|
Samoa Islands
Picture Samoa Islands  Large Picture American Samoa and Western Samoa, where two civilisations meet yet history converges ... Click an icon in the Map of Samoa for more pictures The Samoa islands comprise of Western Samoa and American Samoa. Upolu is the main island in Western Samoa, with Apia, the capital on the north coast and the international airport at Faleolo, 35km to the east. Apia is a sprawling town of satellite suburbs and villages. Its focus is along its beautiful harbour setting where the major concentration of Samoa hotels and restaurants are found as well as the offshore Palolo National Marine Reserve which is a great snorkelling and diving spot. The south coast is more rural and has some quiet coastal villages and stunning tropical palm fringed beaches, some with good offshore surfing and a few small hotels and resorts alongside pleasant sandy beaches and lots of simple beach fales (bungalows) run by locals. The interior of Upolu is hilly with several villages, waterfalls and lovely forest trails. Neighbouring Savai'i lies 22km from Upolu's western tip. Ferries take about an hour and a half, and flights from Apia just 20 minutes. Savai'i is larger than Upolu but much of the island is wild. Savai'i is even more traditional than Upolu and many villages operate beach fales (bungalows) which allows visitors to sample their wonderful way of life. The rainforest here is fantastic and accessible by walking trails and guided 4WD tour. There are several active volcanoes on Savai'i (the last eruption in 1911) and parts of the south and west coast are quite rugged with lava flows and blowholes. The best beaches, surfing breaks and snorkelling are along the north and south west coasts where it is custom to pay a small fee to the local village to use them. American Samoa lies about 80km to the south-east of Upolu and is connected by daily flights from Apia as well as having its own international airport. Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa but is hardly opened up to holiday tourism. Lacking many great beaches, the wild coastline offers great views, some of the most pure coastal rainforest in the South Pacific and interesting archaeological sites. The island is covered in dense tropical rainforest, much of it protected by National Parks and most of the north coast is inaccessible. Pago Pago Town, the main centre, has a stunning deep water harbour with magnificent mountain views. The lifestyle here is heavily influenced by USA, of which it is a dependency, and the people of less traditional upbringing. The Manua Group of islands about 60 miles to the east offers several striking islands with gorgeous beaches but even less of a tourist infrastructure than the main island. This is the supposed birthplace of Samoa and Polynesia and has rich archaeological sites. |
|
Samoa Islands Hotel Pictures Samoa Islands ; American Samoa Map ; Western Samoa Map ; Upolu Island ; Apia Town ; Savaii Island Samoa Accommodation ; Samoa Travel ; Samoa Tourist Information ; Samoa Pictures South Pacific Pictures cook islands accommodation pictures ; fiji island hotel pictures ; tahiti islands hotel pictures ; tonga islands hotel pictures ; vanuatu islands hotel pictures ; new caledonia hotel pictures ; hawaii accommodation pictures ; australia accommodation pictures This Accommodation Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Pictures, the photographic division of South Pacific Travel Guides. This leading independent travel publisher is based in Fiji and aims to provide unbiased travel information to help potential holiday-makers plan their trip to the South Pacific. We do not sell individual hotels, tours or packages - we simply provide an overview to help you make the decision and provide links for you to make further enquiries and bookings. All the pictures in this website have been taken by us and try to show a true representation of our destinations. No picture has been staged - all were taken as presented. Our energetic team of researchers and photographers travel around the south pacific on a regular basis to update our guides and to ensure their accuracy. Please feel free to contribute your own travel experiences to pass on to fellow travellers. If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try South Pacific Travel Guides - the regions most comprehensive travel guide for the islands Fiji Travel ; Cook Islands Travel ; Samoa Travel ; Tonga Travel ; Tahiti Travel ; Hawaii Travel ; Oahu Travel ; Kauai Travel ; Maui Travel ; Big Island Hawaii Travel Alternatively, if you're simply after accommodation, search South Pacific Resorts the largest directory of hotels in the South Pacific with thousands of unique photographs, location maps and unbiased write ups: Cook Islands Resorts ; Fiji Resorts ; Samoa Resorts ; Tonga Resorts ; Tahiti Resorts ; Vanuatu Resorts ; New Caledonia Resorts ; Hawaii Resorts. South Pacific Travel Resources - selection of accredited website links This website is brought to you by South Pacific Pictures a division of Beautiful Holidays Office 29, Nadi Airport Arrivals Concourse - PO Box 10146 Nadi Airport, Fiji Islands Tel: (+679) 672 2600 - Contact Us |