Samoa (2026)

Samoa is incredibly lush, green and affordable. It feels undiscovered and is unbelievably beautiful. It feels like the Caribbean thirty years ago, before mass tourism and polished resorts took over.

The islands are volcanic and wild. Green everywhere. Color everywhere. Life everywhere.

But nature is not what steals the show here. The people do.

The people, the real heart of Samoa

Everybody is friendly. Everybody smiles. Not a polite, tourist smile, but a big, open, genuine one. People start conversations, welcome you, and somehow you can feel that open heart in the way they look at you and talk to you.

Kids and grown-ups wave at you along the road. And the moment your car stops, people come running up to have a chat. Not to sell something, just to connect.

People hang out in the fale, a raised platform with a thatched roof. Open, social, communal. No walls, just togetherness.

Very welcoming people, and they truly make the place.

A little history and background

Samoa is one of the oldest living cultures in the Pacific. The first settlement was about 3000 years ago. It is shaped by Polynesian navigation and strong village life. Community is central, family is central, and daily life still follows the rhythm of that.

In the late 1800s, Western powers became increasingly interested in Samoa. Germany, Britain, and the United States all competed for influence. Eventually, Samoa was split.

The eastern islands became American Samoa, a United States territory.
The western islands became German Samoa.

After World War I, German rule ended and Western Samoa came under New Zealand administration. Samoan resistance against colonial rule became a defining part of the modern story.

In 1962, Samoa became the first independent Polynesian nation. That mix of independence and continuity is still visible everywhere. Samoa feels intact. Not staged. Not repackaged.

It feels like a timeless place. The time difference with Europe is 12 hours and a full day!

Samoa sits near the International Date Line. In 2011, the country skipped an entire day to align better with Australia and New Zealand for business and trade. Friday 30 December 2011 simply never happened. Practical decision, surreal effect.

It fits. Samoa feels like a place where time stretches, bends, slows down, and refuses to hurry for you.

Still undiscovered

It is hard to explain how undiscovered Samoa still is.

Hardly any restaurants or businesses are on Google Maps. You need Google Maps to navigate, because the signposting is not good, but Google does not really know what is here.

Restaurants ask to take our pictures for their publicity. That says everything. It is not a polished tourism machine yet, it is still a place where visitors feel like a novelty.

If you go, please leave reviews for all places you visit. It really helps, because the online footprint is still tiny.

Getting around and what there is to do

Surprisingly, there is a lot to do for tourists when you rent a car. Once you have wheels, you can explore properly, even if you are relying on your phone for navigation.

Here is my map with my favorite spots marked: Samoa · Esther Jacobs

One of my highlights, the Giant Clam sanctuary. On all my travels, I have never seen so many, so huge. And some visiting big sea turtles as a bonus. Quiet, special, and again, not hyped up. The entree fee goes to the villagers who manage the place. Sunday is a rest day for both the clams and villagers, so the sanctuary is closed.

There are many snorkeling spots, but it is sad to see that corals are rapidly dying due to rising water temperatures. There are still some parts where you can still see a bit of coral alive, but it won’t take long before it is all gone… ;(

Food, daily life, and the weird contrast

Everybody is selling taro. Either raw or cooked with a delicious coconut cream. Along the roadside, in front of supermarkets. Everywhere.

And the traditional flavors are honestly amazing.

You also see real food in real life, constantly.

Ladies outside supermarkets selling home made food.

Fresh fish sold along side of the road.

Papaya, breadfruit and coconut everywhere.

At the same time, there is also a lot of highly processed foods. Way more than I expected. Supermarkets and roadside markets are full of cheap sugary snacks. Chocolate is surprisingly rare.

Chips and fried fish and chicken everywhere. As are fluorescent sugary soda drinks.

Many locals are overweight.

It is such a strange contrast, because the island is literally overflowing with ingredients that look like they came straight out of a healthy food documentary.

Sunday in Samoa

Sunday is a real reset button. Everything is closed. It is family day.

And it is umu day, the earth oven roast. Slow cooking, slow living, family rhythm.

If you get a chance to get invited to one, it’s a special experience.

Color everywhere

Samoa is colorful in the best way.

Colorful clothes, houses and churches.

And then something you do not expect, stones and fences painted with flags of other countries, from Congo and other African countries to Dominica and other small Caribbean islands. There are no ties to those countries. People just like the colors. That is it. And somehow that makes it even better.

Handmade, practical beauty

Handwoven baskets. Made from palm leaves.

They are everywhere. Not as a souvenir trend, but as part of daily life. To carry taro or coconuts.

Practical, beautiful, normal.

Language and the wider world

Many people speak good English, and it surprised me how common that is. Often they have been to New Zealand or Australia, so there is a strong feeling of connection to that part of the world, even though Samoa still feels untouched.

Animals and the road

Pigs, dogs and chickens running around freely everywhere on and alongside the road.

It makes driving feel like you are moving through a living village, not through a tourist zone.

And again, kids and grown ups wave at you along the road and come running up as soon as your car stops to have a chat. It keeps happening, and it keeps feeling unreal in the best way.

Land is owned by the people

Foreigners can’t buy land. All land is local owned.

That one fact explains so much. It protects Samoa from the kind of rapid foreign development that transforms islands into products. It helps explain why the place still feels untouched and undeveloped, and why it has not been reshaped into what outsiders think a tropical island should be.