Oceania - Travel To Samoa

 

Samoa has some of the most beautiful and enticing islandscapes in the South Pacific. It's an opinion few travelers will disagree with once they've spent a few weeks rattling up steep rocky trails to stare into the overgrown maws of extinct craters, swished their way through the lush undergrowth of sprawling plantations to clamber into eerie lava tubes, and strapped on a mask before coming face to face with multicolored coral and other marine life in the shallow waters of deliriously lovely lagoons. Some of the beaches are so stunning that you'll just want to fall over and pretend you're a piece of driftwood, and hidden within isolated valleys in the hinterlands are paradisal waterfalls that plunge into idyllic swimming holes. Add the rainforests and rugged sea cliffs of 'Upolu, and the lava flows of Savai'I into the mix, and you can begin to appreciate the enigmatic physical nature of these islands.

The inhabitants of Samoa have taken a few cues from their languid tropical home. Samoans are never in much of a hurry to do anything, a trait which tends to incite culture shock and a mild, temporary panic in visitors who have arrived from schedule-centric, clock-watching societies. And Samoans' moods can sometimes change as quickly as the tropical weather, with bright outlooks giving way to stormy fronts before inevitably clearing up again. But most conspicuously, they are also famously hospitable: Samoans are rarely short of a toothy grin, a flap of the hand or a friendly comment where outsiders are concerned.

Best time to find the cheapest flights to Samoa

Weatherwise, the most comfortable time to visit Samoa is between May and October, during the country's dry season. An extra incentive to visit at this time of year is that this is when major Samoan festivals are held. During the wet season from November to April, the islands tend to squelch underfoot and receive the occasional battering from tropical cyclones; the last big storm to hit the region was Olaf, which blew across the area in early 2005. Huge numbers of Samoans jet in from New Zealand, Australia and the USA during the December-January holiday period, when you may have trouble booking flights.

The average annual temperature is 26.5°C in coastal areas, with a decrease in temperature as the land rises inland, while humidity averages around 80%.

Navigating Samoa

Ferries regularly plough the 22km across Apolima Strait between 'Upolu and Savai'i. Tickets cost ST9/65 per person/car. Large ferries officially depart the Mulifanua Wharf on 'Upolu and the Salelologa Wharf on Savai'i every two hours between 6am and 4pm Wednesday to Monday, while a smaller ferry services this route at less regular intervals on Tuesday. Sailing times are thrown into turmoil, however, when big swells roll across the strait and slow the ferries down.

Getting around by car in Samoa is quite straightforward. The coastal roads on both main islands are sealed and the general condition of most other roads has improved markedly in recent years. A 4WD will make trips down rough, unsealed side roads much more comfortable, but nearly all of these side routes can be tackled in a high-clearance 2WD. After heavy rain, however, some roads will be inaccessible to 2WD vehicles.

Traveling by public bus in Samoa is an experience that shouldn't be missed. The buses are vibrantly coloured, wooden-seated vehicles (prepare yourself for hard jolts) that blast music at volumes that, depending on your opinion of Samoan pop music, inspire you to either boogie while sitting down or become ill with a throbbing headache. But unique as the vehicles are, bus travel is also problematic because services operate at the whim of the drivers. If a driver feels like knocking off at 1pm, they do, and passengers counting on the service are left stranded. Never rely on catching a bus after about 2pm. Buses are also scarce on Saturday afternoon and often only cater to church services on Sunday.

Samoa Airports

Visitors to Samoa jet into Faleolo Airport, located 35km west of Apia.

While Samoa isn't as remote or obscure a destination as Tuvalu or Kiribati, it's not as popular as Fiji or Tahiti either (not yet anyway), and airfares often reflect this. Access to the island group is fairly straightforward from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Hawai'i or Los Angeles. From anywhere else, however, travelling there will almost always entail reaching one of these connecting points first. Auckland and Nadi/Suva seem to be the most convenient and best-served runs, and there are often some good discount fares on these routes. Samoa is also popular as a stopover or cheap 'optional extra' on some tickets and round-the-world fares between Europe or North America and New Zealand.

You can fly direct between Samoa and American Samoa with Inter-Island Airways and Polynesian Airlines for around US$180 one way. Polynesian Blue fares to Apia from Sydney, Australia, start around A$450, though keep in mind that this was an introductory fare at the time of writing and prices may rise (probably not by much though) if the route proves popular. One-way fares from Auckland, New Zealand, to Apia start from NZ$570. An Air New Zealand flight from London to Apia, via Los Angeles, is the most straightforward option for travel from Europe to Samoa; high-season fares from London start from UK£1500. Air New Zealand also offers direct Los Angeles-Apia flights (from US$620 one way).

Visa/Passport requirement

A free, 60-day visitor permit is granted to all visitors on arrival in Samoa - except for nationals of China who must obtain a visa beforehand - provided they have an onward ticket and a passport valid for at least another six months. You'll also be required to provide a contact address within the country, so have the name of a hotel ready upon arrival. Vaccinations for yellow fever may be required if you are coming from an infected area.

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