Solo female traveller in Samoa

I am visiting Samoa in early February 2018. I will be travelling solo and would like to get recommendations of places to stay where I will meet fellow travellers/backpackers? I will be on a budget also so will be avoiding resort-type places.

I am also sure of how many days to spend on each island and how to divide my time?
I have flights provisionally booked - I fly into Apia airport at 9pm on 2nd February and fly out of Apia on 10th Feb at 10am. Would I be best to spend one night in Apia and head straight to Savaii, and then come back to Apia a couple of days before I fly home? Any itinerary suggestions welcome!

I also see that renting a car is the best way to see the islands. I drive at home in Ireland but don't think I would be confident to drive in another country. Also, car hire would be a little expensive on my own too! Is it possible to do day trips?

Any tips at all would be great! Thanks so much :)

I found Upolu the more beautiful island with better beaches, so would spend more time there. The beach at Lalomanu was the busiest backpackers' hangout duing my visit, and also the best beach I've seen in Samoa.
Many attractions can be visited on daytrips out of Apia by public bus, but more remote places may get only one or two buses a day so can't. At those, you should stay overnight. Renting a car would be convenient but not absolutely necessary of yiu can't really afford it.

It's been about 10-15 years that I was in Samoa, so things could have changed drastically since my time there. But my few 2-cents.

Upolu is the much busier island. Despite how busy it was, I still consider Lalomanu the quintessential south Pacific beach (i.e. what I always have in my head if anyone asks me to describe the South Pacific). My friend also took me to another beach on Upolu where they filmed the 1953 movie Return to Paradise, the name of the beach which escapes me. It was also a very picturesque beach, much quieter but the sand was a bit more rocky.

I assume you will be doing the fale thing. If not, I really would suggest that you do. For me, it really was the highlight, and dirt cheap if you are on a budget. Admittedly I had the benefit on having a friend's place as a home base, so I didn't take anything "valuable" with me when I stayed at any of the fales.

On Savaii, on my friend's advice, I stayed at Regina's. For the two nights that I was there, I was the only guest there, which in my mind was perfection! Jane's down the road was the "party fale" if you are looking to hang out with people. My situation was somewhat perfect in that if I needed company, I just wandered down the road to Jane's, but most of the time I just sat in the water and ate all the free finger bananas straight off the trees at Regina's! Also I ended up meeting two women at Jane's that asked me to join them on the day long trek they were planning around the island as they had already rented one of the few cars available in that neck of the woods (there apparently was no bus tour operating that day due to not enough people).

I lived in Samoa for 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer and returned this summer for a reunion. We decided not to rent a car and managed okay. While the buses around the islands have unpredictable schedules , the ones that meet the boats at the wharf are easy to access and usually leave right after passengers disembark. Th boats also leave on a regular schedule. We got off the boat in Savaii and within minutes found a bus going to Manase, which is near Regina's, Jane's and Tanu fales. The beach and lagoon at Manase are absolutely beautiful. There are also an abundance of taxis which are reasonable. You can download from the Samoan tourism sites the fares that all the taxis and buses will charge for different destinations. We also took a boat to Manono, included in our lodging, and stayed at the Sunset View Fales (which are more like cabins). That place is owned and operated by a local chief and is a good way to see what the fa'a samoa (Samoan way of life) is like. The food was delicious and you can snorkel in the nearby lagoon. Some of the other Peace Corps volunteers who came for the reunion stayed at the Lalotalie on Upolu and did a river hike to a waterfall. Apparently, that is another spot where you can experience a little more of fa'a samoa. Given your travel arrangements, you might need to stay in Apia but it can take about an hour to get from the airport to town and costs 70-80 tala for a taxi. As you plan your trip, keep in mind that things shut down on Sundays. In fact, shops in Apia start shutting down in Saturday afternoon. If you can swing it on your return from Savai'i, you might consider getting a bus from the Mulifana wharf directly to some other location on Upolu after you return from Savaii, rather than spending 2 nights in Apia. We had to spend a couple of nights in Apia for our reunion, so we stayed at Aniva's. The place is okay; owner and staff are friendly; they provide a great breakfast but it's not a good choice if you are a non-smoker. The younger Peace Corps volunteers seemed to like the Pasifika Inn. Be careful as a single woman staying in the beach fales. I read lots of reviews before booking our trip, and several women complained about unwanted advances. When travelling out in the villages or on buses, I suggest you cover up shorts with a sarong (called a lava lava) and if possible, go in pairs with other tourists or Samoans.

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