scooters and spearfishing in samoa

hi there,

planning on stopping in samoa on the way to australia for up to two weeks.

i was wondering if it is possible to rent scooters? do i need to get a liscence while there? are there many places to get them? how much?

also i spearfish and will be taking my snorkel gear and gun, is it legal in samoa? do i need a fishing licence? can anyone recomend and area, or a place to stay where i could just jump off the beach and go?

i'll be flying into apia and plan to stay on the island

thanks

Hi there. Have just returned from Samoa and were unable to rent scooters - only vehicles. A endoresement (or temporary Samoan licence) was required to actually hire a vehicle which the rental company were able to provide for us at SAT12. When driving - beware of the pigs co's they come out of nowhere!! Unfortunately can't help you with the spearfishing side of things. Hope you have a great time!!

Motorcycles and scooters are surprisingly uncommon in Samoa.. Even the locals have very few.

The dogs may have something to do with it?

I know that these vehicles are quite popular in Raro (which is a lot smaller than the Samoan islands). What about Fiji - how common are they there? Might it have to do something with the distances to cover? I think so.

But your are right: The dogs certainly do make any two-wheel ride a quite challenging adventure :-)

Spearfishing is common for the local fishermen, but I have hardly seen any tourist doing it. There are some restrictions at the swimming beaches, otherwise you should be fine. No fishing licenses in Samoa.

It always pays to ask at the local village and get permission (and Pay) before you enter the water as the shoreline is owned by the local village.