Off the Beaten Track in Samoa

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are rounding out a year of backpacker-style travel in SE Asia, Aus and NZ in May and will be spending two of our final weeks on the road in Samoa. We intentionally selected Samoa over Cook Islands and Fiji because advice here in NZ was that it would offer easier access to "real" culture, was a little cheaper, and was in general a bit less touched by mass-resort tourism, etc.

I am wondering if anyone out there can recommend a particular beach or small island in Samoa that is relatively off the beaten track- we are happy to eat as locals do, don't need a TV, hairdryer or AC, just a place to lay our heads and a beach nearby. I had heard from someone that Manono island was a good sort of place for this. Specifically, a place called Sunset View Fales was recommended. Has anyone been to Manono or another place with a similar vibe? Any recommendations are welcome.

Cheers.

I found Saleopaga, west of much more popular Lalomanu on Upolu, the best place for this.
Very quiet, hassle-free, and relatively traditional.

I did burn my hand trying to go too far "off the beaten track" and staying in a village with no purpose-built tourist accomodation, so be careful with that. See the Samoa link in my signo line.

It's kind of too late, but I did actually find Fiji as a whole far less touristy than Samoa, simply because it has many more islands, and bigger ones, thus offering far more opportunities to get off the beaten track than Samoa. In general also felt the reception more natural there - obviosly not in Nadi or in Coral Coast resorts, of course!
I am pretty sure that several islands in the Cooks also receive far fewer visitors than Manono in Samoa, simply because they are far harder and more expensive to reach.