Best Destinations in French Polynesia

Bora Bora is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It's part of the French Polynesian group, an overseas collectivity of France. The main island, located about 230 km northwest of Papeete (Tahiti), is surrounded by a lagoon and a group of islets emerging from the coral reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 m. The name is derived from the local Tahitian dialect name – Pora Pora, meaning the first born. The island, though discovered by Europeans only in 1722 (by Jakob Roggeveen) , is about 7 million years old. The main economic activity in the island is tourism. Several beach resorts, over-water bungalows, and even private islands have been built on small islands surrounding the lagoon.