There are many places around the world you can visit for a tropical getaway. Close to home, you can head south to the Florida Keys or further out to the Caribbean islands. You can head west for a Hawaiian stay. Further afield, you can visit South and Central America, or you can jet across the pond to the Mediterranean.

For our money, though, one of the best places you can go is to French Polynesia. In particular, Bora Bora is one of our all-time favorite tropical destinations. It’s a long way away and a remote destination, but despite its isolation, it’s a world-famous tourist destination. That means there are many established ways to get there, plenty of amenities for the modern traveler, and several high-end resorts (like St. Regis and the Four Seasons) you can book to make your trip fantastic from start to finish.

One of the biggest questions we see about Bora Bora is this: when is the best time of year to visit this island paradise? Is it vibrant all year round, or is there a miserable off-season you should avoid? While we very briefly covered this in our complete guide to Bora Bora vacations, it was only a couple of sentences, so we figured we’d dive a little deeper here.

What Are the Seasons in Bora Bora?

As a tropical destination relatively close to the equator, Bora Bora’s climate is relatively static. The variance between the depths of one season and the peaks of the other is relatively small. To give you some points of comparison, Bora Bora is at the same latitude as northern Australia, Madagascar, and Bolivia.

Rather than summer and winter, as many of us are used to in the United States, Bora Bora has a Wet season and a Dry season. The dry season is a little cooler, has relatively low humidity, and doesn’t get much rain beyond the occasional light shower. In contrast, the wet season is warmer, much more humid, and tends to have daily rain.

For tourism, most tourists prefer the dry season, for clear skies, lower humidity, and less disruption of their planned experiences. The so-called “shoulder seasons” – the equivalents of spring and fall, as transitions between wet and dry – are also popular. The “low season” lines up with the wet season, and tends to be a lot less popular for travelers because of the unpleasant weather and greater chances of your planned events being rained out.

When is the Peak Tourism Season for Bora Bora?

The peak season for Bora Bora is generally the dry season. It’s called the high season specifically because it’s high time for tourism, and it ranges from May through October.

Whenever you see pictures of pristine Bora Bora, with bright blue skies, crystal-clear waters, vibrant green jungles, and incredible undersea adventures, you’re seeing photos from the high season. The off-season tends to be a lot more overcast, dreary, drizzly, and miserable, especially if you’re the kind of person who is sensitive to mosquitoes, humidity, and heat.

What are Temperatures Like in Bora Bora?

Tropical temperatures in Bora Bora are extremely reasonable all year round. Check it out (all temps in F):

• January: Highs of 86.5, lows of 74.1.
• February: Highs of 86.9, lows of 74.3.
• March: Highs of 87.4, lows of 74.3.
• April: Highs of 87.1, lows of 73.9.
• May: Highs of 85.8, lows of 72.5.
• June: Highs of 84, lows of 70.2.
• July: Highs of 82.9, lows of 69.4.
• August: Highs of 82.8, lows of 68.9.
• September: Highs of 83.5, lows of 69.8.
• October: Highs of 84.4, lows of 71.4.
• November: Highs of 85.1, lows of 72.7.
• December: Highs of 85.6, lows of 73.9.

As you can see, there’s not much variance from the peak season to the low season.

Of course, this is a little misrepresentative. As most people know, the heat itself isn’t necessarily the problem; it’s the humidity. A dry 80 doesn’t feel too bad, but a humid 75 can be torturous. Your body’s natural thermoregulation relies on evaporating sweat, and if the air around you is already saturated with moisture, that sweat doesn’t have anywhere to go, so you can overheat much more easily.

What’s the Rain Like in Bora Bora?

If humidity is a problem, and one of the two major seasons is the rainy season, what’s the rain like? Well, you can see that pretty clearly in a chart of inches of rain on average from month to month.

• January: 12.41 inches.
• February: 9.17 inches.
• March: 7.69 inches.
• April: 5.54 inches.
• May: 3.62 inches.
• June: 2.37 inches.
• July: 2.38 inches.
• August: 1.89 inches.
• September: 1.82 inches.
• October: 3.57 inches.
• November: 6.38 inches.
• December: 12.48 inches.

January and December are by far the peaks of the rainy season, and you can expect near-constant rain the whole time you’re there if you travel during those months. On the other hand, if you travel in the middle of August and September, you’re likely to stay dry any time you’re not in the water.

One thing to mention is that Bora Bora is right on the edge of the South Pacific cyclone belt. In other words, it’s not really in the path of the hurricanes/cyclones that form and travel across the ocean. Even in the rainy season, you’re getting rain from the edges of these storms and not the storms themselves. It’s very rare for Bora Bora to see that kind of severe weather. It’s not impossible, but it can happen; the last time it did was in 2010.

Meanwhile, just because there isn’t much rain in the dry season doesn’t mean there’s no rain. However, a lot of the rain is a brief shower, and it’s as likely to leave you with a rainbow as anything else. Don’t fear the rain in Bora Bora, really.

When is the Best Season to Visit Bora Bora?

The actual answer to this question is a little more subjective. What does it mean to be the best?

We’re not trying to be philosophical here. It really does depend on what you want out of your trip.

If you plan to spend most of your time in a bungalow, exploring the villages on the island, or hiking through the jungle, you might not care if it’s raining and humid. On the other hand, if you want those pristine skies, clear waters, and dry temperatures, going during the peak of the dry season is the best bet.

Mostly, though, you have to balance the pros and cons.

The dry season is great for the weather, diving, tourist amenities, and the availability of events and things to do. There are just two significant drawbacks to visiting during this season.

The first drawback is the crowds. Since it’s the most temperate and most comfortable time to visit, it’s also when the largest number of people are visiting. If you like crowds, if you’re fine mingling with people from all around the world, and if you’re at home socializing with anyone who comes your way, that’s fine. If you don’t want to be crowded, if you prefer spur-of-the-moment decisions and hate having to adapt plans because something is booked up, it’s going to be worse for you.

The second drawback is the costs. While the actual prices of flights and resorts aren’t hugely different between peak season and off-season, even a small difference is significant when everything is at least a little more expensive. Your food, your tours, your tickets, and everything else are going to be slightly more expensive, so the overall vacation is going to be harder on the wallet.

In contrast, the wet season is effectively the opposite. You have worse weather on average, but it’s erratic, so you can’t predict or plan around it. The humidity is worse, and the mosquitoes are way worse. You might not be able to go comfortably out on boats, and underwater visibility will generally be worse.

On the other hand, the wet season is much less crowded and overall less expensive. Bargain hunters and people with higher tolerances for unpleasant weather will have a better time in general in Bora Bora during the wet season.

The Best Time for Specific Goals in Bora Bora

When you have a specific goal in visiting Bora Bora, like enjoying the tropical weather, diving the reefs, or whale watching, there are specific seasons you should target. So, let’s talk about them!

When is the best time to visit Bora Bora for smaller crowds? This is very much in the rainy season, from December to about March. December and January are the “worst” for weather, so they’re the best for crowds. You’ll still definitely see some number of people, and the resorts are still likely to be fairly full, but it’s not the same vibe. It tends to be smaller, calmer, and generally slower in atmosphere.

When is the best time to visit Bora Bora for better weather? This one has got to be the dry season. Generally, between May and October is going to be your best bet for clear skies, cooler temperatures, and an overall smoother experience. The shoulder seasons are also still fine; it’s really just January and December that are the worst.

When is the best time to visit Bora Bora for water sports? When you want to enjoy the water in Bora Bora – and really, why are you visiting a tropical water destination if you don’t – you’re in it for the diving, the snorkeling, the scuba diving, and the sailing. So, when is the best time to visit for all of those? Usually, the dry season, especially May and June, is the peak time for these events. Not only are these the best times for calm weather and clear skies, but the undersea ecosystem is most vibrant and active during this season as well.

When is the best time to visit Bora Bora for better prices? This one can depend a lot. Hotel and resort pricing tends to be higher from April through October, with spikes in June, but a lot can vary from week to week. Flights are all over the place and depend heavily on the airline you choose. More importantly, all of the pricing on the island can vary; peak pricing can surge from some vendors, while others keep things static year-round. You can also mitigate a lot of this by using credit card rewards for your flight or hotel stays and not having to worry about any of it.

When is the best time to visit Bora Bora for whale watching? Whale watching is an incredible experience in Bora Bora. Several different kinds of whales and dolphins migrate all the way from Antarctica to the areas around French Polynesia between July and November. So, the latter segment of the dry season and the shoulder season are the best times for whale watching. There are boat tours specifically to see the whales, and you can often catch sight of them while you’re diving.

When is the best time for cultural festivals in Bora Bora? There are a bunch of different cultural festivals throughout the year in Bora Bora. Heiva is in July, Hawaiki Nui Va’a is in November, the liquid festival is in December, and the Taurus Varua is in January. There’s often something on the horizon when you’re there, though you have to plan ahead if you want to take part in the actual festivities.

When is the Best Time to Visit Bora Bora for You?

When it comes right down to it, there’s really no wrong time to visit Bora Bora. If you’ve ever experienced a hot, humid summer in the Midwest, even the worst that Bora Bora has to offer is nothing to you. It might not be the ideal tropical experience if you go in the depths of January, but it’s never going to be a bad experience.

We love Bora Bora, and we think you will, too. Why not book a trip and tell us how it goes?