When I started writing this post it was

203 days
… or 29 weeks
… or approx. 6 months

to my 30th birthday. A couple of years back I dreamt of visiting Bora Bora on my 30th birthday and now living in New York it no longer seem out of reach. I recently discovered a number of travel bloggers, Instagrammers and Youtubers and being able to follow them on their adventures I discovered new places I want to visit, besides Bora Bora. Here is the list of my top 14 pics.

1. Bora Bora (French Polynesia)

Photo credit: Never ending footsteps How to get to Bora Bora: Best option is to get the Air Tahiti pass which is much cheaper than buying single flights between islands. Bora Bora’s airport is located on a motu — a reef island — so to get to the mainland, you’ll need to jump on Air Tahiti’s free catamaran shuttle. It takes you to the dock in Vaitape, the main town on the island. From there, someone from your guesthouse will most likely pick you up. When you are getting back to the airport, you need to be on the dock 1.5h before your flight to catch the shuttle. What I’d like to do in Bora Bora: swim at Matira beach (Ranked No 1 beach in the world), paddle boarding, swim in a clear canoe, jet ski ($280, 2h ride), snorkeling, shoot some drone and under water footage & climb Mt Pahia or Mt Otemanu. Booking.com Transport: There are 2 Avis car rentals, one in Vaitape and the other between Intercontinental and Sofitel. You can also rent a bike but need to be careful as there is a lot of stray dog on the island. There is usually 3 dogs per household and from what I’ve seen in many cases people do not care about their animals, do not feed them or provide proper care. Dogs bark and try to bite you if you are by yourself. Food: There are 2 markets near Matira beach: Tiare Market and the other is right next to it. Both recommended as reasonably priced. If you go to Vaitape, which is 8km from Matira ther is Super U supermarket, and one more grocery shop, pharmacy, clothing stores and jewelery stores. In Snack Matira and Snack Otomana (I prefered the latter) you can get a Burger or Tuna steak with fries for around $15. Accommodation: Bora Bora have it all: Couchsurfing, AirBnb and famous over the water Hotel villas. I spent 2 weeks in Bora Bora on my 30th birthday and I spent full month in French Polynesia. The weather was amazing. People did not speak english and I was struggling most of the time to speak to anybody. Learning basic french would be a great option. When it comes to beaches my favorite were on Huahine and black beach in Tahiti. Bora Bora beach is an underwater jungle with a lot of coral and fish. Whilst in Huahine and Tahiti you can swim without running into fish all the time. Would I go back? Yes, I met the most amazing airbnb host and had great time with her. We wold walk the lagoon, or go in the mountains. I had a mango tree right in front of my apartment. For a solo female traveler I would say 3-4 days would be enough to get the Bora Bora experience.

2. Maupiti (French Polynesia)

As I was discovering Lauren’s adventures I learned that it’s worth to visit other islands that are equally beautiful but still different from Bora Bora. Those are also cheaper and less crowded. Photo credit: Never ending footsteps I spent a week on Maupiti but I did not like the island at all. There was only one airbnb, where I stayed and I wasn’t happy there. It was unfortunately the most expensive island and had nothing to offer. I spent around $100/nigh, compared to $50 in Bora Bora or $60 in Huahine. Water on the island was not working for me and even though I boiled it all the time I was sick the whole week and lost like 10 pounds, couldnt eat anything but baguette and bananas. There was a lot of banana and lemon trees on the island. You may also like: Caribbean cruise ( Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Key West, Damajagua waterfalls)

3. Huahine (French Polynesia)

Photo credit: Never ending footsteps Huahine was hands down my favorite island in the South Pacific. My airbnb host was fluent in english which made the whole difference. Huahine is the biggest French Polynesian island I was on with 60km of a well maintained road. My host took me on a round the island trip and showed me beautiful sights, pearl farm, abandoned Sofitel resort. The beach was breathtaking. I wrote a whole post on Huahine here and also made a Huahine + Bora Bora vide. Check it out. You may also like:

4. Oahu (Hawaii)

I spent 3 weeks on Oahu. I fell in love with the island, people, culture, food, beaches, mountains, simply everything. Here you can find all the posts I wrote so far. ★ Hawaii Everything you need to know before you go to Hawaii First day in Hawaii Top 10 things to do on Oahu, Hawaii Top Hawaii Beaches Photo credit: Gary Pepper Popular posts:

Photo credit @travel_inhershoes You may also like: How to organize a trip to Washington DC and save over 50%

5. Kauai (Hawaii)

I really wanted to see Kauai but I went on a Stairway to Heaven trail- fro the legal way and hiked 20km for 7 hours and was unable to walk for 3 days straight, so I just stayed on Oahu. Also if you are planning on staying in Kauai its best to book your accommodation at least 2 months in advance, same goes for Oahu. The cheapest room was $750/night when I checked a week before. Hostels were fully booked. I do need to go back as this island is so beautiful and offers many hikes.

Photo credit: Gary Pepper What to do: recommended by Gary Pepper

6. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Brazil)

This national park in Brazil is simply so beautiful it has been on my list for a very long time. Best way to get there: Rome to Rio app recommends flight from Rio to Sao Luiz (3h flight cost around $130) and then 2.5h drive (125 km). Photo Credit Ricardo Mendonça Ferreira Photo Credit Karen Hoffmann

7. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

What to do: hike to see the view as on the pictures below + recommendation from The Blog Abroad

8. Tulum (Mexico)

How to get here: Tulum is 2h drive from Cancun around $10 by bus What to do: swim in cenotes, cave rafting & enjoy the sunny beach Cenotes around Tulum, from Anna Everywhere A Passion and a passport – What to do in Riviera Maya Zip Bike Awesome 4-day guide with tips around car renting and much more from Alyssa – My life’s a travel movie Photo credit: Never ending footsteps

9. Cancun (Mexico)

Photo credit: Travel and Leisure Photo credit: bylaurenm

Phote credit : xplor

11. Seychelles

Photo credit: The Ultimate Travel Company

Photo credit: Paulinye

12. Mauritius

Photo credit : Pilot Madeleine

13. Maldives

Photo credit: Pilot Madeleine

14. Bali

Bali is a super popular destination and I have gathered a lot of similar photos from many talented photographers. Have a look:

Beautiful AYANA Resort, check rates here

Photo credit: Pilot Madeleine Photo credit: Gypsealust 2. Popular spot across Instagrammers.

This is far from all the places I want to visit, but this are currently my top pics. Travel blogs mentioned:

Let me know your dream destinations

Pin for later:

8 3.3K

3.3K