Samoa travel guides
Browse and explore the best travel guides in Samoa.
Samoa travel facts
Samoa is two main volcanic islands in the central South Pacific, Upolu and the larger, wilder Savai'i, where the road runs past villages of open-sided fale houses and the interior rises into rainforest and lava fields. This is the heart of Polynesia, and fa'a Samoa, the Samoan way, still governs daily life through village councils, Sunday church and extended family.
The set pieces are genuinely spectacular: the To Sua Ocean Trench, a swimming hole in a collapsed lava tube reached by a near-vertical ladder; Lalomanu and Return to Paradise beaches on Upolu's south coast; the Alofaaga blowholes on Savai'i, where waves fire spray thirty metres into the air. Accommodation ranges from open beach fales on the sand for a few tala a night to a handful of proper resorts near Apia.
Samoa sits just west of the International Date Line, having jumped forward a day in 2011 to align with Australia and New Zealand, its main trading partners and the source of most visitors. It is markedly cheaper than Fiji or French Polynesia and much less developed for tourism, which is precisely the appeal.
Capital
Apia
Population
~220,000
Area
2,842 km² across Upolu, Savai'i and smaller islands
Time Zone
UTC+13, just west of the International Date Line
Currency
Samoan tālā (WST)
Languages
Samoan and English, both official
Main Airports
APW (Faleolo International, 40 km from Apia)
Visa
Free 90-day entry permit on arrival for most nationalities
Best For
Beaches, waterfalls, surfing, snorkelling, Polynesian culture
Typical Cost Level
Moderate
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Do you need a visa for Samoa?
Entry rules, stay length and passport validity by nationality.
Climate averages · 1991–2020
When is the best time to visit Samoa?
Monthly temperatures, rainfall and sunshine — not a live forecast.
See Samoa weatherLatest travel guides
Samoa Destination FAQ
May to October is the dry season and the most reliable window, with lower humidity and calmer seas for snorkelling. November to April is the wet season and also the cyclone season, bringing heavy afternoon downpours and the occasional serious storm, though rates drop and the waterfalls are at their most dramatic. Temperatures barely move all year, sitting around 26 to 30C.
Most nationalities receive a free entry permit on arrival valid for up to 90 days, with no advance application needed. You will be asked for a passport valid at least six months beyond your stay, proof of onward travel and an address for your first night. Extensions are possible through the immigration office in Apia.
Sunday is observed seriously. Most shops, restaurants and tour operators close, buses barely run and villages hold morning and evening services. Visitors are welcome at church and the singing is extraordinary, but dress modestly and cover shoulders and knees. Some villages also hold an early evening prayer curfew called sa, during which you should stop walking or driving through until it ends.
A rental car is the most practical option and a temporary Samoan licence is issued cheaply on presentation of your home licence. Driving is on the left, having switched from the right in 2009. Brightly painted wooden buses serve Upolu inexpensively but keep loose schedules. Savai'i is reached by a car ferry from Mulifanua that takes about an hour and runs several times daily.
A fale is an open-sided thatched hut on the sand, with woven blinds you lower at night, a mattress and a mosquito net. Family-run beach fale operations along Upolu's south coast and on Savai'i typically include breakfast and dinner in the nightly rate and cost a fraction of a hotel room. Facilities are shared and basic, but waking up a few metres from the water is the point.
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