What's on in Bora Bora, French Polynesia through the year

Busy — Christmas and New Year peak, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr), Nono and mosquito season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 6 Jan)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr), Nono and mosquito season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr), Nono and mosquito season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr), Nono and mosquito season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  1 May – 31 Oct · usuallyCrowded

  The southern winter is the trade-wind half of the year: drier air, calmer lagoon, better underwater visibility, and the months the resorts charge the most for exactly that reason.

Peak crowds — Dry season, Heiva i Bora Bora

• Season

  The maramu trade wind

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The southeast maramu blows hardest through the dry months and chops the lagoon most afternoons. Good for the kitesurfers off Matira, less good for a flat-water paddle or a snorkel on the exposed side. Source ↗

• Festival

  Heiva i Bora Bora

  26 Jun – 2 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Weeks of competitive dance, himene singing, outrigger racing and stone lifting on Vaitape's waterfront through July. The island's own event rather than a resort show, and the pensions fill for it. Source ↗

• Holiday

  European summer peak

  25 Jun – 31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  French and North American holidays land squarely on the driest months, so the overwater bungalows run full and at their dearest through July and August. A year ahead is normal here. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Dry season, Heiva i Bora Bora

• Nature

  Humpback season

  20 Jul – 20 Nov · usuallyWhale season

  Humpbacks come up from Antarctica to calve in the lee of the islands and stay outside the reef until November. Mid-August to late October is the reliable part, and the swims go from the boat, not the lagoon.

Still on: Dry season (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), The maramu trade wind (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Heiva i Bora Bora (26 Jun – 2 Aug), European summer peak (25 Jun – 31 Aug)

Peak crowds — Dry season, Heiva i Bora Bora

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Dry season (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), The maramu trade wind (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Heiva i Bora Bora (26 Jun – 2 Aug), European summer peak (25 Jun – 31 Aug), Humpback season (20 Jul – 20 Nov (usually))

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Dry season (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), The maramu trade wind (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Humpback season (20 Jul – 20 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Dry season, Hawaiki Nui Va'a finish

• Festival

  Hawaiki Nui Va'a finish

  28 Oct – 10 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The three-day outrigger race from Raiatea finishes on Matira beach at the start of November, and the whole island turns out for the landing. Beds on Bora Bora are impossible that week. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Humpback season (20 Jul – 20 Nov (usually))

Busy — Hawaiki Nui Va'a finish

• Hazard

  Cyclone season

  1 Nov – 30 Apr

  The South Pacific storm season. Direct hits on the Leeward Islands are rare and most years pass without one, but this is also the humid half when the lagoon goes grey and the overwater bungalows discount. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Nono and mosquito season

  15 Nov – 15 Apr · usuallyInsect season

  The biting nono sandflies on the motu beaches and the mosquitoes inland are at their worst through the wet months. Repellent barely works on nono; local coconut-oil remedies are the usual workaround. Source ↗

Still on: Humpback season (20 Jul – 20 Nov (usually)), Hawaiki Nui Va'a finish (28 Oct – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christmas and New Year peak, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The second peak of the year, and it sits inside the cyclone season — resorts are full and dearest while the weather that fortnight is a lottery. Source ↗

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr), Nono and mosquito season (15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually))