Photo: aj via Google
The Best Beaches
in Bora Bora
One public beach, a famous lagoon and a string of private motu, ranked honestly.
The verdict
- Best forTravellers who understand that Bora Bora is a lagoon first and a beach second, who want the one genuinely public stretch of sand and the calm clear water for snorkelling, and who will happily take a boat to reach the rest.
- Single best spotMatira Beach on the southern tip, the only truly public beach, free, soft and shallow, at its loveliest in the late afternoon light as the lagoon turns to glass.
- One thing to knowMost of the famous white sand sits on private motu owned by resorts or individuals, reachable only as a guest or on an excursion, so the public beach choice really comes down to Matira.
Published 25 May 2026. Last reviewed 25 May 2026
Bora Bora sells itself on a single image, the overwater bungalow above impossibly clear water, and the most useful thing to understand before you go is that this is a lagoon you visit by boat far more than a beach you walk along. The island itself is small and steep, ringed by a barrier reef and a necklace of low sandy islets called motu, and almost all of the postcard sand belongs to a resort or a private owner. Grasp that and the place makes sense. Miss it and you arrive expecting long open beaches that are simply not there for the casual visitor.
The honest read is that Bora Bora rewards the water more than the shore. The headline beach, Matira, is genuinely lovely and genuinely public, a soft white curve on the southern tip that anyone can use for free. Beyond it, the magic is in the lagoon: the manta cleaning station at Anau, the coral gardens, the calm shallows off the motu that the lagoon tours visit. The trade most travellers make is to pay for an overwater room that comes with its own private motu beach and easy lagoon access, which is the real luxury here. The smarter move, if the budget is finite, is to base on the main island near Matira and buy the boat days rather than the bungalow.
Below we rank the beaches that are actually worth your time, and we are plain about which you can walk to, which need a boat, and which you will only ever see from the water because someone else owns them. The list is short on purpose, because Bora Bora is not a place of many beaches. It is a place of one beach and a great lagoon, and pretending otherwise does no traveller any favours.
Ranked, not listed
Scored on the water, the sand, the access and how honestly each one earns its place. Public sand first, private motu named for what they are.
Matira Beach
The only truly public beach on Bora Bora and the one place you can walk barefoot on soft white sand for free, with shallow turquoise water that runs out a long way and a famous wide view at sunset. Busy near the public access points and the cafes, quieter the further you stroll, and at its best in the late afternoon when the light turns the lagoon to glass.
Matira Point
The headland at the southern tip where the beach narrows and the snorkelling sharpens, with resort sand and clearer water over the reef edge close to shore. More about the swim and the snorkel than a long walk, and a quieter alternative when the main Matira sand fills up, though much of the frontage here belongs to the resorts.
Motu Toopua
A long islet across the lagoon from Vaitape that shelters the western water and holds resort beaches and calm, glassy shallows. You reach it by boat rather than on foot, and for most travellers it is a lagoon tour stop or a resort base rather than a public beach, so treat it as water to enjoy rather than sand to claim.
Anau
Not a sunbathing beach but the island's famous manta ray cleaning station, a stretch of east coast water where reef mantas come to be tended by small fish. A snorkelling and diving spot, seasonal and never guaranteed, usually reached on a lagoon tour with a guide who knows when the mantas show. Come for the encounter, not the sand.
The famous sand you cannot just walk onto
A good deal of what people picture as Bora Bora beach is private, and it is kinder to say so plainly. Motu Tapu is the tiny, perfect islet that appears on every brochure, a heart shaped scrap of palms and sand in the lagoon, and it is used for excursions and private events rather than open to wander, so most travellers admire it from a passing boat. Motu Tane is a privately owned island and not a public beach at all, lovely from the water and closed on the sand. Both are real and both are beautiful, and neither is somewhere you simply turn up.
Motu Piti Aau is the long barrier islet on the eastern reef that carries several of the overwater resorts, and its appeal is the snorkelling and the lagoon rather than a public strip you can claim. Faanui Bay on the northwest is a working bay near the village and the old wartime sites rather than a swimming beach, more a piece of the island's history than a day on the sand. The thread through all of them is the same: the exclusivity here is genuine, not a markup, because the sand is literally someone else's. Knowing that before you arrive is the difference between disappointment and a trip planned around the water, where Bora Bora is unbeatable. Where a dedicated guide for these motu is still to be confirmed, the lagoon tours remain the honest way to see them.
The best months in Bora Bora
Bora Bora has two clear seasons. The dry season from May to October is the prime window, with lower humidity, steadier sun and the calmer, clearer lagoon that makes the snorkelling sing, which is also the busier and pricier stretch around the July and August peak. The wet season from November to April is warmer, greener and cheaper, with short heavy showers, higher humidity and a small cyclone risk at its height, though plenty of fine days slip between the squalls. For the lagoon at its clearest and the best odds on the manta rays, aim for the May to October shoulders and book early, since the island is small and the best rooms go first.
Where to book a daybed
Bora Bora does not run a classic beach club scene the way a Mediterranean coast does, because the polished sand sits inside the resorts rather than along a public strip. What you book here is usually a day pass, a lagoon tour with lunch on a motu, or a table at a resort restaurant on the water, rather than a row of glamour daybeds you can simply walk up to. Our directory gathers the genuine options by area and feel and lets each one confirm its own access, minimum spend and day pass terms when you enquire, so you reserve the right kind of day on the water rather than turning up to a beach that was never open to you.
Book a beach club in Bora Bora
Before you go
Which is the best beach in Bora Bora?
Matira Beach on the southern tip is the best beach and the only truly public one on the main island, a long curve of soft white sand and shallow turquoise water that anyone can use for free. The light is loveliest in the late afternoon as the sun drops toward the lagoon. Everything else of note sits on a private motu or in the water, so for a classic walk on the sand Matira is the answer.
Are the beaches in Bora Bora public or private?
Matira Beach is the one genuinely public beach. Most of the famous white sand you see in photographs lies on a motu, a small reef islet, and those are owned by resorts or by private individuals, reachable only as a paying guest or on a boat excursion. The honest read is that Bora Bora is a lagoon you visit by boat first and a beach destination second, so plan around the water rather than around long public sand.
Can you swim with manta rays in Bora Bora?
Yes, at Anau on the east coast, a known manta ray cleaning station where reef mantas gather to be tended by small fish. It is a snorkelling and diving site rather than a sunbathing beach, and sightings are seasonal and never guaranteed. Most people reach it on a lagoon tour, and a guide who reads the conditions makes the difference between a blank morning and a good one.
Do you need to stay at a resort to enjoy Bora Bora?
No. You can base yourself in Vaitape or near Matira on the main island, swim and walk at Matira Beach for free, and book lagoon tours that take you to the motu and snorkelling spots for the day. The overwater resorts buy you a private motu beach and easy lagoon access, which is the real luxury here, but the public beach and the boat trips give you the same water for far less.
When is the best time to visit Bora Bora beaches?
The dry season from May to October is the prime window, with lower humidity, steadier sun and calmer lagoon conditions for snorkelling. November to April is warmer, greener and cheaper but wetter, with short heavy showers and a small cyclone risk at the peak. For the lagoon at its clearest and the best run of dry days, aim for the May to October shoulders rather than the very middle.