Samoa Holiday Planner - (BeautifulPacific.com)

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Samoa Holidays Guide

Beautiful Samoa Holiday Planner is a dedicated south pacific islands travel expert offering personalized samoa holiday planning with a reliable and unbiased booking service. It is our aim to help you select the ideal destination and resorts for your holiday

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Samoa holidays are based around Western Samoa with a distinct focus on its glorious beach fales, sightseeing tours and exploring its rich culture. Tourism is low key and you won't find any of the large international hotels here. You'll find plenty of small beach bungalows (fales) with thatch roofs, some quite luxurious but others very basic. Surfing is excellent and scuba diving good in places although sailing is limited as there are not many islands in the group. This is the cheapest destination for travelling in the South Pacific making it the ideal choice for backpackers and discerning travellers wanting to escape the more commercial South Pacific neighbours. Neighbouring American Samoa has virtually no tourist appeal although those interested in sightseeing by car will find Tutuila to be very scenic.

The main island in Western Samoa is Upolu Island with its picturesque capital Apia overlooking the harbour and tropical hills. Apia has an excellent selection of hotels and restaurants making this a popular base for sightseeing. Mountains, traditional villages and gorgeous beaches are found along the entire southern coastline with refreshing waterfalls in the interior. Upolu can be driven around in a day (driving is on the right) although at least four days are needed to explore its hidden attractions and experience its lifestyle.

The largest island is neighbouring Savaii Island, an hour by ferry from Upolu. Savaii has an even more traditional village society and has some beautiful natural attractions including blowholes, virgin forests canopy walks, some lovely beaches and active volcanoes (the last eruption was in 1911) making this a geologists haven. Between the two main islands are several smaller islands with traditional villages and interesting archaeological sites.

Organised day tours are a good way to get a feel for the country and offer by far the most convenient way of getting about the islands (public buses are very unreliable and self-driving can prove difficult.

By far the best way to get around Upolu and Savaii (and to Namua Island and Manono Island) is with the hop-on / hop-off service provided by Green Turtle Tours. This environmentally friendly company offers daily tours around both Upolu and Savaii visiting the main scenic attractions with guided interpretations of the Samoan way of Life on the way and will drop you off and pick you up on request wherever you decide to set down for the night.

American Samoa (77sq km), is a totally different travelling experience. The main island of Tutuila lies less than 100km to the east of Upolu, and the glorious Manu'a Islands another 100km to the east. Tiny Rose and Swains atolls lie a further 100km east of Manu'a.

American Samoa holidays have a reputation as being rather dull and overly Americanized - nothing could be further from the truth. True, there are few picturesque beaches lined with coconut trees and no beach resorts. What it does have is stunning tropical mountains with wild and remote coastlines, protected National Parks and hiking trails and several impressive archaeological sites including star mounds and ancient stone quarries.

There is virtually no tourism on American Samoa and the hotels in the main town of Pago Pago and along the south coast of Tutuila cater mostly to businessmen and the occasional discerning travellers in search of the islands' pristine and hidden environment. The best beaches in American Samoa are found on the three outer islands of the Manu'a Group about 60 miles from Tutuila. These islands are serviced by two daily flights and there are a few small basic guesthouse as accommodation.

Samoa is one of the cheapest destinations of the main South Pacific islands so you'll find your money stretching further than Hawaii, The Cook Islands or Tahiti. Tipping is not encouraged and contrary to Polynesian culture although the payment of custom fees to visit beaches and historical sites is widespread. Most credit cards and travellers cheques are readily accepted and there are ATM machines at Westpac and ANZ banks in Apia Town and Salelologa on Savaii Island. Currency is the Samoan Tala.

The climate is distinctly tropical with hot sunny days in winter with higher humidity and tropical afternoon downpours more common in the summer months of Dec to April. There is no specific high / low season for tourism and rates remain the same throughout the year. The only time when tourism is low is during December and January but this is due to heavy demand on airline seats from Samoans living overseas and returning home for Christmas. If you wan to visit during this time, it is wise to book your flight well ahead.

Getting to Samoa is straight-forward with direct flights from Los Angeles and Hawaii on a weekly basis, and from New Zealand 4 times per week with flights connecting to Australia. There are also direct flights from Fiji and Tonga twice a week.

Getting around the islands is very straightforward although public buses are very unreliable. With only a few islands to visit, deciding where to go is not a problem - however, most tourists are unaware of the exciting opportunities for exploring the islands and appreciating its rich culture and many tourists booking through travel agents end up with an unexciting holiday itinerary.

English is widely spoken. Crime is low, although it is becoming more common in Apia, particularly petty theft. Street fighting between drunken village boys is common at weekends. Electricity is 240 volts.