Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Saleapaga to ferry by public bus Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Samoa
foretagarna 17:17 UTC 08 Jun 2014 | Hi, Can somebody here give an idea how long it would take to travel by public bus from Saleapaga to the ferry for Savai´i? Starting early in the morning - not on a sunday... All the best |
budgetkiwi 19:19 UTC 08 Jun 2014 | i caught the bus leaving saleapaga , outside FaoFao fales ,around 6 am - maybe quarter to ?(check your accommodation for the exact time) it arrived in Apia about 8 or 8.30 if I remember right (about 5 tala) - would depend on how many school kids it stopped for along the way.....the Pasi o vaa bus was waiting at the terminal by the fish market, it left about 9am and got to the malifanua wharf about 9.40 or maybe quarter to 10 . The connections can be a bit hit or miss so I wouldnt guarantee you would be there in time for a 10 am ferry , but plenty of time for a 12 noon or 2 pm ferry The Pasi O Vaa bus normally leaves Apia about an hour to an hour and a half before the boat is scheduled to leave. How far do you want to travel on Savaii that day? If you catch the 12 noon ferry you are still in time for any bus on Savaii - including the last bus to Vai Moana | 1
wksamoa 20:10 UTC 08 Jun 2014 | Most Pasi o Vaa buses leave Apia 2 hours before the ferry departure or even earlier. Because they need to be at the wharf when the ferry arrives from Savaii to pick up the passengers to Apia, which usually is about 45 to 30 minutes before departure. Be aware that there will be no 10am ferry from Upolu on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and no 12pm ferry on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Leaving Saleapaga around 6am sounds alright. If there is an earlier bus, better take that one though. | 2
foretagarna 12:07 UTC 14 Jun 2014 | Many thanks for info. Obviously one travels via Apia, not around the South coast of Upolu, that looks like a safe bet. All best! | 3
budgetkiwi 20:24 UTC 14 Jun 2014 | All the buses in Samoa are designed for the locals lifestyle. They bus leaves from the village they are associated with and head to the main town to take people to work, school, market (or the boat, on Savaii)At the end of their run, (or the end of the day, )they end up back in their village-if the village is a long way from the market the bus may only make one or two runs a day, the last one leaving the village before mid day .... So to get around by bus you often have to go via Apia to change buses, none do a circuit of the island, none on Upolu go from the south coast to the wharf- no bus even goes right along the south coast... On savaii the market and main town is by the wharf , so all buses are heading there from their village which makes things a bit simpler. You can bus up & down the east or west coast. It's always best to allow a lot of time if catching a bus and travel earlier in the day. | 4
foretagarna 10:41 UTC 17 Jun 2014 | Thanks budgetkiwi, Good info! This is the way it works at a lot of places around the world. I guess you have to accomodate to that. And I really do - just want to make sure about Samoa. Will be great to get there, in just a few days! | 5