Samoa vs Fiji... with wee ones

Hi,

We're looking to go to either Samoa or Fiji as part of a New Zealand/Cook Island trip. I just had a couple of questions re travelling with small kids (a 4 year old and a baby).

Firstly.. how bad are the dogs in Samoa? Normally I wouldn't think much of this, but I noticed that it was the one "danger" mentioned on the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs site.

Are rental cars available as automatic?

Can anyone recommend accommodation that is a bit more private than the open huts which most people stay in? I'm sure no other visitors will want to hear the baby cry at night!

Thanks

The dog issue is discussed on the Samoa thread linked in my signo line.
Note that there has been a stray-dog-eradication campaign by the Samoan Tourism Authority since most of that stuff was written, which seemed to have had some effect at the time - dunno about the current situation.

If you opt for Fiji, open-sided fales won't be an option, and even in Samoa there are plenty of more private bungalows on offer, especially if you are not on the tightest of budgets.

we never had any problems with dogs! we went with our 3 year old and 13 month old. they loved it and the samoans loved them. even the cleaning ladies would come and get the children and play with them. the staff at restaurants will play with the kids while you eat. we went in the open air fales and they were lovely with the kids, never had any problems but it won't exactly be romantic for the two of you all sleeping together! its actually easier in the fales because you don't need to worry about cots as the fales have sides on them. also if you are breastfeeding you should continue if you are going. the last lonely planet said breastfeeding was a no no in samoa but this was untrue and i even had male samoans telling me to feed the baby! pm me if you want.

Wow... I hadn't even considered that breastfeeding would be a faux pas in Samoa. My kids will be about the same age... I had ruled out the open fale because I was worried about bothering the neighbouring guests, though we actually love camping. The fales seem very close together. Where did you stay? What's the bathroom situation?

we did both the expensive places like aggie greys and aggie's lagoon but also satuatua, monono island, vacations etc. the fancy resorts were nice but it was difficult with the little ones because one of you had to stay when they were asleep as the rooms were so far away from the pools/beaches. with the little basic places the fales were right on the beach and you could swim/snorkel even during the day time and basically watch over them sleeping about 20m away! at night it was great too as the little places hire security guards (a guy with a torch!) and you let them know the kids are asleep and they sit right near them while you eat your dinner/drink beer. our little one got all tangled up in the mosquito net and the guy came and got us. also at the basic places the kids ate heaps because the food was so simple instead of fancy restaurant stuff. they really look after the kids and cook them 2 minute noodles if they want! the bathrooms were always spotless even in the cheap places, they were very basic and only had showers (mostly cold) but it was fine with the kids. the sand becomes a bit of a pain after a while. the beaches are so great there as its all lagoons. no bindies! no rubbish, no stingers basically no shoes! although at one place we did find a little bit of glass washed up but we just did a search after the high tide and picked it up, wasn't too much of an issue. i haven't been to fiji to compare, everytime we try to go there it seems to have a coup! so i can't compare. we honestly never came across any of the dog issues, security issues etc. i was really freaked out by one of the threads before we left but found the complete opposite. the samoans are very strict with their children but they are very well behaved. the kids will be so exhausted they will sleep well.

Hmmm, I wonder if you will see Survivor being filmed?

Although much of it seems to be conjecture at this stage???.