Bora. These two words may be small in size, but they hold special meaning to many. In fact, the phrase ‘Bora Bora’ brings to mind swallow tropical water, drinks in the sand, mountain views and picture perfect moments to last a lifetime. Not only is Bora Bora a dream for many, but a popular wedding and honeymoon destination for visitors from around the world.

Surprisingly, Bora Bora can also serve as a family destination for those seeking a family getaway during the summer or a tropical reunion.

Interest in honeymoon-style overwater bungalows in the Caribbean is extremely high, and there is a new reason to be optimistic that we may finally get them after an announcement recently in the Bahamas. According to the Nassau Guardian, a proposed resort called Leaf Cay in the Exuma Island chain has won approval from the government for its plan to build a private-island resort similar to those in the Maldives and Bora Bora.

Welcome to the Maldives! This low lying tropical nation is home to hundreds of islands, some of which are home to luxury resorts whose mission is to create the best island stay possible. Because of this, each resort actively competes with the next to attract visitors. Though this may cause more work for the resorts, this is fantastic for potential guests as you’ll be certain to get the best of the best when it comes to amenities, activities and service.

As the chorus of people hoping for real overwater bungalows in the Caribbean grows louder each year, it seems we may finally have some good news. According to at least one respected travel blog, the Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica will soon be getting 5 large and very luxurious overwater bungalows.

The rumor of this construction has been around for years, but we are told that actual construction (or at least pre-construction) has begun, and reports on TripAdvisor from recent visitors seem to confirm it.

With great excitement, El Dorado Maroma, a resort located in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, announced that the construction of 30 overwater bungalows is currently taking place with an opening date of September 1st, 2016.

These water villas will join 128 on-land accommodation options as well as the existing restaurants, bars and resort activities. Once open, these will be the first overwater bungalows in the Cancun area, unless you include the Rosewood Mayakoba Resort just north of Playa del Carmen.

With an isolated location and a fascinating mix of international cultures, a holiday in Mauritius is the dream of many. The Indian Ocean island of just over one million people has been making gains with international tourism, and plans to make it a duty-free zone in the coming years should keep the momentum going.

Of the dozens of fabulous resorts in Mauritius, only one has overwater bungalows (water villas), and fortunately it’s one of the finest of them all.

Most international tourism into Cambodia centers around the stunning Angkor Wat temple complex just outside of Siem Reap in the north of the country, but increasing numbers are also heading to Cambodia’s beaches and jungle areas as well. There are now two very unusual resorts with overwater villas in Cambodia, although at opposite ends of the price spectrum.

The vast majority of the overwater bungalows in Asia are located in the Maldives, just southwest of India.

Water villas and overwater bungalows continue to gain in popularity around the world so it’s no surprise that new resorts keep opening that feature the rooms on stilts. The Maldives alone now has 81 water villa resorts with more than 3,100 water villas combined, which is nearly two-thirds of the world’s total.

In the past few months we’ve seen three new resorts opening to the public, with one aimed at the mid-level market and the other two at the high end.

Maldives is already one of the most unusual and magical holiday destinations in the world, particularly as home to about two-thirds of the world’s overwater bungalows.

But for those who want to take the sea-life observation one step further than watching through a glass panel in your bungalow floor, you can dine at the world’s first undersea restaurant at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort.

Open since 2005, the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant is made of all glass and has 180-degree views of the magnificent tropical sea and plant life.

As fond as we all are of drooling over photos of Bora Bora resorts, we are in the age where everyone is walking around with a video camera all the time. Needless to say, you can tell a lot about a resort hotel on video that you can’t get a good sense of in photos alone, so we’ve collected the best video tours of all the Bora Bora resorts below.

There are nine different luxury resorts on the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora that have overwater villas.