Samoa travel guide

It might come as a surprise, but Samoa doesn't have an abundance of white sandy beaches, but the south coast of Upolu certainly has a handful. Beautiful palm fringed white sandy beaches on a backdrop of jungle covered cliffsides, you can hardly wish for more. Lalomanu Beach is particularly famous for its long narrow white sand beach and there are plenty of beach fales and resorts on this stretch. Though the water is picturesque turquoise, there can be strong current, so be safe.

Samoa and particularly Savai'i Island don't have that many sandy beaches, but there are a few. On Savai'i Island locals will always point out Lano Beach as their crown jewel. It's a slim sandy beach fringed with palm trees with brillant turquise waters. It's developed with beach fales every 10 metres or so. Locals also praise Siufaga Beach a bit south of Lano. Unfortunately, the picture is from a cloudy day.

When Mt Matavanu erupted in the begning of the 20th century, a thick lava flow covered the northeast part of Savai'i. Even after all these years, there is still a black carpet of lava, though today it's dotted with green plants. The structure of the lava flow is still clearly visible to this day. The Lava Field continues to the next village Sale'aula, where the Ruined Churches are, so if planning to see them, you can just see the lava field there.

Upolu is surpringly mountainous and several roads winds their way over the mountains. There are several waterfalls to stop at, but the journey is worth doing just for views of the mountains and valleys. The bus doing the Lalomanu-Apia route use the Richardson Rd, which is probably the most scenic road on Samoa regarding mountains.

This tiny waterfall is located next to the road and drops right into the sea. From the road the waterfall looks like an "infinity pool".

A 10 minutes boat ride from Lalomanu lies gorgeous little Namua Island, a place dreams are made of. A small white sandy beach with leaning coconut palms will welcome you. The interier is a jungle covered hill with vertical walls on one side. There are open fales for rent and simple food and coconuts can be bought. At low tide it's possible to circumnavigate the island in sturdy sandals in less than a hour. Else there are a steep trail through the dense jungle to the top of the island, where you look over a colony of bats. At high tide you might be lucky to snorkle with seaturtles in front of the beach.

A 100m waterfall that plunge into forested gorge. Though its name and nature sound spectacular, the waterfall is usually a quick stop, because it can only be viewed from the parkering lot right next to the road. The waterfall will be far away in the distance and the dense vegetation around the parking lot might even make it hard to see at all.

Apia is surrounded by jungle covered mountains. In general, this means there are waterfalls, but in Apia it also means there are sliding rocks. There are two places, Letava and Papase'ea, with gentle declining slap of rocks, which are so slippery that kids and adult can skim down.

Right next to the main road lies this cave. It's a small lava tube, which is completely dark when you first venture in. A local family runs the cave and there is a small entrance fee. Best to bring your own tourch.

Piula is a chilled natural freshwater pool which disappears into a cave. You can swim about 20 meters into the dark tunnel before you hit the end. Though the cave is natural, the area is developed with picnic fales, toilets, and even a cafe. The pool seems popular with families and teenagers.