Trip report for Samoa

Samoa was a part of my 7 weeks South Pacific trip in January and February in 2018.

My route was:
EU - (Norwegian) - Singapore - (Fiji Airways) - Fiji - (Fiji Airways) - Tuvalu - (Fiji Airways) - Fiji - (Fiji Airways) - Samoa - (Talofa Airways) - American Samoa - (Talofa Airways) - Tonga - (Fiji Airways) - Fiji - (Fiji Airways) - Singgapore - (Norwegian) - EU.

I had only 3 nights on Savai'i Island and 4 nights on Upolu Island, but I wished I have had 4 nights on Savai'i and 6 nights on Upolu (and 3 days less on Tonga, which isn't as great as Samoa). I went around Savai'i with public buses and hitch-hilking, so of course the sightseeing could have been done faster by renting a car or hiring a taxi for a day or two, but I like travelling with public buses and meet the friendly locals. Getting around Upolu with public buses would have been even more time consuming, so I hired taxis two times, so I could see all the places I wanted.

I was in Samoa in January during rainy season. There were occasional showers, but mostly it just rained at night or for short periods - but maybe I was just lucky.

I have European passport and got free visa on arrival. At check-in in Fiji they wanted to see my onward ticket out of Samoa.

There was no ATM in the arrival terminal, but one in the departure terminal right next door. Else, I only saw ATMs in Apia, Upolu Island, and Salelologa, Savai'i Island.

Upolu:
Bus from Apia to the Savai'i ferry 5 tala.
Taxi from airport to Apia 60-80 tala.
Taxi around Apia about 6 tala.
Taxi daytrip 150 tala, but other had paid 190-250 tala. I heard people paying 180 tala just from the airport to Lalomanu. When planning a daytour with a taxi have map and agree which places to stop at and how long the tour will last.

Savai'i:
Bus Salelologa - Taga 5-10 tala.
Savai'i buses stop to run surprisingly early. Don't expect any buses towards Salelologa after 2:30 pm. The "long distance" buses follows the ferry schedule.
You can sometimes pay the bus driver a little extra (3-5 tala) to be taken a bit off their normal route, particularly at the end, but ask when you get on. I took a bus out in the morning and then hitch-hike back to Salelologa in the afternoon. It turned out to be very easy to get a lift on Savai'i, never had to wait more than four cars.

Ferry Upolu - Savai'i 1.5 hours 12 tala. The ferry schedule for Sunday are different from what is stated on their website, samoashipping.com/timetable-and-fares, so double check with locals.

I experienced several times buses and even the ferry to leave a few minuts before scheduled. So be on time.

Upolu:
Apia, The Samoan Outrigger (open fale, 29 USD). A bit out of town, but have open fales in the backyard.
Lalomanu, Taufua Beach Fales (closed beach fale, 47 USD). Right on the beach and THE place to be in Lalomanu.

Savai'i:
Salelologa, Lusia's Lagoon Chalets (semi-closed fale, 38 USD), simple and rural overwater-bungalows. Close to the bus station and ferry terminal.

Most sights have an entrance fee of 5-10 tala.

A daytrip from Lalomanu to Namua costs 40 tala (boat and island) + 15 tala for lunch. The car to the boat costed 20 tala per car.

Like elsewhere in the South Pacific, everything close down on Sundays. However, the ferry does run on Sundays and the buses from the ferry terminal on Upolu to Apia do run too.

My SIM-card didn't working and there are not much wifi, so I would recommend to buy a local SIM-card on arrival.