Swimming with Sharks in Bora Bora
in October 2024, my wife and I travelled to French Polynesia for our honeymoon. As part of the trip, we knew we had to explore Bora Bora, also known as the Pearl of the Pacific. With its famous volcanic peaks, strikingly blue waters and coral-filled lagoons teeming with marine life, Bora Bora offers not only a spectacular backdrop for a honeymoon (or any vacation for that matter), but also a rare chance to experience an untouched and truly natural part of the world. And, for a travel photographer and writer, Bora Bora also offers the chance to get up close and personal with some of world’s most beautiful sea creatures in extremely clear waters: blacktip reef sharks and stingrays. Swimming with sharks in Bora Bora may sound like a stressful and scary way to spend your honeymoon, but, once you’re in the water with these majestic creatures, you almost feel a dream-like sense of tranquility. And, if you like snapping photos and videos like me, you may just end up with some epic shark photos to share on your Instagram account, too.
Where We Stayed
Bora Bora is known for its overwater bungalows, but they can be expensive. And I mean REALLY expensive. We chose to stay in an overwater bungalow on another island in French Polynesia, and saved a bit of money by staying at a hotel on Bora Bora’s main island during our trip.
The Royal Bora Bora hotel is situated near Matira Beach on the south end of the island. This public beach is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel, and is considered the nicest beach in Bora Bora. Matira Beach is located on the lagoon, so its waters are super shallow, clear and full of marine life. In fact, we saw a number of stingrays swim right along the shoreline - and I even swam with one, too!
The hotel itself is located right on the water, and has its own sandy beach filled with lounge chairs and umbrellas. However, the beach is not on the lagoon, so the water is bit deeper and has more of a royal blue hue to it. There is a fair amount of coral in the water, so you can do some pretty solid snorkelling here. The water was a little wavy, however, as the hotel seems a bit more exposed to the wind than Matira Beach down the road (but this could’ve just been the particular week we were there).
The hotel offers a restaurant and bar, as well as a pool, on the beach side of the property, while all of the rooms are located across the road in jungle area. The rooms are all located in small two-storey buildings, each with a name representing one of French Polynesia’s many islands. The rooms themselves were very clean, offering a traditional Polynesian atmosphere to relax in after a long day on the water. In particular, we really enjoyed our room’s balcony, which overlooked the jungle / garden area.
The food at the hotel was a bit hit or miss. We ate breakfast at the hotel every day, as it was included with our stay, but the other few meals we ate here weren’t the best. We actually found ourselves eating at the neighbouring hotel’s restaurant, Tama’a Maitai, most nights, as well as the Bora Bora Beach Club at Matira Beach. Both restaurants offered very good food and great atmospheres.
The Best Lagoon Tour Company in Bora Bora
There are a number of Lagoon Tour companies in Bora Bora, as a lagoon tour really is a must when visiting. Most of them also offer the opportunity to swim with sharks in Bora Bora. After doing a bit of research, we decided to go with Lagoon Service Bora Bora. They offer a half day tour that takes you around the entire island, stops at three different snorkel spots, provides a snack and refreshments and, of course, includes swimming with sharks.
Their boats are also really cool. They feature Polynesian artwork on their exterior and include an outrigger. In addition, Lagoon Service Bora Bora picks you up and drops you off right at your hotel! Talk about an easy excursion.
Key Things to Know
A number of years ago, we went shark diving in Hawaii, which was also incredible! On our way out to the dive site, the crew gave us some safety tips for diving with sharks, so I thought I’d relay a few of them here, as the Lagoon Tour in Bora Bora didn’t really relay any of this information before we hopped in the water. This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive safety briefing for diving with sharks, but rather a few things to keep in mind if you’ve never done it.
It can be a bit intimidating when you roll up to the dive spot and start to see sharks around the boat. Sharks can detect electrical fields, so they can actually detect the electrical fields coming from the boat, which means, when a boat rolls in, they may come towards it.
Once you get into the water, you may be surprised how calm and tranquil everything is. Both times I’ve been in the water with sharks, they usually just swim in circles around the area, keeping to themselves. The advice we were given in Hawaii was to try and maintain eye contact with the sharks to show that you’re not afraid and that you are dominant. In addition, if a shark does get too close to you, you can use your fins to keep the shark at a distance.
Speaking of fins, if you’re comfortable wearing them, it can be a good idea to wear them when diving with sharks. Because the shark dives typically take place in deeper water off the lagoon, the currents can be stronger. Fins will allow you to swim with a lot less energy, allowing you to safely get back to the boat when needed. Lagoon Service Bora Bora provides fins (and all snorkel gear) on the boat. They also provide life jackets as well.
The Overall Experience
Swimming with sharks in Bora Bora, and the lagoon tour overall, was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Firstly, seeing Bora Bora from the water is breathtaking. And I mean BREATHTAKING. Witnessing Mount Otemanu rise out of the water is both magical and awe-inspiring. The water in the lagoon that surrounds the mountain changes from shade to shade to shade of blue everywhere you look. And the blueness of the water? I’ve never seen water that blue! It almost felt like we were cruising over a box of crayons.
As mentioned above, the lagoon tour first picks you up at your hotel, and then brings you to three snorkelling spots. Our guide was fantastic, as he was full of knowledge and history about the island (as well as jokes), and overall made the half day tour really fun. He even put me to work, having me bring the front buoy in and out of the water as we picked up fellow passengers at their hotels! As a fan of the show Below Deck, I loved it.
The first snorkel spot is located in shallow water right on the lagoon. Once you hop into the water, you are immediately surrounded by large stingrays! These animals curiously swim by you, allowing you an incredible view of one of the ocean’s most interesting species. While we were swimming with the stingrays, a blacktip reef shark popped out of nowhere, giving us a sneak preview of what was to come at our second snorkel spot. The lagoon floor did have quite a bit of sharp rocks and coral on it at this spot, so it may be worthwhile wearing water shoes or fins when you’re here.
The second spot is where all the magic happened. We finally got to swim with sharks in Bora Bora. As soon as we slid into the water, we were surrounded by probably 40 blacktip reef sharks. The water was a deep royal blue, and the clarity of the water made the sharks so vibrant. When we were in Hawaii shark diving, the sharks almost had a blue, hazy tint to them. Not here. The sharks showed off their true grey/brown colouring. The water was so clear that you could even see the sharks moving their eyes around looking at everything as they swam by! Again, swimming with sharks like this in their natural habitat is very serene, and truly shows how incredible these often misunderstood animals are.
The last snorkel spots brings you to a motu across from the main island. The view of Mount Otemanu from this spot is spectacular. Definitely a good place to snap some photos of it from the boat. Once you’re in the water, your guide will lead you on a 10 minute snorkel swim through some of the most dense and stunning coral you’ll ever see. The guide needs to lead you through this, as the coral is so close to the surface in certain spots that there’s really only a few paths you can take through the coral maze. As you cruise through the coral, you will see a ridiculous amount of colourful tropical fish.
Once you’re back on the boat, the guide will offer you some refreshments and prepare a snack tray for everyone. Our snack tray featured local fruits (including bananas from our guide’s garden), as well as coconut bread. After we enjoyed our delicious food, which really hit the spot after a morning of epic snorkelling, our guide dropped us all back off at our hotels.
Conclusion
Travelling to Bora Bora is an experience in its itself, but, once you’re there, one of the most incredible experiences you will likely have in your travelling career is doing a lagoon tour around the island. The tour offers incredible views of Mount Otemanu, and really showcases the many different blues of Bora Bora’s waters. The tour takes you to three snorkelling spots, which allows you to swim with tropical fish, stingrays and, of course, blacktip reef sharks. Swimming with sharks in Bora Bora will not only provide you with an incredible memory from your honeymoon and / or trip, but it’ll also leave you with a sense of respect and awe for the incredible creatures that call our oceans home.