Know the saying "get a little R&R"? Here's a new translation, "go to Bora Bora with a few good books and DVDs." Rest and relaxation at its most divine will transpire on the private terrace of your Over Water Villa at the St. Regis Resort, Bora Bora. Curl up with a classic like Herman Melville's Omoo, a fictional account of the author's adventures around French Polynesia, or Robert Louis Stevenson's In the South Seas, a tale of island travel in the year 1888.

Get in on the action of early explorers with Anne Salmond's The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Encounters in the South Seas; Patrick O'Brian's biography of Cook's naturalist Joseph Banks; or In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick's book about the whaling ship Essex which was sunk by a giant sperm whale, inspiring Moby Dick. Best read in the infinity pool overlooking the lagoon, at the Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa.

When the sun sets over your Le Meridien Bora Bora Beachfront Bungalow, fire up that flatscreen with the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando. Recognize those palm trees? Though the film was set on Tahiti, some scenes were shot on Bora Bora, as was the 1931 classic Tabu: A story of the South Seas. It dazzles in the way only a black and white silent film can, and its Polynesian tale of love and destiny will set the tone for the rest of your trip. In the morning open your eyes. There it all is. In color.