Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# a week in Upolo Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
camus63 03:22 UTC 25 Aug 2009 | I am taking our extended family 4 teenagers (16-18) 1 Eleveen year old plus mum and Dad (me!) to Samoa in early October, and would like some advice on our travel plans. As we arrive early in the morning (1am) I had thought about staying at either the Samoan Outrigger Hotel or the Seaside Inn for a couple of days to see Apia, Palolo deep etc., although I am now leaning towards Dave Parkers Eco lodge if they do pick ups and are not too far from Apia, am struggling to fix its location. Then head around the coast and stay at Namu'a beach fales - do they do pick ups, drop offs, will a car be safe if we leave it on the side of the road, is dinner and breakfast included in the price? I thought we would then spend the next few days at Taufua's beach fales for their Fiafia and Sunday feast, also I see they do airport drop offs. We have stayed at Faofao beach fales, how does Taufua's compare to them? Also the individual price for the fales sounds pretty good but becomes expensive when you are paying for a group, is their a better deal or accomodation option? Any suggestions/observations would be welcome, thank you |
camus63 03:41 UTC 25 Aug 2009 | oops getting lazy in my old age - of course I mean a week in 'upolu | 1
wksamoa 01:17 UTC 26 Aug 2009 | Just a few remarks. I hope you are aware that the Samoa Outrigger Hotel is not at the waterfront anymore but had to move inland close to the National Hospital. The property formerly being the Outrigger is now the 1841 Princess Tui. The Seaside Inn is still where it had been before, just got older. Dave Parker's Eco Lodge is about 10 miles from town, up the mountain towards Aleisa. Beautiful views but you are away from everything (which is the reason why people stay there) and you need to have your own vehicle. Namua Beach Fales is completely secluded and you will be virtually on your own there. It is run by a family that lives on the main island. They will take you over to Namua and pick you up from there again. You can explore the island and go swimming. You can certainly leave your car on the owner family's land beside their house, not on the roadside. I'm not sure if they do transfers from Apia but there are Taxi vans nowadays in Apia which can take your whole group. Taufua Beach Fales usually is a lot busier than Faofao. Plenty of people, often young Australian folk. The individual rates to pay for the stay reflect that you get two (quite decent) meals per person and night. It adds up but on the other hand you all get fed. | 2