Why Samoa
The archipelago has kept its traditional social organisation, the fa'a Samoa: villages are led by chiefs, families live in open fale, and customary rules take precedence over a great deal. It is not a staging for visitors.
The setting matches: the ocean trench of To Sua, the waterfalls of Upolu, the lava tubes, the beaches of Lalomanu, and the beach fale where you sleep facing the lagoon for almost nothing, meals included.
Getting around
Colourful wooden buses serve Upolu from the Apia market, without fixed timetables and only until mid-afternoon. They stop early and do not run on Sunday.
Renting a car requires a temporary Samoan driving permit, bought on the spot. Driving is on the left. The ferry links Upolu to Savai'i, the large island, more rural and less visited.
Money
Cash is necessary outside Apia: the villages, the beach fale and the access fees for natural sites are paid in cash.
ATMs are found in Apia and in a few towns. Cards are accepted only in hotels and agencies. Tipping is not a local custom and can even cause embarrassment.
Before you go
Sunday is given over entirely to worship and rest: shops closed, buses stopped, beaches and villages silent. It is not negotiable, and it is planned for in the itinerary.
In the early evening, most villages observe the sa — a prayer time of about ten minutes announced by a bell. You stop where you are, you do not cross the village, you wait for it to end.
Many beaches, waterfalls and sites belong to village families: an access fee is asked at the entrance, in cash, and it is legitimate. You dress covered away from the beach, shoulders and thighs included, men as well.