Samoa Holiday Plans - grateful for suggestions

Hi All

we are planning a trip to Samoa early April.

The plan so far is to hire a car from Apia (probably spend a day in Apia), drive to Sinalei Reef Resort and spend three nights, then make our away across to Suvai'i to Le Lagota Resort for a another three nights. Siteseeing along the way. We have about a week in total.

We hope to get some great diving and a bit of exploring done so grateful for any suggestions of must dos', warnings of things that may go wrong so we can avoid them, do you think we are trying to do too much? Distances don't seem too far, does it take long to get from A-B?

Cheers!

It does not take too long to get anywhere in Samoa, a few hours at most.

each island is only about 250klms round trip, but the roads are narrow and often pot holed, so dont expect to cover distances very fast ( the allowed speed is quite low too, maybe 55km on the open road and 35 in villages if I remember right)
from the airport to Apia will take about 45 mins and down to Sinalei maybe about 40mins. ( its about 10 minutes fromthe airport to Mulifanua where the ferry leaves from)
The main thing if you have a car is the booking on the ferry, vehicles must be pre booked to get a space and then arrive about an hour before departure (crossing time is 1 or 1.5 hours depending on which boat you catch.)
Its about 40 mins from Salelologa to Fagamalo ( where Le Legoto is)
So travel from Sinalei you will need to allow upto 2 hours travel time, 1 hour report time, 1- 1.5 hours ferry and upto 1 hour to get to Le Legoto- maybe 5 hours total..
todrive around each island ( Upolu & Savaii ) on the main road and doing abit of sight seeing takes about 4-5 hours,- of course to do exploring on side roads and villages etc takes longer, a few days longer... :)

Hi worldsteps,

I'm not sure if you're only looking at mid-tier places but if you want a cheap and authentic place to stay, I highly recommend Vaiula Beach Fale on Upolu. It is owned by a local, Dave, and is right on a beautiful beach. Breakfast and dinner are included in the very reasonable price and we met lots of interesting travellers there.

As other users have mentioned, Samoa is very easy to get around and there is a lot to do. Have a look at our top 10 Samoa recommendations and other Samoa related articles and galleries which will give you a flavour of the place.

It's been one of our favourite countries ever. You're going to have a great time!

Hope this helps.

Kia, Atlas and Boots

I spent 17 days in Samoa last month on a surf trip. Scored some great surf but also contracted Chikungunya. Beware! After the initial flu-like symptoms that left me in the hotel bed for 3 days, I am now suffering from severe joint pain, having trouble walking. Getting out of bed in the morning is hell. I had no idea that virus even existed. The authorities will screen you for Ebola when you get off the plane, but they won't bother to mention there is a Chikungunya epidemic taking place on their island! Take all the precautions: DEET, long sleeves and pants, mozzy nets (a/c is better). The CHIKV carrying mosquitoes bite at night and day. All it takes is one bite to ruin your trip and maybe give you long term pain for a year or more. If you go there you will notice many locals hobbling around and limping. Ask them what the problem is and they will tell you Chikungunya. It is HEAVY, do not mess around with this one.
If you still decide to go, check out To Sua Ocean Trench on Upolu - make sure to do the underwater tunnel swim to the ocean. I found the best car rental rates (and great service) from AA rentals. If you take the car on the ferry to Savaii, you need to buy your ticket in Apia near the wharf. (The ferry terminal is about 1 hour drive to the east.) If you're taking the ferry without a car you can buy tickets at the ferry terminal. It's about a 1 hour crossing and a lot of people were getting seasick.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/chikungunya-samoa

http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2015/02/chikungunya_sickening_tourists.html

Well, as much as I feel sorry for you (and anyone else) having caught Chikungunya, one should be fair. Its the first time ever that this virus hit the Pacific and nobody had ever heard of it before. Right now its gone in Samoa. Some cases left in the Cook Islands and French Polynesia but its heavily on the rise in Kiribati now. So its nothing specific at all for Samoa. Furthermore, in the Caribbean and the Southern US there have been hundred thousands of cases. But of course that does not comfort you when you are looking forward to have a good time in Samoa and get hit. The Samoa Health Department did a big campaign about it, mostly around December, when it started. TV ads, posters everywhere, things like that.And of course its in the "Influenza"-like class of infection and nowhere near Ebola

Furthermore I was surprised about your ferry experience - you must really have caught a bad day there too. I live in Samoa for about 20 years now and take the ferry to Savaii around once a week in average. Maybe three or four times during all these years I have seen more than just very few people, if any at all, getting seasick. When the swell is rough, the ferry usually is cancelled. Which can be even more inconvenient.

So maybe Samoa is not that bad overall and I fully support your recommendations regarding To Sua Trench and car rental.

There is no excuse for Samoan authorities not alerting incoming visitors of the Chikungunya outbreak in your country. If they took the time to screen me for Ebola immediately upon landing, then they could have warned me of Chikungunya. I didn't even try to prevent myself from mosquito bites because I thought there were no problems. If someone had warned me I would have protected myself and probably not gotten sick. But thanks to their inaction I'll now be in extreme joint pain for months.

And regarding your comment that there is no more Chikungunya in Samoa, that is totally WRONG! How could you post dangerous information like that on this website? Just today the All Blacks announced they will likely cancel their upcoming match in Samoa due to Chikungunya concerns.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11405509

And two days ago a 22 year old woman died from Chikungunya she contracted in Samoa.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/266526/niue-confirms-chikungunya-death

If you still plan to visit, be EXTREMELY careful.. it only takes one bite.

Well first up, this is why I love these forums. You get to here a real balanced perspective and hear about all the different experiences people have. Taking it as it comes when travelling is great, but being able to avoid disasters by learning from other people's experiences means a more enjoyable holiday for everyone :)

Thank you @eastcapechris for your warnings. i am so sorry that you contracted Chikungunya, I sincerely hop you are feeling better and the joint pain goes away asap! I have followed all your links and did some researching of my own. I feel very prepared and will be taking a big tube of deet with me! as well as swapping some of my singlets out for loose long sleeved tops.

Thank you @wksamoa for your input too. We'll check the weather for the ferry, but might make sure we aren't too tight from time to get back from Saavi'i to Apia Airport to drop the car off.

Thanks @budgetkiwi (love this handle by the way!) for those awesome timings around the islands! Will help us a lot with timings.

Thanks @atlasandboots for the top 10 list and the Vaiula Beach Fale recommendation. Sounds, amazing! Will be looking into that.

Thanks again everyone, again I love the perspective you can get from these forums. Better than any travel agent I reckon ;)

Cheers
Worldsteps.

have a good trip, always good to be aware of health issues but shouldnt stop you travelling.
I always take my own mosquito net, (I bought it at Molesi's in salelologa a few years ago for about 30 tala) I found many ozzie nets at the fales had holes, -some people carry tape but I just put my own net up.
And yes take a good mozzie repellant and socks, longs pants, shirt etc. - and dont leave your light on at night to attract mozzies.
over the years I have realised prevention and immediate attention can avoid a lot of complications and I carry quite a lot of stuff in my medicine kit. Most you can get in Samoa but having it on hand saves time. Antiseptic cream, anti biotic, anti histimine, iodine, ....I also buy & carry a can of fly/bug spray and I spray the room and bathroom when I arrive because often the mozzies hang out there during the day and just come out at night when you go to sleep...
An acquaintance got zika in rarotonga last year but I avoided it during my 2 month trip to samoa & Rarotonga and am going back in May/June/ July for another visit. It seems to die off a bit in the dryer winter months.
Being in places by the coast ( where there is a breeze ) and away from vegetation there are less mozzies, so avoid the garden fales and aim for the beach front fales....

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