Planning your Beach Holiday to Samoa
For something a little more adventurous, Samoa beach holidays offer a great alternative to the more tourist orientated destinations of Fiji and Tahiti. Here you'll find plenty of gorgeous white sand beaches tucked down the end of a dirt track as well as a couple of really stunning beaches popular with travellers and locals alike. There aren't a great deal of Samoa beach resorts to choose from and only one of these is large with all others having less than 30 guests so there's no issue with crowded beaches.
Beach Holidays on South Upolu Island
On Upolu, the main island, the best beaches are along the south coast where the majority of beach resorts and beach fales are found. Lalomanu Beach on the south-east tip of the island is particularly stunning - it was here that the full force of the 2009 tsunami was felt although there is little evidence of that event today.
One of the South Pacific's great beach walks is found on the south-west tip of Upolu from Salamumu Beach to Return Paradise Beach which was made famous from the 1952 film of the same name featuring Gary Cooper. The walk takes around five hours (although you needn't walk the whole way), and passes secluded cove beaches with great snorkelling and several remote fishing villages along the way.
Beach Holidays on West Upolu Island
On the north-west coast close to the international airport are Le Vasa and Aggie Grey's Beach Resort, both with private cove beaches with great sandy bottom swimming lagoons making them a good choice for families or leisurely swimmers.
Beach Holidays on Savaii Island
The beaches on Savaii are less impressive than Upolu mostly due to the lava fields which cover much of the island. There are a couple of unusual black sand beaches to visit on the west coast although the main beach resort area is on the opposite side of the island. Manase Beach, on the north-east coast of Savaii is the main hub of tourism although still it remains a quiet back-water compared to other beach resort towns. Manase isn't even a town - its a sleepy village with a handful of beach fales and three small resorts - two of them aren't actually in Manase but in the adjacent village along the coast. There's a picturesque beach at both village settings with good swimming and snorkelling in the lagoon as well as lovely sunsets which is always a sensation whilst lounging in the tepid warm lagoon.
Beach holidays on other South Pacific Islands