Bora Bora

Bora Bora is the eroded cone of a sinking volcano, ringed by a barrier reef that encloses a lagoon several times the area of the island itself — shallow, protected and that colour because of white coral sand beneath it. Three Californians running a failing hotel built the first overwater bungalows here in 1967 because they had no beach, and the form went from improvisation to worldwide standard.