Paul Fleishman once said; “The word paradise came out of my mouth, without thinking” and this is exactly what will happen when you visit Samoa.
My little sister had always wanted to visit Samoa after doing a research project on the Pacific Island while at school a number of years ago.
Our first two nights, Lisa and I stayed at Litia Sini Beach Resort which in my opinion had the best fale accommodation at Lalomanu beach. The fale’s are the most luxurious along Lalomanu beach with fans in each fale to cool you down and four solid walls. There are communal bathrooms hidden behind the fales which are extremely clean and tidy.
Lalomanu beach has to be one of the most breath-taking beaches I have ever visited, with white sand and crystal clear water – it is paradise!
The sunsets are amazing – no filters are required!
There is a large communal area with a bar which is open all the time and breakfast and dinner are provided in your room rate.
Lalomanu Beach is a must do if visiting Samoa, the people were so warm and friendly and we were invited to watch the rugby with the locals.
After spending two nights at Lalomanu Beach which in one word is “Paradise”, we caught the local bus back to Apia. Everyone thought this was a crazy thing to do as the resort can organise a private transfer however we wanted to experience the local life so a public bus it was and it was so much fun!
The buses are painted in bright colours and when full, the passengers start sitting on each others knees. The drive from Lalomanu Beach to Apia takes just over 1.5 hours and it takes you through some of the lushest land your eyes will ever feast on!
For our two nights in Apia, we stayed at the Tanoa Tusitala hotel which is a lovely 4.5 star hotel and the photos you see on the website of the rooms are exactly what you receive.
After arriving back to Apia on a Friday night, we headed out on Saturday morning to the Apia market which sells everything from food, clothing and to the odd kitchen pot. I picked up a floral dress to laze around the hotel in.
Apia closes down from lunch time on Saturday and doesn’t open up till Monday morning which can make things interesting if you are in Apia around this time.
After wandering around the local market we ended up negotiating with a really lovely taxi driver just out the front of the Apia market to take us to the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum which is well worth a visit and if you have the time you can walk up to the top of Mount Vaea where Stevenson is buried.
We visited a great shop called Pacific Jewel Gift Shop which sells amazing gifts produced by local artists.
If you are after a cheeky cocktail or two (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) then I suggest a visit to Aggie Grey’s Hotel in Apia; however the hotel is currently closed for refurbishment.
Apia is a safe place to wander around unlike some of the stories we had heard prior to leaving New Zealand to visit. Everyone we encountered was warm and friendly and the country is extremely clean.
On Sunday, we headed to McDonalds to try out the curly fries! Trust me when I say literally nothing is open on a Sunday apart from McDonalds.
Before we knew it, we were heading back to New Zealand on our Air New Zealand flight to Auckland – honestly the world’s best airline!
xx
