Ultimate Bora Bora Luxury: Overwater Bungalows & Private Island Escapes
Bora Bora’s overwater bungalows didn’t start as a Polynesian tradition. The first one was built in the 1960s by three Californian friends who called themselves the “Bali Hai Boys,” borrowing the name from the song in South Pacific. They stilted a thatched hut over the lagoon to give guests something no other hotel offered, and the concept spread across French Polynesia faster than anyone expected. Today, those same stilts support villas with glass floor panels, private plunge pools, and butlers — but the original idea was just a wooden hut and a view. The first overwater bungalow was built