Faanui Bay
Best for. Travellers drawn to history and a quiet hour away from the resorts, happy to read the bay through its wartime story and the cannon walk rather than a swim.
Best spot. The short walk up from Faanui village to the ridge cannons, where the view over the deep bay and the lagoon is the real reward of a visit here.
Know this. Faanui is a deep harbour, not a soft swimming beach. For the shallow turquoise swim, pair it with Matira at the southern tip.
Faanui Bay asks to be understood before it is judged, because it is the rare corner of Bora Bora that is interesting for what happened rather than how it swims. This deep, sheltered harbour on the northwest coast was the heart of Operation Bobcat, the American base built here during the Second World War, when thousands of personnel arrived to turn the bay into a supply station. The same depth and the single guarded pass that made it a fine anchorage are exactly why it is not a soft swimming beach, and a visitor is best served by knowing that going in.
What the bay gives instead is quiet and history. The shore is calm and green, far from the resort scene, and the genuine reward is the short walk up from Faanui village to the ridge, where two coastal defence cannons still stand looking out over the water. They never fired in anger, the feared attack never came, and there is something stirring about that stillness above a bay that braced for a war it never saw. For a traveller who likes a place with a story, an hour here is well spent.
The honest verdict is simple. Do not come to Faanui for the swim, because the deep harbour is not what the brochures promise and the soft turquoise shallows are elsewhere. Come for the history, the calm and the view, then drive south to Matira for the actual beach day, the soft white sand and the easy lagoon swim that Bora Bora is famous for. Treated as a half day of history paired with a swim at Matira, Faanui earns its place. Treated as a beach in its own right, it disappoints, and that is no fault of the bay.
No club here, and where to find one
Faanui is a quiet working bay with no beach club on its shore. The honest move is to take the history and the calm here, then base your eating, drinking and swimming on the public sand at Matira or on a lagoon tour. We send you to the Bora Bora directory to arrange it.
There is no daybed and DJ scene on Faanui Bay, and that is part of its appeal. For a long lagoonfront lunch and a sunset drink, the established choice is the public sand at Matira at the southern tip, where a casual snack bar and a couple of lagoonfront venues sit on or beside the beach. The rustic island icon Bloody Mary's is a short way along the same coast for a livelier dinner, with hours to be confirmed.
For the water itself, a lagoon tour from Vaitape gives you the snorkelling, the rays and the motu picnic that the deep bay cannot, on clear water you can actually swim in. Tell us your dates and party size and we will help line up a table near Matira or a day on the lagoon. We never invent a venue, a price or an opening status, so anything we cannot confirm is marked to be confirmed.
Northwest coast, Bora Bora
Faanui Bay sits on the northwest coast of the main island, a few kilometres north of Vaitape along the flat coast road, roughly ten minutes by car. The village of Faanui is the starting point for the short walk up to the wartime cannons on the ridge.
There is little public transport, so reaching it means a taxi, a rental car or a bicycle along the coast road, and many visitors take it in on a guided island tour. Bring water, proper shoes for the climb and sun cover, as shade is limited on the ridge.
Photo: Daniel Wunder via GoogleBook a beach club
Tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a lagoonfront table near Matira or a day on the water near Faanui Bay. We reply by email.
We are an independent editorial resource. Booking requests are passed to clubs and operators, and some may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Prices, availability and opening status are set by the venue and are to be confirmed at the time of booking.
Common questions about Faanui Bay
Is Faanui Bay a swimming beach in Bora Bora?
Not really. Faanui is a deep natural harbour rather than a soft swimming beach, the very depth that made it a wartime anchorage. The shore is quiet and pleasant for a stroll or a sit with a book, but for the shallow turquoise swim most visitors picture, the public sand at Matira is the honest choice.
Why is Faanui Bay historically important?
It was the heart of Operation Bobcat, the American base on Bora Bora during the Second World War. The deep bay and its single easily guarded pass made it an ideal supply harbour, and thousands of US personnel were stationed here from 1942. Coastal defence cannons from that period still stand on the ridges above the bay.
Can you see the WWII cannons at Faanui?
Yes. From the village of Faanui a short walk leads to a viewpoint, and the trail continues along a ridge to two American cannons left from the war, which never fired in anger. The walk is easy and the view over the bay is the reward, so wear proper shoes and carry water for the climb.
Where is the nearest real beach to Faanui Bay?
Matira at the southern tip of the main island is the one true public swimming beach, soft white sand and a shallow calm lagoon, about a thirty minute drive from Faanui. For lagoon snorkelling, a tour to the motu on the eastern reef gives the clear water and the marine life that the deep bay does not.
Is Faanui Bay worth visiting?
For history and a quiet hour away from the resorts, yes, because the wartime story and the cannon walk are genuinely interesting and the bay is calm and uncrowded. For a beach day, no, because this is a working harbour rather than a swimming shore. Pair the history here with a swim at Matira to get the best of both.
