SOUTH PACIFIC | FRENCH POLYNESIA

Planning your trip to Bora-Bora

By Rosemary McClure, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
05:24 PM PDT, June 01, 2007

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THE BEST WAY

From LAX, connecting service (change of plane) to Bora-Bora is available on Air France or Air Tahiti Nui. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,466.

PLACES TO EAT

Bloody Mary's, half a mile north of Hotel Bora Bora on Povai Bay, 011-689-67-72-86, www.boraboraisland.com/bloodymarys. Choose your own seafood at this legendary South Seas island restaurant managed for more than two decades by former Orange County residents Craig Goold and Richard Guenett. Management buys the day's catch from local fishermen and serves it that evening. While you're waiting for your dinner to arrive, check out the sign board that lists celebrities who have visited. Among the 140: Dudley Moore, the Carpenters, Johnny Depp and Drew Barrymore. Dinners $26 to $58.

La Villa Mahana, 941 Amanahune, 011-689-67-50-63, www.villamahana.com. This excellent French restaurant is really a one-man show. Chef Damien Rinaldi Dovio, formerly of the now-shuttered L'Orangerie in Beverly Hills, does it all and does it outstandingly. The villa-style restaurant has several fixed menus, or guests can order a la carte. Main dishes from $42.

Lagoon, Motu Omee, 011-689-60-78-88, www.stregis.com. This chic over-water restaurant at the St. Regis Bora Bora is a creation of French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It was recently featured in Food & Wine magazine. Main dishes from $46.

TO LEARN MORE

Tahiti Tourism, (800) 365-4949, www.tahiti-tourisme.com. Check the website for low-cost packages to French Polynesia and Bora-Bora.