Samoa – Paradise
April 26th, 2009This post goes out to everyone I’ve met who’s going to Samoa, thinking about it or at least dreaming about it.
(Western) Samoa are the most western islands and a 4h flight from Auckland (as cheep as 200e for a return flight with Pacific Blue) and 45mins from American Samoa away. There are two big islands and a few tiny ones. Upolo is the main island where the airport is located and the capital Apia is on the eastern shore. Apia is a busy but small town, don’t expect a proper city. There is a really cool 24/7 market where you can get most of the groceries and things you need as a tourist, then there is a fish market and a flea market (good for buying lavalavas – the traditonal sarongs) The airport is about 45min from town and there are busses running, if you arrive during the day just take any bus into the city, will cost you almost nothing. There is no bustime table as such in Samoa as all buses are privatly owned and sometimes there is a bus and sometimes there is none (island time – get used to it) The other option is to take a taxi (good deal is 50 tala – thats per car, so share it) or organise a pick up (eg with the princess tui hostel – 10 tala) If you go for that option you even get a flower necklace on arrival :-)
I’d recommed staying at princess tui for the frist night and plan all trips from there. You can store luggage (ca 8 tala per day) and they are great with organising things. When I got there I hooked up with 5 other backpackers and we travelled together. First we had a day in Apia and then took the bus to Lalomano on the south coast (buy all the fruits you want for during the day and crackers, sunscreen etc. in Apia, as there is hardly anything like that to buy in Lalomano – also take enough cash!!) In the afternoon we went to the sliding rocks (rocks to slide down in a river, great fun when you’re not worried about saftey) – the taxi was 15 tala and our driver waited for us 2h to take us back (its about 20min from Apia away) We decided hiring a driver is always the best option, he knows where to got (mind you not that many roads) and you don’t risk running any kids over… for which you would probably get killed by the village.
Samoans are very friendly people and easy to talk to. Respect their religion (very religious), don’t walk around the village in your togs or during the prayer curfew and you’ll be sweet.
Lalomano is beautiful sandy beach with great coral (take all snorkelling equipment with you – buy it at home, it’s expensive in Apia) and watch the tides and rips to the left hand. Have a beer (Vaillima 750ml is cheaper at the shop down the rd) and enjoy the view. There is a fiafia at Tafua resort every wednesday and saturday with a great buffet. Accomodation in a beach fale (open hut on the beach), breakfast and dinner shouldn’t cost you more than 60 tala (I was there in March). Bargain. A little bit ;-)
When you catch the bus back as always have an eye on your luggage – Samoans have a weird sense of “borrowing things” – but usually they mean no harm. It’s a 1 1/2- 2h ride back. There are usually no real connections between towns, all buses start and end in Apia.
After a few days in Lalomano we took the bus back to Apia and a taxi to the ferry (60 tala for 6 of us) – The ferry was 12tala each one way and takes about 1 1/2. On the other side you can take a bus but it’s usually very crowded and if there are more of you travelling it’s worth it taking a taxi. We paid 70 Tala to Tanu Beach resort in Menase including a 15min stop at the lava fields (short walk on the black lava beside the street).
In Tanu Beach resort we payed 50each for the fales, dinner and breakfast. That was a good deal, usually it’s 65. Menase is very nice village, no pigs or dogs like in Lalomano since the high chief has just banned them :-)
There is a very nice beach cafe/internet place/bike rental/cocktail bar owned by a swiss couple - Raci’s beach club. They speak basically any language and will tell you lots about the Samoan culture and ways of life. They have 2 dial up internet connections and you feel set back 10 years. Enjoy a real italian coffee while there!
A few minutes down the road there is a place where you can go swimming with the turtles in a pool – it seems to be well kept but I would recommend against it. Go somewhere where the turtles are free and not kept. Anyhow if you decide to do it – it’s 5 Tala each.
One of the main attraction on Savaii are the blwo holes about 1 1/2 away from Menase. Get a taxi or book a tour, things are a bit morge expensive on Savaii. We paid 700 to go there and back, including a stop at the market and the waterfall (actually a nice freshwater pool – they were stupid enough to build a damm and now there is no water coming down the waterfall but instead a great new rd directly to the falls…) Still it’s worth a visit, fun to jump into as well. At the blowhole make sure you throw some coconuts in the hole (a bit danerouse, watch out where it comes back down) and see it get trown up to 60m!
The fiafia at Tanu Beach was awesome and my favourite (I saw 4 shows while I was there). Fiafia is a traditional show with dancing and fire shows and after party.
When we got back to Apia after a few days I met some new people and we went back down to Lalomano, but we took a taxi, which gave us the chance to stop at the caves. There is a place where two caves (pools open towards the sea) are joint together underwater and you can to a James Bond dive (it’s at the very end of the first cave and on the left hand side underneath a rock. Dive 1 1/2m down and you’ll see the light from the other cave (3m). Your driver took us to a place where he showed us how to makle coconut cream – no idea what it was called but there was a great view on a waterfall. I opened up a coconut on my own and can only recommed it. Then we went to a tiny island off Lalomano, Noumea Is I think it was called. There are 7 fales on it – a tiny boat takes you across and it’s 70 tala a night incl. brekkie and dinner. It’s like the beach when you get there… you can walk around the island, see starfish and enjoy life (take beer or any other drinks with you) However the owner will climb up a tree and get you fresh coconuts if you feel like it ;) and most importantly take INSECT REPELLENT with you!! You’ll get eaten alive otherwise.
Generally take light clothes with you (I never used my raincoat or shoes, always wore jendals), snorkelling gear, underwater camera and all your contactlense things, medicines, etc – even sunscreen can be hard to get in remote places (and everything except Apia is remote). Definitly have some taro, papaya, loads of fresh coconuts (drink and then eat them after cracking them open) – try the banana bread at the market and all the weird things (sugar cane tastes funny, baked banana only looks gros but tastes nice)
Samoa is a safe place to travel, very remote and beautiful. Tourists are around but not a lot. It’s easy to travel on buses (great music too) and another do is definitly to go to church on sunday (sneak in and out – just for the experiences, about every 4th building is a church, hard to miss).
And if you need to get into the right mood, check this out:
