Uplolu, Western Samoa

We spent one week on the island of Upolu in Western Samoa. Upolu was a very laid back, authentic South Pacific island worth your travel consideration.

Sunny Trip Reports Island Rating* Click here for Explanation of Ratings
Accomodations
Snorkeling
Beaches
Dining
Activities
Shopping
Food Shopping
Friendliness
Cultural Experience
Value for Money
Would We Return

Litia Sini Beach Resort

We stayed 4 nights at the Litia Sini Beach Resort. These are actually "upscale" beach fales. Beach fales appear to be the number one type of accommodation in Samoa. Litia Sini is located on the most picturesque beach in Western Samoa. The accommodations are very basic and the toilets and showers are shared. But if you can get by that, you'll have a wonderful time at Litia Sini. The rate is very reasonable for U.S. standards. (I believe we paid about $65 USD a night for the fale, breakfast and dinner for two)
Most of the fales are located directly on the beach. The view was awesome. Even though Lalomano is supposed to be one of the more "popular" beaches, we found it quite empty and relaxing.
The fales included a balcony which had a nice table and chairs. This ended up being the perfect place to spend each afternoon and sunset.
The fales are very basic. The picture to the left shows our fale. It was a double foam mattress on the floor with mats down as the flooring. Each fale also had a ceiling fan, light, and a mossie net. We were prepared for a camping like environment but it was actually more like pampered camping.
The room rate included breakfast and dinner. During each meal, everyone would leave their "slippers" at the front door. The picture to the right shows our first breakfast. Nothing fancy at all but the food was authentic and good.
Each night there was something different for dinner. Usually it consisted of a chicken dish, fish dish, potatoes, and a few other sides. You could buy dessert for an extra fee but we never did. On Saturday night we had the "feast" which included two roasted pigs!
The fia fia show on Saturday night was quite good. Some village locals perform traditional Samoan dance. Lydia, the manager at Litia Sini, was very good at explaining each dance and why it was important to the Samoan culture.
The only downside to Litia Sini was that the restrooms/showers were across the road and the water pressure was horrible. When we took showers, (cold), the water pressure was bad. The cold water actually wasn't an issue since it was so darn hot, but the water pressure was an issue.It looked to us that Litia Sini was one of the nicer places.  The fales next door, Taufua, seemed to have much more of a "party" atmosphere. If you want to party I would go there. Litia Sini is quiet but we liked it.

Aggie Grey's Beach Resort

Our last night was spent at Aggie Grey's Beach Resort. This truly is one of the only "western resorts" you will find on the island. This was the only establishment that reminded us of what we would find in Hawaii. The property is located near the airport but we were not bothered by any air traffic noise.  (This is Samoa after all, it isn't like they have flights coming in every hour)
The pool at Aggie Grey's was very nice. But we did have two complaints. The first is that almost the entire pool is 6 feet deep. This meant that Carroll "couldn't touch bottom" throughout the entire pool. (I could on my tippy toes) The second was the "swim up pool bar". When we first arrive I thought I would go over to the bar and get a couple of Vailimas. It took 20 minutes! This was because every kid in the pool was swimming up to the bar and ordering chocolate shakes. With EACH shake the bartender had to walk up to the main building and get ice cream. It was crazy. So needless to say we did not use the swim up bar! Which was probably a good thing because drinks were DOUBLE what we found everywhere else on the island.
When we checked in I said "I hope you have more than one channel on the TV". They said "yes sir, we have 8 channels. I later turned on the TV to find 8 channels alright. One real TV channel and 7 channels that had DVD's put in them playing on repeat. I guess that is pretty nice if you want to watch Deuce Bigelow over and over and over again...
Our room was very nice. Nice and large with new furnishings. It included a coffee maker, small refrigerator and 4 free bottles of water. The room was air conditioned AND had hot water.
We were only at Aggie's for 1.5 days so we really didn't use the beach area, but it seemed very nice and secluded.
The food and drinks at Aggies was very overpriced. On Sunday night we did the "Sunday Barbeque". The food was good but nothing stellar. The price was very high compared to the rest of the island. During our last night we ate at the pizza place. They had some good live entertainment and the prices were more reasonable.
As we found throughout the trip, the sunsets were fantastic. Overall we would recommend Aggie Grey's if you want a more "western" experience. But be warned, that it is very expensive. We spent a lot of money there for only being on the property for 1.5 days.

Places to Eat on Upolu

Coconuts There are not many places to eat in Upolu. We figure it is because most people stay in fales which include meals. But our favorite restaurant on the island was by far Coconuts. We ate there twice and had a good experience each time.  The food was very good and very reasonable. (Compared to Aggie Grey's Lagoon Resort)
The Mai Tais at Coconuts were awesome! The food was good too. :>)
The Coconuts restaurant and bar is located on the water.
Carroll had the pesto pasta salad and I had the chef salad. Both were very good.
Gourmet Seafood N Grill During one of our days in Apia we thought we would have lunch. We walked into Aggie Grey's (downtown) at around noon and the restaurant and bar were both closed. So we walked down the street and found the Gourmet Seafood N Grill.  This place was actually very good. It is a self service type place where you walk up, place your order and then wait for your food to be delivered to the table. The food was good and very reasonable.

Things to do in Upolu, Samoa

Probably the biggest "attraction" in Western Samoa is the town of Apia. Apia is the town where the majority of the population live in Western Samoa.We found the town to be very charming. Even though it is the largest town in Western Samoa, it is still very small and charming. We really enjoyed the "craft market" where local merchants sold local items.  The items for sale included lava lavas, kava bowls, tapa cloths, t-shirts, and dresses. Normally we go to these types of markets and walk out with nothing that we really want. In this case, we actually found quite a bit of stuff that was unique and worth carrying home.
Robert Luis Stevenson Museum
A must attraction is the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. We both really liked the tour and found it informative and well worth the time and money spent.
The museum is on the road that criss-crosses the island. It is near the Bahia temple, which is shown to the right.
	One of the best things to do in Samoa is to just drive around. The sights around every curve are amazing.  After awhile you stop taking pictures because you realize that you aren't going to be able to capture the beauty.
After the rains, you will see waterfalls everywhere!The waterfall shown to the above left is the Papapapa-tai waterfall. It was morning when we took the picture, so the lighting isn't the best, but it was easily visible from the side of the road. The waterfall to the upper right is the Sopoaga waterfall. This was taken from the vantage point by the road. You are required to pay a few tala for the ability to park in a private residence parking lot.  But the guy gives a coconut demonstration that is killer. Well worth the few tala we left and it was the best waterfall on the island. The waterfall to the right is unnamed. It was just flowing by the side of the road.
	Everywhere you look you see beautiful flora and fauna. Samoa gets a lot of rain and it shows. It is one of the prettiest places we have seen.  The red ginger, shown to the left, is the national flower. We happened to be in Samoa on White Sunday.  During White Sunday the churches are decorated with the red ginger flowers. It is beautiful.
Samoa is just full of churches. Since we were there on "White Sunday" we decided to get dressed up and attend a service at the local church in the village of Lalomano. We felt very welcomed by the church and we enjoyed watching the kids perform various Biblical skits and songs.
Of interesting note is how proud the Samoans are of their country and heritage. We collect flags from the countries that we visits, so we decided to "fly the flag" while we were in our fale on Lalomano beach. We had numerous comments from the locals that expressed appreciation for us by displaying their flag.  We also started speaking Samoan, (in a very limited way), and the people were very appreciative that we were making an effort to learn their language. Samoa is a very spiritual and magical place!

Lalomano Beach and Snorkeling

Lalomano beach is one of the best beaches in all of Western Samoa. It has beautiful views, great sand, and wonderful snorkeling.  This is a must beach to experience if you come to Western Samoa.
Even though the beach is a little remote, (at the tip of the island), it is worth the visit.
The snorkeling was very good. We saw lots of fish and a good amount of coral. The coral was better on the island of Savaii but the fish population was much better at Lalomano.
We snorkeled Lalomano numerous times, and during each trip we found something different. One day I had a black t-shirt on while I was snorkeling. (Trying not to get sunburn)  A school of black tangs figured I was just a "big tang" and started following me around. It was very special. Everywhere I went, they followed. The picture to the right shows a Moorish Idol.
The sunsets at Lalomano were spectacular. These pictures do not do it justice! We saw probably the prettiest sunset of our lives here at Lalomano.

Carroll's Upolu Blog

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Continued from the Savaii blog

When we arrived on Upolu are rental car was waiting for us. We went through Blue Pacific Car Rental and they were awesome.

We decided not to go straight to Apia as there was a cruise ship in town and it would be quite busy. We drove the south coast through many small villages on our way to Lalomano beach. Along the way we stopped at Coconuts resort for a bite of lunch. I ordered the hamburger from NZ beef well done. It came out very pink on the inside. I am concluding that cooked meat here is not the U.S. norm. Dave had the fish burger that was very tasty. We also had some Mai Tais, which were very good. If they weren't so strong we could have enjoyed those more.

After lunch we continued on and arrived at Litia Sini's beach resort at around 3:00 PM. We quickly got situated in Fale #4. The power was out so all was very quiet.

At 6:30 PM they came and announced dinner by knocking on each of the fales. Dinner was surprisingly varied. It was server buffet style and consisted of potato salad, fish, rice, chicken curry, sausage & peppers, and I'm sure something I failed to mention. 

Because the power was out, they brought 2 liter bottles fashioned into candle holders. Filled with sand, they made the perfect luminaries. Because there was no light, we turned in early. Dave had a hard time falling asleep, I did not. :>)

At one point it was pouring rain, Dave had to pee, and it was hot. I just kept dozing... :>)

At 4:00 AM, we both awoke and climbed out of our fale to make the short trek across the road for our nightly relief. I have now decided that we're getting too old to not have in room facilities!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

We both woke up at around 7:00 AM. refreshed. Dave decided to run across the road and shower first. He said the cold water was a shock but then he warmed up. I went over to shower after him. (we only brought one set of toiletries, shampoo, body wash, etc.) The women's showers were much busier with the Ministry group from NZ being mostly women. I luckily didn't have to wait long. The showers were very cold but I quickly adapted.

Breakfast was announced at 7:30 AM so we headed over. Breakfast consisted of toast, balls of banana dough, called pancakes, ham, poached eggs, fruit, and warmed up Chef Boy R D spaghetti. Yummo.

After breakfast we drove to Apia, which is the main commerce center of Samoa. The drive took about an hour. I'm sure it could be quicker but Dave was driving cautiously.

The drive was beautiful as usual and we passed through many small picturesque villages. As we arrived in Apia, traffic got much more congested. We parked in a lot next to the Samoan Tourism Authority. Apia is definitely different than any other town/village in Western Samoa.

We shopped at the local craft market and purchased some more tapa cloths. We also bought a few more lava lavas. Since this Sunday is White Sunday, I also purchased an outfit that will be appropriate for me to wear to church. Any other Sunday, a dress, skirt or any lava lava would have been okay. On White Sunday you should wear your best "white" so I purchased something appropriate.

As we left the market it started to rain. We returned to the car to drop off our purchases and then ventured on to find a place to eat. We settled on a small quaint cafe called the Rainforest Cafe. (Not to be confused with the Rainforest Cafe in the U.S.) I had a spicy chicken pita. Dave had a grilled fish sandwich. Both were very good.

After lunch Dave wanted to find a shirt that was indicative of Samoa. We went to several shops and finally found one he liked. Sizes in Samoa range mainly from XL to 5X. Dave's shirt was a little big but comfy.

Our last stop was a grocery store to get a few bottles of wine to sip as a night cap on Lalomano beach. We also made a quick stop to get a Samoan flag for our collection....

The drive back to Lalomano was more beautiful than the drive in as all of the rain had caused numerous waterfalls along the roadside. We had a fun time reminiscing about our day.

Tonight was the most magnificent sunset so far. We must have taken a hundred pictures. Just as the sun was finishing its light show, dinner was announced.

The menu was rice, mashed potatoes (mashies to the Kiwis), pork ribs, chicken chop suey and saimin noodles. Again, we had a very tasty meal.

We returned to our fale and played some Cribbage until the lights (power) unexpectedly went out. We still had a 1/2 burned candle from yesterday, so we asked on of the watchmen to light it for us. We talked by candle light and shared a bottle of wine before retiring for the evening.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Today was a quiet day. We pretty much hung around our fale and read books all day.

Breakfast was another great spread of scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, papaya and baked beans. We ate peanut butter and crackers for lunch. For dinner they served rice, potatoes, mushroom beef, chicken carrot sauté, fish potato casserole and pumpkin with herbs.

After dinner we played some Cribbage and then called it an evening. It rained off and on all day long.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

We decided to skip breakfast this morning so we could go out and explore the island a bit more. We drove along the south road until we reached the main road that crosses over the island.

We stopped along the way and photographed the longest waterfall we had ever seen. We then continued on down the road and took a few pictures of the Bahia temple which is one of only eight in the world.

Further on down the road was the village of Vailima, which was the final home of Robert Louis Stevenson. He wrote the likes of Kidnapped, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, and Treasure Island before is death at age 44.

We toured his home which is now a museum dedicated to his time here on Samoa. The cost for the tour was $15 ST per person. The house has been restored to its original state. There are a few original artifacts from Stevenson's time and the rest are reproductions.

We spent the rest of the morning in Apia picking up a few last minute souvenirs. Town was very busy with people doing their last minute shopping for White Sunday.

By noon time we were hungry, since we had skipped breakfast, so we tried stopping at Aggie Grey's for lunch but couldn't find much help in directing us. We gave up on them and drove over to a place by the water by Funway Car Rentals. It was a nice place to sit and have lunch and enjoy a Vailima.

After lunch we headed back to Litia Sini Beach Fales for an afternoon swim and snorkel. Unfortunately the beautiful sunny cloudless day gave way to cloudy rain and by the time we returned home it was overcast and cloudy. We went for a snorkel anyway and then rinsed the saltwater off and got dressed for dinner.

Saturday night's dinner was special in that they served roasted pig and all the accoutrements. It was also the night that the local dance troupe, from the village, came and performed a fia fia. There show was very energetic and well thought out. Lydia, the manager of the resort, acted as emcee and explained the significance of each dance and song. At the end of the show, the troupe sang a song of gratitude to the guest. Everyone held hands in a circle. It was a magical experience. A highlight of the show for me was receiving a lei from the lead dancer.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

We awoke at 6:00 AM as usual and sorted and packed our things for our move to Aggie Grey's Beach Resort. We were finished well before breakfast time at 8:30. We ate a good breakfast and returned to our fale to dress for church.

Today was White Sunday so it was a special day to dress in your best white and attend special services. White Sunday is a special day for the children. They all receive new church clothes and shoes and they perform skits taken from the Bible. They also recite verses and sing and dance to songs. Most of this was in Samoan but it was really a cool experience to witness.

After church we returned to Litia Sini's to collect our bags and check out. We thanked Lydia for her hospitality, took a few pictures, and was on the road.

We stopped to see a waterfall and met "the coconut man". He owns the property that abuts the view of the falls. He has landscaped his property nicely and gives an informative demonstration on how the coconuts are used on Samoa. (All for the low low price of a few tala)

We then trekked on to Coconuts for lunch. Dave had the Chef's salad and I had the Pasta salad. Both were very good. We also had to have a Mai Tai to make sure it was as good as the first time... It was!

After lunch we continued our drive to Aggie Grey's. It was a sight to see all of the people walking to or from church in their beautiful white church clothes.

We arrived at Aggie Grey's at around 3:00 PM. Upon check-in we were so pleased to find an air conditioned room with a real bed and an in suite bathroom.

We donned our suits and headed to the pool which was crowded with families and splashing, screaming kids. The pool itself was quite pretty but overrun with unruly kids. Dave couldn't even get close to the swim up bar to order a drink because it was surrounding by kids. After a quick dip we returned to our room for a shower with hot water.... mmmm...

Feeling clean and refreshed we went back to the pool area to have a drink and watch the conch shell, drum and torch ceremony at sunset. Dinner was next on the agenda for the Sunday night BBQ. (The chicken was the best) We didn't hang around after dinner too long because of the mosquitoes. We took a bottle of wine back to our room and watched a great documentary on Samoa on TV.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Today was our last day on Samoa. We paid extra so we could have late check out as our flight home leaves at midnight. We basically lazed around the pool, visited with some Kiwi's and relaxed. At about 4:00 we returned to our room to shower, pack the last few things, and rest before we had to check out at 6:00 PM.

After we checked out we went to the bar to have a drink before dinner. Whilst there we met Anna and Trevor who own Stevenson's Beach Resort over on Savaii. They are incredibly nice people and based on their warmth, we would probably recommend their resort also.

We ate dinner al fresco at the pizza restaurant. It was a beautiful evening, the pizza was good and they had live music. Since we really didn't have any place to go we lingered over a nice bottle of wine and enjoyed the music. When the musicians found out it was our last hours on Samoa they stood and sang a special farewell song in Samoan. It brought tears to our eyes. A Samoan hug, kiss, and song will do a lot to charge your batteries.

At 10:30 PM we caught the shuttle to the airport. I think we got on an earlier shuttle than expected because everyone else was part of a German tour group.

Once at the airport we checked in, made our way through immigration and security and sat at the gate and had our last Vailima.

The flight home was fairly uneventful with the exception of Dave's sleepwalking. He actually filmed part of the movie onboard and has no recollection of doing so. He also vaguely remembers waking some lady up and trying to sleep against the wall by the bathroom. That was good for a laugh.

We had 3 - 4 hours to kill at LAX so we read some more and hung out reminiscing about the great trip we had.

This trip to Samoa was truly an unforgettable experience. The people had such great smiles and warmth. Samoa is a paradise that I hope will stay as pristine as we found it. Fa' a fatai lava to the wonderful people we met on this remarkable trip!

Carroll