Motu Toopua
Best for. Snorkellers and Conrad guests who want the island's best coral gardens and a calm west facing sunset, rather than open public sand.
Best spot. The coral garden off the west side of the motu, alive with tropical fish, best reached on a lagoon tour or as a resort guest.
Know this. The sand is resort frontage, not a public beach. For free, open sand you can drive to, choose Matira Beach instead.
Motu Toopua is the large green islet you see to the west as you cross the lagoon from Vaitape, and it is a textbook example of how Bora Bora really works. The motu carries one of the island's best resorts, the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, and the beautiful sand you spot from a boat is its private frontage rather than a shore you can wander onto. If your picture of Toopua is a towel on open sand, gently set it aside. This is a resort motu, and its beach belongs to its guests.
What makes Toopua worth a page anyway is the water around it, which is genuinely exceptional. Off the west side of the motu lies a coral garden that shelters hundreds of vivid tropical fish, widely held to be among the finest natural reefs you can snorkel straight off a Bora Bora shore. Behind the motu, the lagoon holds a second manta ray cleaning station, and blacktip reef sharks and rays drift through the shallows. For anyone who came to put a mask in the water, the seas around Toopua are a highlight of the island.
The honest route in, then, is by boat. Resort guests have it easiest, stepping straight from the sand into the coral garden, but day visitors are far from shut out. Most island lagoon tours circle past Toopua and stop to snorkel its reefs, often pairing them with the manta station and a motu picnic. So think of Toopua not as a beach to claim but as a reef to visit, and let a tour or a stay do the work of getting you there. For free, open sand you can simply drive to, Matira Beach remains the island's one true public beach.
The resort on the motu
There are no public beach clubs on Toopua. The motu is given over to one resort, whose beach and water activities are for guests. We describe it factually below; any day access is to be confirmed with the property, and we will not invent prices or packages.
Photo: Conrad Bora Bora Nui via GoogleConrad Bora Bora Nui
The resort that occupies Motu Toopua, set on the motu's west side to make the most of its coral gardens and sunsets. The beach, overwater villas and water sports are for guests, with the famed coral garden snorkelling a short swim from the sand. Day access for non guests, where offered at all, is to be confirmed directly with the resort.
For a meal on open public sand, the lagoonfront venues at Matira Beach are the established choice, while the snorkelling around Toopua is reached on a lagoon tour. Our Bora Bora club directory gathers the island's honest options in one place, resort and public alike.
West lagoon, Bora Bora
Motu Toopua sits in the lagoon a short boat ride west of the main town of Vaitape. There is no road to the motu, so every arrival is by water, whether the resort's own transfer for guests or a lagoon tour boat for day visitors snorkelling the reefs.
If you are staying on the main island, the simplest way to enjoy Toopua is to book a half day lagoon tour that includes its coral garden, often alongside the manta station and a picnic on another motu. Tours collect from hotel docks around the lagoon.
Photo: Catalin Lupu via GoogleBook a beach club
Tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a lagoon tour to the Toopua coral gardens and a table on the sand at Matira. 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 Motu Toopua
Can you visit Motu Toopua without staying at the resort?
The motu's beach fronts the Conrad Bora Bora Nui and is reserved largely for guests, so there is no open public access to the sand. The way most travellers experience Toopua is from the water, on a lagoon tour that snorkels the coral gardens around the motu. Any resort day access is to be confirmed with the property.
Is the snorkelling good at Motu Toopua?
It is some of the best on the island. A coral garden off the west side of the motu shelters hundreds of bright tropical fish, and the lagoon behind Toopua holds a second manta ray cleaning station. Blacktip reef sharks and rays are often seen. Most visitors reach these on a guided lagoon tour rather than from shore.
Which resort is on Motu Toopua?
The Conrad Bora Bora Nui sits on Motu Toopua on the west side of the island, taking advantage of the motu's coral gardens and west facing sunsets. The beach and water activities there are for resort guests. We do not list room rates, as prices change with season and are to be confirmed with the resort.
How do you get to Motu Toopua?
Motu Toopua lies in the lagoon a short boat ride west of the main town of Vaitape. Resort guests arrive by the property's boat transfer, while day visitors reach the surrounding snorkelling sites on a lagoon tour. There is no road to the motu, so every visit is by water.
Is Motu Toopua a good beach for families?
For resort guests it can be, with calm lagoon water and easy snorkelling, but it is not a public family beach you can simply drive to. Families wanting open, free sand and gentle shallows are far better served by Matira Beach at the southern tip. Conditions are typical and never guaranteed.
