Stay in an overwater bungalow

“It wasn’t over-the-top or flashy. It was calm. Quiet. The kind of place where you wake up to the sound of water under your bungalow and realize there’s absolutely nothing you have to do that day. The overwater bungalows sit above the clearest, stillest stretch of ocean I’ve ever seen. We’d either just sit out on the deck for hours or float around in the water. Being able to go straight from bed to ocean in a few steps never got old. No crowds, no noise, just space to breathe. We barely left the room. Ordered food in, swam off the deck, took naps, read books. Cuba honestly surprised us not just because of how beautiful it was, but because it let us fully slow down for the first time in a while.”

“Some will scream, "Semantics!" but I see it differently. The term "overwater bungalow" is hallowed. People save up for years and years — decades, even — for once-in-a-lifetime trips to stay in a hut suspended over the water. This matters for a few reasons. The most notable one is water quality. The further you are from shore, the clearer a lagoon typically becomes. [...] Indeed, all of the "overwater" bungalows at the InterContinental Resort and Spa Moorea were perched atop clear ocean water, but it was still the open ocean: It was choppy, trash floated in, and it was not the screaming blue one expects when dropping $600-plus per night for a room with "overwater" in the name. The second is privacy. When compared to actual overwater bungalows built on pontoons that extend from shore, rooms like mine just weren't as private. On several occasions, Jet Skiers, parasailers and catamarans cruised by within 30 feet of my rear deck.”