort and stay there for 5-7 days rather than moving around so we do like to have a few day trips in mind that we find enjoyable such as sailing or hiking. When we go on a beach resort vacation we do prefer to be away from large tourist areas if possible. We also are willing to pay for a nice view and ability to walk out onto the beach from our room. Anyways some ideas for you to think about.
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Lindyhopper
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Lindyhopper »

OWBs at the Hilton in Moorea (we didn't go to Bora Bora) were NOT secluded (unless maybe you were the end unit), as a boardwalk connected them (not a boat). So the ones closest to the shore were guaranteed to have people walking buy.
To be honest, we didn't think that much of Tahiti. It is like a very expensive Caribbean island where people speak French (and have to import most things from half way around the world).
However, if you dive (and we don't), then it would be a totally different story.
Brent S
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Brent S »

The wife and I did OWBs in French Polynesia for our honeymoon, this was about 10 years ago so keep that in mind. We spent a few nights at Sofitel Motu on Bora Bora and the rest of our time at Le Taha’a on Tahaa. If I recall it was something in the $800-1000 per night range, but I’m sure it depends on the $/Euro value. Direct access to the water for swimming/snorkeling. Clear blue water, decent reef conditions. Not all inclusive; food was good but not great. Had some better meals when we got away from the resorts. Was it worth it? Sure it was our honeymoon. But what FP had in spades was seclusion. Whether sunbathing or snorkeling or watching the sunset or eating in restaurants, we rarely saw more than a handful of other guests/tourists. I mean you could count them on one hand. Haven’t been back, but next time I would like to try one of the atolls Manihi or Tikehau.
Starfish
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Starfish »

Plenty of them available n Boca del Torro. It might not check all your boxes though, but some are interesting.
NoGambleNoFuture
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by NoGambleNoFuture »

Was going to mention Moorea but they beat me to it!

Another that was pretty solid is Marriott Momi Bay in Fiji... and I've NEVER met better people than in Fiji - best people in the world.
Starfish
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by Starfish »

I thought they don't serve them anymore.
carguyny
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by carguyny »

Lindyhopper wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 6:59 pm OWBs at the Hilton in Moorea (we didn't go to Bora Bora) were NOT secluded (unless maybe you were the end unit), as a boardwalk connected them (not a boat). So the ones closest to the shore were guaranteed to have people walking buy.
To be honest, we didn't think that much of Tahiti. It is like a very expensive Caribbean island where people speak French (and have to import most things from half way around the world).
However, if you dive (and we don't), then it would be a totally different story.
Not a fan of Tahiti either (we did Bora Bora as well as 2 other islands). I'm a scuba diver as well and I would rate the whole experience pretty average. Nothing stood out on the positive side, but we remember lots of dead coral and food being so so.

I would go elsewhere - Fiji is high on our list of great island experiences.
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mhc
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by mhc »

We stayed in one in Huahine-Nui French Polynesia for our honeymoon. It was a very small hotel and secluded. You could only get to the hotel by boat. We went in Feb. of 2003, and there were probably fewer than 10 guests at the hotel. We loved it. It was a tremendous experience.
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knowledge
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by knowledge »

We lucked out and got upgraded to overwater bungalows during our honeymoon in the Maldives over a decade ago. It was quite amazing to walk down a few steps out into the reef, especially at low tide. To be honest, the beach villas they had looked quite amazing as well.

I'm glad to have done it, but doubt I'll do it again (kids). I can't imagine staying anywhere like that with kids. It was totally geared for couples.
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jehovasfitness
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by jehovasfitness »

NoGambleNoFuture wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:23 pm Was going to mention Moorea but they beat me to it!

Another that was pretty solid is Marriott Momi Bay in Fiji... and I've NEVER met better people than in Fiji - best people in the world.
Hmm seems half the price of sandals granted not all inclusive but still. Thanks for heads up
dave_k
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by dave_k »

My wife and I had our honeymoon in Moorea and Bora Bora (10+ years ago). We stayed in an OWB in Moorea, and in a beachfront hut right near some OWBs in Bora Bora. We loved it. The snorkeling was amazing (clear water, lots of colorful fish, coral reefs), and there were a variety of activities like swimming with sharks and stingrays, renting a buggy to explore the island, etc. It never felt crowded, and was very laid back. It was quite expensive though. I'd recommend it to anyone that can afford it.
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oldcomputerguy
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by oldcomputerguy »

jehovasfitness wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:52 pm Now Sandals resorts has a few options in the Caribbean. I realize not same as Bora Bora but definitely easier to get to as I live in MD and likely a bit cheaper.
We were in Sandals South Coast in Jamaica last December, I saw the OWB's there, wasn't impressed enough to feel they were worth the (um, significant) added cost.
We went to st lucia sandals for our honeymoon 10 years ago and loved it.
Just got back from there this past July (Regency LaToc resort). We went there 20 years ago for our twentieth anniversary, went back for the 40th. Nice resort, but lots of up- and down-hill walking. I actually ended up losing weight while we were there!

If we ever go back, we're gonna pop for a room up on the bluff end. Much nicer end of the resort, nicer pool, quieter, faces the sunset.
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barnaclebob
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Re: Travel- overwater bungalows

Post by barnaclebob »

We did one in the Maldives and it was great but probably not something that I would go out of my way to repeat if the resort had great beach front rooms. The swimming and snorkeling right off of our room wasn't that great but it was fun to throw food to the fish at night.
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